I've heard from friends that their docs suggested only doing one eye at a time and other docs have said its ok to do both in one visit. I think the one at a time approach is more conservative, if something goes wrong with one, you probably do not want the same guy doing the other one a few minutes later.
Cataracts/ back on the bike
- Thread starter disisme
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I did that, from a referral fr my GP. After he (the optometrist that I was getting a second opinion from), had done my initial exams and ‘poking and prodding’ he asked me why I was there to see him. And I told him it was to get a second opinion of my initial procedure. And I watched his face as I told him that and his expression changed and his demeanour changed entirely. I’m convinced that these guys stick up for each other, and they have each others back. They know that us patients talk amongst ourselves and we can have a considerable influence on their success or lack thereof. And then he proceeded to tell me that my eyes were as good as I could expect for someone of my age, and that the procedure that had been done on my eyes had been done correctly. Basically that there was nothing wrong and I should be glad that my eyes were working as well as they are.
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Had my cataracts done about six months apart back in 2006, was riding the push bike the weekend following the first one. Complete success, never looked back.
Andrew Shadow
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I wasn't referring to halos caused by cataracts. This woman did not have cataracts, and did not have any halos prior to the surgery.
I am referring to light halos caused by the multi-focus replacement lenses that they put in to her eyes, and am asking if that is normal after the lens has been replaced, which is what cataract surgery is. You wrote that did have the light halos afterwards. Is that the norm for most people is what I am wondering.
STFlips
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Well I don't think I'm qualified to answer that Andrew, I'm only a sample of one.
How did the surgery go?
Are you back to normal now?
Are you back to normal now?
OP
OP
Surgery went great, got the right eye done and had 20/20 and on the second week after surgery being off work and all for recovery,took an 8 day trip out to Cape Breton. I got the left eye done Oct 2 , this was my lazy eye and although not the 20/20 I got in the right eye I can actually see much better . I had to get a new prescription for my reading glasses and I’m all set now. Highly recommend getting it done.
Mine were done separately back in July. Right then left. Right eye healed pdq. Just over a day later, I could see at a distance, left eye closed of course, nearly perfectly. Left was different, it took just over six weeks to complete healing. Now I'm riding without glasses, still need drug store reading glasses at under an arm's length distances. My surgeon says I am one of the lucky 20% or so who has a protracted recovery.
drrod
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Sorry to hear of your experience Art. That is a shame. I would still keep looking for another opinion. I can recommend you to my optometrist if you like (in Calgary). He would give you a straight answer and a referral to an ophthalmologist if needed, to someone he (and thus I) would trust.
I had both mine done (2 weeks apart) to correct for some aberrations in my cornea , that developed some 25 years after Lasik surgery, that were impacting my vision. The surgery went well and I was back to "normal" within a couple of days. The correction in the new lens was not quite perfect so I still need to wear contacts but with only a very small correction for astigmatism. Overall, happy with the result.
They are now doing lens replacement surgery to correct normal vision issues, not just cataracts. To me, it is the way to go. Get rid of having to use corrective lenses which are expensive and a hassle. Downside is you don't get many chances to do fine tuning.
I had both mine done (2 weeks apart) to correct for some aberrations in my cornea , that developed some 25 years after Lasik surgery, that were impacting my vision. The surgery went well and I was back to "normal" within a couple of days. The correction in the new lens was not quite perfect so I still need to wear contacts but with only a very small correction for astigmatism. Overall, happy with the result.
They are now doing lens replacement surgery to correct normal vision issues, not just cataracts. To me, it is the way to go. Get rid of having to use corrective lenses which are expensive and a hassle. Downside is you don't get many chances to do fine tuning.
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This is interesting reading for me as I’m moving towards getting mine done in late December or in January. My insurance changes 2/1/24 so I hope the procedures are done by then. My network providers won’t change but the coverage might.
My mother is having cataract surgery next month. I read that all she will need is antibiotic eye drops to prevent infection and anti-inflammatory eye drops to control inflammation (I double-checked the info about them on the partner healthcare pharmacy site). I hope everything will be fine.
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I had, in this order, over 3 years time (2021-2023): Retina detachement, right eye. Emergency surgery. Then cateract surgery, right eye (A detachement surgery sometimes ends up with a cataract developing in a matter of 2-3 months). Then, cateract surgery, left eye. 3 months after the left cateract surgery, retina detachement left eye. Again, emergency surgery.
There is always a chance for a detachement after a cateract suregey. Thats exactly what happened with my left eye: Cateract Surgery > Detachement. The right? It just detached, out of the blue. My surgeon,,,, she is absolutely fantastic. Became part of the family. Trust her 110 %.
Detachement recovery time 2-3 months, specially if you have a gas bubble inserted.
There is always a chance for a detachement after a cateract suregey. Thats exactly what happened with my left eye: Cateract Surgery > Detachement. The right? It just detached, out of the blue. My surgeon,,,, she is absolutely fantastic. Became part of the family. Trust her 110 %.
Detachement recovery time 2-3 months, specially if you have a gas bubble inserted.
I had cataract surgery last fall about 4 weeks apart as doc was going on a cruise. Very happy with the new clarity. Then in August had a retina detachment and emergency surgery. The doctor said it was the worst he's seen in 10 years. Had to do a sceria buckle ring that stays in your eye forever and a silicone oil bubble until November 29th when they will flush out the oil and may need a gas bubble while that heals. Ok, here's the scary part. I have a extreme hearing loss since I was 7 and am VERY reliant on lip reading for communication. I told the doctor my eyes are my ears and I'm depending on him. I thought I was going to pass out when they told me what was going on. I'm hoping the final result is something glasses can clear up if needed. I think my oil has gotten dirty over the last 4 months!
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Detachments can be very scary, and go pear-shaped fast, specially if you don't get into surgery quickly, and it is a serious detachment. The first was worse than the second, simply because I really didnt know what was going on. I was in surgery 3 hours after the second eye started to detach.
I never had buckles or oil put in, but rather a gas bubble, which dissolves in about 2 months. I had to keep my face down (looking down), and try sleeping at night face down, for 2 weeks while the initial healing took place.
She (the surgeon) got the retina back in place, and lasered it to stay. When the vitreous gel in your eye starts pulling on your retina, it tears a hole in it due to the force the vitreous is pulling with. Where the hole due to the tear occurs, you will loose vision in that particular spot. The tears normally happens close to the edge of the retina, and so you loose a little bit of peripheral vision where the tear occurs. You'll never get that back.
So, for you out there that are near-sighted, reatively old, and go in for cateract surgery, BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR FLOATERS, FLASHING LIGHT(vitreous starting to tear at the retina) AND SHADY AREAS (shades usually start in the inner corner of your eye, i.e. on the outside of your retina (opposite your inner corner of the eye). I also suggest you find the best possible ophthalmologist in your area AHEAD of you cateract surgery, preferably a doc that is doing retina detach surgery on a routine basis. If your eye comes apart, that is not the time to hunt for an ophthalmologist that specializes in retina surgery.
Sorry for the lengthy post, but this is just very serious stuff, where time is of the essence. I will say that my vision is back to 20/20 far vision. Glasses required for reading.
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Good write up and info, Tor. Don't want people thinking cataract surgery should be avoided because of the risk of retinal detachment. A blow or hard impact to the eye is more of a risk. I think that was the root cause of mine about 4 weeks earlier. The specialists said sometimes it is just old age (68) and bad luck. I totally agree you don't want to using the eye doctor at Sam's Club or Costco for something like this stuff. They got me into surgery 3 days after it came apart which I didn't think was bad. Did you have that happen to each eye or the same eye twice?