Fearing The Side Effects of Surgery

I honestly felt physically pummeled when I was told I needed cataract surgery. Thyroid eye disease (TED) has put me through everything. How could I possibly have to go through anything more with my eyes? My poor eyes!

The last thing I wanted to do is have someone cut them! I have already had orbital decompression, strabismus surgery, optical nerve radiation, drops and more drops, lots of tests and many, many medications. THEY HAD ENOUGH!

Always worried about my eyes

Everyday I wake up and worry about my eyes—are they ok today? Is my TED getting worse? Can I see ok? Is it too sunny outside to drive? There is an entire checklist of questions that I constantly go through because of TED.

I am worried about the side effects of cataract surgery

I know my doctor meant well, but she just doesn’t get it when she said, “Don’t worry, cataract surgery is easy. Not at all like the strabismus surgery I did.”

My friends didn’t help either when they said, “Oh my mother, father, sister, brother, other relatives, friends, neighbors, coworkers, or other random people had it and it was so easy. You’ll be fine.”

When I went for my pre-op appointment my PCP said, "This is the easiest surgery. You’ll wish you had it done sooner.”

None of these people have TED. None of these people know what it is like to wake up every morning and wonder if today is that day that your eyesight is going to start declining again. At one point on my TED journey my doctor said I might lose my vision if I did not immediately have surgery to relieve pressure on my optic nerve. I am not scared of surgery. I fear the effects of surgery on my vision. I fear the effects of TED on my long-term ability to see.

How did I decide to get cataract surgery?

It isn’t mandatory. I can surely live with cataracts.

Cataracts were making it hard for me to enjoy the things I like to do and were limiting my independence. It was becoming harder and harder to drive at night or in the bright sunshine or in the rain. I could not see my neighbors walking across the street. It wasn’t until they spoke that I was able to tell who they were. Even seeing down the aisle at the grocery store was becoming increasingly difficult.

One of my favorite hobbies is gardening and I knew that without surgery I would not be able to do that this year. Many of these are the same issues I had at various times during my journey with TED. I had not realized that the cataracts were compounding the problems.

Cataracts and thyroid eye disease

My experience with TED has had many difficulties. When the cataracts were building it was hard to distinguish what was going on. Of course, I hoped it was not the TED getting worse. I dreaded the possibility of that happening.

Once you have had cataract surgery you cannot get cataracts again. OK. I know that does not mean I will not have another setback on this TED journey. However, I do know that for some amount of time I will be able to see distance with no glasses. I also know that when the next TED hurdle comes along, I will deal with it – because, I really don’t have any other choice.