Rather than clutter up the forum with the full story I will summarise my operation, yesterday, and anybody wanting more specifics is welcome to email me, details in profile I hope.
Over an hour spent having drops put into the eye to dilate the pupil for the procedure, about 20 minutes on the operating table. The cloudy lens was very tough and resisted being cut up and removed so plan B was used which involved breaking it up into lots of little pieces and flushing them out. New lens in, no stitches. Briefing from a nurse re post-op care and issued a month's supply of eye drops. Job done.
Having not been in a hospital as a patient since 1939 when I was born I was apprehensive. There was NO pain, it was no worse than having one's haircut. I am still wearing a smoked plastic protective eye-patch so I don't know how effective it has been. My computer screen looks brighter and whiter through the treated eye for sure.
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>> it was no worse than having one's haircut<<
That bad huh - I'll knock that idea on the head then!
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Well done Meldrew, I'm sure you'll be very much surprised at the improvement.
In and out in a day, or was it an overnight stay?
Pat
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I have had cataracts developing in both eyes for a number of years. I am going to a local hospital next Wednesday (8th) for an assessment, with a view to having surgery on both eyes.
Not looking forward to the surgery, but I am looking forward to the idea of having 20/20 vision without wearing glasses!
I am glad it went well for you. Where did you go for the op? Local hospital or what?
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A broad reply to all who have posted. It was a day procedure, about 3 hours from walk in to walk out. My £7 a month healthcare plan is paying full costs of two cataract ops, I could have gone NHS but went private for choice and so that someone else could use my NHS "space" Went to a local private hospital in Peterborough, Fitzwilliam, one of the 40+ hospitals in the Ramsey Group
It really was painless, not even uncomfortable. That said, having taken off my eyeshield this morning, I am far from impressed with the results. I am having none of the radiant bright colours that I was expecting, the eye treated has no brighter vision that it did before and, while it may settle down, the spectacles do not work on that eye as well as they did before. However, I can read a numberplate at the specified distance so I shall go for a drive. East Midlands beware!
Last edited by: Meldrew on Wed 1 Feb 12 at 08:09
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Have you had one eye done? Go back in a couple of weeks for the other eye?
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My consultant wanted to offer me an appointment for OP2 when I was there yesterday but I am seeing him next week for a review of yesterday's procedure. It needs doing and if I have have it done I can probably get by with the examination I had 9 weeks ago ie it will save my insurer the cost of another consultation. Also, I can get by with my existing glasses and when I have had both eyes done and they have settled down I can have another eye test and new glasses. I looks as though I shall have the other one done asap although I am, so far unimpressed with the outcome. 24 hours is not long enough to come to a fair opinion!
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I had cataracts removed from both eyes about sixteen months ago. Following their removal everything was brilliant to look at. I was given a couple of cards relating to the lens fitted in my eyes that I had to take to the optician about eighht weeks later. Got new glasses and my sight was perfect.
Unfortunately, a few months later the sight in my right eye deteriorated and I returned to the hospital. It seemed that tissue had grown over the lens on both eyes and I was told to stop driving. I went back about five weeks later and had laser treatment on one eye, and about a month later, laser treatment on the other eye. The sight in my right eye again deteriorated and tissue had grown over the lens again. Later I had more laser treatment on that eye. Following this my sight was worse than before in that eye.
I returned in September, and unfortunately, the laser treatment had caused a sac of fluid to develop - the consultant described it as a cyst - and they decided not to treat my left eye in case the same thing happened. I was prescribed drops that I had to administer four times per day in my right eye. I went back to the Hospital just before Christmas and there had been an improvement and had to continue with the treatment. I now have an appointment on 8th February for a scan on my right eye.
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I'm sure it will be OK. "Er indoors has had both of hers done and her eyesight is now so good I refer to her as having bionic eyes. I think your eyesight will improve with time because (as I understand it) the brain has to adapt to the new lens.
How long after the operation are you allowed to drive? I can't ask "er indoors because she doesn't drive.
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SFAIK it is when one can meet the DVLA numberplate reading test which I can right now. I have no dressings on or in the eye and intend to go for a short drive into my local town for a bit of shopping.
I must be patient and see if things improve! My current impression is that I have had a procedure which hasn't achieved anything but didn't cost me anything!
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Here's what the NHS website says about cataract surgery. tinyurl.com/7l26ozu
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Give it four days or so. There was a chap called Stratton who did an experiment (on himself) whereby he wore inverting specs for a few days. The world was upside down until about day four or five, and then his brain worked it out and through the specs, everything was the right way up again.
Bit of a blow when he took them off I should think, but that's medical science for you.
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>> There was a chap called Stratton who did an
>> experiment (on himself) whereby he wore inverting specs for a few days.
The eye projects an inverted image onto the retina ie. the 'inverting' specs were actually turning the image on the retina the right way up :)
Last edited by: Focus on Wed 1 Feb 12 at 10:35
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>> The eye projects an inverted image onto the retina ie. the 'inverting' specs were actually
>> turning the image on the retina the right way up :)
>>
Is this why if you look in a mirror you see yourself reversed side to side, but you look the right way up?
:-D
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>>My £7 a month healthcare plan is paying full costs
Do you mind telling us who that's with? It seems incredibly cheap.
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Happy to!
www.benenden.org.uk/
It used to be called the Post Office Health Fund but then morphed into Benenden when the PO changed name. They have a hospital of their own in Kent and an tie-in with a private hospital chain called Ramsey Group
03/01/2012 DIRECT DEBIT PAYMENT TO BENENDEN HEALTHCARE £6.50
That is for one person, family cover available. Mutual Society so non-profit and certainly worth considering. No stupid 0845 numbers either - 01904732001
.
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Benenden is a public sector wide organisation, originaly Civil Service. PO staff would have retained rights when they became a nationalised industry in 1968 and after the PO/BT split in the eighties.
These days it's open to all current/ex public sector, mutuals and the charitable sector.
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Thanks for the update - I got in on CS grounds and didn't query my good fortune! I think their eligibility rules are "flexible" to use a phrase.
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Thanks all and for the NHS link. I was expecting too much too soon! The shy certainly looks more blue thru the treated eye and Must let things settle down before getting grouchy about the oputcome! I am going to have the other one done asap.
The sting of the post op eyedrops is worse than the op LOL!
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Apparently in India several hundred years ago physicians were removing cataracts without anaestetic by making a small slit at the side of the eye and removing the ruined lens.
Sounds a bit grim but when it's the difference between blindness and sight, and pain was likely a more normal part of life I could imagine it was quite popular.
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It reminds of a charity I support ( as do several major US companies) - Orbis.
They fly their DC10 hospital /training aircraft to countries and train the local surgeons to do all sorts of eye ops.
A amazing aicraft and the team sort out both simple and complex eye problems in several countries.
www.orbis.org/
The next aircraft (donated but needing vast effort to convert it)
www.orbis.org/data//2/rec_imgs/13872_MD-10_Schematic2.jpg
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Mrs RR goes in next Thursday (9th) to have a cataract removed. Last year she had a hole in the back of one eye which was filled using gas (that's all I know, I put my fingers in my ears and went Na na na na na na rather than hear the exact details), and a cataract is apparantly a by-product of the procedure.
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That is cheap Meldrew we pay 27 pound a month in a healthscheme.
Good health.
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You are perhaps a family group? I am solo. I was very surprised at the cost of what I am having done vis a vis my subscription, that's for sure. Good health to you and yours and especially your brother.
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It took 6 weeks for my vision to become totally clear. Assuming you had a distance lens fitted you will always need glasses for reading as the plastic lens cannot re-focus. A magical operation and my NHS surgeon nurses and back-up were fantastic. (Bury St Edmunds)
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>>It took 6 weeks for my vision to become totally clear. Assuming you had a distance lens fitted you will always need glasses for reading as the plastic lens cannot re-focus
This is the usual outcome - usually at around 6 weeks you will get your vision reassessed and a new prescription for glasses determined - if you don't need reading glasses after a cataract op something's wrong ;-)
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>if you don't need reading glasses after a cataract op something's wrong ;-)
Mrs K had AcrySof ReSTOR IOLs last year. They're multifocal so she doesn't need glasses at all.
The only downside is a slight halo around point sources of light (oncoming headlights etc.)
After the op her distance vision returned after two or three days. Near vision took a couple of weeks. It's better than 20/20 now.
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I am guessing that I had a plain one ie light let through but no lens effect. I plan to have the other one done as soon as I can and then when they have both settled down I can have one eyetest and a new set of glasses
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>I am guessing that I had a plain one ie light let through but no lens effect.
Mrs K was given the manufacturers certificate for each lens which includes the serial number and correction details etc.
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Thanks Meldrew just the two of us wife and myself.
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Had both mine done over the last coupla years. NHS, no problems with pain. I had a steroid injection in the second one and now am on drops to lower the pressure and keep it down.
The doc and staff were great. The young nurse asked if I wanted the buzzer or would I prefer to hold her hand.........no brainer ! Cuppa and a biscuit after, just like giving blood. I wore the eye mask in bed for a week or so to stop the eye getting damaged by the bedding.
I don't wear glasses all the time now, just for reading/close up. I do need Polaroids in any sort of brightness, nut this is due to some debris in the eyeball following years of laser treatment for retinal bleeding. I'm hoping I can get them to do a vitrectomy at some stage. The eyeball is emptied and filled with gas which retains the shape of the eye. it's absorbed into the body while new vitreous jelly is made. Sounds like fun !
Ted.
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Hope it improves over the next few weeks Meldrew, and best wishes to others going in for similar treatments.
I had one done about 15 yeras ago, eye injury as a child left me with severe sight loss in my right eye, had to learn to shoot left handed which wasn't easy but never mastered archery left handed, i digress..;)
Unable to see how much retina damage there was due to the ruined lens, the post op result was worse as the new lens projects onto a part of the retina which hadn't previously been of much use and won't, had to relearn again, no hope for my right eye forward vision i'm afraid, yet oddly the peripheral vison is excellent.
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>eye injury as a child left me with severe sight loss in my right eye,
An old friend of mine had an eye injury as a child - his sister stabbed him in the eye with a dinner fork and it had to be removed :-{
About 20yrs ago he was on holiday in Thailand with a few batchelor buddies and they visited a water theme park. His Thai girlfriend (cough) persuaded him to have a go on a very high water slide but unfortunately his glass eye popped out when he was flipped into the air at the bottom.
They had to clear the pool while staff searched and recovered it :-)
Very embarrassing.
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I am having my first eye done on Friday. Fingers crossed.
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Shall think of you and hope you are pleased with the result. Update on mine - 6 weeks after the op I had an eye test and a new lens in the right eye of my current specs and I am pleased with the outcome. Left eye will wait a while - vision is fine but slightly yellow due to discolouration of the lens which is not a problem
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>> Update on mine
>> - 6 weeks after the op I had an eye test and a new lens
>> in the right eye of my current specs and I am pleased with the outcome.
'Er indoors has never needed distance glasses after removal of cataracts in both eyes, just reading glasses.
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Yes but my prescription was 2 years old and needed changing, I postponed it until I had had the op and given the eye 6 weeks to settle down (consultant's advice). I wear Varifocals all the time.
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I had my second, right, eye done in August and my sight vastly improved. Enough to get the bike out and do a 300 mile trip. I haven't needed spex either, apart from reading.
Since New Year, I've developed secondary cataracts in both eyes. As my next appointment was some time off, I presented myself at the eye hospital A &E in February. The duty specialist confirmed my diagnosis, said he could laser them but needed to speak to my retinal consultant.
I got an appointment for March 1st but the doctor said I had a swelling in the right eye,,,the best one...and he'd make me an appointment for an injection to sort it before they used the YAG laser on me.
This was done yesterday under a local and the better vision of my right eye is now slightly worse until it clears up. I asked if they'd laser my left eye but I think they don't like working on both eyes at once. So, another month to wait and it's the tram or SWM driving for me.
Anyway, I've grown a white beard to compensate !
Ted
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>> Anyway, I've grown a white beard to compensate !
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>> Ted
>>
That's a thought!
I wonder what colour my beard would be?
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>>and the better vision of my right eye is now slightly worse until it clears up<<
Sorry to hear that Teddy, my FiL has had both eyes done but one remained a bit less-than ideal for some time so they cleaned it up with the ole laser and its all hunky dory now, he's about your age too as it appens (86)
:)
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, he's about your age too as it appens
>> (86)
>>
>> :)
>> Cheeky get.....that's your Bonio delivery cancelled !
:-p
Ted
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Unfortunately, it seems that there are a number of undesirable effects following cataract operations. I had both of mine done in September and November 2010. Sight was excellent following this, but the sight in my right eye deteriorated rapidly a few months later followed by my left eye- secondary cataracts had developed When I visited the eye hospital I was told that I should not be driving as my sight was too bad. I stopped for almost a month.
Some weeks later I had laser treatment on my right eye which improved the situation, followed by laser treatment on my other eye. My right eye deteriorated again and I had further laser treatment that resulted in macular oedema. I have been on eye drops four times a day to treat it and the swelling has gone down. I'm bac k at the hospital at the end of April. Hopefully, for the last time
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I've just been speaking to my 86 year old FiL who had both his mince pies 'done',
He says they are both fine now, and his vision is good (for an 86 year old)
So I says "is your vision better now than before you had your cataracts 'done'"
No he says, not really,
So I says "why did you have them 'done' then"
B'cos the optician said they needed doing when he had his annual eye test.
Funny ole life.
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My right eye, the one injected with Avastin on Tuesday, seems to have become a little clearer as today progressed. I suppose having a dirty great 16mm needle shoved in it doesn't help your vision in the short term.
The injection was done much the same as a cataract op. BP,sugar, temperature taken before and after. Robed up with gown, overshoes and silly hat. Laid on an operating table but no pretty nurse to hold me 'and this time...bums.
After, SWM asked if it was ok to go and get me a coffee and a sandwich. She said she'd get me a free one and asked whether I preferred ham or cheese. I asked for honey roast turkey with stuffing and cranberry jelly on ciabatta ! I got ham on brown...ah well !
Can't fault the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital...it's all new and the facilities are top class. HMTQ was there last week giving the place the royal eye.
By the way,connected with my eye probs is my diabetes. For any here on the same treatment as me, Byetta, I've been taken off this and put on Bydureon. It's the same drug, Exanatide, nut you only need one weekly injection instead of the 14 Byetta ones. It stimulates the pancreas to produce more insulin meaning you can cut down on you daily insulin doses. It seems to be working for me, the clinic nurse was quite surprised last weekby my daily blood test results..
Here endeth the bulletin.
Ted
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I suppose having a dirty great 16mm needle shoved in
>> it doesn't help your vision in the short term.
16mm!!!
Shome mishtake Shirley?
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Nope...I asked Herr Doktor after he'd stuck it in me !
Ted
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er 16mm!
Are we talking length or width, as the actress said ti the .....
Typing with one eye and no glasses.
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Width, of course, Dunc. I'm no wimp !
Typing with one eye, X5 glasses and a mangyfying glass !
Ted
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Update.
Had surgery yesterday on my left eye. All went according to plan; I understand. Driven home by the mem' with a large protective dressing on my eye and a plastic protector on top of that.
I cannot speak too highly of the service at Cobham hospital. It was just like going privately!
Took the dressing off this morning and I am delighted with the result. Vision is my left eye is pin sharp. I am not allowed to drive until the follow-up outpatient appointment.
At the moment, touch wood, no pain or discomfort.
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Update on the update.
Went back yesterday (Wednesday) for the follow-up examination. My vision in the treated eye is 6/4.8 that is better than the norm. Excellent!
I am now waiting for my next appointment to do the other eye.
Everything about the service that I have received has been first class.
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Very pleased for you Dunk. It does make one hell of a difference.
I'm back next Thursday to assess the eye they injected. I see no reason that they can't laser off the secondary on the other eye at the same time.
It's just so frustrating...all this waiting.
Ted
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>>It's just so frustrating...all this waiting<<
My mother waited 9 months for me.
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That's good news, Duncan. The severity of my cataracts has been estimated by my optician as being about 3 out of 10. Based on your experiences, I can hardly wait for them to be bad enough to warrant the cataract operation!
Last edited by: L'escargot on Fri 20 Apr 12 at 07:18
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Thank you for all the good wishes.
The downside is that I have one excellent strength eye and one weak (uncorrected) eye. I suppose the logical thing to do, until I get the other eye done is to wear glasses with one lens removed!
When watching TV, I close my weak eye, otherwise it 'interferes' with the vision of the good eye. When at the computer I need to wear reading glasses, which feels unnatural for the uncorrected eye.
A small price to pay though, I feel.
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>> The downside is that I have one excellent strength eye and one weak (uncorrected) eye.
>> I suppose the logical thing to do, until I get the other eye done is
>> to wear glasses with one lens removed!
That's exactly what a friend of mine did. {Make sure you remove the appropriate lens! ;-)}
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I was down the Eye Hospital this morning for a follor up to my injection of Astavan last monyh.
Went for an OCT scan first then actually saw my consultant, Professor S. His conclusion was that he couldn't tell whether the jab had cured the macular swelling it was for, due to my secondary cataracts. We discussed options and decided to laser the cataracts first together then investigate further when he could see into the eyes better.
Could be a three month wait for that, but money talks and I'm in next Tuesday with a follow up on Wednesday before he jets off to the States for a conference. 1500 notes for the whole treatment but I really couldn't cope with missing the Summer like I did last year.
These secondarys are a pain, all short distance stuff has to be through the little strong lens of a magnifying glass. Books and magazines are a no-no atm. The newspaper is just about tolerable if I just select what I really want to read.
Now to go back and correct all the typos !
Ted
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>> Now to go back and correct all the typos !
>>
>> Ted
>>
It reads all right Ted!
Good luck with all the procedures.
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Good luck Teddy, ope the Taser treatment works for you :}
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I developed macular oedema, caused by laser treatment for tissue growth over the lens after cataract surgery. The consultant prescribed Acular drops four times per day. I had to follow this regimen for three months and the condition cleared. I have a folow up appointment in June.
Last edited by: Robbie34 on Fri 27 Apr 12 at 10:49
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Interesting Robbie. I had to have a steroid injection for my macular oedema and then the follow-up Avastin a month ago. I'll keep a note of the drops you had and mention them to the Prof next week.
I'm think my oedema had a different cause...a Jowett exhaust valve hitting me in the eye as the wire brush on the bench grinder grabbed it and spat it out at about 30 mph....it hurt !
Ted
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>> I'm think my oedema had a different cause...a Jowett exhaust valve hitting me in the
>> eye as the wire brush on the bench grinder grabbed it and spat it out
>> at about 30 mph....it hurt !
>>
>> Ted
>>
Wise after the event, but......
Something to be said for wearing safety glasses at all times in the workshop.
Since my cataract operation, I have taken to wearing builders type safety glasses when out on the push bike. Very comfortable, you can get them in various shades, I rather like the yellow glasses. I find the yellow brings out the colours well.
They can be found in builders merchants and Screwfix type places. Prices between £5 and £10.
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i wear plastic safety glasses when out in my fathers mx-5 as last year i got some grit in my eye and had to go to hospital to get it out
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I normally wear safety goggles but this time, for some reason, I didn't bother as I was stoof well to the side of the machine. It managed to chuck the thing out sideways and hit the target spot on !
The metal cowl on the wheel protects you from stuff being thrown upward. If I'd been stood in the ' correct ' line of fire it would have got me in the stomach. Many small bits have hit me there but I've usually got my workshop coat on and it doesn't hurt ( for long ).
I guess this was a bit of a freak accident...That's life !
Ted
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Booked in at 1130 today for my 1200 hrs treatment. The Prof arrived prompt at 12, shook our hands and went to take his coat off. Back a minute or so later he put the dilating drops in me eyes and said he'd see me again in about 20 mins, which he did. He put another couple of drops in and called me into his room 5 minutes later
I asked if he was a Man United fan and to my dismay he said he was. I said I hoped he wasn't in a bad mood and we had a little friendly badinage over the match.
Seated with my chin on the rest, he YAG lasered my, better, right eye. Took about 7 minutes and within seconds of finishing, I could read some of the information posters on the wall. I couldn't do that when I went in ! 10 minutes later he did the left eye...took a bit longer as that had more contamination but the results were as good.
£900 lighter, we set off home with the Ayatollah driving while I looked out of the car window in amazement at the brighter world outside. I even read out the small print on my blue badge, without my readers. Impossible on the way there, and I was still a bit blurry from the drops and treatment. Spent the afternoon reading the papers and looking out of the windows. The telly was a revelation...I hadn't realised we still had a colour set !
Tomorrow, I see him again at the local BUPA hospital for a fluoroscene and other tests...Another £900 ( gulp ). I might need distance glasses again but they won't be very strong if I do...I'll see how it goes. I've moved my chair well away from the telly and I can read sub-titles ok.
So, any other unfortunates with secondaries, don't worry, have the YAG laser done either on the NHS or privately...I recommend it. There's a complete lack of pain with the procedure.
I might just be getting the bike out on Sunday if it's not raining. The Snake Pass and Cat & Fiddle are beckoning me......together with a nice little teashop in Hope village !
Ted
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Using the NHS to supply your private practice - pfft.
My personal opinion is there is too much of a conflict of interests in Ted's story - Prof has a vested interest in it taking 3 months to treat you - he should have referred you to a colleague rather than line his own pockets.
Glad the treatment helped though!
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>> I asked if he was a Man United fan and to my dismay he said
>> he was. I said I hoped he wasn't in a bad mood and we had
>> a little friendly badinage over the match.
Blimey! Nothing like leading with your chin, is there, Ted?
Sorry if I missed something, why couldn't you have this done on the NHS?
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Sorry Ted.
The canine is correct, I should have red the fred.
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Isn't medical science wonderful though, years ago Teddy would have had to put up with his peepers as they were :(
Now we can have new knee joints, hip joints (I knew a few of those when I were young-er)
'They' are now working on an artificial Pancreas which is undergoing trials, I hear, what a relief that will be for many (hopefully) when it becomes available.
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I had both my eyes "de-cataracted" in Spain courtesy of their NHS. (Calm down - the UK pays a fixed sum per month for properly de-registered NHS UK patients, to the host EU country. This enables like-for-like treatment as enjoyed by the locals).
They were done with an interval of a couple of years between operations.
The results were and are, excellent. I only need reading glasses for small print now.
Tip:- as the replacement lenses are plastic they can degrade from UV light, so I ALWAYS wear good quality UV blocking sunglasses if there is the slightest threat of actual sunshine!
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Soon be like the 6 million dollar man, Bonzo.
The guy who did me told me he had invented a laser called the Pascal which delivers a number of shots automatically to cure diabetic retinal bleeding.....I googled him and found out he is only 1 of 4 surgeons in the world who are making blind people see again...to some extent, by some wonderful alchemy !
I feel quite privileged to have had him sort my problems out. I've been able to reduce the ' zoom ' considerably on the websites I use and the magnifying glass is now back in the cupboard.
I had a drive round this morning and things were a lot better. As Roger says, good Polaroids are essential and a baseball or other peaked cap will be useful when out of the car on sunny days.
Ted
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You certainly were most fortunate there Teddy, it wouldn't be a bad idea to check out (if poss) anyone carrying out any surgical procedure on ones bod - prior to having it carried out.
I'd hate to have a heart transplant and find out (later) it was the first one he'd ever done :}
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My brother had a quadruple heart by-pass at the age of 43.
The surgeons were fighting over him.
A much better bet for their statistics than someone twice his age!
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What on earth could have caused his coronary arteries to clog up at that young age I wonder Crocks?
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I don't know, but I hate to think what mine look like.
He was 43 and younger than me, I'm now 57.
His cholesterol was only a little bit high, mine was 9.8 the first time they checked it!
I think it is best to just get on with life.
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>>His cholesterol was only a little bit high, mine was 9.8 the first time they checked it!
>>I think it is best to just get on with life.
>>
From what I read unless you have readings from early in life there is no base line for YOUR normal level.
We have a relative who is many many stones overweight, eats all the wrong things but has a very low count. So what is normal?
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Cholesterol levels appear to be determined largely by genetics.
A high intake of saturated fats (from meat/dairy) may increase it a little, and I've seen a few guys/gals with very high counts due to insane alcohol intakes - but what you get is mainly determined by ma'n'pa.
If your brother was a non-smoker and had a heart vattack at 43, and you have a cholesterol of almost 10 - you may have a form of familial hypercholesterolaemia = high or very high risk of heart disease.
The fact you're 57 without any problems yet is a bit reassuring but I'd check with your GP that they're happy with your cholesterol and family history.
If you're already on a high dose of statin (basically 40+mg of whatever) then you're probably covered as well as medicine can cover it. *
* assuming other risk factors such as blood pressure, smoking, diabetes are dealt with.
Last edited by: Lygonos on Wed 2 May 12 at 19:28
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Neither of us smoke but he likes his food and wine and is overweight. but his cholesterol level was only in the fives. Now he is on statins to keep it low.
Dad had a heart attack and two strokes but reached 82.
Mum had angina and vascular dementia but reached 85 out living six siblings, some by 30 years.
I'm slim but on statins (tried them all. Now on 20mg Rosuvastatin) with a cholesterol level of about 5.5.
I know there are checks one can have on the arteries (at some cost) but I'd rather not know. It is the prospect of dementia that scares me more.
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>>I know there are checks one can have on the arteries (at some cost) but I'd rather not know
Very little evidence that simply knowing there are deposits in your arteries makes a toot of difference to the outcome, so I reckon such scans are pointless until better evidence appears.
Statins can stabilise any 'plaques' that are already present, making them less likely to rupture and cause a heart attack.
If these plaques are significantly blocking the arteries around the heart then you'd expect that to present as angina - chest pain/tightness +/- shortness of breath on exertion. In these cases, depending upon severity, more active intervention may be worthwhile.
Bottom line: statins reduce risk, not smoking reduces risk, keeping blood pressure down reduces risk, keeping fit reduces risk, having a 'Mediterranean diet' reduces risk...
....but something's going to get you eventually ;-)
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Interesting post, Lygonos.
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Thanks for taking the time to reply Lygonos.
Nothing there to make me any more worried.
Now where's that bacon buttie and pint of full cream milk. ;-)
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>>Bottom line: statins reduce risk, not smoking reduces risk, keeping blood pressure down reduces risk, keeping fit reduces risk, having a 'Mediterranean diet' reduces risk...
>>
I tried statins ( keeps the docs bonus going ) and they caused severe joint pain and a form of ring alopecia.
Within 48 ours of binning the pills, all the joint pain had gone and the alopcia also reversed over a few weeks. I might consider trying statins again.
Decades ago I was scanned, as part of a research project, re deposits in my arteries and again recently. Nothing much has changed so not time for a rebore.
Decades of mostly home cooking and no salt at all used may have helped.
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>> I tried statins ( keeps the docs bonus going )
Quite right! Unless it's one of the expensive ones like Atorvastatin or Rosuvastatin - then we get our doodahs yanked for wasting money on patients ;-)
(Atorva+Rosuva are around £300 per year vs Simva/Pravastatin at £30 - the price difference is due to the drug company patents having expired enabling other companies to make them cheaper)
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I've asked many a doctor including my own younger sister for a comprehensive rundown on statins pro and contra, and have yet to get one. Nevertheless like others I obediently take my 40mg simva (given my bad habits) but suspect it of possible implication in the growing pains I am still getting at 73, and in the pervasive malaise that afflicts people of my age with bad habits.
I notice they have been getting a bit slack with the regular blood pressure checks of late. Must one learn to be proactive so late in life?
I know what you mean about expensive medicine and the way it is frowned on from on high. I occasionally, but then very urgently, need supplies of sumatriptan shots for hideously agonizing cluster headaches, the infallible treatment that works like magic in three minutes. And the doctors are getting very stingy with it, in some cases reluctantly, but anyway, because it costs 22 quid a 5mg shot. Fortunately the last cluster has been stretched out and mild, susceptible almost 100% to the much cheaper oxygen. Perhaps, as this condition usually does, it is leaving me at last.
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>> I've asked many a doctor including my own younger sister for a comprehensive rundown on statins pro and contra, and have yet to get one.
Statins reduce your chance of having a heart attack by 20-25%.
If you're at very high risk then they make sense, if you are at very low risk they don't.
Side effects are fairly common but usually minor (huge list so if you have something and think it's the statin causing it, you may be right) - very rarely they can cause serious muscle inflammation which can sometimes be fatal (significant muscle pains should be seen promptly and assessed).
assign-score.com/estimate-the-risk/ is a typical toolkit used to assess risk - over 20 implies high risk and consideration should be given to taking a statin, but equally lifestyle should be looked at and changes considered*.
Unfortunately simply being a man over 75 will likely mean a 'high-risk' status despite any other risk factors - whether you wish to choose to take a tablet every day for the rest of your life to reduce this risk requires expert advice ;-)
* if you want to use the toolkit miss out anything you can't answer but put '0' in the 'fags smoked' box assuming you don't smoke.
Last edited by: Lygonos on Thu 3 May 12 at 21:18
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>> assign-score.com/estimate-the-risk/ is a typical toolkit used to assess risk - over 20 implies high risk
>> and consideration should be given to taking a statin, but equally lifestyle should be looked
>> at and changes considered*.
Seems to apply only to Scotland, Jimmy.
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>> Seems to apply only to Scotland, Jimmy.
Just don't put in a a postcode and you'll get an 'average' risk for postcode.
It is purely for guidance however and can't predict when you will die.
For that you need our other toolkit:
deathclock.com/
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>> simply being a man over 75 will likely mean a 'high-risk' status despite any other risk factors
I'm not one of those wry, spry, crisp'n'dry 73-year-olds either. My habits are appalling. Perhaps if I hadn't disclosed them to the practice down here they would take more interest in monitoring my blood pressure. Naturally one assumes that one's physician should get, you know, the real potatoes instead of the sort of thing you'd say if you were trying to get a job. But it seems to work less and less like that. They make moral judgments these days I think and earmark you for the scrapheap before your time, while raising your statin dose for statistical reasons.
I don't want to exaggerate of course. But before a total-anaesthetic operation a few years ago, the anaesthetist glanced at my file and said: 'You don't need pre-med do you?' I asked what that meant. We agreed I didn't need it.
My pacemaker has an MoT runthrough this month. Every 13 months they seem to be doing it. I quail at the thought of a new battery, but can't help thinking better safe than sorry, knowImean?
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I've started 'rearing' plants from seeds which is a 1st for me (apart from Satvia)
I've noticed that most are growing strong and sturdy while a few will always be weedy, some were even still-born.
From that observation I would say that its mainly down to genetics as Lygonos says and with us homo saps obviously lifestyle comes into the equation as well.
I'm 60 in September and I don't take any medication at all, probably because (A) I don't suffer from any illness, and (B) I haven't seen a Doctor for nigh-on 20 years.
I did promise myself a 'well-man' check over on my 60th birthday but, as it approches I wonder if I could put it orf for another 10 years :)
My Father died at 54 from a massive cerebral hemorrhage, all my sibs are taking meds for HBP and my Mother died from myocardial failure (at 88) so from that I would say I am genetically predisposed to cardio-vascular disease but then all Gods creatures gotta die fom something, man.
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>>He was 43 and younger than me, I'm now 57.
His cholesterol was only a little bit high, mine was 9.8 the first time they checked it<<
Was your brother a smoker by any chance Crocks?
>>I think it is best to just get on with life<<
I think you're probably right there.
""Here dead lie we because we did not choose to live and shame the land from which we sprung. Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose; but young men think it is, and we were young."
~Housman.
Last edited by: Dog on Wed 2 May 12 at 22:24
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Well, a bit of an update. Saw my man again at 6pm Wednesday at the BUPA. His minions did a fluoroscapy, leaving me with extremely bright yellow pee. Another OCT scan was done and, after studying the pics, the prof said I had oedemas in both maculas with fluid present.
He outlined the options he could take. Regular injections of either steroids, Avastin or Lucentis. The latter only available privately at a couple of grand a shot. Or he could laser the eyes and see what happened, maybe needing the jabs after if the laser didn't help. We all opted for the laser first. I still can't believe what happened next.
This eminent man, who had asked for Thursday's list to be reduced as he was off to the States the following day for an important conference, actually told me to be at his clinic at the eye hospital at 9 am and he'd see what he could do...no promises..but we were welcome to wait there !
Boy, were we there on time ! At 0920, pupils were dilated and 30 minutes later he was attacking both my eyes with the Pascal laser on a very gentle setting. This equipment seems to let him plot all the sites to be lasered, the details go into the computer as he does so and, after adjustments and setting, he fires the laser at all points simultaneously. Four shots did both eyes, no pain and just a ' whoosh ' of light each time. He needed more photos then to check if it had worked, so more waiting. An hour later he told me he could see no change but wanted to do the photos again after another hour had elapsed. He said he wouldn't laser me again today but would use a higher setting in a couple of weeks if needed.
We sat around again, by this time, SWM had to go and collect our 7yr old Pink Princess from school, so she went off in the car. Ten minutes afterwards, the prof found me, took me into his room and said the second pics had shown the laser to be completely successful and I probably wouldn't need any injections later on. .....result ! Follow-up appointment in 3 weeks.
What an asset to have this guy working here ! We shook hands, I thanked him from both of us and went for the bus/tram home in high spirits. Eyesight a little cloudy due to all the drops/laser/bright lights and a bit of a headache but all that will be gone in the morning.
Ted.
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Fingers crossed this has sorted you and you won't need injections. Mother in law is having those.
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Glad to hear that it seems to have gone well. How good is your vision now? Good enough for driving?
Please keep us posted on developments.
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Thanks Dog 'n Dunc.
I don't mind the actual injection, Rob. It's all the flaffing about waiting, gowning up amd the dozen other things they make you do.....still, if it's needed then it has to be done. Hope MiL's coping well.
I never stopped driving but I restricted myself to the city with it's 30 mph limits. My distance vision was reasonable, a little out of focus but tolerable. I never attempted a night drive, mainly due to headlight dazzle. Luckily SWM didn't mind driving and I also let her do any day trips where we needed to go together.
Today, I was called upon to take one of our Fiestas to Leeds and bring another one back. It was a good test of the new eyes, a bit of rain, mostly dull with some sunny bits.....plenty of traffic on the M62. Polaroids really helped, even in the dull bits. Incidentally, Roger, I asked the cataract doctor about the UV thing and he said all modern implants have a built-in UV filter.
My big problem was reading and close up stuff. Anything smaller than headlines was a struggle....magazines have been piling up for 4 months now, so I've a lot to catch up on.
I need my 5 dioptra specs for the small print....no problem there though. I even took a book to the clinic, an 1895 second edition Tennyson ' In Memoriam '. Not the sharpest printing on yellowed hand cut pages but I managed fine.
I'm cutting down on posting time too as I don't have to go back and correct 20 typos per post !
Ted
Last edited by: Ted on Fri 4 May 12 at 23:06
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if you haven't already, try the Kindle. the text size can be adjusted to suit and I find, in good light, I can read *sin mis gafas*!
(Just to show I haven't forgotten ALL my Spanish!)
Last edited by: Roger on Sat 5 May 12 at 10:01
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As a fully paid up pedant I really should slap my wrist! :-/
Not at using Spanish, but carelessly writing a sentence which clearly implied that I could read a piece of writing called "sin mis gafas".
Ah - the joys of punctuation - or not, in this case.
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Update.
Cataract removal procedure on my right eye on May 18th. All went well, follow up appointment 12 days later, all ok.
My vision in my right eye is 6/9, I have a micro hole in the retina in that eye, which is the reason that it is not as good as the left.
All in all, very pleased with the results of the two eyes. Splendid service at the day surgery unit at Cobham hospital, which is operated by a private company within the NHS.
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Cataract Operation - Dog
