Sharon’s journey with cataract surgery – Post #3

Sharon Groves
American Retirement Advisors,
Practicing Healthcare Professional

Here I am on July 19th, meeting with my surgeon and the anesthesiologist. (You will need someone to drive you to and from this visit, as your eyes will be dilated once again.) My surgeon wants to personally verify the eye mapping and corneal topography results from my 2nd visit. This will ensure the correct lenses are implanted, and, if he sees any anomalies, he can perform additional tests and make corrections before the surgery. Both of my eyes were then dilated for him to re-examine. We discussed the actual 10- to 15-minute surgery and what to expect. He asked me what would, or would not, make me comfortable during the surgery. He explained they would administer the anesthesia which would put me in a type of twilight sleep. I would be aware, but not wide awake enough to care. He then gave me a prescription for three separate eye drops which would start the day before surgery and continue until the morning before surgery. He emphasized that these MUST BE administered “exactly” and “precisely” as directed. If, for any reason, they were not, he would not go ahead with the surgery and I would have to reschedule. I was given dark plastic inserts for my glasses because my eyes were very sensitive to light, due to the dilation. So here it is at 6:00 pm, and I’m lying on the sofa with sunglasses on. Even the television was too bright for my eyes!
The three eye drop prescriptions I had filled at the pharmacy ran me $127, even with my prescription drug coverage. Keep in mind that when I selected my Part D prescription drug plan during AEP (the Annual Election Period which runs every year from October 15th – December 7th), I did not plan on having cataract surgery, nor did I anticipate needing three very expensive eye drops. I selected my plan based on my current prescription needs, and had selected the most appropriate plan at that time. Unfortunately, the prescribed eye drops were not on my plan’s formulary; that’s why they were quite pricey.
Next visit is the actual surgery……