Cataract Surgery

On June 23rd, I had surgery on my left eye to remove the cataract. The doctor and I were not sure if it would help since we didn't know if the cloudy/blurriness was from cataract, RP or both. It was a 50/50 chance, but the test to be approved for the surgery I failed with flying colors (which was good thing). I was nervous about what the outcome would be and the idea of my eye being cut...yikes. That didn't sit well with me.

For this surgery the anesthetist doesn't put you out completely because you tend to move your eye more. I was more paralyzed and aware what was happening around me, but I wouldn't remember the details. I spent most of the time prepping for the surgery with numbing and dilation drops every 5-10 minutes. Being under the knife was only about 10 minutes. Crazy right?

The IV drugs given too me kept me loopy for a good two days. I slept most of those days, only to wake up to do drops and eat. The surgery went well and they were able to get the cataract out and a new lens in. I chose to have the lens that allows me to see at a distance and need glasses for reading. The first two days I didn't try to look to see what the difference was in my vision: had a shield over my eye and too groggy to tell.

The day after my surgery though I did have a follow up appointment to check my incision. An eye test was done it I was told that I read the same as I did when I had my glasses on. I thought, damn! That is awesome! But as the week progress I could tell some blurriness was coming back. I got discouraged. Don't get me wrong the surgery improved the cloudiness and brightened the colors. But, I had hopes that I would have to rely on glasses full-time. At my week follow-up I found that my eye is back to blurry for distance because my cornea was so swollen from surgery that it was pressing down on the astigmatism that I have which made my vision clearer in reading. After the swelling went down, the astigmatism came back.

All in all the surgery was worth it because I can see colors and details again. I remind myself that it was worth it by shutting the good eye and looking out of the eye with the cataract still and I'm shocked that everything I had been seeing was so grayish. To get an idea of how I saw, it is like looking through a window that has Vaseline smeared across it and the colors are very pale with a gray look to it.

I am having my right eye done on the 19th of July and then after both eyes are done healing I will be working on my new glasses correction; which they call refraction. For now I don't wear my glasses full-time since it doesn't help. My vision is over balanced which throws my dept perception off as well. I get headaches from having two different eyes at different levels.