I had exactly the same condition diagnosed in mid 2020. It really was disheartening at first when my vision started declining rapidly. I would get a new prescription and in less than 4 weeks I was having trouble seeing. My specific cataracts are leopard spot, they appear randomly across the lens and grow outward. A bit more difficult to detect until they have some definition but have already impacted vision at that point.

Surgery is quick and easy, the actual procedure is less than 15 minutes but there was 3 hours a prep with drops and such to get me ready.

They corrected my vision to 20/25 and also corrected a mild astigmatism. They thought they would at best get me to 20/30 so all are happy with the result.

My left eye is starting to deteriorate now but not as rapidly. I need to schedule an eye appt. here pretty soon and see where I stand.

I did a thread on this topic. Here is a link: https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...200079574#9200079574 I posted updates post OP with more detail on Pg 2 and 3 of that thread.


What I can tell you is that unless your wife is over 65+, don't bother with the multi-focal lenses. My surgeon is a teaching Dr., and we had a long discussion on that. Not necessary at this point in life.

My oldest son was born with Cataracts. We had to wait till he was more grown
to have them removed, about 15 years old. He couldn't see the ball well enough
to play baseball but he was one hell of a football player.

"Unless I’ve missed something (totally possible), LASER can be used to make the incisions, which affords a little better healing…but the old lens (cataract) is still removed via phacoemulsification."

Had both done last fall. The actual surgery is done by needle - and with the prep anasthetics nothing is felt. Insert the probe, vibrate the lens into tiny pieces, remove them, then insert the rolled up lens and it pops into place. As best I remember the "sales pitch". Medicare paid it in full. The left eye was very quick as it was a #7 and brittle, the result with that one eye (the worst and I was driving corrected with it on vacation) was completely clear vision, about 20-25 on the old scale, and I set my 20-200 glasses aside in two days. Too much hassle.

The second eye was a 4, not as progressed and more difficult to remove, maybe two minutes longer. Big deal. Home in 90 minutes. They don't want you to drive for a few days, and further drops as a preventative against discomfort and infection are needed. In my life rubbing my eye from allergies has hurt worse. The cost of discomfort vs clear vision is definitely worth it.

After surgery do not allow your head to get below your waist - too much blood pressure to the eyes can cause problems. I can now drive with NO glasses (keep the insert cards in the wallet for That Cop) and go about your business like nobody's business. This was all basic level stuff, no special lenses etc. And the billing charge to Medicare added up was over $28k, so thats why we don't do it just to correct near sightedness. I'd looked into lasik over the years and so far this is far superior. My only downside is needing "readers" about 2.0 which I had to have in my glasses anyway. The multifocal lenses were not highly recommended by my optician or eye surgeon and they would have been $$ on me - kinda like Dental Surgery which Congress still refuses to cover. My last IRS refund is currently going toward 4 teeth with bone grafts. About $1000 each tooth out of pocket. I might find out the VA could have covered some of it but the VA is the poster child of Goverment healthcare now. Tiered coverage and 5 month delays making appointments.

quote:

About $1000 each tooth out of pocket. I might find out the VA could have covered some of it but the VA is the poster child of Goverment healthcare now. Tiered coverage and 5 month delays making appointments.

^^^^^^^^^
Doubtful unless it is service connected or you have a high level of disability.

Thanks. I let my wife read this thread, and she is reassured. I'll be present at the consult in 2 weeks, so I will advocate as advised. I'll ask about the Valium, but I seriously doubt she will take it. She absolutely hates medication, to the point where she literally has her teeth drilled without anesthesia.

I had no need for any pain killers in any way. The closest thing to pain was a slight gritty sensation in the operative eye for maybe 6 hours post Op. It's part of the healing process and normal.

My best friend just had it done and his grittiness lasted a few days as his astigmatism correction had to be done on the eye itself as he already had LASIC and wasn't a candidate for correction in the replacement lens like I was.

I ended up with two drops, one a steroid and the other an antibiotic that I had to do 3x a day. He had an antibiotic injected and a steroid pellet placed in the side of his eye that would dissolve over time.

quote:

Originally posted by Rightwire:
He had an antibiotic injected and a steroid pellet placed in the side of his eye that would dissolve over time.

Do you know if his insurance covered the dropless approach? If not any idea of the added costs?

quote:

Originally posted by bald1:

quote:

Originally posted by Rightwire:
He had an antibiotic injected and a steroid pellet placed in the side of his eye that would dissolve over time.

Do you know if his insurance covered the dropless approach? If not any idea of the added costs?

No idea although he didn't mention it so I'll guess it was covered. He has top level BCBS

quote:

He has top level BCBS

I would assume BCBS Federal what all the Congressmen have.