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Eye Care Archive (Expert Forum)
What is a cortisone induced cataract?
Our Ask A Doctor Ophthalmology Forum is where you can post your question and receive a personal answer from physicians affiliated with the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
What is a cortisone induced cataract?
by ellentx, Feb 25, 2006 12:00AM
DEAR DOCTOR, Recently saw an opthamologist and he said I have a cortisone type cataract. (cataract caused by takintg cortisone)
I told the eye doctor that I have never taken cortisone except having a ACTH Test done for Cushings disease. (cortisol) (just remembered this today) They inject something in the vein and take blood every hour for 3 hours. This ACTH Test was done in early January and I saw the eye doctor, 20 days later. I failed to ask him any more about this. I saw him again last week. Cataract is still there. Worse in one eye. He said he could remove it but now I fear it will come back if it is not a true cataract. I never heard of a cortizone producing cataract and how can he tell the difference? Maybe if I wait another month it will be all gone. Is this possible?
Thanks for your help.
I told the eye doctor that I have never taken cortisone except having a ACTH Test done for Cushings disease. (cortisol) (just remembered this today) They inject something in the vein and take blood every hour for 3 hours. This ACTH Test was done in early January and I saw the eye doctor, 20 days later. I failed to ask him any more about this. I saw him again last week. Cataract is still there. Worse in one eye. He said he could remove it but now I fear it will come back if it is not a true cataract. I never heard of a cortizone producing cataract and how can he tell the difference? Maybe if I wait another month it will be all gone. Is this possible?
Thanks for your help.
Doctor's Answer
despite some claims of some "fringe" eyedrop manufacturors, the only way to fix a cataract is with surgery. once you have surgery a cataract CANNOT "come back". thats impossible. once surgically removed, the problem is permanently solved. (some people think their cataracts "come back", but what they really have is poserior capsular opacification, which is not a cataract and is totally unrelated to cataracts, and it easily solved with an in-office laser procedure).
if you are bothered by your vision and have been diagnosed as having a cataract, your only option to get better is surgery. it will certainly not get better on its own.