Cataract operations

[Paulina18]

I’m having 2 cataract operations in January .
Feeling very scared .
Anyone had or having Sam soon or suffering with cataracts ?

Had my eye test last week and for the first time in 50 years do not need glasses. Fantastic outcome and I am delighted.

Excellent result

Know the feeling even though I’ve only had glasses for 6 years but seeming like I won’t need them constantly , maybe for tiny print only
I’m actually doing this message with no glasses and one eye just done
Hope it’s readable 🤣👍🥰

@sueelleker

Has anyone who's shortsighted had them done? I have severe myopia (as in can't see the big letter A without my glasses) and am on the waiting list. Did it affect your vision with glasses, and did you have to get your prescription changed afterwards?

I can see perfectly without my glasses. I have to put them on for reading.

Congratulations Op! My parents have both had both eyes done. Completely transformational.

My Dad who has always needed glasses and had terrible vision now doesn’t wear them all the time.

I know I will need it doing soon. V glad it went well.

Have you gone private? Is that how you are getting them both done so close together in time?

Yes I’m going private, I was offered the chance to have them done at the same time but was a bit anxious at the time so I’m having them done a couple of weeks apart .
Next one on 26th

Did anyone have any side effects after their first cataract operation .
Nauseous feeling
Giddy
Headache/ heady
I felt fine yesterday but felt the above today .

Congratulations to your parents also ❤️👀💕👀

Thanks @Paulina18 I've just received my letter today and am also going private. I'm going to ask if they can both be done at the same time. I'm feeling brave

I wish I was feeling braver at the time , it’s saves a lot of palatha.
As least mine is close together .

Just an heads up :
My op was on Friday and by Sunday lunch time I felt a little unwell , nauseous, giddy and heady .
I’m ok if I take it very easy but whenI start doing things and moving about to much it gets worse .

My advise is to really rest , relax , keep up with all eye drops required throughout the day fir quite a few weeks , eat and drink healthy and be really selfish and focus on yourself only .

A friend felt similar after her operations .

You might not have all my symptoms but still focus on you .

You might need to wear sunglasses as things seem very bright .
Good luck .
Think positive , you’ll be a little nervous / anxious on the day but I actually found it an amazing experience , like a light show and over quite quickly .

The result really can be wow 😋
🥰💕🌹💕

Had both of mine done about 3 years ago in two separate operations.Done under local never felt a thing.
What scared me was the sight of an operating theatre as I almost died in one having my first baby in 1969. So I got a nurse to hold my hand throughout the coward that I am.
Then I could see colours again

Well done you for going through it .
It is scary while waiting but it’s such a quick , pain free procedure with usually good results

Morning all. I’ve been lurking on the thread for a while and thought I’d say hi as I’m going for my first cataract op today 😬

I have congenital blue dot cataracts so don’t have the cloudiness that the more usual type produce. My main problem is sensitivity to light. Driving at night has become a real problem as headlights ‘spread’ when they hit my lenses and dazzle me so decided it was time to get them done.

I’m a bit nervous about the procedure itself but actually more nervous about what I’ll be able to do afterwards and how quickly as I live alone and work full time. I’ve been told that I will still need glasses for reading but should be ok for driving soon afterwards. As I am an NHS patient there will likely be a wait of several months until the second one is done so not sure how I’ll cope in the meantime without glasses for reading as I’m useless without them. I have already bought some of the off the counter magnifying glasses so hope they will help 🤓

Wish me luck!

Hope all goes well fir you 🥰

Mine were same as yours , more light issues poised to cloudy lens .

After one eye I could cope fine without glasses and use my old prescription , for now , to read tiny print .

My friends coped well on their own , in-fact I Would have found it easier being on my own to be honest .

Well I survived!

The procedure was so straightforward, uncomfortable in parts rather than painful, but very quick (under half an hour in theatre).

This morning it felt a bit bruised and was very sticky but once I got that sorted and started getting some drops in it cleared very quickly and already the difference in my vision is incredible. I know everyone tells you how bright everything is afterwards, and it is, but I wasn’t prepared for how vibrant all the colours look. Standing outside in the garden it’s like someone’s cleaned all the windows on the world and the sky is so blue! Obviously, because I still have my ‘old’ to compare it with, I can see the difference when I close my ‘new’ eye. Through my old eye it’s as if everything has a film of grey over it.

I don’t actually remember my vision ever being as clear as it is through the new eye which is perhaps because of the type of cataracts I have – I’ve had them since birth and they’ve just gradually got worse as I’ve aged.

Truly amazing and I’m looking forward to getting the other one done now that I know what to expect.

The only downside is that I no longer have my inbuilt soft-focus so looking in the mirror is a bit of a shocker 🙈

Good luck @Paulina18 with your second one and to anyone else who is having theirs done soon. Just ask if you’ve got any questions and I’ll be happy to answer them if I can.

Congratulations to a new world of sight .

It is an amazing thing .

Take it easy for a week or so 🌹

🥰😋💕🌹💕

It really is easy. You don't feel a thing. My first eye was perfect from day one. The second eye took six weeks before sight matched the first. It's amazing to have great sight now. I do wear reading glasses, but can manage without. I was wearing glasses every day and all day.

How are you feeling now @Paulina18? My op was Wednesday and yesterday was my first full day at work so spent the day looking at a screen, moving around, speaking to people, reading…basically eight hours of my new eye having to focus (with the aid of my old specs, I’d be unable to read or see the screen without them) and refocus for different tasks. By the time I got home I was feeling pretty much as you described on Tuesday which I’m putting down to eye strain but I don’t think there’s much can be done about that until i’ve had my second op and am able to get new prescription glasses.

Another issue is driving at night. Before the op I found it very difficult due to headlights seeming to ‘spread’ and dazzling me. That has now gone but instead all the lights have a diagonal beam emitting from either side (I’ll try and post a photo to illustrate what I mean) which would be problematic if that remains. Obviously I realise that it is very early days so hoping that will settle and go in time.

I’ve got my follow-up appointment next Thursday so I’ll speak to my consultant then of course but would be interested to hear how my experience compares with others who have been through it.

Like this…

Hi

I’m feeling a bit better , nauseous really easing and heady feeling not as bad .

At times things seem very bright so so west my sunglasses which makes things more comfortable .
My sight was very noticeable fir the better very soon after op and now seems very clear .
I’ve not used daily glasses since op and use old prescription reading glasses for small print .

Check up Monday , PCR test week tomorrow and second op 26th , still feeling a little nervy even though I’ve had one and felt it was pain free .
It’s an amazing thing that can give you back sight prior to glasses .
I had a few days where I felt like something was in my eye but it passes after few hours and normal .
Just need to take your mind off it .

If all goes well I can’t imagine how things will be with 2 working eyes 🤔👀

I suffered night issues like you but not been out to see if that has changed .
I’ll do that after 2 eyes are complete , although I’ll have some idea after
My evening visit to hospital on Monday as a passenger.

Check up with surgeon this evening , he is very pleased on how well my eye is healing and how quickly after the operation I could read small print on tv and had great clarity 😋

Covid test Sunday and next operation Wednesday 26th at 2PM all being well 🤞👀

That’s good, glad it went well. How did you find the lights on the way to and from your appointment?

I think my eye is doing ok but I had a bit of a setback when a stye (I think) developed on my top eyelid yesterday. Every time I blinked it was rubbing on my eyeball which was very sore but I was more worried that it would interfere with the healing process. By the time I got up this morning it was so sore I thought I was going to have to call the hospital for advice but I then went in the shower, stood under the warm running water for a while (with eye closed) and it seems to have popped of its own accord. It feels much better now so hopefully that will be the end of it. I’m seeing the consultant on Thursday so he can check it over then anyway.

Other than that I’m still finding work tiring but nothing I can’t cope with until I get my second op. Wish I was having mine in a couple of weeks like you but I’m an NHS patient so have to wait my turn 😊

Glad your issue is sorted , can imagine how sure and concerning that was for you .

I found the lights strange on the way back after they gave me drops everything was like a fairground in the car on the way home .

I still get a bit tired but not as bad as first week .
I’m expecting to feel the same after next one .

Just counting down the days now and hoping fir a straight forward no worries procedure 🤞

Were all your cataracts well advanced ?

I was just told, a few days ago, that I have two small cataracts.

I would love to have them removed so I can reclaim my eyesight without the need for glasses, but the Opthalmologist was totally against it, wagging her finger at me saying 'no, no, no' (she is Italian ), I have to go back in 6 months.

I am finding night driving more and more difficult, and it's especially bad when its' dark and raining.

I think I would want to be completely knocked out for it.

Mine were like yours when I went for consultation .
In both eyes , light issues at night like you .

I had to go private but he was fine to do the surgery and said people are getting them done now before they get to bad .
Obviously can only go private unless you fit NHS criteria.

Under local antiseptic you feel no pain and my first experience was like a light show .
It only took about 20/25 mins .

I noticed the difference the same evening and havant used my daily glasses since operation and the other eye is not been operated on till next Wednesday.