A routine trip to the Optometrist on 12/21 for a prescription for new glasses took a turn for the serious when I was told the reason my glasses no longer worked was that I have a "slight" cataract in my left eye and a "moderate to serious" one in my right eye - in fact, I was told I should have cataract replacement surgery "right away" or my vision would continue to worsen (left eye had gone from 20/20 to 20/25 and right eye had gone from 20/30 to 20/40 in one year, which the Optometrist classed as a "major" vision change)

After doing a lot of reading, such as at An Information Site and at Another Site to figure out the best course of action, I decided I did need to have the Phacoemulsification surgery described in the links above

I went to the Opthamologist January 3rd 2002 for a more thorough "pre-surgery" check, and was told there were still several steps (NOTE: the doctor said both eyes need to be done, not just the one indicated by the Optometrist, with the right eye being first and the left 3-4 weeks later)

Before and Leading up to Surgery

• Step 1 on 12/10 was to have my eyes measured, so the proper replacement lenses may be ordered - since the replacement lenses are fixed focus, and will be set for distance (for driving), I will still need to have reading glasses when both eyes are done
• Step 2 on 12/23 is the actual surgery, which is supposed to take between 20-30 minutes, then home with a patch over my eye to insure nothing gets in the way of the beginning of the healing process (grin... I think they mean they want to be sure I don't rub my eye when it feels irritated)
• Step 3 will be to return for a follow-up check the next day and a couple more days of no work at all, plus "light" duty for at least a week (I work in a mailroom, so sometimes move heavy items, but not for at least a week after surgery!) plus I was told not to bend "below waist level" for at least a week since either lifting or bending creates a "hydraulic pressure wave" through the body which is a VeryBadThing for an eye with a fresh surgical procedure that needs time to heal

• Arrived at the clinic at 6:30 for paperwork and surgery prep (a series of 4 different drops in my eye, plus an IV drip for later "happy shot" and connection to the usual monitor system)
• Wheeled into the operating room at about 8am, given the happy shot and numbing drops in my eye
• The procedure consisted of using ultrasound to break up the cloudy lens to be flushed away (weird, watching the yellow/solid "blob" gradually disappear) and then the rolled up new lens was put in place and unrolled (a flash of "clear" just before a patch was put over my eye)
• The Doctor said the procedure took about 20 minutes, but due to the aforementioned happy shot it seemed to me more like about 45 seconds and I was out and the nurse was disconnecting me from all the tubes and wires
• As I write this 3 hours later, my eye feels like it was rolled in sand... but that should only last a few hours (I hope!) and then the patch will be removed the next morning... so far, all is proceeding as planned

• Dr took off the patch the next morning and checked... all went well and my right eye now works at 20/25 vision (I could read all but the smallest line on the eye chart)
• I will, in fact, eventually need reading glasses since I tested and my right eye is blurry for anything closer than about 3 feet... but the good news is the Dr said that since my eyes will both be the same, I should be able to use inexpensive ready made glasses at "about" a 2-or-2.25 setting (exact setting to be determined later, when both eyes are completed)
• Not only am I able to see clearly with my right eye, at least beyond about 3 feet, the COLORS are amazing since the new lens is totally clear, not yellow like the one that was removed
• Due to that clear lens, sunglasses are now needed in even moderate light... I don't know if this will change over time as my eye adjusts, or if I will have to always keep sunglasses handy, but will find out over time
• For the next 2 weeks I have to wear a "sleep patch" to make sure I don't put pressure on my eye while turning over at night
• Due to my job (Mailroom and Supplies) I have some restrictions
• The initial NO LIFTING ban is for the 10 days right after surgery, which covers the time I am taking off (Wed through Fri) for the initial recovery and the following work week when I will have a helper to do ALL lifting
• There is then another week of LIGHT lifting, so it looks like I will need a helper to deliver the really heavy items, like boxes of copy paper and any heavy boxes from UPS
• After the 2nd week of light lifting, I should be OK for work as usual
• I will have a combination "final follow-up" and "before left eye surgery" on Feb 18, and will then do all this again for my left eye on Feb 27

February 18 I went in for a combination final check of my right eye (all is very well) and pre-surgery check of my left eye... all is also well there

Steps 5 and 6, completed February 27, were to repeat 2 and 3 on my left eye, now that the first surgery has healed, with a final trip back once my eyes are both stabilized, for a new prescription for reading glasses (actually, a check to let me know the power of OTC glasses I may buy in bulk to keep a pair "everywhere" I want to read)

Thursday the 28th back to the Doctor to remove the patch... all is VERY well... from 3 feet out I now have 20/20 vision in both eyes... plus the need to wear sun glasses when there is the least bit of sun in the sky

Final Report
Eyes all healed and stable, sun glasses when I'm outside during the day (having clear lenses is GREAT!) and inexpensive reading glasses for the computer (buy 3 pairs for $18 at Costco) and this page is done!

Well, not done... an "interesting" event August 2006

Since I am Diabetic, I am very aware of possible side effects of high BG (Blood Glucose) and am very careful about what I eat... but very careful does not always mean TOTALLY RIGID in my diet

At a recent Sunday lunch outing, I had a slice of "no sugar added" pie... and then started seeing "spots" in my left eye a couple of hours later... which, when I checked and my BG had spiked at 200 (normal is 90) I figured this was just a "diabetic warning" to have NO desserts, and the spots would go away when my BG got back down below 100

When the spots had not gone away by Tuesday, I called Kaiser to make a Dr appointment, and also talked to the Advice Nurse

She said that Diabetic Neuropathy (blood vessel problems inside the eye) was a very LOW probability, since a single 200 BG spike was not the same as "always" high and out of control BG readings, and that my "diet with pill" control meant I should be Ok for DN

My next thought was that the cataract surgery I had in 2002, resulting in plastic lenses in both eyes, had somehow "slipped" in one eye

Absent an actual blow to the eye (I am not a boxer) she said it was also a very LOW probability that a lens could slip... and if one had, it would not usually give the "floater" symptom I described

Then she told me what she thinks is a HIGH probability (the Dr visit I have scheduled for Wednesday will be the proof, or an indication of something else... but, as she said, LOW probability of "other" problems)

As you age, the "vitreous jelly" inside the eye also ages and, sometimes and for no apparant reason, the "jelly" will "wiggle" or "shift" a small amount, and that wiggle/shift can cause a microscopic tear in one/more of the blood vessels in the eye

That microscopic tear will result in a tiny blood drop released into the "jelly" inside the eye... and that is what she thinks I see (and which will be proved/disproved at tomorrow's exam)

If that is what happened, there is nothing the Dr may do... I will just have to "see spots" for several months, until even such a very tiny drop of blood is absorbed and dispersed by the jelly... and even a very tiny drop of blood is not always "absorbed away" since there is very little "flow" inside the eye

Result of the Doctor visit

The GOOD news is that I do not have any general problems with either eye, either from the Diabetes or from the surgury

The BAD news is the Advice Nurse was exactly right... the "floater" I have was a "random event" due to aging (with no way to know in advance if/when such an "event" will occur again) and the "floater" I now have is very UN-likely to ever go away completely

As I discovered... another "Joy" of aging!!!