I went to see an ophthalmologist (ophtalmologiste in French, if you can see the difference) over in Montrichard yesterday. I had made the appointment months ago. He's the same doctor that I saw in Blois about 18 months ago, when he told me I had the beginnings of a cataract in my right eye.
Yesterday he examined me and announced that I also have a growing cataract in my left eye. He said the vision in my right eye was 10/10 in 2022 but now it is 7/10. That's not good. In my (weak) left eye, my vision was 7/10 in 2002 but now it's only 5/10.
I got caught up in reading about cataract surgery this morning and time got away from me, so I didn't write a "real" blog post.
On several web sites I see that the basic cataract operation (including the surgery, the anesthesia, and the cost of the implant that will be inserted into my eyeballs) costs a little less than $400 US and is 100% reimbursed by the national health service. If you go to a doctor who charges more than the health service's recommended fee, your private top-up plan might pay the extra.
Anyway, I told the eye doctor that I hadn't really noticed any change in my eyesight, but he said that was because the cataracts grow very gradually, so you just get used to it and don't know it's happening.
I'm wondering if I'll still need glasses and corrective lenses after the operations are done. My next appointment is on March 21 in Blois. If you have had the surgery, I would appreciate knowing how it worked and how it went. My mother had it when she was about the age I am now. A friend in California who was born 2 days after me back in 1949 recently had the operation on both eyes and said the result was fantastic.
My first eye was done in my 40's - they didn't know why it happened so early. At that point they put you out and I went to the hospital the night before. That eye was set for distance I think. It was wonderful to see again as I kept thinking my contacts were dirty. The other eye was done several years later having to wait for insurance coverage. This time I went in in the morning and was released as soon as I woke up. This eye was set for close up. I'm now 80 and I don't wear glasses although at night things are sharper if I do. My husband had the same surgeries about 10 years ago and the doctor insisted you couldn't have two different corrections - he had to sign a release to do the two different corrections. Both of us see just fine. And now the procedure is less problem than having a root canal done! Don't worry about a thing - it is easy-peasy.
ReplyDeleteThank you, sillygirl.
DeleteMama was close to 80 when hers were done. I remember how nervous she was for the first one but about ran me over to get the second one fixed. Usually one is fixed at a time to make sure the first one heals good . You will see a lot better and maybe without glasses. Here you can have one eye for distance and one eye for reading or even a bifocal
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joanna. I remember MA telling me that after the cataract operations she felt that her eyes were like what she rembered when she was 17 years old.
DeleteI had one eye done at the beginning of covid and the other about this time last year. I'm not sure why I waited. The surgery is easy. I have floaters in my right eye which are something I'm getting used to. I've worn glasses for a long time so I didn't try for the two different lens like silly girl. Maybe I should have. I had a clear patch so I could see well. The doctor even let me drive myself to my post op exam which is the morning after the surgery. My doctor's father and grandfather were Ophthalmologists and he was my son's age. The surgery has really gotten better with time.
ReplyDeleteFloaters may be a sign of retinal or vitreous detachment. The advice I had was to get these checked out ASAP as the repair becomes harder the more detachment goes on. I had a weird new floaters in my eyes that I ignored, and it was only because I checked out some unexpected blurriness with an optometrist a few days later that I got an emergency referral to the eye hospital.
DeleteThanks, Mike. I did go to my doctor about the floaters, but he said they would go away. They haven't yet.
DeleteI’ve had cataracts removed from both eyes. Easy peasy. For implants I had three options: 1) needing glasses for reading. 2) needing glasses for driving 3)not needing glasses for anything. The third option was the most expensive, of course, but I chose it because of the convenience and saving on buying glasses. I had mine done about eight years ago, at age 70, and I still have perfect vision and no need for glasses for anything.
ReplyDeleteHighly recommend it, Ken!
BettyAnn
BettyAnn, do you have the right-eye, left-eye thing to do, or do you just see normally with no fuss. Do you have astigmatism? I think I do. I have to ask the eye doctor when I go see him on the 21st.
DeleteThis was interesting reading as I have a feeling I'm headed down this road. The cost in the US is around $3500 per eye (yikes) although Medicare supposedly covers a lot of it. You have to love the French healthcare system - it's so patient positive.
ReplyDeleteI've been identified as beginning to get cataracts in each eye. My eyes do not give me any trouble at present - reading or doing close-up hobbies like my calligraphy or papercrafting. I wear glasses and enjoy getting new stylish frames every other year so I might just continue with glasses after I need the surgery. Several of my friends younger, same age and older have all had the procedure and they have not complained. I will cross that bridge in the future...
ReplyDeleteMe too, crossing bridges. I'll keep you informed.
DeleteI am 73 and have just finished cataract surgery in both eyes. I have gone from being extremely nearsighted to only needing reading glasses. The surgeries were done a month a part with no problems. It has made an amazing change.
ReplyDeleteLinda from Alabama
Thanks for the encouragement, Linda. I'm happy your result was and is good. Best to you.
DeleteI had a detached retina in May. Luckily I had Australia's best ophthalmic surgeon on hand and was on an operating table within 11hours of diagnosis. Between Australian Medicare and health insurance I paid nothing.
ReplyDeleteI had a checkup this morning - the retina is in great shape (the recovery regime is very intense!) but the inevitable post-surgery cataract is forming and will be dealt with in a few months.
All the best to you, Mike. And Gustav too.
DeleteSo much reassurance and so much good information. Thanks to all of you who commented, and also to those who sent me private e-mails. I'm starting to make a list of questions I want to ask when I go to see the ophthalmologist on March 21.
ReplyDeleteMy Mum had her one eye done when she was 85 in S.Africa 25 years ago. She decided that she did not want the second one done as she was not convinced of the result. I have now been told my left eye needs doing but my right eye is perfect. They have booked me in for Sept which was 1 year after my last appointment. Reading the comments here make me feel a bit better about having it done now. I have to admit I am feeling nervous. Diane
ReplyDeleteP.S. I am also now 80.
DeleteHi Diane, I'll be curious to know how soon the surgery will be scheduled for.
DeleteI had cataract surgery in my right eye in 2018. Two things are very important: choose a highly experienced doctor, and make sure you and your doctor select the right kind of lens. Yes, some of those lenses are very expensive and may not be needed. Some doctors may try to sell you the most expensive lens. If there are any other issues with your eyes (e.g., glaucoma, macular degeneration) those conditions will play a role in the type of lens you need. In my case, the doctor ( highly renowned specialist) put in the expensive lens, even though he was aware I had macular degeneration in the right eye. I am still wearing glasses, which I hoped would not be necessary. In other words, cataract surgeries do not guarantee not having to wear glasses. That depends on many other factors. I wish you the best!
ReplyDeleteDR
Thanks DR. I will grill my ophtalmo and try to get answers to these questions. Best to you.
DeleteI am the same as you Ken. I'm trying to decide to do it before or after our trip back to the Loire next October. I'm a bit of a sook and after reading all these brave people's comments, I may do it beforehand. Greetings to you and Walt.
ReplyDeleteGreetings to you and Sue, Leon. Looking forward to seeing you in October. I've been in touch with Carol.
DeleteI had mine done just over a year ago (running up to my 75th birthday). It was in my (much) weaker eye, for which I've been wearing glasses all my adult life (I've had contacts, varifocals with photochromic lenses, seemingly the whole range). Before taking up the optometrist's offer of a referral for surgery, I too was checking online, and one messageboard* I follow had plenty of examples of people saying they didn't need glasses after the operation, though in practice, they mean not for permanent use - the standard lens replacement was for distance vision, but cheap off-the-peg reading glasses were still needed for close work.
ReplyDeleteI had to wait some months from the initial referral for the hospital assessment (that's the current state of the NHS for you), but when they saw me they offered to do the op the following week. I can honestly say it was pretty well painless (I've had dentistry that was much more uncomfortable). They have all the distraction techniques to get round the ick factor of sharp things near the eyes - I hardly knew they were injecting the local anaesthetic until it was over, and the operation itself was using ultrasound to break up the cataract. They covered up everything but the eye to be operated on, so I couldn't see anything bar the light from the surgeon's headlamp, until the point of inserting the new lens, when I suddenly saw - in very high definition and really bright colour - my eyelashes - from the other side! The one difficult thing was to remain absolutely still - I couldn't even wiggle my toes without the surgeon ticking me off.
Then it was tea and biscuits in the recovery room, and checking to make sure I wasn't going to keel over on them, and a taxi home in time for lunch. I could take the dressings off later that afternoon, and was given a plastic eyeguard to wear at night (no rubbing the eye!), and a somewhat complicated regime of different eye-drops to take for a few weeks.
And it's true, my distance vision is now perfectly sharp, high-definition and brightly coloured. It is a bit tedious having to make sure my reading glasses are to hand, and sun-glasses when the weather requires it, but that's manageable. Best thing I ever did! (I just recently had a routine check-up with the same optometrist, and she confirms everything's fine).
*Here's the online discussion I mentioned above:
https://boards.straightdope.com/t/had-cataract-surgery-so-now-she-doesnt-need-glasses-anymore/963276
Thank you so much, Autolycus. I feel like I'm getting a clearer and clearer picture of what to expect.
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