A dear friend evidently is one of the ‘unlucky’ ones? She is still having issues, nearly 2 months post-op. Her vision is also still ‘changing’. The facility says it just takes longer for some. I guess if it continues to change in a positive direction, that’s good. However, that also makes it difficult to order glasses as the prescription continues to change.
Facility also said (after surgery) that those with dry eye issues often take much longer post-op. Anyone else aware of this?
H is over a year post cataract surgery. The good news is his distance vision is so much better that he no longer needs glasses or contacts at all for it. The bad news is he now has double vision, especially close up. He can wear reading glasses but that doesn’t eliminate the double vision. He is going to try hard lenses to see if that keeps enough moisture close to his eyes to eliminate the double vision.
I have double vision. You probably already know there are glasses (prism) that correct for double vision. (But posting on the off chance you don’t!)
“Double vision” is a nebulous term. Is it monocular or binocular? In other words, is it due to the way the eyes coordinate or the optics in one or both eyes individually? If he closes the right and it disappears, then the left and it disappears, it is an alignment issue driven by muscle injury or nerve signal disruption. If it is still present with either eye closed, it’s an optics issue, with many potential causes (uncorrected refractive error, posterior capsular opacity, epiretinal membrane, residual inflammation and dry eye).
Yes, he has very dry eyes and it’s hoped the hard contact lenses will retain enough fluid around the eyes to help reduce that.
Just thought I would weigh back in since I had my second eye done yesterday - again the procedure was relatively easy, in & out of the facility in less than two hours. Again, without sedation (or tylenol). This time, for some reason I could see shadowy figures & them coming at my eye for the first couple minutes - very blurry, not particularly scary, and as soon as they were really fooling with the lens again all I saw was the bright light. Felt nothing again except a bit of cool liquid - whatever they numb the eye with works great. At one point the surgical nurse (a much older gentleman) was chatting up the doc and I wanted to say “stop talking, he’s got a scalpel on my eye!” but I didn’t 
. This time I had almost no discomfort afterward which was very nice! Although it only lasted a day I wasn’t a fan last time, so it was nice to have no pain/discomfort this time. No idea why - maybe the cataract was smaller? Or just luck of the draw. Today my eye is fine, less blur than with the first eye as well. I’m actually having trouble remembering not to bend over, etc., since there is no sensation, whereas last time I had no trouble remembering. Eye pressure was again normal this morning 24 hours out (just barely, but apparently that’s fine, and last time it went down significantly by my 5-day appointment). I could read itty bitty little type on the card (this eye is corrected for near vision) and was doing ok even on distance (I think that eye will be about the same on distance as before surgery & I think I was down to below -2 on it already. The right eye is way overcorrected now as I’m seeing about 20/50 or better with it without glasses at this point, but my glasses are still fine until the eyes settle). The world is very bright! Fortunately my house is pretty dark so not noticing the dirt 
. Anyway, so far 1 month out with eye 1 and one day out with eye 2 I’m a big fan and encourage anyone who is ready to go for it! (But I am glad it’s over!).
Thanks for the feedback. Glad it is going well.
Just coming back with a final warning to add to my otherwise super positive cataract surgery reviews.
I’ve been feeling super anxious lately. I’m an anxious person anyway, and had some stuff going on that was making me anxious, but this did seem above and beyond normal and was affecting my sleep in a major way and for the first time in my life I was seriously thinking I might need medication or therapy because this was no way to live. I mean I was functioning fine but very anxious especially in the middle of the night. I wasn’t sure when it started since as I said a certain low level of anxiety is pretty normal for me. Then, last night, as I put the prednisolone (prednisone) drops in my eyes it suddenly hit me. And, consulting Google, yes, anxiety is a known side effect of these drops for some people! And since my eyes were done a month apart (instead of two weeks) it means almost two months of drops with the anxiety peaking during the five days of overlap on drops! There are ways to minimize the predisolone getting in your system - pressing on the tear duct and closing your eye for a minute or two after administration, so that’s the plan for the next few weeks. Even just realizing that was the issue last night helped and I slept pretty well without a long anxious waking in the middle of the night. Anyway I’d still do it again in a heartbeat, but wish someone had warned me and told me the tricks for keeping it in your eye rather than letting it drain into the rest of your system! Yikes.
I have my first visit with a Dr I’ve had recommended to me. I think I’m close to being ready in at least one of my eyes. They said I should be prepared to be dilated. I don’t think I’ve ever had that done. Should I have my husband with me to drive home? I’m super nervous.
Is this for just an eye exam or for your actual cataract surgery? If for a regular eye exam, just make sure you bring sunglasses with you. You can drive yourself.
If for your cataract surgery…where I am, the eye surgery center requires that you have someone drive you home. You need to list that person and phone number when you check in. They actually want someone in the waiting room for the duration. One time, friends drove me to my appointment and waited in the waiting room until my husband arrived to drive me home.
Your husband (or someone) will also need to drive you to your follow up appointment the day after your cataract surgery.
Agree you can drive yourself home after an exam after dilation though you may find it uncomfortable if you’ve never had it done before. Sunglasses are a good idea though you may or may not need them. After surgery they will require someone to drive you home - you’re likely to have had sedation plus that eye will be blurry until at least the next day. I was told I could drive myself to the appointment the following morning which I did after my first eye. Honestly it would have been better to have someone drive me, though it was also fine to drive myself. After my second eye - when D22 was available to drive me - I was ironically completely fine to drive myself. I think it just depends - I had someone lined up after my first eye but decided I was ok to drive myself. I would not have been able to drive safely the day of surgery though, even though I didn’t have sedation.
ETA: I have driven myself many times after dilation though including when they measured the eye in preparation for surgery.
Oh and at my surgery center they call your person 20 minutes before you’re discharged. They don’t care if they’re in the waiting room while you’re having surgery. So it sounds like it differs from place to place.
Just the exam. He definitely will drive me if I end up having surgery. I wear prescription glasses that are darken in the sun but not as dark as regular sunglasses.
Most eye doc offices have those sunglasses things that you slip on with your regular glasses. So…I would suggest you bring your regular glasses, and get the thingy as well. You might not need both. But if it’s a sunny day, when your eyes have been dilated it can seem very bright.
I get my eyes dilated at least once a year. Sometimes twice a year. Depends what the doctor wants to see! I always bring my sunglasses (they are RX ones).
Yes, our eye docs generally dilate our eyes once it 2x/year as well. Sometimes I’m so sensitive to light I need the dark glasses slip on to wear with my rx dark glasses. Sometimes it’s not as bad.
The last time I had my eyes dialated, I did not bring hubby/driver. But I opted to stop at a nearby coffee/bagel place afterward to give eyes time to adjust.
My super cautiousness was because I’m the rare bird (with very low blood pressure) who has passed out after dilation drops. It was years ago, while I was standing at the eye doctor’s payment desk. The nice ladies behind the desk helped get me and the car home.
I also found out the hard way that prednisone makes me anxious. I am not an anxious person, but I had a full blown panic attack while on prednisone for an allergic reaction to hair dye. It’s good to know that there are hacks to help you take your drops.
I am usually fine with dilated eyes. Earlier this year I left my eye doctor dilated on a very sunny winter day with lots of snow on the ground and boy did I feel blinded (even with my tinted transitions).
I’m not able to drive for at least an hour after dilation. The alternative is that I pay $30? For a picture of my eyes. It’s as effective as dilation.
I always do the $30 for optimap, which avoids dialiation and I think is good for keeping history of my eyes (I take eyedrops for pre-glaucoma, and son had a concern from his optimap happily all ok now). But once in a while eye doctor does dialtion inspections.