Cataract op experience
Posted , 5 users are following.
I was diagnosed with cataracts almost two years ago but since I live in the UK I wasn't offered the operation until September this year.
I'd spoken with several people who had the operation & read numerous accounts online & they all said how straightforward & beneficial it was & not one mentioned any pain during the op. However, my experience was somewhat different. As is usual I was given local anaesthesia but for me it didn't appear to work. It was extremely painful - it felt like my eyeball was being scooped out with a spoon! Following the operation I was given Maxidex (one drop four times a day) to reduce inflammation. Since I wasn't sure what to expect I accepted misty vision & the inability to read. After two weeks the Maxidex eye drops began sting really badly upon application & afterwards felt like I had grit in my eye.
The clinic advised that I apply artificial tears prior to Maxidex but the they also stung my eyes & the grit in my eye was still there. In the end I stopped using them.
After a couple of days the mistiness went away and the operated eye was much better for distance vision. I'm still unable to read very easily but perhaps this is because the glasses prescription for my un-operated eye is over three years out of date.
I don't have a date for the operation on my other eye yet but I'm not looking forward to it.
0 likes, 8 replies
karin08666 david11253
Posted
What IOL did you get? When do you see the surgeon again for follow up? I wonder if you are allergic to Maxidex.
Guest david11253
Edited
Glad the distance eventually cleared up. The grit sensation is very common and probably universal… that is just the incision and/or dry eye. It took months for my grit feeling to go away completely.
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As for reading, if you had a monofocal implanted that is unfortunately an expected outcome. IOLs are not flexible like your natural lens so they don't have the ability to focus on different targets. The surgeon just picks a single target for where you will experience the best focus and 9 times out of 10 (unless the patient requests otherwise) that will be distance vision.
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Results can vary greatly from person to person but for most people a monofocal targetting distance vision will start getting blurry for anything within 2-3 feet of your head and you will need reading glasses.
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The pain during surgery is very strange and I've never heard of that. I felt nothing and was very relaxed and even chatting during the procedure. It was easier than going to the dentist.
RonAKA david11253
Posted
It is unusual to feel any pain during the surgery. Did you get an IV sedative? Or, an oral relaxant like Ativan? Both methods should work to reduce the sensation to no more than a feeling of some pressure on the eye.
Maxidex appears to be a steroid. I took a different one, but I recall one of the two drop types I took did cause a little bit of a brief sting when you put them in. I took it as a good sign that I actually got the drop in my eye!
If you had a monofocal lens put in that was targeted for distance you are not going to be able to read without the help of reading glasses. If your expectation is to both read and see distance you should ask about mini-monovision. That is when one eye is set for distance, and the other is set for some mild myopia (-1.5 D) so you can read with it. It does not require any special lens, just a standard monofocal.
trilemma RonAKA
Posted
Ativan (lorazepam) and Versed (midazolam) among the medications that are to reduce anxiety. Anxiety is quite normal. Knowing that somebody is going to stick a knife into your eyeball is going to make any normal person anxious. I got oral Verced via dropper. That way they could adjust the dose to the patient more readily.
I think the actual pain blocking is from the topical (eye drop) local anesthesia.
RonAKA trilemma
Posted
My first eye was done with an IV sedative. Not sure what was in it, but I was semi out of it. My second eye was done with 1 Ativan. I was quite aware of what was going on, but felt no pain other than some pressure on the eye. Both times I got multiple sets of drops before surgery. I lost count of how many. But, yes, I'm sure some of them were topical pain killers.
Guest RonAKA
Posted
The IV and/or Ativan is just to relax you, The many drops (I also was given a gel as the last step and told to keep the eye closed for a few minutes) is what freezes the eye and prevents you from feeling anything. Also just because they put a port in your arm doesn't mean they use it… but they can use it if you seem nervous or restless or there are complications and they want to sedate you a little (or a little more). I had a port in but told they I felt fine and I wasn't the slightest bit nervous and was fully aware the whole time. Being familiar with the surgery from watching many of them on YouTube I was even aware of each step he was on and when he injected the lens I was like… "Woah, I can see it unfolding!" which my surgeon thought was kinda cool.
RonAKA Guest
Posted
I can only describe what my personal experience was. My first eye was done in a hospital with an attending anesthesiologist. He put the IV in well before the procedure and then right when I was in the operating room he put the active ingredient into my arm. I have no idea what it was, but it made my whole arm feel cold and then I was basically out of it. The only thing I remember was that at some point I felt like my nose was itchy and I went to scratch it. I recall the surgeon scolding me by saying to hold still and that he was almost done.
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My second eye was done in a private clinic, with no anesthesiologist. A nurse gave me an Ativan to swallow well before going into the operating room. I was fully aware of the whole procedure after that. I had a conversation with the surgeon before the surgery and after. I would suggest that the Ativan did nothing, but I'm sure it probably did something to relax me. Another patient that was right after me, declined the Ativan and went through the procedure with nothing other than the topical drops. I never talked to him after to see how it went though.
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The two procedures were a very different experience, but I really did not suffer from pain in either method.
trilemma david11253
Edited
Make sure the new surgeon (hope it is a different one) knows of your experiencing pain during the first surgery. Maybe you are resistant to the pain-killer drops, and the new surgeon will double-up. Maybe the old surgeon's staff was not competent, since they are the ones that apply the topical (eye drop) local anesthesia.