Cataract: What you should know.

I began to notice slight clouding in both of my eyes in the beginning of 1998.

I believe that the high dose steroids in the 5 courses of VAD therapy in the spring of 1995 caused my cataracts. A subcapsular cataract begins at the back of the lens. People with diabetes, high farsightedness, retinitis pigmentosa or those taking high doses of steroids may develop a subcapsular cataract.

By the summer of 1998, the cataracts were severe enough to affect my driving, recognition of people, sports, in short, all aspects of my daily life. Unfortunately, I had no idea that cataracts was a possible side effect of my therapy.

Fortunately, diagnosis and treatment was fairly straightforward. I went to my eye doctor, identified the problem and underwent surgery for both eyes. The diagnosis and treatment were paid for by my HMO. Based on my experience, I wish that I had done two things.

First, I wish that I had read the article linked below to learn about the basic condition and to ask the right questions.

Second, my doctor told me that he was going to replace my clouded lenses with two lenses, each with a different focus- one lense is nearsighted and one lense is farsighted. As of the writing of this, the eye that focuses properly on objects close to me has become blurry. I don’t know why this is. I will have to go back to the same eye doctor that performed the original surgery to find out what has gone wrong.

Sometimes the eye tissue that encloses the IOL becomes cloudy and may blur your vision. This condition is called an after-cataract. An after-cataract can develop months or years after cataract surgery. I came across the above while doing research for this site. I’ll be sure to ask the doctor about “after-cataract” when I meet with him. An after-cataract is treated with a laser. Your doctor uses a laser to make a tiny hole in the eye tissue behind the lens to let light pass through.

This outpatient procedure is called a YAG laser capsulotomy. It is painless and rarely results in increased eye pressure or other eye problems. As a precaution, your doctor may give you eyedrops to lower your eye pressure before or after the procedure. The other eye, the far-sighted eye, is doing fine. If I could do it again, I would not get two different sighted eyes. Remember, my doctor didn’t ask my permission to do this- you are in charge, not your doctors. You decide. Look for updates on this topic in the future.

I am interested in hearing from anyone else who has experienced cataract surgery.