A few years ago, during an eye exam, I was told I have very tiny cataracts in both eyes. Probably due to working outside in the bright Texas sun without shades. I hate anything you have to use with glasses, clip-ons or those big clunky things that slide over your glasses. The doctor told me they would get worse, and the less protection I had the faster they would deteriorate. Flash forward three years. Yeah I know, I should have my eyes examined every year, but who has the time? This morning, after the doctor smacked me upside the head, he told me my cataracts are seriously "occluding my near and distant vision." I'm so nearsighted, I focus on the cataract and nothing beyond it. Well, fuck. Bad news, I shouldn't be driving. Shouldn't, but we all know that's not going to stop me. Good news, it's serious enough that the eye surgeon will probably repair my myopia when he removes the little fuckers. My appointment is set for June 28. Until then, online is limited.
Oh, and here's a picture of Max.
37 comments:
Chit, that is bad news. Going gradually blind is a nightmare for someone who obviously enjoys reading and doing your blog.
Thanks for the picture of the Mighty Max.
I got out of the hospital this past Monday and am minus some of my guts. All good though, when this all heals I will be able to eat 'real food' again.
This is by way of encouraging you to get your eyes repaired.
Best of luck Angel, you are a champion.
Omg, Granny! I hope you're okay! A little over a year ago, my dad had emergency surgery to remove a large chunk of necrotizing intestine. He was 80 and spent a week in the hospital sexually harassing the nurses. He's doing great now. I hope you have a swift recovery.
The pic is out of focus.
(Sorry, gotta scrape the humor out of the worst of things!)
Upside, once the surgeon is done, you'll be blown away with your new vision.
I'm really interested in how your cataract surgery goes.
As one of the five percent of the population who develop cataracts in the 50 to 54 age group I have been on a slow boil freak out since being diagnosed and put on a waiting list nine months ago.
Always been near sighted and have been wearing progressive lenses for five years.
Having had a lot of time alone to think about it since I work six hundred miles away from my family, I am beginning to think the progressive lens diagnosis was a misdiagnosis and that in fact I had cataracts all along.
My left eye is about nine months to a year behind the state of my right eye which sees three moons in the sky at night.
I need to get this done, soon.
If only there was some way in Canada to get it done in a private clinic.
And it's odd because a friend of mine had their dog's cataracts fixed for three grand in the states.
Because I am human, I have to wait.
Get the cataract surgery. It is a no-brainer these days. I am a grown man with very few fears... one of those few is anything sharp near my eyes. 👀 I found the "best guy in town", made the appointment, and got it done. Had a pre-surgery no-worries-be-happy shot ( because I'm an eye-weenie) and a little proprophol (Michael Jackson "milk") during. I was mostly awake for the whole thing (mostly). The actual surgery was probably less than five minutes. Went back two weeks later for the second eye.
Don't let anyone try to talk you into anything fancy (one eye for distant and one eye for close up; "bifocal" lenses; or any similar fee-increasing nonsense). Ask them to put in the best possible "distance" lenses and then you can "correct" for close work with durgstore "readers".
Having it done by laser doesn't necessarily improve anything (except the fee) if your doctor us one of those who has done thoudpsands of successful cataract operations. Remember find the best guy/gal in town and make the appointment. You can thank me later. 😉
You'll be amazed at the colors you're missing today! 👁
I'm 20/400 in my left and 20/475 in my right. I've worn corrective lenses since I was 8. The thought of waking up and seeing the clock 2 feet from my bed clearly without putting on glasses first.
I had both eyes done this year in April. I had cataracts. My vision was 20/800 each eye. Now that is nearsighted. Now my vision is 20/20 in left eye and maybe 20/50 in right eye. Having a different power lens in both eyes helps. Talk to your doctor on options. Because of this, I can see cellphone and read computer screen without glasses and drive without glasses. Just need cheap reading specs from discount store to read fine print and thread a needle. I was in at 9am and home by 1:30pm.
You might want to consider asking your doctor about having a one eye corrected for distance vision and the other for reading/computer.
I had both corrected for best distance vision when I had my cataract surgery & as I sit here with glasses on at the computer screen I wish I'd had one done for near & the other for far.
" Bad news, I shouldn't be driving. Shouldn't, but we all know that's not going to stop me."
Well that explains a lot!
Best of luck on getting it all taken care of. You'll be fine I'm sure.
I'm gonna have to do something before too long - had LASIK quite a few years ago, and I loved it. But age is catching up with me and I'm having trouble seeing the front sight clearly...plus I've got a big floater in my right eye that wants to park in front of the scope reticle.
Easily fixable, you'll be happy with the results. My brother in law was having trouble with detaching retinas. They can fix that now too. 72 and back to work in the pro shop at his favorite golf course.
ignore amos
Angel,
I was beyond 20/500 both eyes when I had my cataract surgery. The surgeon had never done one on a higher prescription and he had done heaps. While my surgery took longer than normal, the results have been nothing short of amazing! No more myopia, mild astigmatism fixed too. The only issue is the artificial lenses don't adjust so I have to wear reading glasses. Recovery is rapid and complications at the low end of minimal. Best of luck, you'll love the new you!
Michael in Nelson
the sooner the better....get the best surgeon ,the best place to do it, and all of your band of minions will be invoking The Deity with Pentecostal intensity, Catholic regularity, and Baptist insistence! Don't worry about the blog in the interim, there is plenty of hash to rehash til you are back at the controls ......
vaquero viejo
I had cataract surgery just before Thanksgiving last year on my left eye. Two weeks later I had the right one done. I couldn't afford the fancy lenses that would let me see distance and near, so I opted for distance vision. It's great, I can see things I could never see before. I have reading glasses stashed around the house and I just take them off and lay them down when I stand up. Dollar General has great reading glasses for a good price. You'll have some prep to do beforehand. The doctor will give you a series of eye drops for before and after. Keeping up with that schedule is the worst part. The surgery itself is a breeze. A few eye drops, some eye wash, some happy juice, a nice nap, and someone drives you home. I had no pain and very little irritation. Just a little light sensitivity. It took about three days for my vision to clear up. They put a thick fluid in your eye to hold the lens in place while things heal. After that, you can take ZZ Tops advice and get yourself a pair of cheap sunglasses. The world will be a much brighter place.
i had cataract surgery 4 years ago.....best thing i ever did you won't believe the difference ..cataracts take your sight slowly over years so you don't even realize now what you can't see now ....colors exploded after surgery ..everything so bright and beautiful i had to wear sunglasses to go to the grocery store everything was so bright .....i wear sunglasses outside at all times now but looking back i should have done it years earlier .....anyway the point is .....go get it done .....the sooner the better you will thank yourself everyday afterwards ....
Hope you get to see Dr. Rush, good guy. Had both done, easy in, easy out. No problems. Talked to him while he was doing it. Good luck..
EdinAma
I hope your surgery and recovery go well. Please take care of yourself - your family needs you to be in good shape. No worries about blog content (actually pretty impressed you were able to type your blog that way), we'll keep the porch light on until you are back.
Dang. Praying for you! Also thinkin I need to schedule a trip to my optometrist soonish.
I hope all goes well with your surgery. I had mine done in my early 50s (which I understand is rare), four years apart by different surgeons. The results were quite different but I don't know if the surgeon made the difference.
I opted for two corrections with regular single vision lenses - one eye at about 14 inches, and one at about 30. The doctor thought I was nuts, but I love it. I've been nearsighted all my life and since they couldn't surgically correct my astigmatism, I'd still need glasses. Might as well need them for driving, which I rarely do. My eyes are close enough in correction that it's not too uncomfortable to go without glasses sometimes - my brain can integrate the two images. Normally, I use separate glasses for reading, computer, and driving.
My only problem is shooting - I can't see both the target and the front sight. I'll need to find some sort of bifocal or other arrangement.
You wont regret the cat surgery. My wife who has retinitis pigmentosa and had cataracts did it. The RP is not fixable and eventually she'll be blind but she still has some center vision. After the cataract procedure, it cleared all that fuzziness up, colors got real and no more halos at night.
Now I'm going to take her to the range to shoot. I friggin can't wait until the range boss sees us walk up to the pit and have her fold up her cane. It would be more impactful if we took her guide dog but that much gunfire wouldn't be good for him.
I hope everything goes well.
Never had lasik, but wore contact lenses for a long time. I wore the right one for distance, and the left for reading. It was great for me, I know that many people don't like it. But best of luck however you choose, and we will be here whenever you get back. Your health comes first.
Like everyone else has notated, no complication when I had both of mine done at the beginning of the year. I have really bad astigmatism in the left eye, but it was $1200 for the lens that fixes that. I figured I had worn glasses for 54 years what's another 20 years. I decided on the both eyes equal and wearing reading glasses for the close-up work.
One other thing, relax. I was so nervous about somebody messing with my eye I drove up my blood pressure to the point they were debating on doing the surgery. Good luck and we will see you when you get back.
As many have already noted, GET IT DONE! I had my done several years ago (age 48) and went from worse than 20/800 to 20/20 in one eye and 20/15 in the other. I had worn glasses since the age of 7. I just need readers now. Recovery is quick, not much pain and the benefits are fantastic.
I went with the same lens in both eyes. I figured glasses for reading only would be no big deal and since I like to hunt and play golf, the distance thing was more important. My doc didn't use a laser either.
Good luck!
And have some sunglasses ready when the patch comes off - you will need them!
And one last comment. You will be at a higher risk for a detached retina due to your nearsightedness and cataract surgery. Talk to your doctor about that and UNDERSTAND the symptoms. If you do have a detachment, you can't wait a month or 6 months to get it fixed or you will have vision issues permanently. I didn't realize I had a detachment for about 4-6 weeks. Most folks don't get better than 20/50 vision after surgery. I got lucky (having a great doc helps) but I do a daily check on my other eye to make sure there are no problems.
Just to back up what others have said here. Got both my eyes done about eight years ago. Started at 20/450 and 20/250 and am now 20/30 and 20/15. Plus, I have clear peripheral vision instead of 2 focused holes in the middle of a blur. Being able to read the clock at night without glasses is worth the whole procedure.
You might want to do what I did; have the doc set things up so that your dominant eye's focus starts at about one meter (guess why). Otherwise, it's no glasses and Wally-World readers for anything inside a meter for me. Plus, you get to wear the really cool shades afterwards.
And when a World Champion Open Class Five-Year-Old Crybaby-Candyass tells you there's nothing to it, then there's noting to it. (Sometimes it stings when they start the IV though.)
And if that doesn't convince you, consider this: It's made ALL the girls prettier. (You can adjust as necessary for your situation.)
Here's to good results no matter what you decide.
wacked you with what?
Wildflower
" Bad news, I shouldn't be driving. Shouldn't, but we all know that's not going to stop me."
Yes. We know.... (sigh....). On the bright side (for you), Kenny is going to find another reason to pick on you, once you can see well enough to use the satnav / see the Stop sign / notice the oncoming bus... need I go on :)
Cue collective sigh of relief from your neighbours....
Never had eye surgery myself, being long-sighted and using reading glasses for anything less than four feet from my face. It does affect my shooting as I cannot focus on iron sights, and have to use a scope.
Best of luck, and I hope you are able to choose the best surgeon possible.
To all of you crybabies urging me to be brave and do it, I had decided before I left the doctor's office to do it. It's just a matter of getting it scheduled. I fear nothing. Nineteen and a half years ago I had a 9.6 pound baby rip through my uterus during a contraction. The next morning, they kicked me out of ICU and that afternoon I was walking my IV pole down to NICU to see the Baby Queen. Compared to that, this is a cakewalk.
"I had decided before I left the doctor's office to do it."
Atta girl...
I originally read this post while in the waiting area at the eye doctor's office. Good luck with your eyes!
Cataract surgery for me was the easiest I've had, and I've had a few. I had a fast growing type, I went from normal to essentially zero useful vision in one eye in a matter of three months. That was scarier than the surgery.
Best wishes and prayer for a perfect surgery and a speedy recovery.
Lookin good Max
Nice dog.
Maxed out.
Once, in an ex USSR country I asked what the difference was between vodka at 1 dollar a bottle and 10 dollar. Yes, it was traded in US dollars.
Answer:- The 10 dollar stuff does not make you go blind.
Seriously, though, I wish you well.
Then you will realise how ugly everybody is.
Every silver lining has a cloud.
Best of luck on your surgery. My wife goes in tomorrow for same.
Discovered you not too long ago. We're the same age and relative location. Hope you're doing well. Guess I need to get mine taken care of too. Thank you for your great blog!
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