Cataract Surgery: What to expect after surgery

Posted by dablues @dablues, Aug 13, 2020

I had my left eye done yesterday, and have an appointment to see the durgedon today in Atlanta. My eye is blurry so don't know if that is normal or not. She said I could resume exercising at the Y after a week, no driving for 3 days but shaid nothing else. I guess I cn wait and ask until I get there but some say no heavy lifinting, not to bvend, and not to exercise for 2 weeks. I also have exercises to do at night from my therapy on neck and legss. Is blurryiness normal? I see less thsan I did before. I have exfoliation which I told the doctor but she said not to worry. Any thoughts on this? Am I jumping the gun thinking I would cleary see after surgery:? Also this AM saw halos around lights

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@bobbyo

Dear Sir,

I can empathize with some of your after surgery symptoms, though my “slew of thousands of floaters” happened after I had surgery for a torn retina.

Here’s my experience:
I was hit hard in the eye with a ball while playing softball. For a few days, I thought I just had a nasty black eye till I saw a flood of small spec floaters a few days later. Quickly, I went to ophthalmologist and they diagnosed a torn retina and I had surgery (called cryosurgery) to repair my retina. Just after surgery, I saw MANY more floaters that looked like someone emptied a pepper shaker into my field of vision (like you)! It seemed to worsen to thousands of floaters and I inquired with doctor and many times in the first weeks after surgery. He described the majority of these to be red blood cells that happened during my retina surgery AND these floaters would dissipate in “a couple weeks”. Well, I visited him at two months and they were STILL there. In my mind, they were about the same as they had been, but, maybe they were down to hundreds instead of thousands. He, again, said, “give it a couple weeks or so.”

At that point, I was really frustrated and thought the condition would never improve. FINALLY, , another 4-6 weeks later, I looked into the sky and it was, mostly, clear of floaters. So, I assume, the majority of those thousands of floaters were the surgery-related red blood cells that, eventually, go away.

So, I pray that everything was done ok with your surgery and that your vision improves with your doctor’s treatment, healing and time.

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I appreciate your comment concerning what happened to you. I guess these floaters could be red blood cells, but the drs never suggested that so that idea didn`t occur to me. I had read that these floaters could be debris from the cataract when it was removed. The cornea specialist I saw on August 31st seemed to suggest that to me also. I know there was some problem when they did the surgery because it took them over 30 minutes and normally it only takes 15,,,,one of the staff mentioned that to me when I called the office the next week about the continued blurriness. thank you for comments I will bring this up with the Dr.

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@metermaidman

I appreciate your comment concerning what happened to you. I guess these floaters could be red blood cells, but the drs never suggested that so that idea didn`t occur to me. I had read that these floaters could be debris from the cataract when it was removed. The cornea specialist I saw on August 31st seemed to suggest that to me also. I know there was some problem when they did the surgery because it took them over 30 minutes and normally it only takes 15,,,,one of the staff mentioned that to me when I called the office the next week about the continued blurriness. thank you for comments I will bring this up with the Dr.

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I asked so many questions of the surgeon in my subsequent visits that they were pushing me out the door. From my experience, the ones that went away were the small, spec floaters. Even though I think they are red blood cells, they never looked red. I’d describe them as black/dark.

Oh, I still have a number of the “traditional floaters”, those made of collagen, protein, vitreous pieces or whatever. They can be maddening, but the body’s ability to neuroadapt can make them more tolerable.

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@bobbyo

I asked so many questions of the surgeon in my subsequent visits that they were pushing me out the door. From my experience, the ones that went away were the small, spec floaters. Even though I think they are red blood cells, they never looked red. I’d describe them as black/dark.

Oh, I still have a number of the “traditional floaters”, those made of collagen, protein, vitreous pieces or whatever. They can be maddening, but the body’s ability to neuroadapt can make them more tolerable.

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The floaters I have are black and all over the eye. I have a floater in my rt eye that isn`t black but it is larger and I`ve adapted to it being there. I will call the operating Dr today to see if they are going to set up an appointment. I have scheduled an appointment at the U of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center for September 24th and will keep it if my eye continues to be blurry. They have helped me before and I trust them. My sister lives not far so I have some support with her and a place to stay. Again, thanks for the reply because I want to hear what others have gone through and sure hope I can find answers and have my vision back to "normal".

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Comment from a discussion on cataract surgery turned up in the daily digest. Not sure why. The discussion seems to have started a year ago and there are now at least 4 - 5 screens worth of comments. Someone was wondering what to expect after cataract surgery. I’m 64 years old and have had cataract surgery done on both eyes. So much has changed since the cataract surgeries done on my parents and grandparents: procedures, after care, restrictions etc. My advice is to have someone you trust with you to be extra eyes (literally!) & ears, ask lots of questions, take notes of the answers, get an after hour # in case you have more questions or concerns later. There is no such thing as a dumb question, only the one you fail to ask!

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My cataract surgery was one year ago. My Dr did not fully explain to me that in order for my vision to be improved I would have to have lenses put in. I went with the basic surgery. I now have to wear glasses for reading and for distance. Pre surgery my distance vision was ok. No glasses. Now it’s much worse. In addition to two pairs of glasses, I have glare in both eyes. Very disappointed. If I had it to do again, knowing the results, I would not have the surgery.

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@mgriff543

I had both eyes done a year and a half ago and one eye is still blurry. I have astigmatism in this eye and it's not completely correctable with a lens implant. It's much better than it was, but not 100%.

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I HAD BOTH EYES DONE IN 2013. ALL MY LIFE I HAD SEVERE ASTIGMATISM. I WAS ADVISED THERE WAS A LENS AVAILABLE FOR ASTIGMATISM. I HAD TO PAY FOR IT AS IT WAS A SPECIALTY LENS. AFTER THE SURGERY AND RECOVERY I COULD SEE BETTER THAN ANY TIME IN MY LIFE AND THAT VISION CONTINUES TO THIS DAY. I HAD ONE OF THESE SPECIALTY LENSES IN EACH EYE.

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I paid for a special lens when I had my surgery in July. The Dr. said there two types one cost 500 dollars extra and the other 3500 dollars extra. So, if your rich I guess you get a better chance of seeing better! I bought the 500 dollar lens as the Dr said it would give me a 20% chance of having the correct lens in my eye.. Not being a millionaire I didn`t get the 3500 dollar lens. Should I have gotten it? Now that my eye has been operated on and I haven`t been able to see very well I think I never should have had the surgery. My vision was good I didn`t have trouble seeing, and I feel that I was misled into thinking I would see better! Knowing now that there are many things that can go wrong why have it done unless your vision is really bad.....It has been close to six weeks since I had the surgery, and the Drs say wait.....how long? They don`t tell you before the surgery much about the problems you could face after.....you sign off on the forms because....I guess I didn`t think it was going to happen to me.....it has..... so now I have to find the solutions so that I , hopefully, can see normal....and live independently the remainder of my life !!!

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My post-cataract course was not a good one. I continued to have shadows around the margins of my vision. The doctors I saw pretty much just scratched their heads. One told me to see a psychiatrist. So I took it upon myself to find an answer. After hundreds of hours researching, I came across negative dysphotopsia in a forum discussion, and knew that's what my problem was. Interesting that I had to find out about it in a forum and not in medical articles. I found a doctor in California (I'm in Austin, Texas) who had worked with patients with this condition, mostly in Eurrope. I contacted him and he recommended a doctor in Houston. The Houston doctor said my case was pretty much classic, and that he would have to replace my intraocular lenses with a different kind. So I had surgery on one eye followed a month later by the other eye. I had to use a lot of steroid type medications, pre and post surgery. I had arranged for my final follow up to be done by an optometrist near where I lived. My eye pressure had skyrocketed. She kept me in her office several hours treating and watching my pressures. Turns out I'm a steroid reactor. Jeez, what else? It has been a few years now and my pressures are still not normal - I take prescription medication to keep it down. The second lens replacements resolved about 90% of my ND problems. My subsequent research has revealed that ND is not exactly an uncommon condition. Ophthalmologists were slow to get on the bandwagon, and many still aren't. There's plenty that can be found online now about this condition. Although most literature still describes it as a dark crescent-like shape in your temporal field, my experience, as well as many others in forums, is of shadows along your peripheral fields (like vignetting). Bottom line, be aware that this condition can arise after cataract surgery, and don't be intimidated about seeking treatment. Dealing with ND for more than four years after my initial surgeries had caused me to question my cognition, limit my driving, and affected my social interactions. Be aware.

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@jaguar737

I just had to chime in on this post. In January 2019 I had cataract surgery on my right eye as it was the worst. All my friends that had the procedure done also had glowing results. This is December 2020 and i still wrestle with issues from the procedure. Somehow after the surgery an infection occurred in my cornea, prednisone didn't clear it up. So my last option was a shot in my eye. The doctor was so non chalant about it I walked out of the room and replied not today. As my eye only got worse I prayed and consulted friends, and reading post from this site I decided to go back to the doctor and have them to explain to me what other options were available and what were the consequences if I didn’t take the shot. The prognosis wasn’t good. I took the shot The issue got better however I still experience discomfort in that eye. They want me to do the left eye. My response was this I haven’t healed yet from the one you did.why would i give you the other one, Through this site i’ve learned about Perser Vision vitamin. and the Bruder eye mask which are a tremendous help. To be forewarned is to be fore armed. not all results are glowing

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Over a year ago, I had my cataracts removed and multifocal lens implanted. My left eye is still blurry and bothers me when I read and when I read the computer screen. I am willing to wear glasses. But my doctor says that I was told about the blurriness. I just want to fix it. He wouldn’t help with glasses because I can see 20/20. It’s just blurry. He did adjust for astigmatism, but maybe he didnt make the correct adjustment. Is it possible to have a pair of glasses made that will help with the blurriness?

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@monak

Over a year ago, I had my cataracts removed and multifocal lens implanted. My left eye is still blurry and bothers me when I read and when I read the computer screen. I am willing to wear glasses. But my doctor says that I was told about the blurriness. I just want to fix it. He wouldn’t help with glasses because I can see 20/20. It’s just blurry. He did adjust for astigmatism, but maybe he didnt make the correct adjustment. Is it possible to have a pair of glasses made that will help with the blurriness?

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I have the same problem still going on almost 2 years.
I also have an on going light sensation continually in the edge if my eye. I've complained about this along with sharp pain and pulling.
I was told he sees nothing wrong and to take care of the other eye. He did say it could. be the buckle but strongly hesitates to do anymore surgery.
I'm in the process of seeing someone at Mayo in February.

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