Too much of the above makes me tearful...but after sticking a needle in the eye the tears are probably a good lubricant..
Think I'll stick with my polaroid specs...

I'm not sure they'll operate on me at all if I drink all the wine offered here

I haven't had the same surgery but I have had LASIK eye surgery to correct astigmatism. A flap was cut in the cornea of each eye to allow for laser surgery. I was given numbing eye drops and didn't feel a thing. Sounds unbelievable doesn't it that a few eye drops can numb the eyeball so efficiently...but it did. Bear in mind it was 15 years ago...therefore it has probably improved since then.

Bet it bloody hurt when the drops wore off though.

Mr bakedbean also had laser surgery some 20 years ago at Moorfields in London. They told him, when the drops wore off, to drink whiskey. He was kinda surprised, but he followed instructions

It didn't hurt at all. I was given a Valium tablet to take when I got home...went to bed and slept for a few hours. I had no pain or discomfort whatsoever.

I noticed that I forgot to inform about my post operation experience.
After waking up, I felt no pain or discomfort at all and the eye was covered with a bandage.
Five minutes later the doctor came, removed the bandage and inspected his work.
All was OK, so I got some eyedrops to use every three or four hours and was sent home.
I could actually have driven home but took a taxi since I had left my car at home.

I was also given a plastic cup formed cover to fix with tape over the eye at night too not damage it while healing.
And no heavy lifting or the like for two weeks, a regime I happily agreed to, seeing the opportunity for my wife to get some free muscle toning excercise.

To IVV,
Really, after the numbing drops, you feel absolutely nothing when the injection needle slowly pierces the eyball. Probably because there are not too many pain sensing nerves there.
But visualizing it happening can be somewhat challenging .

The eye drops I had were for lubrication. I too had eye patches to be worn when sleeping...so that I wouldn't rub my eyes.

At age 78+ there was nothing wrong with my vision until opening BE and finding jerseygirls jumping avatar...that would make anyone focus elsewhere.

The thing is, that's really her.

Very slooowly as you hold your breath, the big long needle comes towards your prone eyeball

Glad to read the procedure went OK Gunnar45 .

It'll be fine IVV. Just ensure you follow the distructions give. Rest so not to damage the healing and use the drops The world will become dazzling in next to no time. Perhaps a little too dazzling to start with.

I agree about the one eye at a time . Saves one walking into unknown lamp posts that place themselves in the way.

I worked for 20+ years as an ophthalmic technician in Canada. Over the years I watched cataract surgery evolve from a huge operation where the patient's head was held still in sandbags for a week post-op to where it was done in a matter of 20 minutes by local anaesthetic only (drops, not even the injection). I have been out of ophthalmology for 10 years and now work as a secretary in another specialty, but from memory here's a quick breakdown of the procedure...

1. You'll go for an A-scan of the eyes - essentially an ultrasound wand is passed over your closed eyes. This is done to measure the for the strength of the lens implant you'll be getting at the time of your surgery. When I used to order lenses I generally ordered so the patient would have approximately .05 to 1.00 of myopia.

2. The day of the surgery you will go in to hospital (or the clinic if it's done at an outpatient centre). You will probably have an IV and given some sedation. If you are having a retrobulbar injection you will be given some drops of a local anaesthetic first to numb your eye. Then the injection is given into your eyeball - and no, you won't feel it. A forceps is used to keep your eyelids open and a drape will be put over your other eye and most of your face. Don't worry, you'll be able to breathe. A very small incision is made to one side of your iris and a very small instrument is inserted to break up the cataract/lens in your eye. The remnants are then sucked out with a tiny vacuum like instrument. When it comes time to insert the new lens it's slid into the same incision and the surgeon will rotate it slightly so the little hooks on it grip your iris and it's settled in place so it won't shift. Some surgeons like to put a stitch in at this time and some don't, but either way you won't feel it. A patch will be taped over your eye and after about an hour you will be able to go home.

3. At home you'll have to leave the patch on when you sleep and that's to prevent you from rubbing or scratching your eye. You'll be given a prescription for drops to be used 3 or 4 times a day and we used to give a tube of gentamycin ointment to be put in just before the patch for overnight but I'm not sure if this is still done.

4. After about 4-6 weeks you can see either your surgeon or an optometrist who will check your vision and if needed give you a prescription for new glasses.

It's best to have one eye done at a time and the waiting in between can be a bit difficult if you have very poor vision in the unoperated eye. Colours will seem weird and your depth perception may be off but once the second eye is done that should clear up.

Bear in mind it's been 10 years since I've worked in ophthalmology and different surgeons have different techniques, but the above is what we used to do in Canada. it goes well for you.

Aw. Don't spoil my fun missus.

Tiz true though. Way back in the 70's when I needed one of several visage and eyeballs ops due to a very nasty RTA, those on the ward with me were in for a week or more following their cataracts operations. They seemed so old then. Now I've caught up. Mind you my own cataract op was about 12/15 yrs ago and the surgeon put in stitches.

Depth perception is bang on though. Hence the comment about lamp posts.

Thanks Dorothy. Very interesting especially since I like to know in detail what they are going to be doing to me.

As I am pretty shortsighted I guess I'm going to need to get my specs altered during the time I am waiting to have the other eye done, otherwise lampposts are going to be the least of my problems.

I think doing this research is very sensible. I did it too (although on other websites) but if you're anything like me you will be utterly terrified the first time and your BP will break all local records.

There is, IMHO, no alternative. Indeed, the second time, a month later nothing changed.

I'm a wimp of course. Aren't all men?