Thursday, October 1, 2015

8 Days After Cataract Surgery

The%20eye%20that%20was%20operated%20on.%20It has been 8 days since my cataract surgery. For most people this is a straightforward operation and they can count on their vision improving pretty quickly. Of course most people have two eyes so even if the vision in the eye that was operated on is acting up those people can rely on their other eye. Having just one eye removes this ability for me. Over the past week I have felt all the symptoms that you are expected to feel while recovering from the operation. I am definitely more sensitive to light  (and that was likely made worse by issues with my cornea). My eye continues to feel irritated and is still a bit bloodshot. It certainly feels better to keep it closed a lot. Reading a computer screen is pretty much out of the question (in fact I am writing this “blind” and will get someone to find my errors later on). Reading a book, magazine, menu, or most anything really is almost as hard - effectively speaking I cannot read. Over the next few weeks things should improve. They’d better. If I have to wear reading glasses that will be fine. It’s even possible I may have to get some type of prescription glasses though that strikes me as unlikely.  

Perhaps I had an unreasonable expectation of how well and quickly I would recover. I knew it would take time but should have downgraded my thinking because while everyone I talked to who has had cataract surgery was very pleased with their results they certainly could ease into having a second eye to rely upon.  I remain hopeful that everything will settle into a better view soon. My surgeon was quite pleased with the operation and since my eye is somewhat out of the ordinary that is very good news. I’ve not experienced any issues with flashes of light or floaters which is good news. I just wish my life wasn’t being affected as much as it is. How do people who can’t read in a world of words get by? At least I am quite comfortable with audiobooks and podcasts. I’m zipping through quite a lot of material right now. As long as things continue to improve I guess I will have to be satisfied by that.