Oh my. So timely. I am going through the same exact thing. I am researching myself for an ophthalmologist.

I just learned that I need a doctor who specializes in glaucoma and cataracts. I have 3 names and I'm going to go from there.

I also have astigmatism.

AI came up with this for me.

Oh, carolb, thanks. I think my doctor at this practic (group of docs at a teaching hospital based eye clinic) is a retina specialist. So, should I get a glaucoma specialist?

Geez, I researched iridotomy and found a LOT of feedback On a forum. LOTS of very unhappy patients with pain and symptoms like headache, glare, blurry vision and watery eyes. #$%^&! guess I won’t opt for the iridotomy.

carolb, you might want to research that toric lens on Reddit— get more info than the marketing blip. I also have some degree of astigmatism. The doctor (ophth) didn’t mention this.

If youdon’nt mind my asking, do you also have narrow angle glaucoma?

Ive had cararact surgery and later the laser treatment for glaucoma ( open angle). The laser greatly reduced the pressure in my eye. It was a simple in-office procedure, no side effect except for my eye feeling a little scratchy for a day or two. I had to use eye drops. My doctor, according to the website Fellowship-trained Glaucoma Specialist and Board-Certified Ophthalmologist specializing in general ophthalmology, cataract surgery, and glaucoma treatment

He also looks like he is 12 years old to my old eyes! He trained at Johns Hopkins.

i wish he’d been my doctor when I had cataract surgery. Ive never been happy with the result, but thats another story!

I had iridotomy done on both eyes years ago to address my closed angular glaucoma. I was also leery about having it done, but decided to go forward. It did decrease the pressure in both eyes, but I did notice a glare effect in one eye, which drove me a little nuts. I don't know if I just got used to it or if my eyelid lowered with age. I still have to use eye drops every night. At my recent appointment, the doctor said the holes were still open but not doing much to address the pressure. He said I could continue using the drops or opt for another laser iridotomy. At this point, I'm opting for the drops.

With the cataract surgery, it did temporarily decrease the pressure. I chose far-sightedness as I'm ok with wearing glasses for seeing close up.

Are you using any drops to decrease the pressure?

I was diagnosed with narrow angles about 6 years ago, and had bilateral iridotomies. I did not have glaucoma, since my pressures were normal.

It was an easy, painless procedure on each eye. They did give me a really strong anesthetic in the eye before the laser treatment.

In the first eye, the laser created the perfect hole in the second beam.

So quick!

In the second eye, the doctor had to deploy the laser 15 or 20 times before the perfect hole was created

The holes are still open ( I have a complete eye exam every year since I wear contacts).

I would not hesitate to recommend this preventative procedure to anyone!

Btw, I had no side effects..no pain no headache, nothing. The hole is in the iris, and very small. Perhaps the side effects others had were a reaction to the topical anesthetic?

Thanks. I’m not sure what approach to take.

But boy, were there some scary sounding complaints at the eye are forum.

Did any of your doctors tell you that you needed to address the issue of closed or narrow angle better than later so that you could avoid a crisis? my IO preesure is normal — perhaps something like 11 and or 14. But she showed me a medical poster that depicted the closed, near closed or narrow angle.

Yes petal, my eye doctor told me that pain in my eye was a medical emergency, and that I had to immediately go to his office or meet him at an ER equipped with ophthalmology equip.

It scared me, but made the choice easy!

I just had cataract surgery and now have the Toric lenses. I was given a choice of three different options. The first option was basic that Medicare would cover. I'd still need glasses for distance and to read.

I had astigmatism and my ophthalmologist surgeon said he could correct it with Toric lenses so I wouldn't need glasses for distance. $4,440 out of pocket for both eyes. He said I may still readers.

It turned out my vision is now 20/20 and I don't need glasses at all.

After I had each eye done two weeks apart, I couldn't read for two days afterwards. Apparently the back and forth motion of your pupils can dislodge the lens. After those first two days I was back to reading.

I also had "dropless" cataract surgery. I would have needed to use 3-4 different eyedrops five times a day. No thanks. Instead, I had the medicine in all those drops put in during the procedure, for a slow release. I then only had one drop to put in daily.

Overall, I'm loving not having to wear glasses. My procedure was uneventful. It's amazing how much brighter everything is. I always thought my ceiling is an off white. Removing those clouded lenses and now my ceiling looks white. The difference in colors and the brightness is amazing.

I had the third kind of cataract surgery . One eye for close up, one for distance. Several years later works well. I thought I picked out a neutral grey for kitchen before surgery. After I notice my kitchen had a blue gray tone. The surgery sure does change colors. I thought my friend was nuts when she said "Oh, you painted your kitchen lite blue." I could see it after surgery