Alzheimer and cataract

[Lizziedalia]

Hi! My mum has been suffering from Alzheimer for the past 12 years. She has cataract and will undergo in the next few months lazer surgery. She is not aware of it as she forgets things immediately. She is intellectually no more active. If I ask her, she does not know what to think about it but she says that she does not want to have pain. She is 80. Has anyone had a parent suffering from Alzheimer in a similar situation? I am a bit concerned about how my mum might react after. Thanks.

 

[lin1]

Hi! My mum has been suffering from Alzheimer for the past 12 years. She has cataract and will undergo in the next few months lazer surgery. She is not aware of it as she forgets things immediately. She is intellectually no more active. If I ask her, she does not know what to think about it but she says that she does not want to have pain. She is 80. Has anyone had a parent suffering from Alzheimer in a similar situation? I am a bit concerned about how my mum might react after. Thanks.

Hello Lizziedalia , Welcome to TP.
IMO if you answer no to the following , it may not be a good idea to have this treatment
Will your Mum be ok with complying with any aftercare needed afterwards, ie eye drops,
Will she be able to lay still during the procedure .

If they are considering a General Anaesthetic. it may cause her Dementia symptoms to worsen, which may or may not be temporary.
I believe these procedures are normal done under a local Anaesthetic , but best check to make sure.

We do have people on here who's caree had dementia and cataract surgery , hopefully they will be along soon.

Speaking personally , if the cataract /sight loss wasn't causing mum problems or worrying her, then I wouldn't have it done, but that is just me .

 

[colincampsite]

Cataracts

My wife, who has had this thing (Alz) for 14 years, was examined by the opthalmic surgeon 12 months ago. They agreed she needed both done and would phone.
There is a huge waiting list in Spain so we are still waiting.
However, I have a slight problem with the condition.
Does she not see things because of the cataracts or is it part of the dementia stuff?
I suspect a bit of both.
Has anyone any theories they would like to share?

 

[Ann Mac]

Similar situation here - Mil diagnosed with cataracts back in January, her pre-op appointment, for one cataract to be treated is set for the end of this month. Mil can't remember she has cataracts, and often asks me to take her to the doctors about theses 'fuzzy eyes' or asks me to get her new glasses to sort them out for her. When I explain, her first question is always about will 'they' put her to sleep to have her eyes sorted, she doesn't want to be awake when anything is done, but I am aware of the problems with anaesthetic and dementia.

I have no idea how she will cope, or even if she can cope - but then, I worry about the effect of not having them treated too

 

[Onlyme]

I had to make the hard decision not to operate on Mum's. She wouldn't understand, would never keep still and certainly would rub her eyes and remove any dressings.

She is not suitable for a general anaesthetic.

 

[Saffie]

I'm not sure about laser surgery for cataracts as I've not heard of that.
I had mine done the usual way, without laser - or do they just use a laser instead of knife, I don't know.

The aftercare with mine involved 2 different kind of drops being inserted at regular intervals one of them for four weeks, the other for 2. They are important so if you think your mother couldn't manage this or there is nobody to do this for her, then it might be best to not have the operation.

If she is in a care home or has carers in at the right time, then she might be ok as they would hopefully carry out this task.

I would imagine that it would involve a general anaesthetic if it is doubtful if your mother could keep absolutely still for the required time - about 10 minutes so, the information said but it seemed a lot longer to me!

 

[pippop1]

I thought most cataract surgery was done with the patient being awake? I'm not sure either GA or being awake will be good for a person with dementia if their memory is very short. How scary to be awake and not remember what is going on and yet GA is not ideal either.

It's a difficult one.

 

[cragmaid]

I refused on Mum's behalf and her surgeon agreed. Mum has lost 95% of her eyesight in total due to multiple causes. The cataract ready to be operated on is on her eye with the remaining 5% vision. Having discussed it thoroughly, we decided that any potential improvement of her sight was not worth risking potential psychological upset and the normal expected post-op treatment distress.

 

[anamarija]

Hi! My mum has been suffering from Alzheimer for the past 12 years. She has cataract and will undergo in the next few months lazer surgery. She is not aware of it as she forgets things immediately. She is intellectually no more active. If I ask her, she does not know what to think about it but she says that she does not want to have pain. She is 80. Has anyone had a parent suffering from Alzheimer in a similar situation? I am a bit concerned about how my mum might react after. Thanks.

My Mum, aged 86 with Alzheimer's, needed eye surgery (not cataracts as those were done earlier). Her favourite carer from her lovely home stayed with her . Mum thinks she is aged six usually. She laid on the treatment table munching on a bag of sweeties all the way through and coped well. If she had been distressed it would have been abandoned. Her eyes are now good and no longer red, weeping and sore. I am glad that we agreed to the procedure-not that Mum knew anything about having an eye problem and also had forgotten it two minutes after the procedure was finished. To her it was a nice trip out with a cream tea to follow!

 

[AlsoConfused]

My Mum had cataract treatment under local anaesthetic when she was in the relatively early stages of dementia. It "worked" but the results would have been far better and it would have been far safer for her to be given a general anaesthetic because she just wouldn't keep still.

Personally I would have preferred Mum to take the risk of having a general anaesthetic.

 

[Lizziedalia]

From Lizziedalia: Circular Thank you all for your comments

Thank you all for your useful comments and opinions based on your own respective experience ref my posting "Alzheimer and cataract". My mum is now in a nursing home hence she will be well looked after if she undergoes cataract surgery. My mum is actually not comfortable with her eyes which she keeps scratching at times and she has problems to see certain colors esp. white or sunny light that gives her further confusion and anguish. She also used to tell me when she was much better that the worst illness for her would be "to be blind", not being aware that she has been suffering from AD. Thanks again.Lizziedalia