eyes

[JennyT]

sorry haven't been on for a while.
good news is that my blood is stabel and have been cut down to 10 mg preds.
bad news is I have now cataracts en glaucoma
will see the eye doctor on Wednesday.

[Jack]

Hi JennyT,
Sorry to hear about your cataracts, I've had them too (surprise surprise! ). I thought I would just reassure you about the operation for lens implants if you decide to take this route.
Although I found the thought of an operation on my eyes under local anesthetic to be horrendous, it turned out to be very easy. There was no pain involved at all and I could not see anything, only the glare of the operating light. I then had a patch to protect my eye during the night and some antibiotic drops for about a week or so afterwards. There was really nothing to it!
My eyesight is now good although I have to wear medium to near distance varifocal glasses for desk work.

[JennyT]

thank you Jack
i have been very depressed lately and this eye thing does not help at all.
how long did you have to wait for this operation where you still on prednison?
Jenny

[Jack]

Yes, I was taking all my usual drugs including pred - quite a large selection! I was lucky enough to only have to wait a few weeks because I needed to be able to see and drive in order to support my family and the surgeon understood this. I think some of the very old patients have to wait longer.

[Doug]

Jenny- Just as Jack says! The glaucoma can be controlled with eye drops (I think- you'll find out). Best wishes on all fronts. The business of eyes and potential blindness is tedious. I have the genetic predisposition for maculular degeneration. My optometrist and opthamologist have tracked how I'm doing since the early 1970s, and the small indications of macular degeneration haven't progressed a bit since them (thank that power to which, ummm.....). Early detection and reasonable precaution have helped me.

[jola57]

My mom has been on glaucoma eye drops for a few years now and they have not gotten worse at all since her initial diagnosis.