A to Z challenge: C for cataract surgery

AtoZChallenge, gratitude, Health

Personal experiences, incidents and smiles

When I was 54, I needed to see my ophthalmologist ( eye doctor) because I was finding it difficult to see in low light. After a detailed examination, he told me that I have early cataract in both eyes.

From my twenties, I’ve been suffering from an autoimmune disease, anterior uveitis. I get inflammation in the anterior chamber of my eyes which is treated by steroid medication. This caused the lenses to harden and become opaque, prematurely.

In a short duration of two weeks, I underwent cataract in both my eyes. Though I could see the difference after my left eye was operated upon, the difference was amazing when the bandage was removed from my right eye. It was like a powerful bulb had been lit in my world. The clarity and brightness were enhanced 10 times and the best news of all was that my new lenses were compensating for my previous myopia and I could see clearly without my glasses. The glasses I had been wearing for the last 42 years!

This reinforced my approach towards medical issues; If you need it now, don’t wait, don’t postpone it for it will improve the quality of your life.

Have you had cataract surgery done in one or both eyes? How was your experience?

Keepitalive

#AtoZChallenge

Published by Sadje

I am writing to express my opinion, share my experiences and to maybe provide some insight. My blog is addressing women at 50 ( but men are welcome to read my posts) ,their issues and the questions that come up at this stage in life. I don’t aim to teach, but to learn together.

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81 thoughts on “A to Z challenge: C for cataract surgery”

    1. Thanks Radhika! The funny thing was that a friend of mine with weak eyesight wanted to get cataract surgery done so that she didn’t have to wear glasses.

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  9. I completely agree with you about not waiting to get medical care when you need it. I had cataract surgery on my right eye when I was seven in 1993. It was a fight to get it, because the doctors (and probably my parents too) initially felt my vision was too bad to begin with, but my school badly wanted to save my vision.

    Sadly, when I developed a cataract on my left eye in around 2004, my parents felt my almost nonexistent eyesight wasn’t worth fighting for, so I waited for nearly ten years to have the surgery. Though when I did have the surgery in 2013, I did get a tiny bit of vision back, it wasn’t what I’d hoped for and certainly not what the eye docs had (unrealistically) hoped for. At least now I know I did everything in my power to save my tiny bit of vision for as long as possible.

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  13. I agree with “if you need it now, don’t postpone.” My carpal tunnel was causing me a lot of pain last year, I was reluctant at first to get the operation for my hand because of the amount of time I need to recover and the cost but I’m now so glad I got the operation on my hand.

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  14. Wow! Thanks for sharing your story. Mid-week I have an eye exam appointment since my vision has gone downhill. Whenever I wear the glasses prescribed at the last visit the table rises up to meet me. Before I never had a problem with RX glasses; these were redone and still wrong. I think I need to reinforce my take-charge tactics and complain more whenever service isn’t to my satisfaction. I’m taking away from your story the ‘don’t postpone’.

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  17. I’ve been putting off cataract surgery because the thought of someone cutting into my eyeball with a scalpel freaks me out. I’ve been a victim of medical malpractice in the past, which makes me reflexively leery of doctors, and iIt’s difficult for me to find a surgeon I can trust. But if my vision gets much blurrier, I won’t be able to drive, so I can’t put it off much longer.

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  19. I had cataract surgery Fall of 2019 before COVID. I’m so thankful because my eye doctor was so good, patient and precise. I have extreme myopia. My Rx was -16 before cataracts and I wore hard contact lenses with glasses on top. With cataracts my vision was -23. My eye doctor made me go without contacts because they changed the shape of my eyes. Every week he had me come in and he’d test my vision with a computer. It took a full two months for the vision to settle down and be consistent. That’s when I had surgery. I now have 20/20 vision and my eye doctor retired during the shutdown.

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  20. So glad that you had a good experience, you are so right, don’t hesistate getting it done! I had both of my eyes done as well and the difference was awesome! I am starting to get a cloud over the one eye now which can happen after the surgery, but its super easy to take care of the Dr said. I had my surgeries in my 40’s. Had fast growing cataracts. I went from being far sighted to now being near sighted in one eye and far sighted in the other, so they balance each other out. LOL! Its very rare for that to happen, but it did for me.

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    1. Thanks Joy! You’re absolutely right that one shouldn’t hesitate when it’s a question of our health. I’m glad it worked out well.

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  27. Garry also had cataract surgery quite early — in his late 50s. No known reason, but he had the same reaction. He was ASTOUNDED at how much he could see and how bright the colors were. Of course now, 21 years later — my how time flies (today was his 80th birthday) — he doesn’t see quite as well as he did. Still, after a lifetime of wearing contact lenses every day because he was on TV and he didn’t look good in glasses, he can still drive without glasses. Everyone I know who has had that surgery was THRILLED with the results. I think I’m the only person my age who doesn’t have cataracts at all. My mother never had them either.

    It’s the ONLY surgery I was looking forward to. I thought it would be great to NOT wear glasses. Apparently it’s never going to happen. Weird, isn’t it?

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