I too was concerned about managing with glasses post op. I had my cataracts done in 2023 - three months apart. It does take a few weeks for your eye to settle down completely vision wise which is why you see your optician about six weeks after each op to assess your prescription. I was very short sighted but because I have astigmatism knew I wouldn't get perfect vision but going down to only -0.5 is amazing. I had the new prescription after first op and a blank lens in unoperated eye. Once the second eye was done I then had blank lens replaced with another 0.5. For day to day life I don't wear my glasses but do need them for driving in order to be able to legally read a licence plate. I chose to have varifocals so I could have a reading lens as well.
Putting eye drops in post op is a bit tedious as you have to put them in for 4 weeks tapering from 4 times a day to once a day.
I have one long sighted eye, one short sighted eye, and an astigmatism. I get it that they cut a hole in your eye and suck out the cataracts, but I don't get it when it comes to improved eyesight. Do they have to do laser surgery as well?
No, they have different types of lenses depending on the prescription that you need, so the lens inside your eye does the correction, rather than a lens in front of your eye. To correct an astigmatism they have special toric lenses, but I think it might depend on how severe your astigmatism is whether they can resolve it completely, as mine hasn't been.
@andipandi I'm something of an outlier here as I'm only in my early 50s, but the cataract in my bad eye was very exacerbated by having to use vast amounts of steroid drops to deal with the repeated bouts of uveitis I've had since having covid. The one in my other eye is quite mild, and probably wouldn't have been spotted if I'd not been having to have regular follow-ups with the eye clinic.
Mine are also because of using steroid drops for Uveitis. The left eye is the main uveitis one so the cataract needs doing. The right eye hasn’t had uveitis for 20 years but has a ‘little’ cataract (I’m 60) They’re going to do both as I’m so shortsighted they say it would confuse my brain to leave one unchanged.
I’ve had a recent bout of uveitis so am now taking 1 drop a day but the constant said up it to 6 a day a week before the op.
Did you have any problems with uveitis after your ops?
As some of you know I have suffered with Uveitis (HLA B27 associated) since my 30s but touch wood have not had an attack for 9 years. It may be that after 40+ years it has burnt itself out - I was told by eye specialist that this often happens in old age. The attacks have always been unpredictable and always in just one eye at a time- 7 years between the first and second and 5 years between second and third attack. Then I went through a period of about 3 times a year - the worst time being when I had just finished a course of treatment on one eye and the next morning the other eye had uveitis. Never any rhyme and never had attacks during extremely stressful periods in life.
How do they know what kind of lens to stick in your eye, or are they all 20/20 vision ones somehow? What about your glasses? Do people simply chuck them as they’re not needed any more? Actually I hope not, as I have such an ugly face glasses act as a distraction from my visage.
Just for the sake of clarity (pun intended) 20/20 is not perfect vision. Rather it is average vision. So, if you have 20/20 vision, when you stand 20 feet from something you see what the average person sees from 20 feet. Some people have better vision, say 20/15. In other words, they can see at 20 feet what the average person would only see from 15 feet away. (Not sure about us but Europe uses 6/6. Has the same meaning but from 6 meters.)
How do they know what kind of lens to stick in your eye, or are they all 20/20 vision ones somehow? What about your glasses? Do people simply chuck them as they’re not needed any more? Actually I hope not, as I have such an ugly face glasses act as a distraction from my visage.
Basically the various scans they do include measurements to work out what type of lens you need, as well as the standard eye test thing IIRC. As cherryorchard says it takes a while for your eyesight to settle down afterwards, and you may still need glasses, especially if you have astigmatism. But even if you don't you could always get plain lenses if you feel more comfortable wearing specs - if you want an excuse to wear them if you don't need vision correction, you could always get photochromic lenses to counteract bright sunshine and glare.
@arsenetatters I haven't had another flare up, but I'm still on a maintenance regime with the drops of once every other day at the moment, so I don't think the op's made any difference.
Got my first appointment at Moorfields next Wednesday. I feel tense and apprehensive about it.
I would relax Seth,having my second one done Monday. NHS patient at the Benenden. Of course there is always the issue of infection, but if you take the drops it is unlikely. Wait and see the full effect in a few days, wish I had done it previously.
Just wondering if any of you know roughly how long you have to wait between the pre op and op for cataracts in the NHS? I can’t find anything online. I just hope it’s not long…
Just wondering if any of you know roughly how long you have to wait between the pre op and op for cataracts in the NHS? I can’t find anything online. I just hope it’s not long…
I had the NHS assessment and it was about 4 weeks before they did the first eye (right). Then the next about 8 weeks later (actually this Sunday 19th). Second eye they don't need to do any further assessment and they sent me drops to self adminster before the surgery meaning (in theory) you are straight in for the surgery. First eye they administer the drops and you have to wait.
Interesting morning at Moorfields. The checks and examinations were so futuristic I thougt I was in Doctor Who not Doctor Eye. Anyway. Three different opticians over about seven or eight years have said I need my cataracts done. Two wanted to refer me, and I followed the advice of my latest optician, hence Moorfields. The conclusion (forgive my clumsy explanation) was that if patients have sight related to lines (?) that if you have one or two lines you don’t need the surgery. The doctor said to me that with glasses I am only a one and my sight is OK. She mentioned that loads of opticians refer, many unnecessarily. They will keep my data if things deteriorate but I would need a GP or opticians referral to come back. So there you have it, further information based only on my personal experience.
Interesting morning at Moorfields. The checks and examinations were so futuristic I thougt I was in Doctor Who not Doctor Eye. Anyway. Three different opticians over about seven or eight years have said I need my cataracts done. Two wanted to refer me, and I followed the advice of my latest optician, hence Moorfields. The conclusion (forgive my clumsy explanation) was that if patients have sight related to lines (?) that if you have one or two lines you don’t need the surgery. The doctor said to me that with glasses I am only a one and my sight is OK. She mentioned that loads of opticians refer, many unnecessarily. They will keep my data if things deteriorate but I would need a GP or opticians referral to come back. So there you have it, further information based only on my personal experience.
My brother has a stent and has to take anti rejection medicine.
I had corneal grafts in both eyes 8 years ago and I'm still on anti-rejection eye drops. I'm having to go in for "fine needle diathermy" in a couple of months as blood vessels are starting to creep across my eyes. Consultant is still concerned that my eyes may reject the grafts even after all this time.
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Putting eye drops in post op is a bit tedious as you have to put them in for 4 weeks tapering from 4 times a day to once a day.
All the best.
I can’t find anything online. I just hope it’s not long…
The checks and examinations were so futuristic I thougt I was in Doctor Who not Doctor Eye.
Anyway.
Three different opticians over about seven or eight years have said I need my cataracts done. Two wanted to refer me, and I followed the advice of my latest optician, hence Moorfields.
The conclusion (forgive my clumsy explanation) was that if patients have sight related to lines (?) that if you have one or two lines you don’t need the surgery. The doctor said to me that with glasses I am only a one and my sight is OK. She mentioned that loads of opticians refer, many unnecessarily.
They will keep my data if things deteriorate but I would need a GP or opticians referral to come back.
So there you have it, further information based only on my personal experience.
Grrrrr.