RDP #15 – CATARACTS
I don’t think anyone gets a single cataract. Eyes are in pairs and apparently, so are cataracts. I’ve had the same “hint of cataracts” for at least 15 years. It doesn’t get bad enough to cause me any problems, so this particular issue is on a shelf, to be dusted off and dealt with when necessary. IF necessary.
But Garry got his cataracts sooner than most people. He was in his early 60s and the world looked fuzzy to him. It turned out, he had cataracts severe enough to require removal. These days, they don’t just remove cataracts. They also remove the eye’s lens and give you brand new shiny ones. Suddenly, you can really see.
After they did his second eye, which was a couple of weeks after the first one, he realized … he could see.
“I could fly a fighter jet,” he pointed out. That was assuming he learned to fly first, but I got the point. The next thing he discovered was that he could not read anything closer than 5 feet distant. For example, the labels on food in the grocery store. He needed reading glasses. He had gotten Perfect Eyes — and he needed reading glasses.
What a comedown! Over the years, the implanted lenses are no longer quite as perfect because even implants change shape with time.
Still, they aren’t bad. He can see distances quite well and overall, these are much better than his eyes were before the surgery. Fighter jet flying is probably no longer an option. And he needs computer glasses.
Still, it’s just amazing what they can do to fix us these days, isn’t it?
Categories: #Health, Daily Prompt
“I could fly a fighter jet,” he pointed out. That was assuming he learned to fly first, but I got the point.
Ha.. loved that line. You are going to have a 2/5 of a new husband once he has his cochlear implant. Two senses out of five perfected.
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He could get both ears done. Both are bad enough. But it would be up to him and would be at least a year between surgeries. We are BOTH getting a bit Borg-ish.
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LIFE, I am thinking Bionic Man. But no slo-mo shots of me walking up and down stairs.
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I didn’t know you got new lenses, too. And I do have just one cataract, at least at my last eye exam in February.
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Yes, you get the new lens too. I think they normally do both eyes, regardless. Check with the surgeon, but I don’t think they do just one eye.
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Actually, they will do just one eye, if only one eye is affected.
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I’m surprised to hear that. Never seen it done that way, but then again, how many cases have I seen after all?
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for cataracts of the age related sort, they do then to develop in both eyes. Injury or infection can also lead to cataract formation, and then only one eye may be affected, and only one repair done.
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Two stories, I’m lucky so far, but I imagine my personal time will come. I had an older patient, a delightful woman, who always took great care with her appearance. She was horrified to discover after her surgery that her favorite pair of grey pants, that she wore with everything, was actually lavender. Color vision is often impaired with cataracts. Second story–the startle that happens the morning after when looking in the mirror and being stunned at the wrinkles that appeared overnight. Apparently this is also quite common.
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That’s one of the ways you know you have cataracts is when colors are faded or wrong. some of us notice more than others. I work with processing photographs and when cataracts get serious, you tend to turn up (increase saturation) of colors. I always turn mine down and desaturating stuff. I sort of keep tabs on my eye through Photoshop 🙂
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A great monitoring system that way.
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Steph, funny stories. The face in the mirror is too clear for me.
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sorta good news/bad news. You can be the fighter pilot and you can see what he looks like.
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I am due to have one of my cataracts removed, so read this post with interest!
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It’s a pretty effective surgery and I have heard almost entirely positive stories about it. Garry is certainly happy about his.
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I will be grateful to see properly again!
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Jen, good luck with your cataract surgery. Keep us posted.
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Will do. There has to be an interesting post there somewhere!
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With an “upgrade,” my lenses, implanted last fall, are monovision. I still have an astigmatism to correct, and may be able to throw away glasses — until then I am using reading glasses. Oh, and I’ll always need dark glasses I use those now with no correction!
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This is — for most people — a significant improvement in vision, especially exciting for those of us who have worn glasses since we were children. Finally! NO glasses at least part of the time.
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Yep. I’ve been hearing for the past year or so that I have “pre” cataracts. They’re THERE, but embryo cataracts I guess. I’m 58. And I HOPE, like you, that they remain as they are right now. But who knows?
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Mine have been “embryo” cataracts for at least 10 years. They may never get any worse.
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EMB,how about x-ray vision contacts?
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I went for the distance too. I don’t need glasses to drive and that’s a big bonus. However, I now need cheaters to see up close and that is annoying. I was short sighted to begin with so not to be able to see up close is big change. There’s a lot of compromise to aging.
Leslie
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That’s exactly what Garry did. My cataracts just around bad enough to fix. It’s the ONLY surgery I thought might be neat, but mostly, I use close vision so I’m glad I don’t have to make a choice.
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It was a neat experience because for the first eye I was only mildly out and could actually see the procedure from inside my eye. For the other eye I was out like a light.
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I hear you, LESLIE. No, actually I DON’T hear you. That’s another story.
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Chuckle, Garry, it will come and you’ll be able to hear too.
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Yep. Gonna be interesting, Leslie.
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It will like being reborn….there’s a whole other world out there…
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Leslie, “..Men never make passes at girls who wear glasses’. — Marilyn Monroe/‘Loreely Lee’. In “How To Marry A Millionaire”. I never -bought that line.
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I don’t believe it either….chuckle
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I know several people who wore glasses for distance, got fed up, had laser surgery only to find out they now needed reading glasses. Go figure.
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In this case, the new lenses are part of the cataract surgery, but you can’t get monovision. You have to choose distance or close and he went for distance. I don’t think he realized that these new lenses are completely unadaptable to distance changes. Still, I think it went well. He’s pretty happy overall. He can do most things in life without glasses or contacts. That’s a big deal.
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D.C., I originally thought they could give me cataract lenses for near and far vision. I thought wrong.
Still, it’s GREAT not to need glasses for many things like driving, ordinary activities and watching teebee. But I now wear glasses for TB. Eye Doc said I am straining my eyes trying to watch tube without glasses. Okay, Doc.
I’ve heard those stories about laser surgery.
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