Upcoming cataract surgery - I'm scared...

Hey all,
I am scheduled to have cataract surgery on both eyes (one at a time though) later this month, and I'm a lot more scared than I though I'd be back when the appointments were made...
The idea of lasers cutting my eyeballs open and the natural lenses getting replaced with artificial ones is really kind of freaking me out!

Anyway, I figured there must be people here at ATS who have either had the procedure or have loved ones who've had it done.

So, if any of you have any words of encouragement/comfort/etc...they'd be really appreciated!!
Thanks so much

a reply to: lostgirl

Lol the lasers will just be burning the cataract off. Laser surgery is awesome. I wouldn't be worried.

a reply to: lostgirl

Never had any eye surgery done, but don't be scared I think eye surgery has come leaps and bounds even in the last 10 years.

My friend had LASIK and he was back and seeing awesome in less than 2 days.

a reply to: lostgirl

Hell, my mom and my aunt both had it done in their late 70s and were glad they did. Mom's eyes were sensitive at first but in about a week she was fine, and my aunt had no issues at all FWIW.

they were both nervous too at first.

a reply to: lostgirl

had cataract surgery last may, easiest surgery i've ever had.

a reply to: lostgirl

Relax it's real easy. Normal improved sight starts coming back in a few hours and gets better quickly !! 😎

The pain-in-the-ass part is all the eyedrops for a few weeks, and even that's easy if you make a schedule if the Dr doesn't give you a printed sch form. 😎 The eyedrops are very important so keep up with those. Good Luck !😎

please relax i have had both of my eyes done and even thou i was terrified the operation was painless . a nurse sat at my side the whole time holding my hand and told me to squeeze her hand if i felt any pain , i did not
i can now drive without glasses but i still need glasses the read fine print .

Piece of cake. SO and I both had both eyes done. They knocked me out, but hers were done without that in a different sort of procedure. After you have the first one done, be sure and stare at something white with both eyes independently. You will be amazed at how yellow "white" is with the eye that still has a cataract.

originally posted by: lostgirl
Hey all,
I am scheduled to have cataract surgery on both eyes (one at a time though) later this month, and I'm a lot more scared than I though I'd be back when the appointments were made...
The idea of lasers cutting my eyeballs open and the natural lenses getting replaced with artificial ones is really kind of freaking me out!

Anyway, I figured there must be people here at ATS who have either had the procedure or have loved ones who've had it done.

So, if any of you have any words of encouragement/comfort/etc...they'd be really appreciated!!
Thanks so much

I just had it done on one eye in June and the other one is coming up in a few weeks. It doesn’t hurt and the improvement is instantaneous the next day when they take the bandages off. It’s pretty much guaranteed to not be worse than your vision with the cataracts now, or they wouldn’t be allowed to recommend the procedure. How much improvement you get is determined by the condition of your eye before the surgery. In my case, I had some uncorrectable astigmatism left over from LASIK surgery 20 years ago, so distant vision in that eye will probably end up being good enough to drive without glasses, but a contact lens should bring it back to 20-20.

I opted for the more expensive lens, with 3 focal zones, and it has brought my closeup vision back to the way it was when I was 20 years old.

Afterwards, you will wonder why you waited so long.

NO NEED TO WORRY!

You will be filling out paperwork longer than you will be in surgery. Then, after a day or two, you should be seeing better than you have in years!

Cataract removal is the number one performed surgery in the US and is quick, painless, and extremely beneficial.

SOURCE: I work in the eye care industry

I do have one question for you though. Did you choose SV (Single vision - Distance only correction), MF (Multi-focal - near and far correction), or Mono Vision (One eye corrected for distance, one eye for near)?

Wife had both her eyes done a couple years ago, in an out in no time. No complications, easy peasy.

They even have lenses now that can correct both far and near vision so reading glasses are no longer required, it was a pretty big upcharge though.

a reply to: schuyler

YES! This is due to the protein buildup that causes cataracts. It happens so gradually that you don't really notice. Once you get them out, you really notice the difference. It is almost like looking at a piece of paper that has been in a heavy smokers home vs a brand new clean sheet.

It was the easiest medical procedure I've ever had. I, too was terrified- for nothing!

They put some drops in my eye and had me wait for about 15 minutes, then took me back to a room and had me look to the side. I was taken back to the waiting area for about 15 minutes, then to surgery where they put a drape over my non-surgery eye. I couldn't see out of the surgery eye, and the only thing I noticed was the noise of some kind of machine, and a sensation of cold water or cold air around my eye.

More time in the waiting room, then a quick exam and I was sent home.

I didn't feel a thing when taken to the room and told to look to the side- they deadened my eye are. I'm sure a needle must have been involved, but I didn't see or feel one. lol

I'd take CS over a dental cleaning any day of the week!

a reply to: lostgirl

It's basically a factory procedure with stoned people on gurneys lined up in the hall waiting for the operation.

At least that was my experience. Not quite as fun as a colonoscopy; But nothing is....

You will be glad you had cataract surgery with your new clear 20-20 vision.

a reply to: lostgirl
My wife had cataract surgery just about 6 months ago .

They use a very low level laser (I forgot the color scheme) and that thing is targeted to the "T".

I myself went under a (I think green) high power experimental laser for a very different issue .
No fuss , no muss .

a reply to: lostgirl
My brother had it done about a month ago,felt every bit of it. He was really scared to do the other eye not sure if he went through with it.Have not talked to him since.He even told them during the procedure but they continued on. They started trying to talk in code if you will by spelling words instead of outright saying it. He told them I can feel everything and I can spell also.He finally told them to just get on with it so he could get out of there.

He had open heart surgery couple of months prior and they consulted with his heart doctor who postponed it at an earlier time but we believe possibly he wasn't given a normal dose of whatever they give a normal individual because of the 5 bypasses he had recently had done.So anyway you should be fine.I think his case was very rare.

I had lasik at a second rate shop before it was perfected.
They suction cupped a thing to my eyes one at a time and used what I can only describe as a mandalin to slice them open, before shooting them with lasers

I could smell my eyeballs burning.

But I've had better than 20/20 vision for the last seven years, so it was worth it.

Relax, you'll be fine.

a reply to: lostgirl

There going to vaccinate you while your out. Hope that helps calm those nerves 😈

Jk

a reply to: lostgirl

You absolutely have nothing to worry about! I had mine done 7 years ago when I was 65. They will do one eye at a time, and I had mine done a month apart. They vaporized my lenses with a laser, I think because I was out when it happened and then the Doctor made a quarter inch incision on my cornea and inserted the new lenses. easy peasy...

I had been wearing glasses for myopia since the first grade cause I was blind as a bat. When I had my cataracts removed, I was a -10 myopic. The worst that happened after the surgery was I was constantly reaching to adjust my glasses which were no longer there. I do have to wear readers now for up close things. They are a lot cheaper than what I had to originally purchase to see with. Looking back, I wish the surgery could have been done when I was in the first grade. Its like a new freedom not having to wear thick lensed glasses anymore.

Go for it! You will be amazed at the difference...

My dad had one of his done, and he cannot wait to get the other one done. He had gotten to where he was seeing double, and it was such a relief for him!

It was easy, peasy, lemon squeezy!