Advice on Cataracts

[Starlet83 10]

Just wondering if anyone experienced anything similar or can offer me any advice.

 

My mum will be 60 this year. About 14 months ago at her routine eye test the optician noticed that she has a small Cataract. He was not too concerned at this point and said that he would monitor it. He also said that she required a stronger prescription in her glasses.

 

A few months later she complained that she had floaters in her vision and cloudiness. So in the end she went back to the optician who confirmed that Cataract had developed quite a bit. He said that normally with the rate it was developing he would have referred her for it removing but because it is on her "good" eye then they hospital would not remove it. He explained that removing then always carries a risk and that due to the location of this one then there was a chance that she would loose her vision all together when they try to take it away. He said they would wait until she lost her vision in that eye more or less completely then if the removal was not a success in anyway she had not lost anything. He also said that her eye sight had deteriorated as well so new lenses were prescribed.

 

So fast forward to January this year. She has been to the opticians again. And the cataract has yet again grown significantly and her eye sight has deteriorated again significantly. So much so that he said if she drove then he would have her driving licence taken away from her (she dosen't so its not a problem).

 

She has had her new glasses less than 6 weeks and today she told me that she was asked to fill out a form. Even with her new reading glasses she could not do this. In the end she had to ask someone to read her the questions and fill out the answers for her.

 

Is this normal? Has anyone else experienced this? She is more or less at a stage where I worry that she may not be safe to do her job (dinner lady) or look after my son.

[mikeG 16]

Might be a good idea to get a second opinion from another optician. I have a good eye and a lazy eye but had no problem in getting the cataract removed from the good eye 8 years ago. There is a very slight risk with all operations but handling hot food with poor eyesight cannot surely be recommended by your current optician.

[WallBuilder 10]

Why is she taking advice from an optician rather than going to the eye clinic at a hospital and getting it checked by an actual eye doctor? If she has a cataract developing on the lens of the one good eye she has then the hospital may advise her to leave it till it becomes a real hindrance, basically the cloudiness will get worse but there is no set time period for this. When the cataract is removed it is an operation and they remove the lens and fit a nice new plastic one it's a straight forward procedure so the risks are small but there is always some risk to any surgical procedure.

[Starlet83 10]

Might be a good idea to get a second opinion from another optician. I have a good eye and a lazy eye but had no problem in getting the cataract removed from the good eye 8 years ago. There is a very slight risk with all operations but handling hot food with poor eyesight cannot surely be recommended by your current optician.

 

I have suggested this however she is very set in her ways and sticks with what she knows. I may have to take matters into my own hands and take her for an appointment else where.

[margarete 10]

There's an article here (one of many similar articles) about diet and cataracts: http://www.livestrong.com/article/317393-diet-to-reverse-cataracts/

 

Might help to prevent it getting worse.

 

I have a small cataract on each eye and I try to avoid eating carbs.

[Starlet83 10]

Why is she taking advice from an optician rather than going to the eye clinic at a hospital and getting it checked by an actual eye doctor? If she has a cataract developing on the lens of the one good eye she has then the hospital may advise her to leave it till it becomes a real hindrance, basically the cloudiness will get worse but there is no set time period for this. When the cataract is removed it is an operation and they remove the lens and fit a nice new plastic one it's a straight forward procedure so the risks are small but there is always some risk to any surgical procedure.

 

I was not aware you could self refer to the eye clinic? I will look into it. He said that because of where the cataract is on on her eye it carries a bit higher risk than normal.

 

---------- Post added 04-03-2013 at 16:13 ----------

 

There's an article here (one of many similar articles) about diet and cataracts: http://www.livestrong.com/article/317393-diet-to-reverse-cataracts/

 

Might help to prevent it getting worse.

 

I have a small cataract on each eye and I try to avoid eating carbs.

 

Thanks for that I will read it to her when i ring her later!

[kay1 13]

I had the same problem the optician said I would need to see him every 6 months. I changed opticians and on the first visit he referred me to the hospital and within 6 weeks after I had seen the consultant I was given a date for the surgery. I didnt realise how bad my vision was until the day after the op. perfect sight and to see colours again and apart from a bit of discomfort for a few days no problems at all.

[WallBuilder 10]

The eye clinic at the Hallamshire used to have a walk in clinic rather like an A and E for eye problems. However if that is no longer the case then I'm sure a GP could refer you. Must admit to being a bit confused about the assertion that because of it's location it's a higher risk, the only problem with position is that if it develops right slap bang in the middle of the lens it is much more noticable to the patient rather than one off to one side, or at least that was what I was told

[Starlet83 10]

The eye clinic at the Hallamshire used to have a walk in clinic rather like an A and E for eye problems. However if that is no longer the case then I'm sure a GP could refer you. Must admit to being a bit confused about the assertion that because of it's location it's a higher risk, the only problem with position is that if it develops right slap bang in the middle of the lens it is much more noticable to the patient rather than one off to one side, or at least that was what I was told

 

I can only comment on what he told her about its location. She has a GP appointment next week so I have told her to mention it and see what the doc thinks. Thanks for the input tho.

 

---------- Post added 04-03-2013 at 20:39 ----------

 

I had the same problem the optician said I would need to see him every 6 months. I changed opticians and on the first visit he referred me to the hospital and within 6 weeks after I had seen the consultant I was given a date for the surgery. I didnt realise how bad my vision was until the day after the op. perfect sight and to see colours again and apart from a bit of discomfort for a few days no problems at all.

 

Interesting to know. She is going to mention it when she see's the doctor next week and see what they advise.

[Anna B 1,417]

The vision clinic at the Hallamshire Hospital is excellent, and you will get an honest appraisal of your situation and options from Dr. Edwards. It is a private clinic but also funds some NHS treatment. You just phone up and make an appointment but you will have to pay for a consultation.

 

I believe there are fairly strict NHS guidelines that state when a cataract can be operated on. This is all to do with funding, rather than health - there is strict rationing. My sister was initially refused an operation with all sorts of technical reasons as to why it couldn't be done yet. (This wasn't in Sheffield.) She got tired of waiting and eventually decided to go private where the operation was done straight away and very successfully.

[pattricia 582]

The vision clinic at the Hallamshire Hospital is excellent, and you will get an honest appraisal of your situation and options from Dr. Edwards. It is a private clinic but also funds some NHS treatment. You just phone up and make an appointment but you will have to pay for a consultation.

 

I believe there are fairly strict NHS guidelines that state when a cataract can be operated on. This is all to do with funding, rather than health - there is strict rationing. My sister was initially refused an operation with all sorts of technical reasons as to why it couldn't be done yet. (This wasn't in Sheffield.) She got tired of waiting and eventually decided to go private where the operation was done straight away and very successfully.

 

My friend has cataracts, and would be interested in your reply. Do you know how much the op. cost her privately ?

[Anna B 1,417]

She had something called refractive lens exchange which is more than just a cataract operation, but the principal is the same. This means her old cloudy lens was removed and replaced with a prescription optical lens.

 

She had both eyes done, and now has 20/20 vision without glasses.

It cost her about £5,000 so not cheap.

 

An ordinary cataract operation is a lot less than this.