topic Re: Cataract surgery in Among Friends

Cataract surgery

Patriot3 — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 19:46:04 GMT

I know I am going to need cataract surgery soon. Anyone out there who has had it, questions......Can I drive myself there and home after? I am so used to doing for myself. Do I need anyone to stay w/me? How long is recuperation? Is it painful? Anything else you would want to add. Thanks a bunch!

Re: Cataract surgery

I am still oxox — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 19:47:50 GMT

You can not go alone, you can not drive yourself home, most likely you eye will be patched for a day or two

Re: Cataract surgery

henderson — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 19:49:24 GMT

It's not painful. Yes, you need someone to be there in the waiting room and drive you home. You will be given light sedation, but aware of what's happening. The worst part if the number of eye drops and days you need to use them.

Re: Cataract surgery

Hooty — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 19:51:04 GMT

No, you will need someone to be with you to drive you home, you will have a plastic type cup over the eye and will not be able to see. No it does not hurt, you just have to continue to put eye drops in your eyes and keep your head up and not look down for awhile. The worst part to me, is all the eye drops you have to use before the surgery, but you will be fine.

Re: Cataract surgery

2blonde — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 19:55:47 GMT

@Patriot3 I had both eyes done last June (2 weeks apart, they don't do both the same day). I'm sorry to say they want another person to be there with you through the entire thing. They won't notice or care which one of you drove to get there, but they want another person in the waiting room while you have the surgery, and they will only let that person drive you home. You will have some anesthesia still in your system.

Honestly, I think driving myself home would have been possible, but not safe. I had to wear dark glasses because of the bright sun glare. I will add though, that I was able to function very well and took a ride on my bike a couple hours later both times (with the dark glasses still on).

Just do it.......and if you can afford it, get the expensive multi-focal lenses. (Your insurance only covers the fixed vision lenses, and you will still need glasses.) I did, and I can see like a 20-year-old again.......no glasses except for up really, really close.

Re: Cataract surgery

ciao_bella — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 19:57:12 GMT

@Patriot3 I had cataract surgery on my right eye about two years ago. It was done as an out patient at a surgery center. You will need someone to take you there and drive you home.

As far as having someone to stay with you, I found that following the surgery you need to have several types of eye drops put in your eye four times a day for several weeks. It's generally easier if someone else puts the drops in. I tried to do it myself and almost always missed getting it into my eye. I was afraid of putting the bottle tip too close to my eye as well.

Since I have an astigma, my eye drops were needed for six weeks, but I believe the average is 3 to 4 weeks.

The surgery is not painful at all and only takes about 10 minutes or less. Recuperation was easy but having to put the drops in 4 times a day was a little annoying. Other than that, it was a very easy surgery and routinely done these days with little or no problems.

Re: Cataract surgery

SXMGirl — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 20:00:31 GMT

@Patriot3, You must have someone with you or they will not do the surgery.

I think that I started the drops about two weeks before surgery. They can be quite expensive and your surgeon should have coupons for you to use if your insurance does not cover it. Mine covered most of the meds, so I did not use the coupons. I continued with the drops for the next several weeks after surgery.

The surgery does not hurt, but I can tell you that I was very nervous. I was completely out for the surgery, and just relaxed when I was home. You will go back to the surgeon the following day, and you might be able to drive yourself at that time. I did not.

I met with my surgeon and the office staff about three weeks before surgery and they showed me a movie and went over the procedures and also tested my eyes to see which implants would work best for me. I went to a specialist, but my friend had hers at her eye doctor's office and they did not do as thorough an exam. While she is fine, I am glad that my exam was so thorough.

If you are having difficulty with your eyesight, you should be very pleased with the end result. Good luck.

Re: Cataract surgery

KentuckyWoman — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 20:05:41 GMT

No you must not drive. You will be given medications that make it unsafe for you to drive a vehicle. You will also likely need someone to drive you to a follow up with the doctor which in my case was the next day. I've had both eyes done. I was not totally asleep but given a "twilight" drug intravenously and I didn't feel any pain nor do I remember anything at all about the OR and what they were doing. I had no post op pain or complications. Just follow the doctors orders and you will do great! By the way, you really don't need anyone to stay with you. My husband was my nurse for about two hours and then he went out to play golf.

Re: Cataract surgery

mrsgoofy — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 20:02:45 GMT

Patriot:

I was 66 when I had them done and on Medicare. I had them done about one to two months apart - can't remember exactly. I was extremely anxious which is why I never had laser surgery for corrective vision when I was younger - even though everyone around me was doing it.

However, there was never one minute of pain of any kind. The actual procedure was maybe ten minutes long. So, of course, I wasn't one bit scared for the second one being done. The place that I went to absolutely insisted you be driven there and taken home by someone. You will not be able to drive home yourself. There were no meds for pain or anything but there were two or three kinds of eyedrops that I had to use for weeks before and after. After wearing glasses my entire life, I watched tv that night without any. Had I still been working, I could have gone to work the next day.

I had almost perfect distance vision after both were done. I did immediately have to use readers but now that I have a pair in every room of the house, no problem.

It turned out to be very worth it. At the time I had it done, Medicare wouldn't pay for the most expensive procedure so I picked the middle one - which was why I needed readers after.

The very best to you and don't be scared!!

Re: Cataract surgery

2blonde — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 20:03:30 GMT

@Patriot3 Don't let people freak you out. I didn't have to wear a plastic cover on my eye (except for the first night while sleeping). Also, they have new eye drops now where you only need to use one drop in the eye for two weeks. My physical activity was not restricted except I wasn't supposed to lift more than 30 lbs the first 24 hours (not that I would)!

Re: Cataract surgery

Mz iMac — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 20:24:59 GMT

I am having cataract surgery next month & then again 3 weeks later.

Per my surgeon....

eye drops 3 days prior to surgery - prevent infection & numb eyeball.

the actual surgery will take 20 minutes but, expect to be there for 2 1/2 hours.

I will be sedated intravenously.

Immediately after surgery, will be given juice & crackers

Will be given sunglasses to wear outdoors. Only wear indoors if indoor glare bothers me.

I advised my surgeon that I will not inconvenient anyone for 2 1/2 hrs waiting for me. I will be taking a taxi coming & going. Taxi co is giving me a discounted medical fare (round trip).

Not a problem per the surgeon. Nurse will call taxi when I am ready to leave.

Surgeon appt the next morning. Taking taxi....same medical discount=round trip.

No eye drops due to the type of lens I am getting.

Medicare is paying for sugery, State pays for eye rx.

After my 2nd surgery, I will need new lenses. Medicare will be paying for that too.

Re: Cataract surgery

2blonde — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 20:36:13 GMT

@Patriot3 I want to add that I was totally awake during the whole thing.....I just saw the laser light in my eye, but felt nothing. He wanted me awake so he could talk to me. I did not feel like I had been drugged at all, even though they did have an intravenous hooked up to me. They do numb the eye with the 15 or 16 drops they put in it.

When it was over, they gave me cookies and coffee and called my sister in to get me. I got up off the table and walked out to her car like nothing had happened. I also was able to drive myself to work the next morning at 7:30am, go from there to the doctor's office for the post-op check up, then back to work again. No problem. I did have a great doctor and surgical team.

Re: Cataract surgery

Tyak — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 20:45:43 GMT

@Patriot3wrote:
I know I am going to need cataract surgery soon. Anyone out there who has had it, questions......Can I drive myself there and home after? I am so used to doing for myself. Do I need anyone to stay w/me? How long is recuperation? Is it painful? Anything else you would want to add. Thanks a bunch!

You cannot drive yourself home. It's a stipulation of having surgery, you must have a driver to go home. Most people have patches after the surgery, I did not. It just depends on the doctor. You won't need anyone staying with you. I went to the doctor the day after surgery for a checkup and you can drive after that appt. It's not painful, your eyes are numbed up so much you don't feel anything. There's nothing to it and the difference in your sight is immediate. At least mine was. The biggest PITA about this surgery is putting in the drops for what seemed like forever. I think I was putting them in for at least a month and some of them were to be put in every 2 hours.

Re: Cataract surgery

Meowingkitty — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 21:46:06 GMT

I’m also having cataract surgery probably in April. What I want to know is how to you function with one good eye and one bad eye until the next surgery? I have coke bottle glasses and was wondering if you wear a patch or what.

Re: Cataract surgery

viva923 — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 22:24:41 GMT

I have had it done in both eyes.

my doctor told me no driving TO OR FROM surgery. no lifting, no pushing, no bending, no nothing for up to 2 weeks.

there are probably other doctors that have other rules , i am just reporting what my eye doctor told me.

Re: Cataract surgery

Carmie — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 22:36:18 GMT

You can drive yourself there, but not home. I wore a plastic eye cup to sleep, so I didn’t rub my eye.

Lots of eye drops for about a week and a few days before too.

No pain during or after surgery.

i had an appointment the next day morning for a follow-up visit, then went back to work. I only missed one day of work, which was the day of the surgery. I was cleared and allowed to drive the day after the surgery.

There was no down time at all. It was a very easy surgery. The worst part was the anxiety I had beforehand, which seemed silly when it was all over.

Re: Cataract surgery

Perkup — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 23:01:29 GMT

Son-in-law is an eye surgeon but did not do my surgery - family thing.

You may be given a light tranquilizer to take before leaving home for the surgery. You will probably be given an iv prior to the actual operation and will be given something before you are wheeled in to the opeerating area. You will likely also be given something which will cause you not to remember the actual operation- this is absolutely no problem. When you are finished you will go back to the area where you began, be allowed to revive completely and then prepared to go home. Some doctors will put a stitch in the eye but not everyone does. Mine did not. No patch either.

When you are fully awake you can go home, but cannot drive. If you have someone with you it will be convenient as you will need drops for a few days and it isn't always easy to put drops in your own eyes. A companion is not an absolute necessity, however. You will need someone to take you back to the doctor's office in a day or two for a recheck.You will be able to drive soon. No lifting or straining for a few days while the lens attaches in place. Hardly anyone experiences difficulty after the surgery.

I had both eyes done last August. Easiest thing I ever went through.You may be surprised at the intensity of color you see after the surgery and you will likely need sunglasses to get used to the stronger light coming into your eyes without the cataracts. I had no troubles at all, and strongly recommend that you do the surgery as early as possible. Everything is easier when you're younger. Do it and be glad you did!

Re: Cataract surgery

NigelSparkles — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 23:19:35 GMT

You might want to check with the eye center or your surgeon's office about transportation. Some places offer it for a small fee. The eye center my surgeon has a car service - charged me $35 round trip, picked me up at home and brought me back immediately after surgery. I did not need to have anyone with me, but had the option to have a companion ride with me at no additional charge.

@Meowingkitty I waited 2 months between eyes. What I did was to remove one lens from my glasses in order to drive. I used the sunglasses given to me after the procedure, they fit over the frames. Since I had the longish break between surgeries, I ordered inexpensive glasses online with prescription for one lens and clear for the other. Under $20. Check with your surgeon's office - they may have a few suggestions for you. If you only plan to have a couple of weeks in between, it's probably not worth ordering anything.

Re: Cataract surgery

Meowingkitty — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 00:44:27 GMT

Sadeyes

i can’t remove a lens in my glasses as they are frameless and I would have to have a mono glass. I’ll see what they say. He said I shouldn’t have a problem. My left eye is the worst and very blurry even with glasses while my right is pretty clear so I guessing it might be pretty much the same after surgery until my second eye is done.

Re: Cataract surgery

jlkz — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 01:09:40 GMT

@Patriot3

After the surgery, your eye will see without the “yellow” of the cataract that was removed. The first thing I noticed the next morning was sunlight coming into the front room. My corrected eye saw whitish light while the old eye saw yellow light. The print in books will appear very distinct: dark black on a stark white page as opposed to being on a cream color page.

Trick for eye drops: carefully pull the bottom eyelid out until it forms a little “ cup “ then carefully drop the solution into the cup....no spills, no mess, no touching of the bottle dropper.

Good luck....truly a painless procedure !