The General Chat Room

[BBMmk2]

Is that a little break or a trip to the little boys' room?


PS: This 'man in York' is good at proofreading too, which is why the [a] got added in what I quoted.

Indeed he is!

[BBMmk2]

Went to the opticians this morning and low and behold, besides the cateract I have already, in my left eye which, incidentally has worsened), the right eye has one now as well!! Anyway, I am going to have them both operated on, hopefully soon!

[Serial_Apologist]

Went to the opticians this morning and low and behold, besides the cateract I have already, in my left eye which, incidentally has worsened), the right eye has one now as well!! Anyway, I am going to have them both operated on, hopefully soon!

Hope so, Bbm!

[Dave2002]

Went to the opticians this morning and low and behold, besides the cateract I have already, in my left eye which, incidentally has worsened), the right eye has one now as well!! Anyway, I am going to have them both operated on, hopefully soon!

Are the cataracts giving you problems already? I apparently have one starting in one eye, but apart from minor problems which may not even be related I've not noticed any major difficulties - yet.

[french frank]

Just as well, Bbm. I was somewhat surprised to be told I had a nascent cataract (or possibly more than one, I wasn't really paying attention). But the optician said that most people d'un certain age are similarly placed. It seems the ops these days are a doddle.

Went to the opticians this morning and low and behold, besides the cateract I have already, in my left eye which, incidentally has worsened), the right eye has one now as well!! Anyway, I am going to have them both operated on, hopefully soon!

[Serial_Apologist]

Just as well, Bbm. I was somewhat surprised to be told I had a nascent cataract (or possibly more than one, I wasn't really paying attention). But the optician said that most people d'un certain age are similarly placed. It seems the ops these days are a doddle.

What would scare me would be having to lie stock still on the slab, not moving an eyeball, for the entire duration of the op!

[Richard Tarleton]

I have "a bit of cataract" in each eye, but they haven't developed since first noticed 2-3 years ago, and my birdwatching abilities seem unaffected. I have "floaters" as well, which again don't seem to interfere with things. All part of the ageing process apparently. I go to Boots Opticians, where they do the full works - photo of inside of your eye etc. etc. - last September I passed the peripheral vision "space invaders" test with 100%, really just like spotting lesser whitethroats in the undergrowth.....

[Serial_Apologist]

I have "a bit of cataract" in each eye, but they haven't developed since first noticed 2-3 years ago, and my birdwatching abilities seem unaffected. I have "floaters" as well, which again don't seem to interfere with things. All part of the ageing process apparently. I go to Boots Opticians, where they do the full works - photo of inside of your eye etc. etc. - last September I passed the peripheral vision "space invaders" test with 100%, really just like spotting lesser whitethroats in the undergrowth.....

Yes, at 71 it's high time I went along & had this test. So far I've managed to get away with just having pairs of those £6.99 reading glasses available from most supermarkets.

[Richard Tarleton]

So far I've managed to get away with just having pairs of those £6.99 reading glasses available from most supermarkets.

...which suggests you're long-sighted? I'm 68 and short-sighted, but with specs which I wear all the time I have what passes for 20-20 vision, at least for now.....

[Padraig]

What would scare me would be having to lie stock still on the slab, not moving an eyeball, for the entire duration of the op!

I've had both eyes done, S_A (et al), maybe three or four years ago. There's nothing to it. I was surprised how little it bothered me, and how quickly it was over with. There was no pain, and it's amazing how you find the motivation to keep still.

[BBMmk2]

Thank you Padraig, and everyone else. The optician knows me very well, and he said that all I be needing would be reading glasses. Myself and Mrs.BBM have been looking at prices in the private sector, for fixed pricing. around £2000 per eye! I will have to see my GP first and I have an appointment with my cancer doctor at the end of the month and will see what he says.

[Dave2002]

What would scare me would be having to lie stock still on the slab, not moving an eyeball, for the entire duration of the op!

It is possible to have the ops done under a more general anaesthetic. My mother had one eye done - I have no idea how she managed it - whether she had the general anaesthetic or simply lay still - but I wouldn't have expected her to cope with being conscious and "messed about with". Didn't seem to cause her any problems afterwards, though. I have heard of several people who did have problems, which is why personally I wouldn't have the ops unless I was already experiencing difficulties. My father in law also had the ops (in two steps) and both worked well for him. His comment after the first one was that the sky looked very blue, which his surgeon said was a common reaction.

A driving force for some older people is to retain their driving licences - though I think there would have to be a considerable degradation before that becomes essential.

[BBMmk2]

I wouldn't mind having GA, as I am not sure about being awake during the operation.

[MrGongGong]

I wouldn't mind having GA, as I am not sure about being awake during the operation.

The first time I had GA I had been in hospital for a while before they worked out what was wrong, so after being bored out of my brain with no one to talk to and worried I finally was with the anaesthetist. He proceeded to give me an injection saying "you might find this a bit odd as you will taste it immediately", "It's a bit like something called synesthesia, apparently there was a French composer called Messiaen who had a simil............zzzzzzzzzzzzzz" then I woke up 6 hours later.

[Petrushka]

I had Band Keratopathy (Google it!) in both eyes and had to have an operation a few years ago very similar to that carried out for cataracts. After an anaesthetic injection in the eye the calcium deposit literally had to be scraped off and (I was awake throughout) I could feel my eye being gently brushed as the surgeon worked. Despite all the worry I had it turned out to be a doddle, so much so that when I had the second eye done six months later I was having a relaxed conversation with the surgeon and nurses while they carried out the operation.