Cataract Surgery Outcome
Oct 24, 2020 11:14:15 #
First off, I want to give a BIG thank you to all who responded to my request for input on personal experiences regarding cataract surgery. Input from my fellow Hogs was beyond helpful. It gave me a starting point for further research and discussion.
Secondly, I had the cataracts in both eyes removed - 1st one the second week in October and the second one 13 days later. The results of both surgeries exceeded my expectations. Going in, it was never a choice of whether or not to have the surgery. It was most definitely time. The decision I needed to make was which IOL to have implanted.
After meeting with 2 cataract surgeons in mid-September, I chose surgeon #2. He listened to me, asked ME questions regarding my expectations and lifestyle, gave me 4 choices of IOLs, and FULLY answered my questions. (MD #1 did NONE of that.) My surgeon of choice is also affiliated with and trained in a very well-regarded eye hospital about 1 1/2 hours away from my home. A bit of an additional ride for the surgeries and required follow-ups, but I have only one pair of eyes.
After completely exploring my options with my surgeon of choice, we decided together that the Toric lens would best match my needs and expectations. I have a severe astigmatism, and the Toric lens would correct for that. The Toric lens also corrected for distance vision. The Toric lenses were not covered by Medicare and ran $2,800 out of pocket for both eyes. Thanks to Covid, we haven't been able to travel in 2020, so we took funds that would have been spent on travel and used the money for my new eyes. My doctor was shooting for 20/20 distance vision post-op. He didn't manage that. He actually EXCEEDED 20/20 for distance. I'm somewhere between 20/20 and 20/15!! I will need glasses for near vision (between arms' length and closer in), and I now have a pair of cheaters for that. More than likely, I'll decide to get either progressives or lined bifocals so I avoid the nuisance of keeping putting the cheaters on and removing them. I'll see how it goes between now and my 2nd post-op follow-up week after next. Wearing glasses is no biggie for me, since I've been wearing them since age 7, and I knew going in that I might find RX glasses more convenient than the blasted cheaters. At least 4 people with whom I've communicated recently decided to go the RX route vs. the cheater route, and have been happy with that choice.
I haven't been out with my camera since the surgeries, and I'll be getting out again next week to see how that works out, but I am not expecting any problems. My biggest issue was the roughly 2 weeks between surgeries. The distance vision in one eye was perfect, and I was blind as a bat in daylight in the other eye. Add to that the fact that my close vision in the "new, improved" eye was less than perfect, and about the only thing I could do comfortably without becoming nauseated was watch TV from across the room. I tried putting a patch over the bad eye, but that didn't work out that well for me - crappy depth perception! I have been religious with my eyedrops, and have been very careful not to lift much weight and have been avoiding deep bends from the waist. Also, I have been using the protective cup at night and have been wearing the "very attractive designer" sunglasses provided by the surgical center whenever outside.
Funny side story - I needed only a day or 2 to get used to no glasses, although I have picked up my readers from my nightstand a few mornings and wondered why everything was so blurry! My husband keeps telling me that HE can't get used to seeing ME without them. We've been married for a few decades, and I've worn glasses for every one of them.
So that's how things went for me. Thank you all again for helping me make the right-for-me decision. My husband and I are both extremely pleased with my outcome. Side note - before I posted my original question here on UHH, hubby told me he thought I was nuts "asking a bunch of old photographers for medical advice". After my first couple of responses, he understood why I did.
"Mike"
Secondly, I had the cataracts in both eyes removed - 1st one the second week in October and the second one 13 days later. The results of both surgeries exceeded my expectations. Going in, it was never a choice of whether or not to have the surgery. It was most definitely time. The decision I needed to make was which IOL to have implanted.
After meeting with 2 cataract surgeons in mid-September, I chose surgeon #2. He listened to me, asked ME questions regarding my expectations and lifestyle, gave me 4 choices of IOLs, and FULLY answered my questions. (MD #1 did NONE of that.) My surgeon of choice is also affiliated with and trained in a very well-regarded eye hospital about 1 1/2 hours away from my home. A bit of an additional ride for the surgeries and required follow-ups, but I have only one pair of eyes.
After completely exploring my options with my surgeon of choice, we decided together that the Toric lens would best match my needs and expectations. I have a severe astigmatism, and the Toric lens would correct for that. The Toric lens also corrected for distance vision. The Toric lenses were not covered by Medicare and ran $2,800 out of pocket for both eyes. Thanks to Covid, we haven't been able to travel in 2020, so we took funds that would have been spent on travel and used the money for my new eyes. My doctor was shooting for 20/20 distance vision post-op. He didn't manage that. He actually EXCEEDED 20/20 for distance. I'm somewhere between 20/20 and 20/15!! I will need glasses for near vision (between arms' length and closer in), and I now have a pair of cheaters for that. More than likely, I'll decide to get either progressives or lined bifocals so I avoid the nuisance of keeping putting the cheaters on and removing them. I'll see how it goes between now and my 2nd post-op follow-up week after next. Wearing glasses is no biggie for me, since I've been wearing them since age 7, and I knew going in that I might find RX glasses more convenient than the blasted cheaters. At least 4 people with whom I've communicated recently decided to go the RX route vs. the cheater route, and have been happy with that choice.
I haven't been out with my camera since the surgeries, and I'll be getting out again next week to see how that works out, but I am not expecting any problems. My biggest issue was the roughly 2 weeks between surgeries. The distance vision in one eye was perfect, and I was blind as a bat in daylight in the other eye. Add to that the fact that my close vision in the "new, improved" eye was less than perfect, and about the only thing I could do comfortably without becoming nauseated was watch TV from across the room. I tried putting a patch over the bad eye, but that didn't work out that well for me - crappy depth perception! I have been religious with my eyedrops, and have been very careful not to lift much weight and have been avoiding deep bends from the waist. Also, I have been using the protective cup at night and have been wearing the "very attractive designer" sunglasses provided by the surgical center whenever outside.
Funny side story - I needed only a day or 2 to get used to no glasses, although I have picked up my readers from my nightstand a few mornings and wondered why everything was so blurry! My husband keeps telling me that HE can't get used to seeing ME without them. We've been married for a few decades, and I've worn glasses for every one of them.
So that's how things went for me. Thank you all again for helping me make the right-for-me decision. My husband and I are both extremely pleased with my outcome. Side note - before I posted my original question here on UHH, hubby told me he thought I was nuts "asking a bunch of old photographers for medical advice". After my first couple of responses, he understood why I did.
"Mike"
Oct 24, 2020 11:22:48 #
Fantastic news! So good to hear you are pleased with the results. Happy shooting!
.
.
Oct 24, 2020 11:36:13 #
Oct 24, 2020 11:45:05 #
Glad to hear. Sorry I missed your original post. But obviously you got good advice. I had to get mine done because the glare of headlights at night impaired my driving at night. Now I have no trouble night or day.
Oct 24, 2020 11:50:36 #
Between surgery 1 and 2 did you notice the color difference between eye. When I did cataracts whites looked white with the corrected eye and the whites looked brownish yellow with the uncorrected eye. With both eyes corrected, give us a color report on your upcoming photo work.
Oct 24, 2020 11:57:48 #
I'm glad it worked. I had mine done in September. Besides correcting vision the new eyes now see in technicolor rather than faded sepia. Like my regular eye drops (Blink brand) bottle was green before surgery and now is blue post surgery. I'm not quite sure how to re-calibrate the new eyes for PS and Lightroom workups on images! Gives me something to do while staying at home with this Covid 19 stuff.
Oct 24, 2020 12:06:16 #
Oct 24, 2020 12:39:20 #
Excellent news. Glad that you are pleased with the outcome! Stay well and keep on posting with your renewed vision!
Oct 24, 2020 13:01:12 #
Xanadu
Loc: Clay County FL
Your experience almost completely mirrors mine. World looks very clear now does it not?
Oct 24, 2020 14:47:39 #
John_F wrote:
Between surgery 1 and 2 did you notice the color difference between eye. When I did cataracts whites looked white with the corrected eye and the whites looked brownish yellow with the uncorrected eye. With both eyes corrected, give us a color report on your upcoming photo work.
John, that is EXACTLY what I noticed. Before the 1st eye was done, the background here on the Hog appeared to be extremely yellow. After the 1st eye, it looked much less yellow, so I covered the "new" eye and looked through the eye without the surgery. There was a definite yellow cast looking through that eye. With both eyes done, it's more of a cream colored background. HUGE difference. By looking at some of my bird photos on my iPad, I can already see that some of them look much lighter and brighter than I'd originally thought. Good thing I had only just started PP'ing my images prior to surgery. One thing I also noticed is that mid-day daylight looks a lot less yellow and more of a blue-white. I also need to use more make up on my face!
Oct 24, 2020 14:48:10 #
Xanadu wrote:
Your experience almost completely mirrors mine. World looks very clear now does it not?
Wow! Soooooo much clearer and brighter.
Oct 24, 2020 14:49:56 #
Ourspolair wrote:
Excellent news. Glad that you are pleased with the outcome! Stay well and keep on posting with your renewed vision!
Thank you. I was leery of having the "elective" surgery done during the Covid situation, but I didn't have much of a choice. The vision in my left eye was beyond terrible. Just watching TV was a blurry ordeal.
Oct 24, 2020 14:54:22 #
TKT wrote:
I'm glad it worked. I had mine done in September. Besides correcting vision the new eyes now see in technicolor rather than faded sepia. Like my regular eye drops (Blink brand) bottle was green before surgery and now is blue post surgery. I'm not quite sure how to re-calibrate the new eyes for PS and Lightroom workups on images! Gives me something to do while staying at home with this Covid 19 stuff.
Technicolor is a perfect description of how I now see the world.
Oct 24, 2020 14:55:09 #
Longshadow wrote:
Thanks for the thumbs up. Exactly how I feel with my new eyes.
Oct 24, 2020 14:56:28 #
mymike wrote:
Glad to hear. Sorry I missed your original post. But obviously you got good advice. I had to get mine done because the glare of headlights at night impaired my driving at night. Now I have no trouble night or day.
Thank you. Our fellow UHH members who had had the surgery really came through for me. What a great bunch of people!
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