cataract surgery

December 1, 2008

Notes From Diabetes Forecast in 2006

Have a diabetes qn for:

Ask Us; Dia forecast; 1701 North Beauregard (boregard) Street,

andria, VA 22311

January 2006:

Cataract Surgery, What To o Expect

from Diabetes Forecast, January 2006

About 1.6 million cataract surgeries take place in the United

States each year. DiabetCataracts are particularly common among

people with Diabetes, who develop cataracts at younger ages and

whose cataracts develop more quickly.

A cataract occurs when the lense of the eye becomes cloudy.

According to the National Eye Institute, cataract surgery has a 90

conp success rate. But success is in the eye of the beholder.

Between 5 conp and 20 conp of people who have cataract surgery are

not satisfied, according to some studies. The reason seems to be

unrealistic expectations of how well they would be able to see

after surgery.

About 60 conp of patients prior to surgery had unrealisticly high

expectations about the surgery. They thought they should have

perfect vision. They expected to be able to read fine print, do

handy work, and drive easily at night.

Their expectations of surgery were not related to how much they

actually improved. But the most satisfied patienjpatients were

those whose expectations were closest to being met.

Doctors should spend more time explaining to patients what they can

realistically expect from their surgery.

So what can you expect? Itching, fluid discharge, mild discomfort,

and sensitivity to light and touch are normal afterward.

A small percentage of people develop complications including

swelling, tenderness, or pain due to inflamation.

And you will have some restrictions afterward. You may need to

sleep with an eye shield, wear protective glasses, use eye drops,

avoid strenuous activity, avoid driving, wear sunglasses, avoid eye

make-up, not lift heavy objects, and not bend over from the waist.

However, these restrictions are temporrary.

It may take weeks for your vision to become stable. One permanent

affect is that you may need reading glasses or byfocles for the

rest of your life.

About half the people who have cataract surgery will have to have

it again later, because the capsule in which the fits becomes

cloudy.

Cataract surgery fixes only one eye prb, a cloudy lense.

'

Some people who have cataracts have other eye prbs too. For

example, after middle age eyes may not be able to switch easily

between near and far away vision. Cataract surgery does not

reverse this effect of aging. Nor can it fix other eye phs, of

people with diabetes such as glaucoma and diabetic eye disease. So

some people will have vision limitations after surgery.

Weight control network: win 1:877:946:4627, wwowsioniddksionih.gov

sthelpstnutritstnutritst.htm

The weight information network, win, is national service of

national initute of diabetes and digestive andidney diseases

(niddk) of national initute of health nih.

publications: obesity, nutrition, weight control, physical activity

so for free copies:

toll free number or website shown above.

To respond to articles in AARP Bulletin

Bulletin Editor;

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Washington, DC 20049

Or email: bulletin at aarp.org

Include my address and daytime phone number

Macular degeneration websites:

www.macular.org

National Eye Institute: wwwsioneisionih.gov

Prevent Blindness chmerica:

www.preventblindness.org

gggggggg

March 2006 issue

Article, Diabetes Etiquette, Uncharted Territory by h

Malansky, Phd cde.

The author begins his article with a fatual statement of how only

one or two diabetes-related interactions can ruin a perfectly nice

day. He also recognizes that well-meaning people can say the most

aggravating things about Diabetes. But the big qn is whether loved

ones and good friends should ignore the obvious and say nothing,

letting the victim continue his or her sf-destructive behaviors

without anyone saying a word?

I am a diabetes II person whose indiscretions cause my own prbs.

Should my family and friends ignore it, when I grab a fourth spare

rib and end the dinner with a huge chunk of delicious cheese cake?

I believe that love and caring does not require turning a blind eye

to sf-destructive behavior of someone you love. If after being

caution, the person persists in his questionable behavior, then we

have done our best, and the consequences are now placed where they

should be.

I welcome comments about what I order at a restaurant or how much

I choose to eat at a picnics.

So now I have had my say. Mr. Palanski is on his own. As for

me, I plan to keep my weight down, select my foods carefully, and

and choose the quantity of those foods with sometimes regretful

compliance to my plan to live to see my granddaughter graduate from

college.

ggggggg

Pick of the month spice source

PenzeyS Spices have fine blends of spices for almost any

combination of foods.

www.penzeys.com

tel: 800 741:7787

gggggggg

20.8 million people had Diabetes in 2005.

18.2 million people had Diabetes in 2003

6.2 million people had Diabetes in 2005 and did not know it.

artichokes are high in folate and potasium. And vitamin c. Low

in calories.

Can buy canned or frozen.

But for fresh ones: choose one heavy for its size. Meaty looking

leaves.

To prepare pull off and discard the lower loose leaves.

With scissors make a snip across the top of each remaining leaf.

This eliminates the sharp, unetable leaf tips.

Add 3 tsp of lemon juice to a bowl of water. Soak the ardechoke

for about one hour.

This prevents it from turning gray when cooked.

Steam the ardichoke in a steamer basket over boiling water for 15

or 20 minutes until an inner pedal can be easily pulled out.

Serve it up right on a plate and let everone share in removing the

leaves.

You eat it by sliding the meat off each leaf with your front teeth.

Asparagus: folate and vitamin c. And beta cararotine.

Eat shortly after purchase because the loses its vitamins quickly.

Look for bright green. full stalks with bright green ends.

The buds should look unwilted and tight. Medium size stalks are

the tastiest.

To prepare, hold each stalk with both hands close to the base, then

bend the stalk until it snaps. The stalk should break where the

tough part begins.

Roasting the asparagus in the oven yields the best results.

Preheat the oven to 475 dg. Place trimmed asparagus on a baking

sheet.

Drizzle with a little olive oil.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast forb 8 minutes until tender.

Peas: low fat protein source. rich in vitamin c, folate,

manganeze, potasium, and thyamin.

Peas also contain lutien.

Shop for refrigerated peas. Choose, plump, medium sized pods with

silky skins and a bright green color.

Crack open the pods and push out the ppeas with your thumbs.

Cook the peas with gentle care.

5 to 7 minutes in small bit of water or broth.

Season with hint of fresh dill, bazel, or thyme.

add gentle sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Tomatoes:

Vitamin c and lykopine, flavorful.

Buy vine ripened tomatoes, or tomatoes that were kept at room

temperature.

Chilling tomatoes destroys their flavor.

Purchase heavy tomatoes, and no hint of green.

Or if not already ripe, keep them in paper bag at room temperature

for a few days.

Some people remove the seeds before cooking the tomatoes.

Pea and tomato salad:

serving size: one half cup,

PreparN time: 20 minutes

1 1stb cup peas, cooked in 1stb cup water or vegetable broth for 5

to 7 minutes.

2 medium tomatoes diced,

1stb tp cumin,

2 tsp olive oil,

2 tsp white wine vinigar,

1 tsp dejon mustard,

Salt and pepper to tame.

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well.

Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition facts

Serving size: one-half cup

Cal: 87

Fat cal: 44

Total fat: 5 g

Saturated fat: 1 g

Cholesterole: 0 mg

sodium: 61 mg (note: without added salt)

total carbs: 9 g

Dietary fiber: 3 g

Sugars: 4 g

Protein: 3 g

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December 2, 2008

The results of cataract surgery is a sore spot with me, with respect to my

mother, who was not advised of what could happen after her cataract surgery.

She had the expectation that she was going to see better, in fact thinking

she would have fully restored vision, but I was worried that would not be

the case. She was also saddled with retinitis pigmentosa, was diabetic and

practically a life-long smoker and drinker. She insists that the doctors did

something wrong to cause her eyesight to be worse after the surgery, but I

know better. I know she had a good surgeon, but I also know that all the

above infirmities played a part in her poor outcome. I do blame the doctors

for not pointing that out to her, in fact I thought they had. While I

encouraged her to have the surgery, since not having it was not going to

help her at all, I feel bad that things turned out for her the way they did.

Unfortunately, there is nothing more any doctor can do for her and she is

embittered that somehow someone screwed up leaving her blind, though she

won't do anything to move on and make the best of what she has, since she

thinks she has nothing. I imagine a lot of cases end up like this.

In my own experience with cataract surgery, my first one was when I was 3 or

4, back in the early 50s. I had cataracts from rubella, and they needed to

be removed at that early age though it was extremely risky and experimental,

since my eyes were very small. The doctor did a very good job, actually, In

removing what he could by hand, and I lived with it for nearly 40 years when

I finally had a lens implant on the heels of finding out I had glaucoma.

(Again, doctors never told me I was at risk for this my entire life so

iimagine my surprise when I found this out.) After the surgery, which was a

series of procedures all at one time that included an iridectomy,

endocryophotocoagulation, the lens implant and other procedures I can't even

remember. Three weeks later, I had to have a retinal repair because the

retina had a 20% tear in the left upper nasal quadrant of my right eye.

Fortunately, it was successful, but it was agonizing to go through. I'm glad

I did have the surgery, but it could have been a better experience had the

docs listened to me earlier when I first discovered double-vision from one

eye, and I would have been happier had I know what to really expect in

vision outcome after surgery. My vision stayed pretty much the same

afterwards though I have a little more detail than before. As the article

pointed out, a lens implant patient cannot focus on close-up things as the

eye can no longer focus, the focus being set by the lens that is implanted.

Not a problem for me since I could not focus before anyway.

The best thing I could say is that docs should listen to their patients, but

docs should also tell the patient what's realistic and what's not.

Bill Powers

December 2, 2008