OT: Cataract surgery questions

My husband has cataracts...both eyes...both needing surgery. While I am one tough momma...he is a big weenie (like most men)
This is something I have never had any experience with and wasn't in my medical field of expertise so I don't know much about it.
Looking for some comments from those of you who have had the cataract surgery. He's terrified.

High deductible insurance so we will pretty much have to suck up and most likely all come out of pocket...ugh...but likely will get close to meeting the deductible and if we do I have another plan for him.....don't tell him though....colonoscopy.
After deductible...100 % pay....he is going to get everything possible checked out this year on their dime.

Comments from those who have gone under the eyeball knife???

I had it done on both of my eyes, one at a time. It is absolutely nothing to be concerned about, he will not feel a thing and there is no pain involved after the surgery. After 6 weeks he will go to the eye doctor for eye exam for checkup if any prescription needed.
I can see without any glasses pretty well, clearly and sharp, I can even read the paper but the smaller letters are not perfectly sharp as well as the long distance when driving is not perfect but I could read the signs. So I got a prescription but in the house I don't have them on, only when I read the paper or when I go somewhere for shopping or a trip.
The surgery itself as I said is practically nothing.

My grandfather had both eyes done in his 80s and it was nothing... no pain and easy recovery, other than an eye patch for a day or so, if I remember correctly.

I remember taking my mother for her surgery. Eye doctors do several surgeries the same day.... they do the same eye on everyone that day to avoid mix-ups. (i.e. all lefts or all rights). The next morning in the doctor's office everyone was sitting there with patches on their left eye.

Wimps and weenies (I fit both categories, though I've never had that surgery) do fine with it. Even female "super-wimps" sail through it OK. : http://magissues.farmprogress.com/wfs/W ... wfs041.pdf

My mother had hers done last month, one eye at a time separated by a couple of weeks. Her biggest complaint was month of post surgery eye drops ... so really nothing to be concerned about.

Pugsy,
I am an Optometrist who has worked in a cataract specialty practice for almost 20 years. I have had direct responsibility for thousands of post cataract surgery patients.

It is a highly successful and extremely well tolerated proceedure. The vast majority of patients do quite well. Medicare pays for more cataract extractions than anything else. As a surgery, it really is a non-event. I usually tell my patients that the level of involvement is similar to having a tooth pulled, but MUCH less painful. Most people have very little discomfort, if any. Even my father, an engineer (yes, they are a different breed) who had literally never had any kind of medical proceedure done beyond having a tooth filled, did quite well. He even played golf the next day. He wasn't supposed to, but he did.

The worst part is the post-op eye drops. If he is at all squeamish about them, start practicing now with some over the counter artificial tear drops (NOT Visene). Feel free to ask me if you have any more questions.

Jim

Thanks everyone.

I keep telling hubby that this isn't a big deal but he keeps saying "these are my eyes"...
64 years old and really never had anything done beyond scoping of his bad knees.
He was just so convinced that his vision difficulties were because of an incompetent OD and the new glasses that he wasn't prepared for the cataracts being to blame. He was so thinking that the doc would say "oh, your glasses are crap and all you need is a different prescription". He really truly thought it was all because of the glasses because he didn't like the OD that we used.
I told him months ago that I thought the problem was the cataracts that we were told were forming (by the OD that he didn't like).

Of course I get to keep telling him "I told you so"..which I do every chance I get.

Hi Pugsy.

I had both eyes done. Piece a cake!! My wife had one done. No problem. George

On behalf of wimp-husbands everywhere, please stop confusing us with the facts when we have emotional responses to medical procedures and docs.

And for every "I told you so" said to him, that's two "oh, you poor baby" and "you just relax and let me get that for you" statements owed to him after each surgery.

It's a rule.

My mother-in-law had it done in her 70's, in a few minutes.
We who brought her were invited to watch it on the monitor.
The teenagers were fascinated.
We took her out for a picnic about 3 days later--she was just fine.

A good friend of mine had the surgery on a Thurs and played cards with us the following Monday with no glasses! She had the other eye done not long after. The drops were a pain in the neck for a few days and all her girlfriends took turns going over to put the drops in, she lives alone. Pugsy, be nice! Remember he's never had a baby!

As I tell my reluctant patients. "De Nile" is not just a river in Egypt. We can do it now, under your terms, or wait until your wife takes your car keys, and the DMV tells you to have it done.

worst part of the colonoscopy - by far- is the "cleansing out" the day before

I wonder which common procedure/test patients dread the most.
A) colonoscopy
B) sleep study
C) cataract surgery
D) ______________