Cataracts and other visual concerns!

[ultrarunner]

I wish I could do that. Eye doctor told me I had too much astigmatism, and it would require pricey lenses that wouldn't be covered by my insurance. Had contacts from my late 20s thru my late 50s, but it got so both prescription and astigmatism were to the point where contacts couldn't do the job anymore. My glasses aren't quite as thick as yours, but I'd say the left one is a bit over 3/8".

Yeah, I had to do that when my wife had hers done too. Had to wait in the recovery area, they wouldn't let me go to the waiting room where at least there were comfortable chairs.

We call 30 minutes before discharge/pickup and it's almost like clockwork...

Many drop offs and often another person will do the pickup with no one waiting.

Doors open to public at 5:30 am and sometimes I have patients arriving shortly after I get in at 4 am... they come from distance and often difficult to gage travel time plus some can't sleep the night before so the come early... I let them in but others don't feel comfortable doing that.

We do have times when a second person goes with patient to pre-op

Most often it is to translate but it can be when patient has dementia or a minor...

Maybe 2 or 3 times a year a patient will have their pastor come and if space permits also in pre-op.

One thing not helpful is when doctor is running behind and demanding to see the Doctor saying or I'm going to leave

Had a patient so irate because case delayed I did go back to the surgeon to relay... Doc said I will say this once... Do you think it's helping anyone stating the obvious? A case takes the time a case takes... there is no such thing as rushing to catch up and if a patient waiting is unwilling to be delayed the patient should leave.

Patients with medical conditions affected by fasting must communicate this to scheduler so they are at the beginning of the morning instead of noon...

I did like the days when Doc would pop out to brief the family after surgery but doesn't happen here anymore for eyes.

Followup in Doc offices late same day or morning next day...

Biggest reason for cancellation morning of is eating and second is high blood pressure...

Bring ID and Insurance Card(s) and verify types of payment accepted if paying day of...

Ride services not allowed unless someone is riding with you.

We have had patients say the Uber driver is a relative… can’t do much about that…

 

[deserteagle71]

Eye doctor told me I had too much astigmatism, and it would require pricey lenses that wouldn't be covered by my insurance.

Oh, yes. Insurance would not cover the special lenses I needed (I had astigmatism also) so I had to pay out of pocket for them. It was expensive but to me it was well worth it. If I had to do it all over again I'd not change a thing.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Wife's getting one done on the 7th, which means I have to hang out waiting. I don't mind drop-off and pick up, but I could get some errands run.

My clinic required my driver to wait inside or near the front door in the parking lot.

 

[newbury]

If I had to do it all over again I'd not change a thing.

From reading your posts on this thread I expect you would have had the procedure sooner!

 

[ArlyA]

Wish I could get mine done!

 

[deserteagle71]

From reading your posts on this thread I expect you would have had the procedure sooner!

Wish I could get mine done!

I would have liked to have the procedures done sooner. But the doctor refused...said the cataracts weren't advanced enough!

 

[dfkrug]

I would have liked to have the procedures done sooner. But the doctor refused...said the cataracts weren't advanced enough!

Doctors quantify the severity of cataracts, on a scale of 0-4. I am at 1 in the left and 2.5 in the right. Getting the right done soon, and acuity is poor in that eye. The left is no problem yet (vision correctable to 20/20 with glasses).

Do you know what your severity was when you had the procedure?

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I went basic lens of +18.0 in the right eye for 20/20 at intermediate to far and +19.5 for 20/20 for normal reading. This was my natural vision for the prior 10 years so there was nothing new to adjust to thankful to and no glasses to keep up with.

This mono fit means I use the right eye to see my center dash computer monitor in the Tesla Model Y and to see clearly at a distance when driving.

 

[ArlyA]

I would have liked to have the procedures done sooner. But the doctor refused...said the cataracts weren't advanced enough!

That's exactly what my doc said.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I would have liked to have the procedures done sooner. But the doctor refused...said the cataracts weren't advanced enough!

I went through that with my doctor. She said insurance would not cover it. And, its not medically necessary.

I told her that I would pay for it out of pocket. And, I spend more than the cost of surgery on hunting every year. And, people have boob jobs every day, that are not medically necessary.

After all that, we decided to wait another year, when I get on medicare, to do the surgery. I'm scheduled to schedule the surgery next July.

 

[oldballs]

Since the OE topic included "other visual concersn".....let me say that this morning I'm off another treatment for AMD which I have had for several years now. The rest of this day is caput.....

Cheers.,
Mike

 

[tradosaurus]

My clinic required my driver to wait inside or near the front door in the parking lot.

My 59 yo wife just had both eyes done. She got the upgraded operation to see far in one eye and see close in the other. Don't know what that is called.

So far she is enjoying the new eye opening experience.

 

[newbury]

Since the OE topic included "other visual concersn".....let me say that this morning I'm off another treatment for AMD which I have had for several years now. The rest of this day is caput.....

Cheers.,
Mike

Will you share what med your getting and it's result?
My wife had what she thought were bad "floaters" which suddenly got worse. She has been on:
Avastin - only 2 treatments (limited results) before going to
Eyelea - 7 treatments, initially great progress, but then slower progress, switched to Eyelea HD last month. Too soon to tell progress.

In our case it is sometime difficult to tell progress. She had extremely bad vision from birth. She managed to make it through to high school by memorizing the snellen eye chart, sitting in the front of class to read the board. Then she finally got honest and they got her glasses for her ~20/180 vision.
I think she still tries to "squint" her way through things.

Sort of like me, I'll drop a beam on my foot - if the swelling is not black and blue and I can't walk then I'm good to go.

 

[JESSE1]

Just got back home after having my right eye done. Blurry but improving. Procedure involved lots of different drops. I think I was fully aware during the procedure, at least I knew they were working on my eye. I go back in the morning for the follow-up.

 

[ArlyA]

Just got back home after having my right eye done. Blurry but improving. Procedure involved lots of different drops. I think I was fully aware during the procedure, at least I knew they were working on my eye. I go back in the morning for the follow-up.

Let us know how it goes for you.

 

[deserteagle71]

Just got back home after having my right eye done. Blurry but improving. Procedure involved lots of different drops. I think I was fully aware during the procedure, at least I knew they were working on my eye. I go back in the morning for the follow-up.

Absolutely normal. It will quickly get better. Most annoying part for me was wearing that eyecup to protect the eye.

They wanted me to come back the next day for the followup. But for me that would have meant driving an extra 500 miles (I live a long ways from any sizeable town) or getting a motel room and staying in town. So they agreed to do the surgery early morning and then do the followup exam late that same afternoon. For both eyes.

 

[deserteagle71]

Since the OE topic included "other visual concersn".....let me say that this morning I'm off another treatment for AMD which I have had for several years now. The rest of this day is caput.....

Cheers.,
Mike

I'd also like to know what treatment they have for AMD these days. Doc tells me I have no trace of that so far...but my Dad was nearly totally blind because of AMD.

 

[ultrarunner]

Just got back home after having my right eye done. Blurry but improving. Procedure involved lots of different drops. I think I was fully aware during the procedure, at least I knew they were working on my eye. I go back in the morning for the follow-up.

Dialating and numbing drops?

 

[JESSE1]

Yes, along with antibiotic drops. Right eye is a little sore, numbing drops have worn off now. I will be using antibiotic drops three times a day for a week and prednisone drops three times a day for a month. Vision clouded up but is clearing now. I go back for follow-up in the morning. Week after next I have the left eye done.

 

[oldballs]

Well now I can see well enough to respond to this thread......"Seeing computer & typing is difficult for me"

I've been getting "shots" since 2017,,,,,at first in one eye....and finally in both eye.
As a newbie back then I didn't know what the Retina doc was injecting.....
As time went on I found that he was using Avastin but had switch to Eylea (sp?).
But after a while he switched back to Avastin as the eyes were "stable" ...every six weeks.....
Today, one eye is worse and he is switch me back to Eylea in 4 weeks.
The Avastin is billed at $200/shot.....but the Eylea is $2000 per shot....each eye. My medicare and other insurance pays for it along with all the testing.....

The goal is to keep me from going blind but not a cure. I can still drive in the day time on local roads. My central vision is gone which makes all kind of chores difficult....e.g. seeing and holding my grease gun on a zerk that I can hardly see or notice if the grease is goin in where it belongs. My Kubota MMM/lifts have about 15 zerks....some really hard to even reach...........
But at 91+ YO I shouldn't complain. I was 89 before they did the cataract surgery first time.
Cheers,
Mike