Anyone else with lattice degeneration/thin retinas that HAS had cataract surgery?
Posted , 10 users are following.
OK, I've made a few comments and been mainly lurking for the last few weeks, so now it's time for me to expose (ha ha) myself and ask for your experiences. Please accept my apologies in advance if this turns into a novel.
I've worn contacts since I was 16 and I'm 60 now. My eyes have always been crappy, but correctable, but now it's just getting to be too much. When "X" surgery (can't remember what it was called, but it was in the early 80's) first came into vogue, I wanted to have it done. I was rejected because as the doctor explained, I'd have to have too many cuts in the cornea to fix my vision and it was too dangerous. I was lucky because a woman I met a couple of years ago had had it done and they'd made 32 (!) cuts in each eye. She said that her vision was amazing...at first, but now the corneas are "buckling" and that she has to wear hard lenses to try to keep their form. She has an incredible doc, but there is a very real possibility that she's going to lose her sight. So, while I was sad at the time, I'm grateful that my doc wasn't as mercenary as hers must have been.
Then, PRK and Lasik came into play and I went in for a consult. Again, I was denied because too much of the cornea would have had to have been shaved down to achieve any decent result. Again, I was disappointed, but grateful that at least I could wear contacts.
When I retired and moved to Mexico, I found some great eye care specialists and continued using contacts. A few years back, when I went for a lens renewal prescription, the doc seemed like I was taking up too much of his time (I had an appointment!) and just mentioned to me that I had "thin retinas" as I was leaving. He made it sound like he'd just said I was, "Unclean!" "Unclean!" Not once did he mention that this was something I needed to be concerned about or that I needed to take extra care in my daily life. So, I went on with my life, continued to ride my bicycle on the sometimes-rather-hairy roads of Mexico and didn't think twice about it--not even when I was sent flying 20 or so yards when a passenger bus hit me from behind in a 4 vehicle accident.
Had I known about the risks of sudden movement to the retinas, which I think a bus hitting you in the ass on a bike qualifies as being, I would have been in the eye docs office so fast.
So...what has that long, boring life story got to do with anything and why the heck won't I get to the point? Thanks for your patience! Here it is: my eyes are crappy, but mostly correctable. I have -8.0 w/astigmatism in the left (and some cataracts) and -8.5 in the right. When hubby got his cataract surgery a couple of months ago, it went like he was the poster child for the surgery. I've been having some focusing issues with the contacts, my prescription was about to be renewed, and I'd finally had enough. The doc did the usual exam and I was scheduled to have the surgery last month. Well, before you go in, you have to be cleared by the retina specialist. I wasn't. Turns out that the full extent of my "Unclean!" "Unclean!" thin retinas was actually lattice degeneration and holes, PLUS thin retinas in the left eye but "only" thin retinas in the right. The specialist stopped the pending surgery and I opted to follow his recommendation and have Argon laser treatment on my eyes (omg that wasn't fun). The laser promotes scar tissue around the holes and lattice degeneration so that the thin retinas will be a bit stronger/attached. It doesn't cure anything, but it gives me a fighting chance not to have further damage or retinal detachment during the surgery.
The reason I'm opting for cataract/lens replacement surgery is that I honestly believe that if I wait until the cataracts are truly vision-impairing, it might be too late. Right now, my eyes are as healthy as they're ever going to be. So, while I'm scared spitless, I know I don't have a choice.
I would love to hear of any experiences of other high myopics w/thin retinas and/or lattice degeneration had during their cataract surgery. If you also had laser treatment, that's a bonus. My biggest fear in life (other than loss of family, of course) has always been the loss of vision. Take away my hearing, sense of smell, taste, etc, but please leave me my vision!
Encouragement would really be appreciated.
1 like, 20 replies
Eye-Kan-Sea britkennels
Posted
Hi Britk,
My vision is superb now. Near to distant vision is almost 20/20. Color contrast is like viewing a Sony 4K Bravia tv. Haven't worn eyeglasses since my first surgery in August 2017. I don't reside in North America so I was able to get the German Oculentis Mplus X implanted in both eyes. North Americans have a limited selection of IOL's which must be approved by the FDA. The Oculentis isn't made with concentric optical layers as say the Symfony so there's absolutely no glare at night. Us persons who had poor vision in our previous life have to be extra careful and diligent in annual checkups since we are prone to lattice degeneration and detached retina. How's your vision?
Cheers,
Eye-Kan-Now-Sea
jantje32476 Eye-Kan-Sea
Posted
Hi EKS, Congrats on your superb vision. It appears you have good choices of lenses in Europe.
@britkennels, I read that the German Oculentis Mplus or Symfony lens is preferred by surgeons to achieve micro-monovision. The same source mentions that 'glare and haloes around bright light' occur less often with the Oculentis Mplus and Symfony lenses. It even recommends that: "If your’re a taxi driver that drives at night for work the Symfony or Mplus lens may be the best option for you with occasional use of reading glasses."
@Knight-Hawk, a YouTube video entitled "Symfony Lens" published on Oct-1-2017 by Steven Solomon, mentions about the glare and halos starting at 3:15 (of 8:34) point.
If anyone wants links to the above article and video, let me know so I can msg you.
britkennels Eye-Kan-Sea
Posted
Hi EKS & Jantje:
I'm so happy to read of your outcome, EKS. Since you sound very similar to me, it truly helps lessen the fear factor. I'm actually in Mexico (retiree), so I have options that aren't available in the US. I'm going w/the Zeiss trifocal -- one will be for astigmatism.
While hubby was the poster child for everything going well, I know my recovery will probably be a bit slower. He has the Zeiss and couldn't be happier. The halos/glares may be an issue, but my vision isn't rainbows and unicorns with contacts, so I am willing to accept it probably won't be perfect.
If I am honest, I would admit why I'm having such a hard time with this. When I was seriously considering Crystalens all those years ago, my mom, an RN, asked me why I'd want to have surgery on perfectly healthy eyes. That has haunted me ever since, so the thought of trusting my vision to a surgeon (albeit a very, very good one), is hard.
jantje32476 britkennels
Posted
I regret now that I turned on the TV and the computer on the same day following my cataract surgery, because I was sooo cocky.
britkennels
Posted
The surgery was last Friday and the results are far beyond expectations. I've posted with "My surgery experience," if interested. My only regret was that I didn't do it sooner.