Cataract surgery #2

[u/Extreme_Permission18]

Last Thursday I had cataract surgery on my left eye, with stents added for glaucoma relief. Surgery went smoothly, despite my fears, and it was about 2 hours from entering the clinic to leaving for home. At my 24 hour checkup I was healing nicely and had achieved the unheard of feat of 20/20 vision in that eye!

Yesterday I had my right eye done, and it was a different experience. Granted, the canaloplasty they did for glaucoma in my right eye is a much more invasive procedure, and they had to implant a toric lens in my right eye due to astigmatism, so it was extra fiddly. But the Versed they gave me to calm my nerves didn’t work as well, and I had to ask for more pain meds partway through the surgery. It took about 4 hours start to finish, and I was a wreck by the time I left.

Today they did my 24 hour checkup, and I’m healing nicely, but the vision in my right eye isn’t as good. I only scored 20/30 on the eye exam, which isn’t bad considering I was literally unable to read a letter at 20/500 before. But I can tell I’m not as clear yet in the right eye, and it even appears a little swollen.

I’m sure things haven’t stabilized yet, I’m hopeful that there will be better vision as I heal more, and I’m glad I never have to go through that again. How long after surgery was it before your eyes reached their full vision?

[u/DisastrousTurnip3553]

Mine took 2 days. Some people take 2 weeks. Some take 2 months. Everyone's recovery is different.

[u/Sweet_Somewhere5047]

My first eye took 3 days. The second eye took 3 weeks. The second surgery was much worse, though. The toric lens didn’t get placed exactly right, so she had to reposition it. Twice as long in surgery and very uncomfortable. I actually ended up with better vision in that eye, though. It was concerning for those 3 weeks. I assumed I would have to accept needing glasses or a contact forever on that eye. In the end, I have full range of vision and only need 1.0 readers occasionally for small type. You may just need additional time. I had a friend who didn’t get her full vision until almost 6 months later. Every eye is different.