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Sunday, June 5, 2016

Should it be laser or the knife?


I had an eye exam this past March.  To my surprise I was told I had cataracts and given a referral card to a place in town that does that surgery.  It was for an evaluation, supposedly.  The first thing I did was call my Medicare provider to see if this surgery was even covered.  It is, but of course they only pay a portion – no surprise there.

At the time of my original eye appointment I had a lot going on with my eyes.  Besides not being able to see out of my trifocal glasses anymore, I have extreme dry eye, macular degeneration, and as if that wasn’t enough, a sty on my right eye!  Good grief!  I was flabbergasted. 

The good news is the MD hasn’t gotten worse since my last visit, thank goodness.  I guess taking all my eye vitamins and cooking all my greens stinking up the house (my husband’s words) has paid off.

I didn’t want to go to the cataract doctor until the sty was gone, which took six weeks!  It has to run its course, the doctor said.  And then if it didn’t move to my left eye.  I was fed up at that point so I went to the herb store and got a homeopathic drop for sties.  I was very impressed with it. The second sty was gone in two weeks.



 Richens Eye Center - my place of choice
 
Now I didn’t want to go the doctor he referred to me too either, so finally free of sty’s, I made an appointment with another doctor in town.  She has the best reputation for eye surgery and my eyes aren’t something I want messed with unless the person is a specialist.

My appointment was June first.  They gave me an entire eye exam all over again.  The doctor told me I had cataracts in both eyes.  Oh my!  Maybe that’s why I feel half-blind, along with the constant watering.  So what do they do, refer me to more eye drops!  I think I’ve tried every drop made at this point, even prescription ones.  Heck, what’s two more weeks of suffering with this dry eye business.  It’s already been four years.  I can do two more weeks surely, I told myself.  So I was a good girl and went and got more eye drops after I left the office.  He had dilated my eyes, but I had those heavy wrap-around shades to wear under my glasses.  I would be fine, right?



 The wrap around shades some of you might be familiar with
 
Well, yes, I could drive, I guess, but the sun glares on the cars were like huge sunbursts exploding all around me.  It was 103 in the shade.  After I followed my husband to an appointment at the bank, I went on to Walgreen’s and got my drops. 

You guessed it, my next appointment is in two weeks (and another co-pay) to go in and have my eyes measured for the lenses, and to discuss pricing with the counselor.  Lord this must be expensive if you need a counselor for that.  The doctor already scared me to death with all the bad things that can happen, but usually doesn’t.  Hmmm…Now the counselors will scare me with the prices, I guess.  The receptionist already told me they have financing.  Hint, hint.

Then it will be yet another appointment for the actual surgery, for one eye and the other about three weeks later.

So I’ve picked the brains of some people at work who had the surgery done.  The laser cost about $2100 more than the knife.  So what it boils down to is how long I want to pay for this cataract surgery.  The guy at work told me he had the knife and was doing fine.  He was only out of pocket about $1800.  What?  That’s a lot of money.  So depending on the lenses I select, I’m looking at $4,000 if I go with laser.  Good heavens!  I hope they have smelling salts to bring me around when they knock me over with the prices.  My sister says I definitely want the laser because you heal quicker and can see better faster.  She knows a few people who’ve had this done.  I guess I need to do more research before my next appointment on the fifteenth when I probably have to sign on the dotted line.

Getting older is expensive.

Do any of you have experience with this?

10 comments:

  1. I type a lot of cataract surgery procedures, a lot of them I think are knife, not laser. I am not an expert by any means, all I would say is go with what you are comfortable with, even if costs a lot. Your eyes are vital, you want to treat them kindly.

    Betty

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    1. Yes, Betty, that's exactly what's weighing on my mind. One has to have their eyes above all. They're much more important than the other senses. If cost wasn't an issue, there would be no question it would be laser. Unfortunately, I have to decide if I can afford this route.

      Thanks for leaving a comment.

      Sunni

      Delete
  2. My hubs is having cataract surgery in September and our government medical pays for some of it, so our expenses are somewhat less. He will also need both eyes done. When he had his eyes tested after a fall, they found the cataract accounted for his worsening score of what he could read and see. It's always something. . .I know people who have had laser (we have to pay extra for that too) and the usual knife. Just ask a lot of questions before you decide.

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    1. D.G.

      Thanks you for that advice. I'm picking the brains of everyone I know so I can make the best decision. There's a lot to think about. You're right, it's always something. My surgery will probably be the end of June or first part of July. I'm hoping to do away with my glasses, but we'll see.

      Sunni

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  3. I was recently diagnosed with glaucoma and dry eyes but not bad enough for surgery (Thank God!). My hubby has a vision plan that includes me in addition to my Medicare. I think surgery in general is very expensive. I have to go see the eye doctor every 6 months and it is expensive. The sad part is these medical professionals know it and if you want your sight they know you are going to have the surgery.

    Doesn't that scare you when you are driving and that burst of glare? For me before my eye drops my eyes would involuntarily close and I had to stop on the side of the road until they could open. I wish you luck!!!

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    1. Hi there. I haven't heard from you in a long time. Yes, I know surgery is expensive! I wish this wasn't the case. That part scares me more then thinking about a DR cutting into my eyes, although I'm a bit afraid of it. I guess I wouldn't be human if I wasn't. It's the bill that will take years to pay off that bothers me a lot. But then my eyes are everything. I can do without the other senses, if I had to, but not my eyes. With no eyesight you're basically stuck and dependent on others for EVERYTHING that happens the rest of your life. That isn't for me.

      My sister and brother had this surgery and told me it's the only way to go and they'd do it again, if they had too, even with the big bill that took them years to pay off.

      I think the bursts of light were just from the dilating drops he used in my eyes. It's worn off now. I knew I had to make it home at the time and so I did. There are times we all have to drag up our courage and determination and continue.

      Thank you for wishing me well. I'll probably need it. I still have to make the decision about what to do about this, so it's all I think about. But I imagine the shock of the bill will kill me before the surgery does.

      I just hope they can fix my dry eye too because it's very hard to live with.

      Thanks for reading.

      Sunni

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  4. Sorry, can't say I have any experience with this. Best of luck with it.

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    1. Liz,

      You're lucky. I hope you never need it. Thanks. I'll probably need all the luck I can get.

      Sunni

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  5. I have never had this surgery done myself but have heard good things about the laser. You definitely have a tough decision in front of you. There are pros and cons to both procedures. I wish you the best of luck with your decision and when you have your procedure done. I hope you also have a quick recovery.

    Wilfred Ingram @ Excel Eye

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    1. Willfred,

      Thanks for your well wishes and for visiting my blog.

      Sunni

      Delete

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