Cataract surgery tommorrow

[Steve Drinkut]

I am having cataract surgery tomorrow and another in two weeks. The doc told me I would only need reading glasses afterward. I was wondering how long it would be before I could expect to get back to the lathe. He said it might take up to a month to heal. What has been your experience if you have had the procedure?

[Roger Chandler]

I am facing the same situation, perhaps a few months from now. I will be interested in the responses.

[Don Nicholas]

I have had the surgery in both eyes. About a month apart. In my case after both surgerys, there was no pain I waited about 3 weeks to go back to the lathe. Very important wear an eye shield googles along with a face shield. A combination of the two will keep dust out of your eyes and avoid rubbing them. I'm 75 Y/O so I was very apprehensive, in the end, the whole process goes well so don't worry and I had no pain at all. I just have to wear glasses for reading and close up things. Good luck to you, and don't worry! Hope this helps and colors will be brighter and wear sun glasses when driving.
regards
Don

[Barry McFadden]

I had cataract surgery 2 years ago. They did one eye and then the second one 2 weeks later. The worst part for me was worrying about it before hand. I couldn't imagine being awake for it all but it was no problem. All I could see was a blur the whole time he did the procedure and everything went fine. Not much recuperating other than wearing an eye shield over it at night for 2 weeks in case I rubbed it in my sleep. I was back woodturning within 2 weeks and as Don said, it's important to keep dust out of your eyes for a while so you won't be rubbing them. The procedure from start to finish (not including prep time for drops and freezing) took about 15 minutes. I can remember when I was a kid my aunt had cataract surgery and it was standard procedure to be in the hospital for a week after! We've come a long way! I'm sure yours will go fine and you will be back woodturning before you know it...

[Jason Edwards]

I've also had it done on both eyes. Absolutely no problems and like Barry said, the apprehension about it was far worse than the actual procedure. It's truly like a miracle. I've been nearsighted since i was a kid, so using glasses for driving, etc. was not a concern. I chose a short focal length so I can do my bench work and computer work without correction. As I write this my glasses are propped on top of my head. Will need to put them back on my nose for the drive home. You'll wonder why you waited so long after it's all done.

I over researched the whole thing beforehand. I learned that cataract surgery is the most frequently performed operation in the world. You have a greater chance of complications getting a cavity filled at the Dentist. Good luck.

[Sonny Kemp]

Same as previous posters for me.Im 68 and had it done about 10 or so years ago and don't wear glasses for anything.I could see better before I got back to the room out of the eye they had just done than my good eye.A true miracle procedure

[Len Mullin]

I had both eyes done last year, there's nothing to the surgery. I was told it would take three to four weeks for them to heal up good enough, for me to do lathe work. He said it wasn't only because of the dust issue, it also had something to do with holding my head in that position for long periods of time. He was worried that the new lense might move, from looking a certain way. Plus, he was worried that it might cause unneeded pressure on my eye. So, I waited about three and a half weeks before turning anything.
Len

[Thomas Canfield]

I had both eyes done a week apart at 65 and had lens implants. I was able to attend a day workshop a couple weeks after the second eye, but did not have correct glasses. I have to wear "readers", +2 over the counter, for normal reading and close work, and have found some rimless or no top bar half glasses that work about like bifocals. I do have a pair of trifocal safety glasses for the shop since it seems that I need a +1 for normal working distance like lathe work. It was truly amazing to pull off the first patch and be able to see pictures of my grandchildren about 12' away without glasses after wearing very strong glasses (-10 and -11) for over 50 years. Hope you have great success also.

[Josh Bowman]

I had both eye's done at 60, several weeks to a month to avoid dust. They nailed one eye and was off a tad on the other. I have to have 1.0 on one eye and 1.5 for the other. Sooooo, here's a tip, go to the Dollar Tree and buy the $1 readers and use them until things settle. I also found some 1.5 reader safety glasses and wore them at work. In my case I'll buy a 1.0 and 1.5 pair of glasses and swap lens to make 1 pair of my custom prescription. I later bought some progressive readers from Walgreens and love them(had to buy 2 pair), they progress from like .75 to 1.5 from top to bottom of the lens and like 1.0 to 2.0 on the other.
Eye dryness was a pain post op, but eases over time. I had astigmatism in both eyes and with the laser surgery, they corrected it completely. Kind of neat, go in wearing glasses and leave 20/20 in the eye they operate on. The first eye, I had absolutely no problem and when you looked through it then to the other, you could see how the cataract is effecting your vision. In my case it looked like I was looking through a tea glass. Now the second eye felt like a mule had kicked me. Not certain why, but not only had a fiber of something irritating me, but the incision really hurt and the vision did not correct for several days. But now I can't tell the difference.
The good news is, no glasses to drive, the bad news is, I can't read squat without my reading glasses from about 2 feet in. Good luck and I hope it goes well.
Josh

[Steve Drinkut]

Thanks to all who replied. Its off to the doctor now; and I guess the middle of September before I turn again.

[Jim Becker]

My father had his taken care of...'hasn't needed glasses since which is pretty noteworthy given he's 85 in a month. I don't recall the exact recovery period, but it was reasonable.

[Jim Reffner]

Hope your procedure went well. I likened my cataract replacements similar to getting an new windshield.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Thinking of you Steve!

My wife had both eyes done 2 weeks apart, 2 years ago. She does well.

[Michael Weber]

I had it done about 20 years ago and still 20/20. Depending on how long and severely your eyes have been clouded you may be amazed at how bright colors are. I remember just being stunned at how much color there is and how "white" white looked. Of course the brain soon adapts but it's a pleasant memory.

[Jerry Thompson]

That was the easiest surgery I have ever had. It is the apprehension beforehand that is the biggest bother.

[Scott Brandstetter]

Steve, Roger, best wishes to both of you and I hope for a quick recovery. Follow the Dr's orders to minimize the recovery time.

[Bruce Page]

Thinking of you Steve!

My wife had both eyes done 2 weeks apart, 2 years ago. She does well.

Ditto for my wife also. She didn't have any problems. The biggest problem for her was wearing the protective eye patch at night.

[Jay Mullins]

I had both eyes done a couple of years ago. Like the others that replied, I had no problem, the apprehension was worse than the surgery itself. Recently had two surgeries fpr a detached retina and that kept me away from the lathe for more than two months. Take care of your eyes, you only get two.

JM

[Ernie Miller]

I've had both eyes done, but unlike most folks, mine were done over 10 years apart. During the first surgery, I felt a mild discomfort during the operation - not pain, just discomfort. Ten years later I'm in the operating room chatting with the surgeon as he prepared to operate. Anticipating the same mild discomfort I had in the earlier procedure, I wanted to get the chatting over with and the procedure started. That's when he told me that it was already over. I swear I had no idea or memory of him doing anything to me. Ten years makes a big difference. Don't sweat the surgery - it's a piece of cake.

[Ole Anderson]

So, Steve, how did it go?

Had my left eye done 3 years ago, no hurry on the second as I was one of the folks that had some issues. He had to go in a second time to suck out a part of the lens he missed the first time, then I needed 2 YAG laser treatments to clear up some cloudiness. Ended up with a stringy and a cloudy floater. When I realized it was still my dominant eye and my right eye was becoming an issue with the cataract I decided to man up and get #2 done. By now he had gotten the newest laser for the incision and minor astigmatism tuning (at an upcharge). So last Thursday I had the right eye done and all went well. The biggest issue is all of the eye drops you need to continue for a month. Right now I am dropping 7 per day. And not bending over or lifting more than 10 pounds for a week. But already I can tell my right eye is as good as the left eye after only a few days, and it will get better as it heals. My doctor does 12 to 18 cataract surgeries on his surgery day at least once per week, sometimes twice a week and his partner does probably as many.