Cataract decision

[JJnan]

Hi everyone, after 8 yrs of inj cataracts are causing a concern, ...briefly, i had a strange episode last w/end where my eyes and front of head were very painful, my vision was affected, it came on very suddenly, i felt very strange, ended up in A&E having a head CT / bloods taken all of which were clear i'm happy to say...i was sent over to emergency eye clinic and the only conclusio was i had a migraine attack, i've never had one before...but was quite scary...

on examination of eyes i was told both cataracts had grown, ....i have no central vision in left eye but i do have a bleed which consultant knows about , just told me to look out for any flashing lights...as it's my "bad" eye (no inj for 3 yrs)..not a lot they can do ...but cataract in "goodish eye" is growing near central area ...

The emergency eye Dr said if i have it removed and anything goes wrong i'll be left with 2 "bad" eyes, it's a risk to think about....i'd be interested to know your opinion please ..x

[springcross]

Hi JJnan. I'm sorry to hear about your experience last weekend, that must have been very frightening for you and I'm glad all the tests were OK.

Regarding the cataract, I'm not sure what significance there is when he said it's growing near the central area, I thought that's where cataracts grew anyway. If it were me, I think I would take the risk and have the cataract in the goodish eye done. Having a cataract done is a risk anyway, as everyone I know who has had the op has been told. If you don't have it done, it will eventually cloud your vision (I have one in my left eye and wet AMD - it's really bad and like looking through a cloudy veil and causes lights and sunlight to be much brighter and quite dazzling), so I say, what have you got to lose. You could have a word with your optician and ask his/her advice and maybe they could explain it better to you. Whatever you decide, I wish you well and hope that all will be fine.

[JJnan in reply to springcross]

Thank you for your input Springcross, i think it's a no brainer and fingers crossed xxx

[springcross in reply to JJnan]

Good for you JJnan. I wish I could have mine done, I've been waiting seven months now. I was told in July 2020 that it was bad and needed doing and should have been put on the list then but they said they were waiting for the injections to dry it up. I had a retinal detachment op in January 2021 and then had to wait for it to heal, the retinal detachment op made the cataract much worse and quickly. They eventually put me on the list in August last year and now it's almost dry, I'm still waiting. They haven't been able to see through it for months now but say the waiting list is very long!!!!

[JJnan in reply to springcross]

I do hope your seen soon ..should be a priority...🤞xxx...this is first time in 8 yrs i've had 12 week gap ..i know the issue with scarring and inj...but i'm counting down the weeks as vision has changed ..longest i've ever gone is 8 weeks.....i can see the bleed in bad eye..red scar...just told to watch out for flashes in case of detachment...

...keep on at them Springcross..xxxxx

[springcross in reply to JJnan]

I had my injection this afternoon. The consultant asked me if I'd heard anything and of course I said no. She said I would be very inclined to ring them up and jokingly ask if they've forgotten you (I thought it was the consultant's job to do that to be honest and didn't want to in case I upset her), but I did so and told them my pre-op was last August. They are going to get a doctor to read the file and someone will ring me (I won't hold my breath), I was also told that it had not been marked urgent and no-one has chased it up!

Yes, I had flashes with my retinal detachment but also a black shadow which started at the top of my eye and after a day or so ended up at the bottom - they told me it was because the eye sees it in reverse. Make sure if you get anything like that, you go straight to A & E. I was lucky and it was caught in time and I had rapid and excellent treatment.

Twelve weeks does seem a long time, have they given you any reason for that?

[weatherwatcher]

Good morning J>Jnan, Sorry about your first migraine attack. Scary yes, but now you recognize one you will know to take pain killers asp.Stress about your cataract could be the cause.

I have been trying for catarct removal since my last appointment Nov; 16 2021. Blood pressure 256/170, bye bye, discharged. Nov; 22 hospital burst stomach ulcer, Nov; 28 no go home---hospital pneumonia. Great 2 appointments lost.

Withington hospital, Manchester 15th March, yes, at last surgery at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital because I need implants.

I have cataracts and wet AMD in both, no central vision in left eye lost it 13 years ago on Avastin trail.

Many members have had cataract removal why not do a search and read what they have to say.

Please stop worrying then no more migraine attacks.

😊

[fed13 in reply to weatherwatcher]

I would recommend cataract surgery. I do take your point that you could theoretically end up with 2 "bad" eyes, but I finally bit on the bullet and had cataract surgery, and am so glad I did. It transformed my eyesight. I have one bad eye with wet AMD, and the transformation in my eyesight when I finally had cataract surgery on my so called good eye was amazing. I was going blind anyway with the cataract in my "good" eye. sending you a hug. Tell us how you got on xx

[JJnan in reply to weatherwatcher]

Thanks for reply... and hope your on the mend ...good luck x

[tallyho]

Cataracts can affect the central and side vision depending on the cataract. Injections can cause cataracts themselves. Issue with surgery is they can cause Odema. What condition do you have for the injections? AMD ? There will come a point where you can’t see out but nor can the dr see in which is when they like to do them. If it’s not cause if to much issues then I would get a second opinion and see how safe it is to have it done now. Surgery is generally really safe but Odema would cause an issue for you.

[JJnan in reply to tallyho]

Thank you for your input, i think it's got to be done ..fingers crossed xxx

[Lai-ney]

Hi JJnan .....glad the migraine issue is over ....scary stuff!I've got wet AMD in my 'good ' eye ...the other eye written off due to a virus in childhood. I got cataracts in both eyes which affected my vision bigtime ....ended up by not driving at all ....so made the decision to have cataracts removed .... so glad I did! Miraculous! Such a difference in the eye with AMD and in the other eye it has helped marginally with peripheral vision. And the colours! So wonderful to see the world anew! I guess everything comes with a risk and this has to be explained to the patient. In most cases cataract operations are a big success and make the quality of life so immeasurably better! Wishing you the best of luck!

[JJnan in reply to Lai-ney]

Thank you xxx

[IvyRose2]

Hi JJnan I had a cataract in one eye, my injection eye which had become dry.A consultant that does the cataract surgery was helping at the clinic and she recommended me to have the surgery. I had it done 2nd February, I have been very fortunate to have had no complications and my vision is much better since. I was naturally very worried because of the AMD, but luckily it has caused no adverse affects to that. I figured that eventually that eye would become very bad and therefore opted for the surgery. Wishing you lots of luck whatever you decide.

[JJnan in reply to IvyRose2]

Glad to hear it was a success IvyRose2, ..and thanks for your reply x