Cataract Surgery

While trying to sight in my crossbow and unable to see the cross hairs in the scope. I soon realized and later after an eye examination I have cataracts in both eyes. With hunting season coming up I was wondering how long the recovery time will be. Any information on what I can expect would greatly be appreciated.

Bones

It took my dad about a month to fully recover. He said the surgery was quick and no pain at all.

Outpatient surgery with a follow up apt day after, one week, 3 weeks for each eye. Not much to the recovery but you are asked to not lift anything heavy for a few weeks. Might need someone else to cock that crossbow. Good luck.

Easiest surgery in the world. The worst part was getting blood test before and then the needle for the anesthesia. I hate needles. About a month of eye drops and a check up after the surgery and slight restrictions afterwards.

Yeah ... The worst part is all them eye drops before and after surgery ... I had a slight head ache on the side of the surgery that went away after a day or so ...

No pain from the surgery ... They put you out for a few minutes to put the numbing shots and clamps that hold your eye open for the surgery ... You are awake while they actually do the surgery and are able to see some of what is going on ... Dr. Will ask to not talk as not to move ... Then they will put back out a few minutes to remove the clamps ...

Total time for me in the OR was about twenty minutes total ... that doesn't count the time in the holding pen ... starting the IV and yes more drop every couple minutes...

Doctor done twenty surgeries first day ... last eye he did nineteen ... talk about an assembly line!

I see about as good as I have in a long time ... I had both eyes done for long vision ... use light dime store readers for small print ... but can read normal print in good light with out glasses ...

My whole out look changed ... I see stuff I haven't seen in years ...

Worth every eye drop it took !!!

PS ... I can shoot iron sights on my pistol without glasses ....

Eye drops was worst part.BB

Thanks for the details BriarPatch. I will need to have this done before long. Why are the eye drops the worst part doublebarrel?

Good luck

I had my cataracts removed just over a year ago....No real down time....You have 1 eye done and return for follow up the day after surgery..Wait 1 week then the 2nd eye.....I had 3 different drops at certain time of the day/night....you are not supposed to lift heavy objects for about a month...
I had 20-20 vision the day after surgery in both eyes....You will need good sunglasses after because everything seems brighter..

I had the lazer surgery because i had astigmatism ...No pain
and the actual surgery part took about 15-20 mins for each eye..

MX5 ... There are many different drops used by different doctors ...

One of the three that I had to put before was about like 30 wt. motor oil and left a film that was pretty much like what it felt like ...

Mostly just aggravating ... did I mention costly as my insurance covered none of the pre-surgery drop and only one of the post ...

Like I said ...the results were and still are worth every drop!

The drops caused my face to have a rash guess I was allergic to them. BB

Went to the eye doctor who is going to do the cataract surgery. They had four options of which 2 they used a knife and 2 they used a laser. He recommended using one of the laser options which medicare does not cover at a cost of $1850 per eye. Being ignorant and having to trust the judgement and expertise of the doctor I will have the laser done on each eye. Its stinks when a person really does not know much about a subject and has to rely on a complete stranger for the answer. Been kind of a tough week I also found out I have skin cancer on my face that has to be surgically removed.

Bones

Had both of mine done a few years back, but several years apart and by different doctors in different states(FL then GA). Routine was the same.

As others have said, it's usually like an assembly line; typical surgery prep (IV drip, etc.), transport to operating room (I went to sleep on the way). Surgery was in 'dreamtime' where you're not real deep but partially awake but no pain and little control. Woke up in recovery and stayed there awhile (seems like an hour or so - they want to be sure you're ok and fully awake before releasing you), then home. They absolutely required someone be there, and stay, to drive you; my wife drove home but we went to the store later in the day and I drove fine - the difference in sight was impressive.

The drops are just awkward. Seems like there were two, and used on slightly different schedules - anyway, so we didn't get confused and maybe miss one, I did a little chart for each day's routine - day, drop 1 time(s), drop 2 time(s) - and checked them off as they were applied. Important to do them for the whole time instructed. Kept it easy to keep up with.

As far as recovery, they want you to 'take it easy' for a couple of days, then limit heavy lifting for several weeks - other than that and a follow-up appointment about a week later, back to normal. Almost forgot (edited); They gave me a plastic 'cup' (like a small jock cup) to put over my eye at night for a while so there would not be any pressure on the eye during sleep - don't know if they all do that, but both of mine did.

Overall experience was very good. Didn't realize how bad mine had gotten, so results made a great difference.

After the surgery DO NOT get soap in your eyes when you take a shower. You will not believe the pain.

OUCH!!
Lucky I missed out on that. Good point - have never see that mentioned before in a cataract thread.

No way

would I try to shoot a rifle with significant recoil or a pistol with significant blow back for at least the first month. That lens has to grow into your eye - push that puppy too much and you'll regret it for a long time - maybe forever. They told both my mom and dad not to even bend over forward hard for the first couple of days.

My dad had the laser on both eyes, my mom had the knife on both eyes. It seemed to me they both were happy with the results. Medicare covered all but about 300 bucks for mom - dads was nearly 4K by the time everything was said and done.