Hello,

Currently, my dad has "baby cataracts" on his left eye, and of course, has a hard time reading (he's far sighted). As a matter of fact, if he closes his right eye (which doesn't have baby cataracts), he is unable to see anything! Dad was advised to get a new eyeglasses prescription to compensate for has cataracts till we can find a good cataract surgeon.

The opthamologist gave dad a prescription for new eyeglasses, and dad gave in the prescription to one of those vision centers (like lenscrafters, pearl vision, sears). About two weeks later, when the eyeglasses came in, he tried them out. He was able to see through the right eye (as with his previous eyeglasses), but was unable to see through his left eye. And just like before, if he closed his right eye, he was unable to see anything!

The technician who gave my dad the eyeglasses said that the reason he is unable to see through his left eye is because of cataracts. But the reason my dad wanted a new prescription for eyeglasses was to compensate for the cataract in his left eye!

In other words, we are at square one. Our question is, what went wrong? We thought that an opthamologist can give eyeglasses prescriptions to compensate for cataracts till surgery. Or did the opthamologist write the wrong prescription. Please tell us how we can fix this situation. Thank you for your helpful responses.


Lucia

Sounds like your dad's cataracts have reached the point where surgery would be beneficial. I'm surprised your ophthalmologist doesn't do that kind of surgery. Unless you live in a remote, rural area, finding a doctor who does the surgery should be fairly easy.

I agree with SP. If your dad can't see out of that eye, there's nothing "baby" about the cataract. Guess you'd have to ask the ophth what kind of prescription it was and how it was supposed to work if he couldn't see through the cataract.

K.

I just did a search this afternoon because I have a cataract growing faster just since had diabetic retinopathy laser surgery, trauma, and I wanted to know if a cataract has to be right over the pupil to block your sight, etc. I keep changing reading glasses, and doubt that prescription ones would be any better for my worst eye. I'm thinking of going to a cheap glasses place for temporary ones. You're verifying my hunch that I wouldn't be able to see through the worst cataract no matter what kind of glasses. The surgeon also said she's writing to the opthalmologist I said I might use, advising that she's not sure removing the cataract will help my diabetes-damaged eye. Specialists write lots of letters, I've observed.

If you're near any large city, one or more of the search articles may be from a clinic near you. I'm in SE Michigan and found one by some U of M people in a nearby suburb, I probably should look into if I wouldn't have to go to a hospital for the 3-hr procedure. There's a place just a few blocks away so I could drive home on back streets in my very own subdivision, I'm thinking of using, and my retina surgeon knows them, probably also knows the UofM ones. We need a thread about just cataracts. (?) Many of the articles I just read say cataract surgery is 97% successful, except, maybe, for me. I think I might try it anyway if the new opthalmologist wants to, who I have not even met yet. Probably I'll get an appointment next week. It's now Saturday. Does your Dad's feel like it's over to the side, not right over the center of the eye?

Eagle, My sister an I developed "early onset" cataracts that were very small, but directly in the center of the eye, so they disrupt the vision with halos and blur and starbursts.
From what was said by the first eye doctor to tell me I had cataracts, I was under the impression that most cataracts do not begin in the center. But that might be wrong.
You might want to visit a library at a university and ask the reference librarian to help you do some research on the outcomes of cataract surgery for someone with your pre-existing eye condition. But it could be difficult to find current data, and the field of cataract surgery is a very rapidly changing field.

Mama, I have more than a baby cataract in my right eye. Virtually blind without my glasses in that eye and my glasses correct it to almost the same as the eye that I have had cataract surgery on. If I cover up one eye I can see a difference mostly in color as the one with the cataract still in it makes things a little more yellow and a little smaller and of course, less clear. It sounds to me like they got something mixed up. Take the glasses back to opthamologist and ask for explanation. I didn't see where your Dad's Dr. would not do surgery like someone said but if it is a baby cataract(newbie) then your Dad might not want to have it done. My opthamologist pretty much leaves it up to the patient to decide when it has become a problem for them. Right not it has become a problem for me because with one eye done and the other with a cataract i can't see well to read so I am going to have to have it done even though my distance vision with the glasses is not that bad. Since reading is my biggest joy I need to get it taken care of. It could be they have the axis wrong or they got the prescription wrong. I always take mine back to the dr. to be checked to make sure it is right.

Anyone ever had an infection that made your eyes water a bit, one optomitrist said is red-eye but it isn't red, have to clean out the corners, or is that the cataract?

I don't think my worst cataract is a baby one, and I don't think it's right over my pupil but I keep seeing something, feels like a big teardrop in my eye that I can't blink out, reflecting light when I'm out in bright light and a little after I go inside.

They gave me some booklets, besides what I found on the internet, and it seems that if you've already had surgery for other things you may not qualify for the artificial lens, (which often clouds and has to be worked on later on) would just have to make do with glasses. My retinopathy surgeon said I also have some scar tissue in my other eye, and last week things were cloudy but better this week, which sounds like maybe there was a little bleeding into the vitreous which was then re-absorbed. She didn't tell me that but it's in one of the booklets. So the last few days I've been able to read, these booklets at least, maybe not a newspaper, with just my Kroger reading glasses at 3.25. That's about as high as they go so I'll some stronger, prescription ones. Went to see her Friday and was relieved to find I didn't have retinal detachment. Still don't know why light seems to get stored up in there unless the cataract is lighter, like a wart maybe (I have no idea) and it's almost like it's reflecting stored-up light. I know that's not possible. Thought I might find someone with the same sensation. When they're "ripe" and right over the pupil it'll look lighter, according to these booklets, but you don't have to wait these days until they ripen. The surgery is usually 97% successful.

Good luck to your Dad. I sure hope they make it right if his prescription wasn't followed correctly. Will he have to have someone sit there waiting the whole 3 hrs, as my girlfriend said she will, or is that just so someone can drive you home?