Private Cataract Surgery

Health & Diet Health & Diet: Questions / Help
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Thanks Twink, that would be appreciated

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Hi LD waiting lists seem to be anything from 55 days at one hospital to 77 weeks at my local hospital I am expecting a phone call from the ophthalmologist tomorrow to discuss my problem
Thanks a bunch for the other info it was very reassuring

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I will send you a message on here a few days after. If she had gone private it would have been July 11th but she is NHS so only 6 weeks different !

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Thanks Twink

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I wouldn’t write off having it done on the NHS before you find out how long that waiting list is in your area

My mum had both her’s done at the Bristol Eye hospital and they were amazing, she waited 6 months but if she’d been willing to go to a different treatment centre it would have been quicker

Sadly, like everything else, it’s a postcode lottery though

One thing to consider is, do you wear varifocals or bifocals or need two separate pairs of glasses for distance and reading?

Because when they do it they put in a lens that corrects your eye site so you don’t need glasses

But on the NHS they usually only do a mono lens that corrects one defect, so for example, you might be able to see long distance without glasses but would still need reading glasses

But some private clinics do varifocal type lens for a bit extra so you wouldn’t need glasses at all

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Hi Maree, thanks for that, I have read up a bit on the various options that are available, I wear vairfocals and have done for about 40 years and can’t imagine how stunningly sexy I would look without them :grinning: Everything now awaits the results of tomorrows telephone consultation. So it’s fingers crossed.

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Photos of your non/bespectacled self will be required, sexy we need

Good luck! :+1:

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Bugger! you have put me on the spot now Maree thanks a bunch mate😝

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Had my first one done, Private Insurance job, in Windsor.

Second on, also in Windsor, many years later.

I still smile, at the memory, because, when I was waiting, on a ward, to go done for the op, I asked if there was any anaesthetic available, as I was a bit stressed by the long wait.

They said not, which was worrying,.

Anyway, they wheeled me down to the theatre and, after lying on the trolley for what seemed like an hour, I tried to scratch my eyelid only to realise that there was now a bandage on it!

Went home, that evening, wondering how I missed all that!

Haha! The easiest Op ever!

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Vlad apparently my sister’s op is 21st July
 so you will hear from me a bit sooner than I said.
She is having it done at a private hospital in Newcastle Staffordshire but the NHS pays. This hospital wasn’t too far away & her optician arranged for transport to & from the hospital because he couldn’t do a prescription for her glasses until after the cataracts had been dealt with!

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Ooh, that was another thing

Don’t spend a lot on glasses after you’ve had the first one done, because you’ll need new again, (or hopefully none!) after you have the second one done. Get cheaper ones

And again, after they’ve both been done, if it turns out you do still need glasses when they’ve both been done, get a cheaper pair for the first six months because it takes a while to settle down and you’ll have to replace them quite soon

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Thanks for that info Maree.
It is for my sister not me & she has contact lens normally, but it sounds like cheap glasses are now going to be her best option
 at least for a while!

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Hi all thanks for all the latest info and great advice, an update
my ophthalmologist called I was expecting a call at 4.30 but he managed to call early, nevertheless, he is going to refer me to (option 1) Birmingham Eyes Hospital, waiting times could be up to 36 weeks. (option 2) if I don’t hear anything within 8 weeks, get an high street optician to refer me to Spamedica already mentioned above, they apparently are quicker and the op is on the NHS. (option 3) if all else fails go private
so it’s a wait and see.

May I take this opportunity to thank you one and all for your kindness, support and excellent advise, I was to be honest not expecting this kind of response. The wealth of knowledge out there is bloody amazing and really honestly appreciated.
Thank you :smiling_face_with_three_hearts::smiling_face_with_three_hearts::smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Oh and an extra plus you’re not expecting!

After it’s done, colours will be brighter, my mum loved it!

You know how we say the world looked brighter when we were young? Well, it really did :+1:

It’s because as we get older and our lens thicken, they get cloudy and slightly yellow, so we see colours dulled

And now you’re going to see them bright again :grinning:

It’s a fantastic procedure, it really is. All the best with it :two_hearts:

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Just an update, I have an appointment at a local opticians on Wednesday who will refer me to SpaMedica for surgery here in Birmingham, waiting time is about 3 weeks (I hope) So thanks for that info Mups. Fingers crossed that it will all be sorted soon

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That is how my sister got her appointment.
They arranged transport to and from the hospital & they send you a booklet that explains everything.

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Well done, Vlad.
Hope all goes well for you, and it’s soon all over. :hugs:

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Thanks for that Twink, transport would be helpful too :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Thank you Mups, I will update everyone as it all develops :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Hi Vlad, just a note to say my sister has had a positive Covid test, so they have had to cancel her appointments & will book new ones. She doesn’t sound seriously ill but still has to isolate, so you may get yours done before her!
I hope all goes well for you & I will keep looking into this thread to hear how much your vision has improved. They say the surgery only takes about 15 mins, so think of something you enjoy whilst they do it, then they keep you in for a couple of hours after to make sure you are feeling OK.