Cataract Surgery [View all]

[Leith]

I'm having cataract surgery this month. The right eye was Monday and the left eye will be done in a couple weeks.

I've been through worse, but this was not pleasant. First of all, I get weird about my eyes. I can't touch my eyeballs. It happened once, it didn't hurt, but it made me shudder. I've never considered contacts because of that. Second was the animated video of what the operation actually was. Super shudder there.

The worst part was no water for 6 hours before surgery. Since I always have ice water next to me, this was really hard. No coffee? No problem. No food. Easy. No water?! Aww, hell no!

I was not knocked out for the surgery, but I was sedated and sat there with a death grip on the arm rest until it was over.

When I got home, I was amazed at how bright white the walls, sinks, toilets, in my house were! I still am. I now live in a bright and airy house that had been rather beige and dreary for years. I like it!

Even more amazing was how well my right eye could see. I've worn glasses since 10th grade and I've always been nearsighted. Now it's hard to see up close but distances are so clear it's hard to believe. The astigmatism that I've had is now cleared up: the "on" light is just one little dot of light, not the gaudy 3/4 circle necklace it used to be. A single line is just that: a single line.

I don't struggle with computer fonts like I used to. For example, it used to be that "tall" and "tail" looked the same, now they really are different.

My left eye will be done in a couple weeks. One more round of reaching 20 times for water that isn't there. And one more time of grabbing the arm rest willing myself not to move.

Anybody else have their own experiences of going through cataract surgery? Let me know!