Tery - Cataract Surgery Info

[Guest guest]

Tery,

I'm sorry that you've got the blues. Who could blame you? You've tried so

many therapies for your RA, and to no avail yet. Please don't lose hope.

Easy for me to say, I know, but, really, different strategies are coming.

Why are you thinking of dropping out of the study?

I remember quite some time ago that you mentioned the cataract in your one

eye. It's got to be depressing to be told that both eyes are affected now.

If it's any consolation, my father just had cataract surgery in one eye in

the middle of January. My dad was only there at the hospital for a few

hours. He is recovering nicely and says that his vision is wonderful. I know

of two risk factors that he definitely had besides the fact that he is 66:

years of reading outside in the sunlight without sunglasses (and I mean MANY

hours) and our awful nemesis - prednisone.

Within these last three years, his doctors put him on predisone to clear up

some mysterious lung inflammation. I cautioned him about going on it,

especially since the doctors couldn't come up with a diagnosis, but he

decided to do it anyway (so much for my influence). They started him with a

high dose and tapered him down and, luckily, now he is off of the damn

stuff. He gained a ton of wait which he has since lost, and I believe that

it sped up the formation of the cataract, too.

Anyway, he had laser-assisted cataract surgery. They made a tiny incision in

his eye, zapped the cataract and removed the resultant particles, and then

put an artificial lens in. Most cataract surgery involves replacing the

clouded lens that has just been removed with an artificial one. They have

foldable artificial lenses now so that they can make a smaller incision in

your eye in the first place (the larger the incision, the harder it is to heal

and the higher the risk for astigmatism caused by the surgery), fold the

lens (to make it a small as possible), insert it through the incision, and

unfold it once it is inside the eye.

You don't have to put a lens back in, but, if you don't, then you have to

wear strong glasses or contacts to correct your vision. The function of the

lens is to focus the images that come into the eye and then to project that

focused image onto the retina. So, if the lens is no longer there, something has

to replace it.

http://www.bergeye.com/Cataracts/cataracts.html

http://www.nei.nih.gov/publications/cataracts.htm

http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/section8/chapter97/97a.htm

http://www.eye-surgeons.net/cataract_info2.htm

http://www.ebility.com/news/item?news_id=3787 & back_link=%2Fnews%2F%3Farchive_p%3\

D1%20Archive

Let me know if you need any other info. I'm sorry that you have to deal with

so much every single day, Tery. I wish you could get into the return line, too.

Lots of love,

----- Original Message -----

From: <tpeppergirl@...>

< >

Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2001 9:36 AM

Subject: [ ] Need Info

> Hi everyone. I'm really feeling down lately. I go in a few minutes to

see my study nurse and my RD. I am thinking about dropping out of the

study.

>

> The reason for my post is yesterday I went to the eye doc. He is a

specialist in Opthalmology. I knew that I had a small cataract on my left

eye. I was told this last year, anyway I thought I needed new glasses

because my eyesight is getting very bad and it just kinda came on very

sudden. I now have cataract's on both of my eyes. He said they were

external - meaning he says no doubt they are compliments of the predisone.

>

> I am totally freaked out. I'm 41 years old and need surgery on both of my

eyes. Yes, I knew this was one of the side affects of predisone, but of

course it wasn't going to happen to me .

>

> Anyway, this DR I went to still does lens replacements. In talking with

others here at work I found out that that isn't done much any more. That

laser is just and they just kinda zap them away.

>

> Has anyone here had cataract's and had them removed?

>

> I'm getting depressed and don't know what I want to do, but I do know that

I'm sick of all of this mess and I want to find the return line and give all

this crap back. Thanks for listening. Tery - FL