I posted this here since most in this forum probably have to maintain a medical certificate to drive their trucks. When I do my medical cert, I either go to my regular doc who typically wants lab urine and blood tests, or I go to a industrial medical clinic for more expedient processing. The regular doc is no longer enrolled in the "submittal system" anymore so it looks like the 'approved clinic' is the new norm. But I typically requested my eyedoc do the vision portion since I have to wear glasses. Last visit, I was told to expect cataract surgery in one eye: I have procrastinated on this and time for the med cert is now prompting me to 'get er done'. Just learned I had a cataract forming in the other eye so I am slated for the both eyes to be done. Based on other folks report of greatly improved vision after the surgery, maybe I will be able to just go to the clinic and readily pass the eyetest after my cataract procedures.
Good luck with the aurgery! It's such a sham for those medical cards. That whole system needs to be overhauled. My pcp won't sign up for the certification so I don't visit them anymore since they included it in my regular checkups. I started going to Walmart for either 69 or 79 bucks. Pretty hard to beat.
One eye done last week and the other tomorrow. The new lens has dispensed with the use of glasses for reading this computer, the newspaper, labels, instructions on packages. And distance is very good but am slightly outdone by a person with some new progressive lenses. Looking forward to 'duplex' correction.
In my state, you don't need the medical if you stay inside the state. Not sure if it's that way everywhere. What I see putting guys out is blood pressure and weight. I've known several guys the doc would not approve until they got out of the "morbid" obesity category. I used to work for a farmer with an old L9000 Ford truck. No air ride seat and not much room in those old day cabs. We had a driver who was so big he couldn't get his foot on the clutch. He tried, but he would just ride the clutch all the time. In the interest of the throw out bearing, he was reassigned.
I'm facing cataract surgery soon, Just curious, what lenses did you pick? I want my near sight out 40-50' back to perfect. Wearing glasses for distance vision never really bothered me.
Lens is a Tecnis Symfony ... has an extended range of focus. I indicated no golfing/airplane flying/high speed driving etc nor any other reason for long range vision to be spectacular. For me, most important is to read, work on equipment, wiring, and drive around town w no problem .... all w no glasses. Even tried it out by doing a little welding the other day (using the one eye that was completed last week). Lighting while driving in the night may be somewhat different, and for some can be difficult.
0 Thanks, meeting the surgeon next Monday to discuss options.
Wish I had the option. The Doc at the DOT physical clinic last time kinda cheated and helped a tad with my left eye vision. I can memorize a chart and knowing they do look can get down to 20/40 where I just pass, my eye is closer to 20/90 on a good day. Last eye doc stated too much damage to too many parts to actually fix, maybe in 10-20 years will have the technology to do me some good which is great as I will be well over 70 maybe even 80 and won't care.
I keep thinking I will wake up and need to use my glasses. It is that profound. If it wasn't for the cataract, I would be doing my thing with the George Burns glasses to drive and another pair of prescription safety glasses for reading and closeup work. The night driving is so so, and I reserve comments as I have been only doing a little sample on the local roads that I am familiar with. But I am thinking it should be ok - but some of these car headlights sure are bright.
Good to hear this. Going in tomorrow for my consult. As far as the night lights, is that from just having better vision? My cataracts just make a big blur.
You will wonder why you waited so long to have it done after you experience the difference!
Is called a Starburst effect or Prismatic effect as the new lens had to be inserted by lifting the cornea, some scarring and some distortions cause it. Believe me I deal with it on that bad eye.
Just got back from the Doc. Scheduled for June 21, next eye 2 weeks later. He said the process he uses barely disturbs the cornea, very small incision, insert small "blender" to liquefy the old lens that is sucked with a needle vacuum and insert new lens with another hollow needle. No lifting and no sutures.
I am not certain that matters as to the how, just the effect of having been done seems to set it off. Wife has it, all my friends that have had the surgery have it. I have a healed split in my cornea where that refracts light like nobody's business, worse behind a rain drop coated w/s at night.
Yeah. I have a big scar on the right Cornea that does the same thing, plus adds a little double vision in that eye once in a while. Doc says they could scrape it off, but very painful and may not do any good. I'm just holding to see what the cat surgery does.
My Cataract has not changed in 30 years, happened in 1987 so the Eye Doc does not ever expect it to come out. Scar on the cornea is what drives mine but the opaqueness in my lens (the cataract) amplifies the light sources.
Kinda like looking at a light through the shower door? I know all about that.
Pretty much. It has improved some over the years, That was told to me to expect and not to expect too much. The act of blinking has smoothed the scar somewhat and the cornea has relaxed from where was stitched up. To fix mine would take a corneal transplant, a iris reconfiguration and then the cataract replacement. The second one the doctors have no repair for so I am SOL. Started off in '87 20/250 with glasses on in that eye, I can regularly hit 20/80 now yet still have to cheat as to the DOT eye exam.
My issue is color. Red is red on a fire truck. Smaller objects not really. Green and brown are very similar, Red, and green are barely different. I know traffic signals by position. Doctors can't fix that.
Color blind can be a problem. I do not have color recognition issues but had I, I would not have been allowed to be an operator at the nuke. Controls were lighted for the most part, Green is Good Red your Dead. Also had blue standby and yellow faulted.
Made it through the process. Eye one is soon to be three weeks and eye number two is two weeks. Using "standard issue" safety glasses only as my prescrips are on the shelf. Able to read newspapers and computers and nameplates and food package labels w/o the prescrips. Self tested distance capability against the missus while being chauffeured to the docs ... her progressives allow seeing numbers on road signs a bit before I can then see 'em clearly. Next day or so, am going to local dept store optician to have the DMV exam form done so I can attach it to the medical cert form. Based upon capabilities & experience so far, am planning for no prescription glasses. "Corrective lenses" are inside the eye. PS Left my 1.50 cheater in the welding helmet as it didn't affect focus but gave a slightly larger view of the weld area.
This is great news, I have one more consult with the surgeon on the 8th of june to really discuss the lens options in depth. I appreciate your info and the updates.
For those of you putting off cataract surgery because you think you can see well enough, you may want to rethink. The Doc can't see the back of your eye well enough to determine if you have macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is treatable if caught soon enough. I know a person who put cataract surgery off long enough his macular degeneration wasn't really caught in time. The shots are helping, but he probably would have had another 5 years of driving if it had been diagnosed a couple of years sooner.
Got a eye cert from an optometrist then went to the industrial med stop for the physical and mailed all off to the DMV....still amazed at how nice to be able to see!
I'm hoping for the best myself, Good to hear your doing good.
Wow eye exams must vary a lot, my eyes are 20/30 uncorrected and I cannot pass eye exam here without my glasses or contacts. Other then that, my doc just scribbles in the form, nothing else. Not much of a medical.
That is changing even as we speak here. Doctors are being held liable, the results from med inspections are being used in courts.
Got my first cataract done 19 hrs ago... what a difference already and it seems to be improving by the hour.
Here, we get our eyes tested to get our learner's permit for a regular license. No check required when you are old enough for a class one. I could get my permit 6 months before I turned 16, my class 5 when I was 16, and then my class 1 when I was18. Class 1 is good for 4 years, medical , a 30 second questionnaire filled out by your family Dr. , Is good for 8 years until you turn 45. After that every time I renew my license, I have a medical. No further eye testing unless you are diabetic or over 65.
I am in my mid '40's and have a cataract in my right eye. That coupled with the normal needing some reading glasses has made a frustrating year. Passed my DOT this year but since I am on blood pressure medication I have to have a physical every year - even though my BP has been maintained perfectly for years.
Meds is a deal killer for length of time between physicals.
Friday I had the follow up on the left eye, 20/25 vision. the membrane behind the new lens has some cloudiness, an easy fix with the laser. Right eye is scheduled for next Thursday, I'm actually looking forward to it. Did a bit of welding last week and saw a huge difference. True binocular vision will be good to have again. Weird thing is... I had no idea how bad this got till I had one eye fixed.
RZucker, glad that things have gone so well for you so far. I had both of my eyes done last October. I was very near sighted, wore glasses for 58 years, since I was 8 years old. They did my right eye first and I could not believe that my vision was so clear the first morning after the surgery. My vision in that eye came back 20/15! but that is where the good news stopped. After they did my left eye, I expected the same results, got up the first morning and could see next to nothing out of the left. Went in for my one day follow up and told the doctor "something is wrong". He said don't worry, sometimes it takes time to clear. So I left, but called the office back 5 days later and told them this is not getting better, it is getting worse. The surgeon called me back, same story, don't worry it'll clear. I will be seeing you on Friday for your 1 week follow up. So on Friday my vision was no better, they did all the tests said everything was fine it will clear up. "Go see your regular eye doctor in one month and he will fit you for reading glasses". So I went in 1 month, told him I can see next to nothing out of my left. I could read the top 2 lines on the chart and that was it. He took a digital photo of the inside of my eye, came back and asked who did the surgery. I told him and he said I am going to call him, you HAVE to go back today, you have a severe inflammation in your left eye. My surgeon was in surgery so I was sent to a retinal specialist and he took more photos, said the same thing, bad inflammation. So he put me on stronger drops for 2 months, which did not work, so he gave me a steroid injection in that eye. That has helped and I go back this Friday to follow up with him, but it has not cleared up the vision. And now I have developed the cloudiness in my right eye, like you had, and need the laser to clear that up. But my surgeon doesn't want to do it right away because he is afraid of causing inflammation like I had in my left eye. It has been 9 months, way too long as far as I am concerned. Sorry to vent here, but I just wanted you to know it does not always go as expected. George
Wow, I'm sorry to hear that. My eye surgeon is very well respected in Eastern Wa. state and then some. I have his cell and home number in case of any issues that aren't right and he was very adamant I call if something is wrong. I hope you get your issues cleared up, and really hope I don't have any with the next eye.
Hate to hear when someone has eye trouble especially after these surgeries as can be very intimidating as well scary. Hope the docs get the inflammation to back down and then get that eye to clear up, eye infections or inflammations are some of the hardest to treat.
When I went in to the surgeon 5 weeks ago for the "cloudy" eye, he took a photo of the inflamed eye too and he said the inflammation is all gone now, but we'll see what the "specialist" says this Friday. I am at the point where I expect them to say the inflammation is gone but me vision won't get any better in that eye now. Wanna bet? This was all caused because the original surgeon did not believe me when I told him 3 times there was a problem and he sent me away. My wife had one of hers done 2 or 3 years ago, and was scheduled to have the second one done, but cancelled it, so she walks around with one good eye. At least she went to a different surgery center for hers. When I had the first one done, she said "where yours came out so good, maybe I will have my other eye done in the spring. Then I had problems all winter so now she has changed her mind again. Too bad. Like RZucker said, it sure would be nice to get my binocular vision back, but my bad eye throws off my good eye so much there is little I can do. Scared to drive, and only go to the pharmacy or grocery store, which are only 3 miles away. Working in the shop is an adventure, can't see anything with or without my readers. Hope I get better news on Friday. Thanks to everyone for the concern. I will get this straightened out. George
Just curious, was this at one of those cataract surgery "mills" or an eye surgeon with an actual office and his own clinic ? I went to one of the "mills" a year ago for a consult and wouldn't go back because of the "crank the cattle through" attitude. I had to change my insurance to go with this guy, but he really seems to care about the results. I hope your specialist is that type.
The place I went was an eye care specialist group. They have about 10 specialists that work there, and do all sorts of different surgical work from basic lasik and cataract surgery to specialized retinal surgery. They are one of the top notch places to go in southern Maine, I guess I just slipped thru the cracks. But even there it is get you in, get you checked out, and then the doctor skips in for 10 or 15 minutes and then runs off to the next patient who is waiting. I had gone there for a year before I went in for the cataract surgery because my local doctor was concerned about something else, and I had glaucoma too. so when the cataract came up that is where he sent me. Funny thing is my good eye got cloudy so I went to see him 5 weeks ago, told him it is so bad I did not feel good about driving and can hardly read a newspaper. But after that the cloudiness has almost all gone away, probably 90% of it. Will be interesting to see what they say on Friday. George
Just got home from eye #2. Cant take the cover off till tomorrow morning, Doc says all went well and was seeing good before he taped it up. Gonna go nap for awhile.
Not a good time to tell the story, I apologize, but in 1917? a ship in the harbor of Halifax Nova Scotia caught fire. It burned for some time, and the danger of its cargo was kept secret. It carried a chemical used in the manufacture of military explosives. It reacted violently with water. As firefighters battled the blaze, the size of the fire grew. Many thousands of people watched the fire in the harbor. Ultimately, it exploded. As most were inside buildings, watching through windows, the explosion blasted glass shards into the eyes of thousands of people. The rescue efforts were by rail. One track entered the city. The first train blocked the second, a staggering backup of rail access hampered rescue efforts. The few doctors had to prioritize. They took first the most promising person in a household if all others had lost all sight. They routinely removed injured eyes to prevent the common spread of infection to the other eye. We can all count our blessings that medical science has advanced exponentially in 100 years.
yes it is amazing how far technology has progressed. I had never heard the story of the fire in Halifax, but I can believe the outcome. I always knew I would need cataract surgery, my dad had to have both eyes done and he was younger than me. And when he had his first one done it was a new surgery, he went into the hospital on a Monday, and he laid in a bed with both eyes covered for 4 days. then they took the blindfold off and kept him there for another day before he was allowed to go home, so 5 days laying in bed, 4 with a blindfold on both eyes, and sandbags on both sides of his head so it was kept still. I was in the front door and out the back door in 2 1/2 hours. And of course back then they did not implant a new lens, you got the old coke bottle bottom lenses. George
You can't imagine how much I wish they could fix my left eye. Injured 1987 31 years ago August.
Today I saw the Doc, All is going good, unfortunately the scar on my right cornea is still a small issue. It doesn't affect my far sight but creates a bit of a spot in my near sight. The good news is I am down to 1.25X readers.
Glad to hear the second one came out well. for you. Keep an "eye" on it and if you notice any changes at all call them back. I went back to the specialist on Friday to check on the inflammation that has been giving me problems for the last 9 months and he said it is completely gone. but he still would not answer the hard question. If the inflammation was causing the blurry vision, and now it is gone, why is the vision still blurry and when or will it ever clear up like it should. Still optimistic. George
This business of dilemmas was in the background of the conversation when I was at the docs - initially I was with only one cataract and while having some coke bottle lens eyeglass prescrip in that non cataract eye and I asked em to match closer to new (do both eyes) but I got the idea 'nope unless they have to do it' - when I went a while later to finally get it done, he also found a cataract forming in that eye so that "event" enabled both to be done. A firm discussion about inflammation and the need to check for it was presented. ~~ I have to go back in September for a followup and he already said I would need the laser to remove a film behind the lens, but as of now the vision is working well. My friend just had the laser to remove the film and he is doing good. My welding is better as a result of my cataract procedures. ~~~~****~~~~ Curious: I was given a choice of three different eye drops or one special concoction eye drop and a strict schedule of these drops with a "log book". (I picked the concoction version). And the doctor quizzed me on that quite a bit. The nurse gave me a spiel about not touching the eyes and keeping hands washed blah blah during this time. Anyone else go through any of that? The drops started one week before the surgery and the schedule continued (but ramped down eventually) in a week or two after the surgery.
Yep, same thing with the drops here. I have 3 separate bottles, all 3 morning and bedtime and 2 at lunch and dinner.
That sounds about like the schedule I had for drops after the surgery, 3 bottles if I remember right, 4 times a day, but the surgeries were a week apart, so I had a heck of a time remembering which eye got what at what time of the day. After a month I was off all of those, but now I am on 3 different drops, 2 of them in the morning in both eyes, and 3 in both at bed time. All for Glaucoma. And I do remember one of the drops for the week before and after the surgery burned like hell. Could not wait to get off that one. George
You all are lucky, when hurt mine was three types drops and ointment under the lower eyelid four times a day, everyday for three months, had to use sterile water to unglue the eyelids every morning for almost two of those three.
Yeah I have one that burns bad too. Worst is now I'm getting blotchy skin patches from the prednisone drops, apparently my fair skin doesn't care for steroids. 2 more weeks... that's what I keep telling myself. its all about the vision.
I can relate. From last March to this January 8th I had 7 eye surgeries. 4 were cataract removal and the follow up cloudy lens cleanup. 3 were retina surgery. I can't say enough good things about my retina doc. He gives me his cell number and instructed me to call him if I had any concerns or if I thought something was wrong. Prior to all this surgery I couldn't get a drop in my eye to save my arse. If there was anything within a foot of my eye, I instinctively closed it. After putting 3-4 drops in my eyes 3-4 times a day over 8 months, I can put drops in with my eyes shut
I was useless at first, watered my cheeks a lot, now I too can hit the center of an eye even in the dark.
Just got back from the follow up on the last eye. Got a lens prescript for a bit of farsight correction and some bifocal near sight correction. He said I really don't need the far sight correction that badly, but it might help some and the over the counter readers are just fine. Just for the heck of it I might get the glasses to see if it really helps.