Cataract Removal: Part 1

December 2, 2015

This post should have been put up long ago, but here we are. I had my cataract surgery on January 15th of 2015. It was the same parking garage, same building, same waiting room, same nervous feeling as I walked in for my cataract surgery. I knew this time around would be much different than my other prior surgeries; the surgery itself was only expected to last about ten minutes. That's just a mere fraction of the time it took for the prior two. 

I sat hooked up to an IV again, waiting to be rolled into the OR. 

By the time I was feeling the local anesthesia wear off, the doctor was finishing the surgery. I had no concept of time during the other two surgeries, but being under much less anesthesia this time, I was much more aware of time. I was getting a little claustrophobic at the very end (having the drape over my face while they were operating on my eye), since the anesthesia was almost gone and I wasn't as relaxed (that stuff really makes you relax!). But the doctor finished up and I was heading into recovery. 

I was pretty much awake and ready to leave when I got into the recovery area. They gave me some water, and some instruction for post-op. My eye felt a little scratchy and irritated, but NOTHING compared to the other surgeries. It was a little red, but I could actually see out of my eye! The lens was so much more clear! 

By the next day, it felt like nothing happened. My eye was still dilated so I could see the lens wiggle a little when my eyes moved, and see the curve of it in certain light, but that diminished for the most part once the dilation when down. I needed to wait three months before I could go in to have the second cataract taken out, which would only involve a laser, not nearly as intense as the one that was used to seal the holes from the lattice.

I had the usual post-op appointment the next morning, and then a couple times following that, and it was as if nothing had happened by the end of the first week - except that I could see much better! 

One cataract down, one to go! 

Counting Down to an Implant

January 11, 2015

Posts are few and far between now, but when there's not much going on (thankfully!), I don't have much to comment on!

It's hard to believe that it's been over two years since this whole ordeal began. So much has happened, changed. Luckily my retina has remained stable since my vitrectomy, and I'm moving in the direction of feeling as though this issue is almost truly behind me. 

On January 15, 2015, I'll undergo my first cataract surgery, at the age of 27. My primary care doctor joked that I was the youngest cataract patient to come through the office for a pre-op exam. Ain't that the truth…

There's so minor prep work involved for this surgery: eye drops leading up to the surgery, pre-op exam and blood work, and general worry (of course!). But nothing compared to the vitrectomy. Post-op care is also far less terrible than the past surgeries. I'll be using eye drops again, and cannot bend over for a few days, but there's really not much else to it! PHEW.

The surgery itself is only about 10 minutes, and they'll be putting in an acrylic lens that has some optical correction for my eyesight. Because of my surgical/retinal history, I am not eligible for the fancy new lenses, but anything will be better than what I have now. I can't see out of that eye any longer, the cataract is absolutely horrible. Daylight is really difficult to see in, and lights at night while driving are painfully annoying. But this will all be a memory in a few days…

Updates to come after the surgery!