Cataract newbie
Posted , 11 users are following.
At a Paula Carr eye examination yesterday, I was told that I had cataracts.
I have made an opticians appt to start the ball rolling regarding getting treatment. Sadly, it will be well over a month before that appointment.
I know very little about the condition, but have had the details of the operation explained to me in detail.
I have a question...... Can cataracts go away without treatment, or is it only an operation that can sort them out?
0 likes, 18 replies
RonAKA dog-man
Edited
No, to my knowledge, catarcts do not go away by themselves. They may develop slowly or quickly, but do not reverse. If you google the article below you will get some basic information about what the choices for a artificial lens will be. There is another option which is not included in this article, which is to put a monofocal lens in both eyes, with one optimized for distance, and the other for closer up. It is called monovision and is often overlooked as an option. If it is of interest and you still have reasonably good vision, the very best thing you can do is arrange to get some contacts to simulate monovision. Your optometrist should be helpful in doing that. The advantage of monovision is that it only uses basic monofocal lenses which are often covered by insurance, and has very few optical side effects such as halos, flare, and spiderwebs. The multifocal and extended depth of focus lenses which are expensive can have these issues. My suggestion would be to use the time you have before surgery to evalute whether or not monovision will work for you. In any case here is the article. It is very basic, and there is a lot more depth you can explore.
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Choosing an Artificial Lens for Cataract Surgery By Cheryl terHorst Reviewed By J Kevin McKinney MD May. 14, 2020
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If you want more detail here is a much more technical discussion.
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Matching the Patient to the Intraocular Lens Preoperative Considerations to Optimize Surgical Outcomes Elizabeth Yeu, MD,1 Susan Cuozzo, MA, CMPP2
Sue.An2 dog-man
Edited
Hi Dog Man - yes hard to accept the fact cataracts do not go away. I was diagnosed at 53 and had to have surgery sooner than later as they were fast growing. Mist surgeons want to treat them right away however if your vision can still be corrected with glasses you would be better off get new glasses and taking the time to thoroughly research surgeons and lens options. If you can get in for a few consults that really helps. In some countries like where I live if cataracts are advanced enough (vision 20/40 or less) surgery is completely covered and so is the lens if you opt for monofocals or if you opt for a premium lens pay out of pocket for cost of the premium lens minus credit for monofocal. Some countries cover all the costs only if you are opting for monofocals. You should look into what will be covered where you live (and maybe your private insurance covers some of the expense).
Lots of good info here on the forums too on various IOL options.
Wishing you well.
Sue.An2 dog-man
Posted
Hi Dog Man - yes hard to accept the fact cataracts do not go away. I was diagnosed at 53 and had to have surgery sooner than later as they were fast growing. Mist surgeons want to treat them right away however if your vision can still be corrected with glasses you would be better off get new glasses and taking the time to thoroughly research surgeons and lens options. If you can get in for a few consults that really helps. In some countries like where I live if cataracts are advanced enough (vision 20/40 or less) surgery is completely covered and so is the lens if you opt for monofocals or if you opt for a premium lens pay out of pocket for cost of the premium lens minus credit for monofocal. Some countries cover all the costs only if you are opting for monofocals. You should look into what will be covered where you live (and maybe your private insurance covers some of the expense).
Lots of good info here on the forums too on various IOL options.
Wishing you well.
kevin1951 dog-man
Edited
Looked up Paula Carr, is it a UK program for diabetes services? I am in the U.S. I have had one cataract taken care of this month. I got an Alcon Vivity lens implanted. This is considered a premium lens here
(cost extra) and has some extended range, but can reduce constrast. Personally, I did not sense much loss of contrast, but this might be due to the fact the cataract had yellowed my vision and thus reduced contrast.
I have a family member who has diabetes. He was told that diabetics eyes can change rather quickly and cannot afford the chance of have loss of contrast. He will most likely will get a monofocal lens since monofocal lenses don't impair contrast. Ron's recent note about monovision explains one way these lenses might be employed to give a good range of vision.
There are some fine specialists who have YouTube videos about cataracts. Some of these are meant for doctors, others for patients. You might look up videos by U.S. surgeons, Dr. Shannon Wong, Dr. Tokuhara, Dr. Uday Devgan, and in U.K., Dr. Amar Alwitry. I would not bother looking at videos that are more than 5 years old. Many new and better lens options have become available in recent years. If you are in U.K, your NHS system will be different. Here, I found it was a mistake to do so much research that I became certain that I had chosen the one perfect lens for my eyes. Turned out the clinic I go to does not offer that brand of lens.
Wishing you success with you surgery. There is a lot to learn.
Guest dog-man
Edited
The bad news is they don't go away (as others have said) and there is no treatment. The good news is the condition is easily fixed with a quick, simple, and painless surgery to replace your natural lenses with artificial lens implants.
rwbil dog-man
Posted
"Can cataracts go away without treatment"
I wish and believe me I am one of those alternative medicine nuts always looking for other options and found non for cataracts. I even remember when they came out talking about photo bleaching and how it worked in Rabbits. I would share a link but then my post will never be posted. I even looked into all the drops. I even put off my first cataract surgery as long as possible for both better IOLs to be developed and maybe an alternative treatment that actual works.
I am a big procrastinator so if your cataracts are small and you can wait that is what I would do.
But I think there is a better chance of a new revolutionary IOL coming out before any treatment options for cataracts in the near future.
The next revolutionary IOL will probably be an adaptive IOL like the Juvene and equally important a modular base system allowing easy exchange of an IOL. Could you imagine if there was a modular base that worked for all IOLs, how great that would be. So you get PanOptics and hate it, then relative minor surgery to switch to Vivity, still hate it and then switch to monofocal. Yes it might be expensive, but at least possible without major risk of complications not to mention the base keeps the capsule open so no PCO.
dog-man
Edited
Thank you all for your replies.
Yes, I am in the UK and diabetic.
I was under the impression that this was a UK based forum as when searching for a forum about cataracts, I specified UK only in the search terms.
The person who carried out the eye examination told me that he was part of the local cataract team and took part in the operations. He was very knowledgeable and explained things in great detail. He even showed me images of my eyeballs to show that one eye was quite bad and the other a little less so.
You are prioritised by the NHS for an operation based on things like age, what employment you have, lifestyle etc.
I assumed that as I have taken early retirement, I would be way down the waiting list. I am 63.
Until, he knew that I had given up work because of very poor hearing. I cannot wear glasses and walk safely due to having a brain tumour removed many years ago, my balance is poor and already isolate myself and never socialise because of my hearing. I need good eyesight to compensate for lack of hearing. I have no sound direction capabilities. That can make being in the presence of vehicles potentially life-threatening, as I will probably hear the vehicle but have no idea where it is without looking for it. I have had many near misses whilst crossing a road or just being in a supermarket car park.
So, he believes I will have a good chance of being near the top of the waiting list once I get on it.
I am still a bit shell shocked by the diagnoses. I knew something was wrong. My eyesight had deteriorated massively over the past three months. I put it down to being mostly indoors for extended periods because of the pandemic, and believed that it would return to normal once I started venturing outdoors more often. How naive was I.
jettesun dog-man
Edited
wow, sounds like we are in very similar circumstances! would your brain tumour happened to have been acoustic neuroma? that's what i have, though i've been on wait and watch since 2014 due to it's location, surgery not advised. tumour has filled up IAC and grown an extension into cochlea. I'm living with all the same difficulties you describe so well. hate wearing glasses because such poor balance, SSD= no directional hearing, so like you, I cannot tell where a sound is coming from even if I do hear it. AN doctor says I'm getting majority of my vestibular input from my eyes, especially because I have additional spinal issues (DDD and worsening scoliosis). He is the one who recommended I pursue cataract surgery.
dog-man jettesun
Posted
Yes, I had an operation to remove an Acoustic Neuroma in August 1992.
I was told that I had around two years to live if I didn't have the operation as the tumour would grow fast because I was only 35, and it would be a quite painful and unpleasant end, as I would lose my balance, hearing, eyesight, bells palsy and much pain. Even after all these years my balance is poor. I cannot wear glasses and walk as I become unstable and have fallen a number of times trying to force myself to adapt. I gave up years ago. I can't even wear sunglasses for the same reason. Strangely, I am fine with contact lenses but me and contact lenses don't get on and despite months of trying, I just couldn't get used to putting them in and taking them out. Sometimes it took me well over an hour to remove a lens and my eye would be very red and painful.
My left ear is totally dead, with the nerve cut to remove the tumour. All is in working order, but no connection to the brain. My right ear has major noise damage. I believe that I only have about 30% hearing in that ear and of course, the high frequencies such as speech are lost.
I have a Cochlear BAHA on the left and a bog-standard behind the ear aid in the right ear. All sounds picked up by the aids goes to the working ear. The BAHA is not brilliant for me, but better than nothing. It is very easy for me to be totally overwhelmed with more than one source of sound, making life very difficult, hence why I don't socialise any more. It's the easy option.
jettesun dog-man
Edited
I sure do understand where you're coming from! while i haven't had surgery (yet, and possibly never), same troubles. i don't use hearing aid, if I did, it would have to be BAHA as you have, because no functional nerve to transmit amplified sound. like you, i just don't go out unless necessary; don't socialize, unless in small family settings. I hate going out to stores (sometimes necessary) because the noise and bright lights and all the sensory inputs, plus stumbling around like a drunk sailor, plus not being able to hear a thing people say to me in noisy environments, is absolutely overwhelming. also have this thing where my right eye jerks around (nystagmus) and I lose my balance whenever there's a sudden sharp sound. if we lived closer, i'd absolutely hang out with you though, because i've never met anyone that understands so well what these issues are like. i'm in US. though do have daughter in UK/Brecon Wales.
you should be very careful about the cataract surgery. even though i got corrected for near vision, and eye surgeon said he would give me the vision I have now (minus the cataracts of course), I have had a LOT more trouble with my balance, and have found I see very poorly without glasses. I have fallen and busted ribs already from poor balance (couple years ago), and have additional issue of some kind of allergy to codeine meds, and even milder pain control meds, such as naproxen. Rib injuries are Painful with a capital P! don't ever want that to happen again! especially since can't take anything to ease the pain.
I'm hoping that my current situation is due to a diagnosis I just received yesterday of Irvine-Gass syndrome, or post-cataract surgery macular edema. I can't even be sure what my prescription is going to end up as, because right now I can't see to get a proper refraction. But I kinda think (hope I'm wrong) that I ended up more myopic than I was counting on, which may be contributing to poorer than expected balance as well. I certainly cannot see around the room as well as I could before the surgery. maybe my brain was just so used to the way things were, it's having trouble adjusting.
At any rate, I would not be in any big hurry to do the cataract surgery until you work out what is going to be best for you vestibularly, and make Sure your surgeons understand the balance issues you are having and that you Cannot be wearing your glasses around the house.
I plan to make another post regarding this when my vision clears up from the CME, but I understand that could be 6-8 weeks at best, and possibly longer. Right now, I'm not certain why my balance is so much worse.
Best of everything to you. Take the time to educate yourself on all the options available to you where you live. Trust me, there is a lot to learn and know regarding cataract surgery. The more you understand about it, the better choices you can make for yourself, and that's more important in your situation than the usual cataract surgery candidate.
dog-man jettesun
Edited
I do intend to do a lot of research about cataracts over the next month or so.
Brecon, Wales! I am from South Wales originally and know Brecon a little. Been there many times, but many years ago.
cathy85001 dog-man
Edited
So the only way to be free of this is Surgery. I had surgery 5 days ago......was super nervous! Was a quick and relatively pain free experience and so far the results have exceeded my expectations.
Prior to surgery I was worried about the risks and associated outcomes.Since I've had the surgery my mental health and quality of life has greatly improved 🙏
dog-man
Posted
Can cataracts make your eyes sore?
My eyes have been really sore lately, as if I have been sleep-deprived for a very long time.
RonAKA dog-man
Posted
There is some association of cataracts and cataract surgery with dry eyes. One line of thinking suggests that cataract surgery can cause the dry eyes, while another suggests that the relationship is coincidental. Older people get cataracts, and older people get dry eyes.
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I am not a healthcare professional but It seems hard to imagine physically how a cataract would cause pain, but I suppose anything is possible.
Beth-R dog-man
Posted
I doubt the cataract is the issue. I have dry eyes and they make me feel tired and they hurt when I need the lubricating drops (over the counter). They also feel itchy and irritated. You might want to try some lubricating drops to see if it relieves your discomfort.
I am diabetic and my cataract developed very quickly. I had cataract surgery on my right eye 25 days ago and saw 20/20 the next day! I opted for a premium PanOptix Toric lens (tri-focal for astigmatism). You need to be very careful the first week or two after your surgery, so you will want to avoid falling or putting any pressure on the eye. I can't rub my eye until a month after the surgery.
I hope you get moved to the top of list for your surgery.