We so appreciate everyone's support. Bobby .. yep .. so many can't look past themselves and realize there is always someone who has things much worse. Plus .. we are humans and we can get through anything and learn to adjust our lives so we can have a decent existence if the pity party stops. Of course their is a grieving period and great sadness but in the end nothing will improve if you don't get priorities in order and carry on. In the end it's all up to you to do the best you can and adjust. Again .. thanks everyone .. it's nice to be among such a great group of people
@Terry Coywin Secondary cataracts are common and easily removed with a laser that is painless and quick. I had both my secondary cataracts removed and now just as clear and bright as after original surgery. I also had a laser for glaucoma. It seems to be successful.
I have glaucoma in the left eye and was prescribed latanoprost eye drops. I didn't know there was laser procedure for it. Latanoprost is effective.
Yep, I have used Latanoprost for years and it worked great but caused me sinus problems. It is inexpensive enough that if it is working and causing no problems, then no reason for the laser.
Hi, I am a little late, looking at the date of your post. My husband was diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes. He said he had no problem going to get them taken care of. But the thought of them bothers me. So I started researching to find the best Doctor possible. Most experience. Least problems....Bless the internet. Then I looked into nutrition which is mentioned in this thread. Vitamin C is important in postponing cataracts. I was pleased to see pumpkin seeds and aloe vera juice here. I am a firm believer in doing my own thing when it comes to health. But, as far as the surgery goes, When I took my DH, there was a blizzard which added to MY stress. We got to the clinic and there were many people there for the morning surgery. We were told to get there early. I guess everyone else was too. (in case there was a blizzard?) They lined several patients up on gurneys--it was like a car wash! About ten minutes for a wash and wax. LOL Wheel one in, 10 minutes later put in 'post op', (just an area surrounded by curtains). Wheel next patient in, put in post op.... About 1/2 hour in post op. (just Local anesthesia.) We received instructions on what to do before and after surgery and they were important to follow. Surgeon does one eye at a time so you have to go back and do it again. But everything turned out great.
I posted elsewhere that I saw my eye doctor yesterday. I have had the beginning of cataracts for a few years, but this time there is a spot dead center of my eyes (it's been giving me slight glare issues.) She said that this can sometimes be caused by taking steroids (I have not been.) So I guess this will progress at whatever rate this progresses, since the ones in the middle of the eye seem to have a broad range of progression rates. Everything else is OK (I pay out-of-pocket for the extra tests and the pics.) From what I understand, everyone gets cataracts if they live long enough. And of all the eye conditions to have, cataracts seems to be the most easily remediated. I'll skim through the rest of this thread to see what folks take to defer the progression.
The last time I had an eye exam, he mentioned some signs of cataracts, but nothing more than usual for someone my age. That was a couple of years ago, and I fear that may have progressed. I am experiencing a few floaters in the periphery, and while my distance eyesight doesn't seem to have changed much, I am having some trouble reading. I am at the point where I should probably increase the resolution on the computer, but I am putting that off as long as possible. I sometimes have to get up and move closer to the television if I want to read text on the screen (and I just got a larger television a few months ago), but I don't have any trouble with the Kindle at the default print size. Driving vision doesn't seem to have changed. I have an appointment with the eye doctor on the 27th. We used to have an eye doctor in Millinocket, but he retired, so I've got to drive to Bangor. I think there's still one in Lincoln, about 25 miles away, but the only time that I tried to make an appointment there, the appointment date was so far away that I wasn't sure I'd still be alive then (I strongly suspect that he was Canadian), so I have stuck with the one in Bangor.
Yep. I, too, have been told my cataracts are worsening. I don't know if they are just drumming up business or if it is true. I do notice I need more light to read now. VA will cover it I think, and the ophthalmologist is nearby. If the VA will cover it though him, I may agree to it. Still on the fence a bit, though, when it comes to my eyes.
I don't think that floaters are anything to worry about, @Ken Anderson. My ophthalmologist said "I can see floaters, I don't know if you do" during the exam. I get them off & on. And as I said, my vision declines a bit each year, but the change is gradual enough to warrant new glasses every other year. Even then, the bi-annual need is driven by the fact that the vision in my eyes is moving in opposite directions, completely throwing off the ability to find a sweet spot in the glasses. The cataracts mostly affect glare. I have a detached vitreous sac in at least one eye (maybe both) that contributes to floaters. They take YEARS to settle to the bottom of the eye. This was first diagnosed maybe 10 years ago, and is a condition that permits them to bill Medicare for my annual exam. I trust this ophthalmologist. She moved from being 8 miles away to being 25 miles away, and I make the drive once a year to stay with her. She tells me that I may not live long enough for the cataracts to be an issue, except for this new problem of them starting in the middle, so I know she's not gonna push me to a procedure.
I was at the Nephrologist today for a routine follow-up, and had to verify my meds & supplements in the UVA Health System computers. There was an entry for prednisone. I got the guy to look up exactly when I took that, and then I remembered. I had a contrast dye for my diverticulitis last December, and because I had a mild iodine contrast reaction in 1990, I take steroids before such procedures (I wish I had never mentioned that mild allergy.) So maybe it's possible that those steroids caused (or contributed to) the center-of-eye cataracts, and they are not growing organically.
Yeh, I'm grasping at straws. It was (3) 50mg tablets taken the day before/morning of the procedure. I've not been on a full course of steroids since I got leukoplakia on my vocal cords in 2011.
I want to make some comments here but just thinking the WORLD has got to have MANY people with cataracts that do have have t he modern stuff to take care of them.. What do all these people do????? We are a country that rushes to FIX everything, but many can't afford to FIX everything..... I'm having an issue NOW and the fuzzy issue started about 6 months ago at about 85 but have such a distrust for docs and have a horrible issue gettintg around to appts....