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dottiesyrky · 05-22-2013, 09:30 AM

I just wrote a long(!!!) reply to your questions and the site froze. So I will make this shorter!
It seems that my experience with the post op care was more tedious than some here, so I hope others will give their experiences too.
The main issue was the number and frequency of both the eye and oral meds, and the time for which they had to be administered. Oral meds had to be coordinated with food also. Eye drops had to have a 15 min interval between each med drop. I found it hard to remember all the meds and times and had to make a spreadsheet with meds, times of day, meals, and days. I then marked off every time I gave a med. We started at 6 am and ended at 9pm. The poor dog was always being picked up for meds and became scared when we neared as he knew what was coming! He wore the cone constantly, but unlike some dogs mentioned on YT, he did not mind wearing it. The specialist vet was very anal about the post op care and it seems she was over cautious? The med frequency was high in the first few weeks but decreased gradually with time. After about 6 weeks the regimen eased off, but the cone was on for 2 months. Each time we had a re check visit we prayed there would be less meds and no cone, but we were usually disappointed. Apparently the risks of inflammation and glaucoma are greater for dogs than humans and steps have to be taken to prevent them. My dog had the surgery at 1.5 years old (an immature cataract in one eye) and is now over 4 yrs old. His last visit was in April and up to that time he had numerous follow up visits and anti-inflammatory drops every 3 days at least. It seems one always has to be watchful with dog cataracts!
I would just say that part of the problem was our expectations as to when it would be over. I wish the vet had given us the complete schedule at the start rather than update at every visit. But perhaps that would have depressed us too much! Perhaps it would be helpful to you to get the complete story?
The good news is that the surgery part is successful and that is the important thing.
I am sorry that your dog may have to go through this, but he will be able to see well again and that is great.
If there is any more info I can give please PM me.

05-22-2013, 09:30 AM	#27
dottiesyrky Donating YT Addict Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: SW USA Posts: 2,505	Cataracts I just wrote a long(!!!) reply to your questions and the site froze. So I will make this shorter! It seems that my experience with the post op care was more tedious than some here, so I hope others will give their experiences too. The main issue was the number and frequency of both the eye and oral meds, and the time for which they had to be administered. Oral meds had to be coordinated with food also. Eye drops had to have a 15 min interval between each med drop. I found it hard to remember all the meds and times and had to make a spreadsheet with meds, times of day, meals, and days. I then marked off every time I gave a med. We started at 6 am and ended at 9pm. The poor dog was always being picked up for meds and became scared when we neared as he knew what was coming! He wore the cone constantly, but unlike some dogs mentioned on YT, he did not mind wearing it. The specialist vet was very anal about the post op care and it seems she was over cautious? The med frequency was high in the first few weeks but decreased gradually with time. After about 6 weeks the regimen eased off, but the cone was on for 2 months. Each time we had a re check visit we prayed there would be less meds and no cone, but we were usually disappointed. Apparently the risks of inflammation and glaucoma are greater for dogs than humans and steps have to be taken to prevent them. My dog had the surgery at 1.5 years old (an immature cataract in one eye) and is now over 4 yrs old. His last visit was in April and up to that time he had numerous follow up visits and anti-inflammatory drops every 3 days at least. It seems one always has to be watchful with dog cataracts! I would just say that part of the problem was our expectations as to when it would be over. I wish the vet had given us the complete schedule at the start rather than update at every visit. But perhaps that would have depressed us too much! Perhaps it would be helpful to you to get the complete story? The good news is that the surgery part is successful and that is the important thing. I am sorry that your dog may have to go through this, but he will be able to see well again and that is great. If there is any more info I can give please PM me.