Cataract Blindness ?

EycplUK

Posted on behalf of a friend seeking advice ( non PC )


My friend has been diagnosed with cataracts and has noticed diminishing eye sight problems , where would be best web site to seek advice on services and help with this problem ?
Regards

Indie_Kid

Has your friend contacted RNIB? They're usually really good with information on eye conditions and support that might be needed.

amersall

Are they not having them removed?, I had mine removed and my eyesight greatly improved.
The consultant who diagnosed should be able to help your friend if they are not having the op and they may go blind.

kingfisherblue

My mum was recently diagnosed with cataracts - she had noticed diminishing eyesight. She had further tests and is at the hospital this Tuesday for more tests, but has been told that she will need an operation on each eye. She isn't looking forward to it, but it is necessary if she is to remain sighted.

If your friend doesn't use a computer, maybe websites are not the best source of information for them - apart from the fact that the web can be quite general and obviously doesn't relate directly to your friend's condition. It would be best for them to discuss it with their specialist, who will know the severity, the options, and the outcomes, specific to your friend.

Richie-from-the-Boro

An optician, they also have a fast track [weeks] to the surgical operation .

- elect to go private NHS [Nuffield etc] not an NHS hospital, its quicker and the coffee is excellent & free
- nothing whatsoever to worry about, you will have zero pain, its more pain paying for the taxi fare
- depending of severity you can probably throw the reading and distance glasses away forever

wildwestfan

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

- depending of severity you can probably throw the reading and distance glasses away forever

Most people who have cataract surgery will find they will need reading glasses. the cloudy original lens is usually replaced with one for distance vision.

In fact I found that I went from wearing varifocals all the time to just needing readers. Much cheaper but I found it a nuisance at first having to carry reading glasses around.

SailorSam

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

An optician, they also have a fast track [weeks] to the surgical operation .

- elect to go private NHS [Nuffield etc] not an NHS hospital, its quicker and the coffee is excellent & free
-

Why ? Why go private ?
The Nhs offer an excellent service. If it was urgen i'm sure you'd be seen within weeks, but even the normal waitingtime is only months.
You're not going to go blind 'cos of a cataract problem.
First step is your Gp or optician and get a referral. If it was so bad as to be classed as serious they'll send you the same day to the hospital.
I've had cataract surgery in both eyes. Both times i was home by lunchtime. A 5 minute operation and a couple of hours resting; eating toast and drinking tea.

Nelski

EycplUK wrote: »

Posted on behalf of a friend seeking advice ( non PC )


My friend has been diagnosed with cataracts and has noticed diminishing eye sight problems , where would be best web site to seek advice on services and help with this problem ?
Regards

The NHS website has a good summary of what you can expect. I have just had my left eye done a week ago and the results for me are incredible. I [STRIKE]am [/STRIKE] was extremely short sighted (-10) and because of regular eye tests my optician picked up very early cataracts (Im 49) a GP referral later then a trip to local hospital to be put on the waiting list and a couple of months down the line I have a brand new lens in my left eye :T I would agree with the poster that said no pain involved (bar a little stinging with the eye drops) the worst thing for me was the fear of pain that didn't happen. The actual op was about 15 mins. One week later and for me it is life changing. No more messing with contact lens or forking out hundreds for a pair of horrible glasses. Cant wait to get the right eye done now.

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

An optician, they also have a fast track [weeks] to the surgical operation .

- elect to go private NHS [Nuffield etc] not an NHS hospital, its quicker and the coffee is excellent & free
- nothing whatsoever to worry about, you will have zero pain, its more pain paying for the taxi fare
- depending of severity you can probably throw the reading and distance glasses away forever

Agree with speaking to a good optician first but don't agree with the private option - at about 3K per eye the coffee did not play much of a part in decision and I waited less than 6 weeks once I was in the system.
Not sure about other hospital trusts but my local one has been fantastic

GlasweJen

It's rare for a person with just cataracts to be treated as blind as cataract would have to be very dense to drop the VA enough to be classed as unusable.
Most people crack and get the cataract out before they get near "registered blind" levels.

The low vision service will help with things like reading magnifiers and high contrast items to help but the person will always be encouraged to have the surgery unless there is underlying AMD or another condition that would mean we couldn't expect an improvement of VA with IOL placement (ie cataract surgery).

Complication rates have dropped to just below 3% and are dropping further so there really is not much to worry about - the most common complication is developing dry eye post surgery.

Richie-from-the-Boro

- read my post again, I said elect to go private NHS [Nuffield etc] not an NHS hospital
- all local providers are made available under NHS funding from which you choose
- the same consultant and surgeon in your local NHS hospital is the same consultant and surgeon in the local NHS funded private hospital
- the difference between the local NHS funded hospital and the NHS funded private hospital is time
- long consulting / treatment waits in the NHS hospital and very immediate consulting / treatment waits in the NHS funded private hospital

margaretclare

SailorSam wrote: »

Why ? Why go private ?
The Nhs offer an excellent service. If it was urgen i'm sure you'd be seen within weeks, but even the normal waitingtime is only months.
You're not going to go blind 'cos of a cataract problem.
First step is your Gp or optician and get a referral. If it was so bad as to be classed as serious they'll send you the same day to the hospital.
I've had cataract surgery in both eyes. Both times i was home by lunchtime. A 5 minute operation and a couple of hours resting; eating toast and drinking tea.

DH and I have both had our cataracts done in the local NHS ophthalmology department. We'd both worn glasses for some 60 years. Now, we don't need glasses for most of the time! I still use reading-glasses, he doesn't. We both wear sun-glasses for driving - it seems to be a bit more glarey.

10-15 minutes for surgery, in and out. A tip: take a pair of sun-glasses with you for when you come out because the light can seem to be terribly bright. The worst thing, for us, was having had one done and not the other. We put ourselves down for a cancellation. Phone call at 8 am: 'Can you get straight here?'

There's still a lot of misinformation about cataracts. It used to be the case that the cataract had to 'ripen' before surgery was possible. Now, not the case at all. The only criterion is: is it affecting your normal activities, your normal lifestyle. It's all about quality of life nowadays.