I'll never forget my drive home with my husband, who is/was EXTREMELY myopic - -17 in one eye, -14 in the other.
He had the bad eye done first for the cataract surgery. Short after getting into the car - he had a clear plastic shield over the newly "fixed" eye - I was driving him home - and he said to me, "I can read the license plate of the car in front of us!" This was a major miracle for him. He was pretty worried about having this done, because his eyes had been so bad for so long, and had had a detached retina in that eye a number of years earlier.
Previously, he couldn't get out of bed in the night to go to the bathroom without finding his "Coke bottle bottom" glasses. His focus point if he didn't have his contacts in was right at the top of his nose. The cataract surgery was, for him, a miracle.
He chose to be corrected to 20-20 and to wear reading glasses. And it has worked well for him because he had worn contacts and over them, reading glasses for probably 20 years.
But I think I'll have my eyes left alone - I'm a bit myopic at -3.5ish, and I wear contacts to put my near vision at about -2, because I'm a pianist and teacher and that is a good distance for me in my work. I hate having glasses on my face and I don't mind being a bit myopic. At -2ish, I can read music and most books/magazines/menus, and I'm happy. My optometrist has prescribed glasses that give me distance vision for driving and watching TV, which I don't do often. So I'm hoping that I will still be able to wear contacts to correct me to about -2ish. And I'm confident that I'll be able to find a vision care specialist who will help me with what works for me.
A previous optometrist refused to give me this kind of prescription. He claimed that it would drive me crazy. But he didn't live the kind of life that I do. It's a very individual thing.
I think that one should have a very thorough conversation with the person doing the cataract surgery, and if it doesn't sound like a good fit, one should go elsewhere. My husband's brother had spent his life painting miniatures as a hobby, and he's pretty unhappy that he can't see them now without magnification. If he had discussed his needs, I'll bet he'd be happier now.
Patti
On Jun 5, 2015, at 2:28 PM, "Terry Pogue tpogue@comcast.net [iPad]" <iPad@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
The Wilmer Eye Institute is the best place in the country for serious eye issues. Most of the time I believe you have to have a doctor refer you to get an appointment.Cataract surgery is a walk in the park for the patients. I'm sure there are exceptions but they are few and far between. It certainly less traumatic than most dental procedures. I think everyone is a bit worried , you know someone doing some with your eye. yikes. But rest easy you will be surprised how easy it is.latest photos at http://www.flickr.com/terrypogue
On Jun 5, 2015, at 1:09 PM, Celtica Hippocrates celtica_visitor1@me.com [iPad] <iPad@yahoogroups.com> wrote:All I've had to do was use 'artificial tears' a bit more often, but that could also just be age. :-/On Jun 5, 2015, at 9:42 AM, Jim Saklad jimdoc@icloud.com [iPad] <iPad@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Thanks very much for that. Is there likely to be pain, scratchiness, or other discomfort, immediately or down the road?
Not very likely.
I had none.
I spent 16 years providing anesthesia services at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins, by the end of which time (1998) they were using techniques and equipment almost as good as today's, and problems of any sort, even pain, were quite uncommon.
Serious problems were very rare (and likely to be caused by some underlying health condition of the patient).
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Posted by: Patti A Robertson <pattiandken@charter.net>
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