Crispina Posted March 17 Report Share Posted March 17 Had cataract surgery yesterday, right eye (left eye on March 31st). Ever since I scheduled the surgery I think of reading somewhere that cataract surgery was actually performed in ancient times (Roman?). Did I make that up or is it true? If true, imagine no numbing of the eye before, during or after removal of the cataract. yikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guidoLaMoto Posted March 18 Report Share Posted March 18 Interesting question. Here's a review of the history https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7729313/ It seems The Code of Hammurabi (~1750 BC) established an allowable charge of 10 shekels of silver for an opthalmalogical procedure that sounds a lot like "couching" (pushing the cloudy lens back out of the way) to treat cataracts. Pliny the Elder writes about couching in his Natural History. Good luck with yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy Posted March 18 Report Share Posted March 18 (edited) 5 hours ago, Crispina said: Had cataract surgery yesterday, right eye (left eye on March 31st). Ever since I scheduled the surgery I think of reading somewhere that cataract surgery was actually performed in ancient times (Roman?). Did I make that up or is it true? If true, imagine no numbing of the eye before, during or after removal of the cataract. yikes. I do hope you’re feeling better. I remember a discussion, possibly on another forum, of the Roman procedure of couching, as mentioned by Guido above. Here’s a simple short video on the ancient procedure: https://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/roman-cataract-surgery/ Edited March 18 by guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guidoLaMoto Posted March 18 Report Share Posted March 18 11 hours ago, guy said: I do hope you’re feeling better. I remember a discussion, possibly on another forum, of the Roman procedure of couching, as mentioned by Guido above. Here’s a simple short video on the ancient procedure: Couching--- with heavy emphasis on the "-ouching" part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crispina Posted March 19 Author Report Share Posted March 19 Yes, feeling fine. Surgery on Monday, follow-up appt. on Tuesday and okayed to drive (but I waited until yesterday). Still using eye drops four times a day and the clear plastic patch over eye overnight - can stop patch as of tomorrow but I may continue one more day. Have a habit of wanting to rub my eye! Thanks for concern and the above history info. P.S. unlike all my friends who have had the procedure and said they "felt nothing" during - I felt some stinging towards the end despite numerous numbing liquid applied by surgeon. Can't imagine no anesthetic at all. ugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crispina Posted March 19 Author Report Share Posted March 19 ETA: I was not under anesthesia, they give you just a bit to calm you down, you are awake during the procedure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guy Posted March 21 Report Share Posted March 21 On 3/19/2026 at 8:18 AM, Crispina said: ETA: I was not under anesthesia, they give you just a bit to calm you down, you are awake during the procedure I’m glad you are feeling better but … you have inspired me to take Lutein / Zeaxanthan supplements to prevent my cataracts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caesar novus Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 (edited) On 3/21/2026 at 8:16 AM, guy said: I’m glad you are feeling better but … you have inspired me to take Lutein / Zeaxanthan supplements to prevent my cataracts. I've been taking those, which are freely covered by my insurance OTC allowance, but my ophthalmologist insists I need an additional "Z..." (IIRC) ingredient. "Lucky" for me he sells those for about $75 (monthly?), so my frugality can counteract his high pressure tactics. He also turns every visit to include a followup for more tests. I am torn between his genuine skill in measuring acuity vs his fee harvesting from both me and admittedly penny-pinching insurance. Edited March 23 by caesar novus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crispina Posted March 23 Author Report Share Posted March 23 Yeah, I've also been diagnosed with dry MD (mac.degeneration), moderate case for now. My former eye doctor first noticed it and we discussed PreserVision, an eye vitamin that is touted to slow down, not cure, MD and stave off wet MD. I brought it up because my elderly aunt takes that for her wet MD. My eye doctor said the med has proven to only help by a small percentage, he said I could take it or not - up to me. My new eye doctor, the surgeon who's doing my surgeries, handed me a trial box at my very first visit with him. I questioned him about its usefulness, and he seemed a bit peeved. Said 30% is better than nothing. The med is expensive and OTC, pretty sure Medicare won't cover it. I'm still debating, but will probably be worried if I'm wrong in not taking it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caesar novus Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 6 hours ago, Crispina said: diagnosed with dry MD (mac.degeneration), moderate case for now For anyone interested in getting EARLY warning of MD, you can taken a test described in the below video. Since I took it, device sales have been taken over by a different company which I leave to track down on your own. The old company had a lookup tool to tell nearest doc with device. Quote Dark adaptometry is a non-invasive, functional eye test that measures how quickly the retina recovers sensitivity in low-light conditions after exposure to bright light. It is highly sensitive in detecting early age-related macular degeneration (AMD), often finding impairments before structural changes appear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guidoLaMoto Posted March 23 Report Share Posted March 23 I'd save my money-- No evidence supplements help with cataracts, no evidence they help prevent MD, only 4 in every 1000 pts with early MD benefit from taking them, but 78 in 1000 (1 in 12) with intermediate MD benefit. https://www.cochrane.org/evidence/CD000254_do-antioxidant-vitamin-and-mineral-supplements-slow-down-progression-age-related-macular https://www.aaojournal.org/article/S0161-6420(20)30120-2/abstract Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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