Cataract Surgery

[Addicted to music]

The story goes,   
I woke up about 2 years previously from a nap, and realised that I had slightly out of focus on the left eye.  Having worn glasses all my life, being short sighted I’m literally classified as blind, as I’m a +6 in each eye.   
An appointment to a optometrist confirmed what I had, cataracts and it’s right in the centre of the lens.  At the moment it’s really mild and the advise was do nothing.  12mths later it got worst so the optometrist sends me to an eye specialist.  They run all these tests including a complete MRI scan of my head,  $1700 later of tests I get told the same; cataract in the left eye right in the centre of the focal path!   This year I went back saying it’s got worst and yep they confirmed it it’s getting to the stage I need to make the decision.  So I did,  $3.5K to have it removed and replaced with a plastic lens,  however you’ll need to do both eyes because you be out of balance that far that your brain won’t adjust and the fact they say that there is presence of cataracts in the right eye!  So that’s a $7K surgery to have both done.  Believe it or not, If you opt for private health with options and you opt for the cheapest cover, cataracts isn’t covered!  How convenient.  If you ever fall in my shoes here, upgrade your cover to be prepared for the costs, it’s no brainer if you need to do both eyes.

in March I was referred  to a cataract surgeon,  he did some more test and told me that I was the perfect candidate and I would benefit from the  surgery, again the recommendation was that both eyes need to be done…..  So last Thursday I go in for surgery,  I thought I’d be knocked out but they decided to ensure I was awake; bit bazar me think,  I was put on anaesthetic to ensure I was complete relaxed, then I realised I could not move my left eyelid. A mask for oxygen was placed around my head and all I did was relaxed.   I really didn’t feel a thing!  I knew the surgeon was operating, couldn’t make out what they were doing, all I saw was blurred objects and a machine doing it’s think, b4 you know it, it’s all over.  I’m been provided prescription for 2 eye drops and it must be taken 5 mins apart, 4 times a day.  The instruction also say that I can take the patch off the eye the next morning.

in the morning, it’s the 1st time I can see clearly out of my left eye,  however with side effects,  not everything is clear, and because my right eye is a +6 it’s having an impact on my total sight.  The side effects was not so clear vision, with a violet halo flaring around bright or shiny objects,  it’s really annoying.  Back to the surgeon on post surgery and told him the issues I was having, when he examined the operated eye, I now,  according to him surpassed vision required for driving and the flaring you see is that your pupil is still heavily dilated, then he prescribes me one more eye drop, a total of 3.  The next day, the violet flaring had minimised and vision is clear for distance viewing, however anything up to 2m is unclear,  now I need reading glasses, so due to lock down, I decided to use the bosses reading glasses and yep, it will do for the operated eye!    Going back to the surgeon next Wedesnday and due to time constraints, my next schedule operation is on the 1st of Sept.   in the meantime I’m trying to adjust to be prepared for work next Thursday….  
So if anyone having cataract surgery or is diagnose with it, make sure you update your health cover and if you’re having both eyes done, ensure the time between both operation is close as possible.   There’s also a really good reason why they tell you that it needs a month apart….

 

[Janjuggler]

Hi @Addicted to music

 

I had an eye done 18 months ago and it cost me half of what you are up for as my Hospital Insurance also did not cover cataracts, but had the lens only fractionally stronger as my Ophthalmologist said that I would have the problems you discussed if I had my lens too different to what it was initially, I was +4.5, I had the operation on a Monday and was playing golf on the Wednesday, will probably need to have the other eye done in the next 12 months as when I look at a white wall, the replaced lens looks quite white, the other eye looks grey / yellow and is getting blurrier incrementally since the last Op, but as I am almost a septuagenarian, what can you expect???

 

Hope all goes well.

[petetherock]

If you have a difference of more than 2-3 dioptres in refraction, you'll have anisometropia, which requires consecutive cataract surgery. It can be as early as two weeks apart, although I'll suggest 4 weeks to allow the surgeon to measure the results in the first eye and try to be more accurate for the second.

You can opt for sharp vision for far or monovision i.e one for far and one for near.

You can also consider monofocal or multifocal lenses. Get a square edge optic one with UV protection.

You can get free surgery, in Melbourne Eye and Ear if you are willing to wait, if your policy doesn't cover it. Standards are pretty high, even if you get a registrar to do it. Or you can someone to get it done in their private rooms.

 

Do complete the course of steroid drops.

All the best and you'll be pretty happy with the end results

[Willco]

Yes when I had surgery for my Pseudomonas (right eye) I was awake too  I think only an injection with the Blue/Purple dye(?)and didn't feel a thing .I was

 

conscious  of the surgeon poking in the eye with what seemed like a Crochet needle .

 

All healed fine after post op trips to the Registrar and doses of the "Horse Steroids".

 

Cataracts?-touch wood not so far--hope you are all back to top eye health soon A to M !

 

Willco

[Addicted to music]

@petetherock

 

They are very detailed in there findings.  Apparently via the scans, my left eye ball is also different shape to my right.  So the calculations are different between left and right.  I believe they use a machine to guide them with the correction during the operation. 
had no idea it could be done if you register through the right channels, hopefully that advise would be useful here if someone needed it done. 
he’s prescribed 

maxidex 

chlorsig   5mins apart 4 times a day

Xalatan  once a day

Also, didn’t know you could get UV coating,  and I can’t do multifocal, tried multifocal and it drive me nuts   But I’m sure I’m going use bifocal glasses.

 

@Janjuggler

 

thats the other thing I’ve noticed, the operated eye is letting in so much more light it’s almost blinding compared to my right unoperated eye.  

Edited August 8, 2021 by Addicted to music

[Tweaky]

My eye problem started two years ago.

In September 2019 I started to have a weird sensation with my right eye, it was like trying to see through a water droplet, but it only effected the outside of my vision in the one eye.

It seemed to come and go over a few days, but then seemed to be permanent, since I was working in the Sydney CBD I left work early one afternoon and walked up to Sydney eye hospital in Macquarie st.

 

They ran a few tests, and then conferred with each other, then said "OK, we are going to operate on you now, we're just trying to find you a bed''.

I'm like WTF ! what are you talking about ?, you haven't even told me what's wrong with me.

OH, you have a detached retina, and it needs to be operated on straight away.

They wouldn't even let me go home to get some other clothes and a tooth brush, saying I had to lie flat or it could get worse and I'll lose my sight.

Anyway, a few hours later I'm in the operating theater getting a injection in my face, they wait a few minutes, and then partially cover my face with surgical cloths and start operating.

It was only while I was getting the injection in my face that they told me I would be awake for the whole procedure, which took about 1 hour......I couldn't see anything during the operation.....I imagine it would freak people out if you could.

I stayed overnight, and once checked over was released.

 

When they operate on a detached retina, they remove all the fluid from your eye and replace it with a gas, over time your body replaces the gas with saline.

If you think of looking through the side of a glass that's only partially filled with water, that's what it's like, the level of the water gradually fills the whole eye over a few weeks......very weird at first, sort of like wearing a scuba mask and looking half under water and half in the air.

 

Anyway, because they replace you natural eye fluid with gas in the operation, the lens in your eye dries out, which causes cataracts , which they warned me would happen.

It took my retina about 10 months to completely flatten again, which is longer than most, but once it was OK they put me down for a cataract operation, saying that due to so many people also waiting for this op, expect it to be about 12 months away.

 

I came down with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer in the mean time, which kept me concentrating on that, rather than the eye problem, but after all the radiotherapy and chemo was getting really annoyed at the protracted eye problem, and was just about to book to have it done privately, when I got a call saying I was to have the cataract operated on in a weeks time....great, saved myself the better part of 4 grand.[The wait ended up being a bit over 9 months instead of 12]

 

I had the operation, all was fine and I could see clearly for the first time in 20 months, that lasted until about 6 hours after I got home, then my vision blurred, and I had a truly awful pain in my head, it felt like I'd had a spike thrusted up from under my chin, through my head and into the back of my eye....I was very lucky I had strong pain killers from the cancer treatments, I would of gone crazy with pain otherwise.

Back to the hospital, more tests, they found I had hemorrhaged behind the retina , that took another 2 months to sort itself out.

 

I thought FINALLY ! I can see properly again after 22 months, although I could do with a new pair of specs, as the vision wasn't the best in the other eye, as the scipt was pretty old by now.

I went to book a eye test at the optometrist to get a new pair of specs......and what happens, Sydneys Covid lockdown starts, no optometrist has been available since late June.

I can't seem to take a trick.

At least it hasn't cost me anything for either eye operations, well not monetary that is, I've sure spent a lot of time not being able to see properly though due to complications.