Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cataracts

No more blind spots

catlet — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:30:12 -0800

A friend requires cataract surgery in the near future, and has some questions about his options for MeFites who've pondered the same issues. (I have seen this thread and pointed him to it - juggler, have you had your surgery yet? What did you decide to do?)

My friend is 43. He has been mildly nearsighted since 12 and has worn glasses/contacts for distance vision since then, but has never had problems with very close vision. The cataract in his left eye is quite advanced, the right one less so; he is planning to have both done, but has not chosen his replacement lenses yet.

Single focus lenses: It appears that he could choose to have single focus close-focus lenses in both eyes, or single focus distance-focus lenses. If you have two close-focus lenses, how well can you see small things up close, like tiny iPhone screws or needles to thread? If you have two distance-focus lenses, can you read without glasses and do other close work? Is there a reason to choose one over the other? If you could do it over, would you get the same focal distances?

Multi-focus lenses: What kind of lens did you get? How happy are you with your overall vision? Was it worth the extra expense? He has BCBS insurance and will probably have to pay above the coverage cost to get multi-focal lenses.

Special bonus question: Anyone with the new Crystalens accommodating lens? TruncatedTiller, you posted that your wife has them - is she still happy? How does it compare to her natural vision?

Thanks, hivemind. If you prefer e-mail, drop me a note at metacatlet @ gmail or MeMail, and I will pass it along.

Have you had cataract surgery?

juggler — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:26:12 -0800

I need cataract surgery. From what I have learned so far, I am leaning towards to foregoing the multi-focal lens and sticking with the conventional mono-focal lens. Does anyone have first hand experience with cataracts that can offer any advice? (I'm in the Washington, DC area.) I have been diagnosed with anterior subcapsular cataracts in both eyes. My right eye has progressed to the point that it is time for surgery. I know that satisfaction with the surgery is higher in patients that wait as long as possible (and so see greater improvement), and I have waited. I have adapted to using just my left eye. Now I am starting to see my left eye start to noticeably degrade, so it's time to do the right one, which is fairly advanced already. From what I have learned, multi-focal lenses tend to create more glare, particularly at night, so that has steered me away from them. I've worn glasses all my life, so eliminating them after surgery is not that important to me, although it would be nice to only have to use them for reading or close work.
I would appreciate any advice or information you can offer. I have not yet selected a surgeon, so any input on surgeons in the Washington, DC area would be helpful, as well. Thanks.

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pieoverdone — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:23:59 -0800

My dog may have the beetus. What do I do? My 10 year old pointer mix recently developed a cataract very quickly in his right eye. We were at the vet's last week for it. He said that most often geriatric cataracts develop bilaterally but with one coming up so fast (really, it was like 10 days from clear eye to obstructed) that it may be canine diabetes. We talked about it and he hasn't shown any of the other behaviors associated with diabetic dogs. For now I'm going to order Diastix and check his urine and also get a Glucopet meter to see if his blood sugar is out of whack. He just finished off a bag of Nutro Venison and Rice for his itchy skin, which did help it. So now I'm shopping for a new bag of food. So recommendations on food are requested as well as general advice for having a diabetic dog.

Another note, cataract surgery generally isn't done on dogs unless they have obstructed vision in both eyes and usually is only done to one eye because the cost is about 1500/eye. This is an option for us if it comes to that. His other eye is clear.

Cataracts!??

bluejayk — Mon, 14 May 2007 12:51:00 -0800

I think I have a cataract. I'm 30 years old, and I live in China. What now? So, I had LASIK 5 years ago. There were complications. My eyes are naturally dry, and the surgery seems to have made the condition worse, so that my eyes tend to be red and itchy, unless I take very good care of them, or even when I do sometimes.

So I've gotten used to having bloodshot eyes, and it makes my left eye (the one more prone to redness and irritation) bother me on occasion. This last week, it started to bother me a lot, but I figured it was due to seasonal allergies, or using the computer too much, or something. I used a hot compress, which is about the only thing I can do to make it better outside of living in a cool, clean climate.

But my left eye continued to hurt and the last few days I noticed some occassional extreme sensitivity to light. This is unusual and today when looking in the mirror I noticed a little cloudy spot over the iris, which coincides with an area of blurred vision I had assumed was just caused by general irritation. So I looked online about cataracts, and it seems to likely to be a cataract, despite my relative youth.

Obviously, this is not a qualified diagnosis. But I'm really at a loss what I'm gonna do about it. If it is a cataract, it seems the only way to get rid of it is surgery. Well, I live in China, and I don't have health insurance. I don't have much in the way of savings, so to fly back to America to have surgery would require credit card debt. Surgery in China... uhm. Maybe. Surgery in Hong Kong? Surgery in Thailand? All the websites I found were about cosmetic surgery, so I'm not sure where I fit in.

I guess I'll be seeing a doctor in the next day or two, but in the mean time if anyone can point me to good resources about cataracts, overseas health care, or anything else, it'd be great. I'm kinda freakin out, cause I think of cataracts as something people get in their 70's.

Do cats get cataracts?

y2karl — Tue, 07 Sep 2004 21:41:07 -0800

Cats and Cataracts. Does anyone have any experience or expertise in regards to cats with cataracts? I saw my cat's eyes today in the sun coming in through the window and saw the lens were turning milky cloudy. One eye is drippy and there seems to be a milky ridge forming over the lens. I didn't find out about this until after 5, so I have to wait until morning to call the vet.

I have Googled 'cats' and 'cataract's but there is so much woo woo holistic or the same damn About.com articles reprinted over and over and I don't have the patience tonight to cut through them all. Does anyone have experience with a cat who had cataracts? What happened? What can you do?