Nervous before cataract Surgery

Question

I am a very nervous person to start with and next week i am scheduled for cataract sugery.
Could anyone who has had the surgery give me a few good words of advice to help me keep
calm. I worry about the operation daily, i want to have better vision buti have to get thru it 
mentally.

achillea · Accepted Answer

I had cataract surgery on both eyes several years ago, and even though I, like you, am a nervous type, the operation was very easy to handle.

I did feel a bit tense during the preparations, when they put a lot of eyedrops and potions into your eyes, and they hook up an Intravenous line, but as my gurney was wheeled to the operating room and I was chatting with the anesthesiologist, I suddenly noticed that I was very, VERY relaxed.  It almost made me laugh to realize that something magical had been added to my I.V. bottle!

The operation itself, as Dr Hagan says, is very brief and painless.  The doctor told me at each step what he was doing, and frequently reassured me.  The anti-anxiety medication did the rest.

If you feel unbearably tense in the week beforehand, do as EyeSeeStars suggests and ask your doc for something to see you through this period.

But I assure you that the surgery will be  a piece of cake.

AAO-MD-JH · Answer

We really like happy stories. Thanks for sharing.
JCH MD

gyro1919 · Answer

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my question. I had my surgery today and i am amazed at how well it went.  I hope other future cataract
patients read this. I was extremly nervous and my nerves were totally shaking up for nothing. Totally painless, he was done before i new it, all i saw was a light, nothing scary at all. When i opened my eyes i had probably 20/20 vision. I took some sedation but i would have been ok without it. A boatload of stress for nothing.

AAO-MD-JH · Answer

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Craig10x · Answer

The "anticipation" of what will happen is a lot worse then what it really is...and actually, it really goes very quickly and easy....i felt very relaxed after they administered the sedation and was really hardly aware of what was being done other then seeing some pretty color lights and following the doctor's directions to me....it seemed to take only about 15 or 20 minutes and was done before i knew it...

Once my first eye was done, i had the other eye scheduled for 4 days later and couldn't wait for it! (since i already knew that it wasn't a big deal after all...lol)..

Hope that helps...

AAO-MD-JH · Answer

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EyeSeeStars · Answer

I will feel the same way, because I am also a high-stress and nervous person. Someone will probably have to physically carry me into the eye center when my turn comes in the not too distant future!

Those calming anti-anxiety IV drugs will surely help you.  I'll bet everyone is scared before any surgery. Maybe your doctor can prescribe a bit of calming meds to get you through the next week. I'll probably need to ask for that myself.

AAO-MD-JH · Answer

While I have not had cataract surgery I have done over 12,000 cases. Your fears are normal and to be expected. If excessive anxiety intravenous sedatives are often used to soothe the anxieties of the nervous patient. It is much more expensive and higher risks to "be put to sleep" and I can't remember the last time we used general anesthesia.

In most cases from beginning to end the procedure is over in 15-30 minutes.

JCH MD

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