I'd rather have a Rincorn Continental

[SwampNut]

Doctor said I have a cataract.

 

Likely surgery in six weeks ish.  Yay.

 

 

 

 

[02XXCA]

1 hour ago, SwampNut said:

Doctor said I have a cataract.

 

Likely surgery in six weeks ish.  Yay.

 

 

 

 

Dang, that's no fun.

[blackhawkxx]

When I tried to search Rincorn Continental all I got was Lincoln Continental which I would rather have than a cataract. 😉

 

Hopefully your deal will go as well as most people I have known that had it done.

 

 

[SwampNut]

Doc says I may have 20/20 or 20/30 vision if I pay out of pocket for an upgrade, which would be fucking awesome.

 

My other eye keeps getting ridiculously worse every year.

 

[tecman]

4 hours ago, blackhawkxx said:

When I tried to search Rincorn Continental all I got was Lincoln Continental 

 

 

 

Think bad Chinese accent.

[SwampNut]

A Chinese man goes to see an eye doctor. After the exam, the doctor says, 'I know why you're having trouble.'

 

The man asks, 'Why?'

 

The doctor says, 'You have a Cataract'.

 

Chinese guy says 'No, I have a Rincoln Continental.

[SwampNut]

FUCK!  How did I not know this?  Why the fuck did no eye doctor tell me, even prompted for solutions????  You can get elective "cataract" surgery to simply replace the lens and fix astigmatism.  Goddamn, would have done that long ago.  So now I'll get one eye with insurance, plus about $1k (estimated) for toric lens correction.  And then need to find how to get a bargain on the other eye.  I know, cheap discounted eye surgery.  Probably do some medical tourism.

 

[SwampNut]

Insurance won't pre-authorize this.  You get it done and hope for the best.  How fucking retarded.

 

I'm quoted $2538 per eye for basic.  Plus about $3500 for an enhanced lens that will eliminate the astigmatism, and give mid-to-far clear vision.  Not close.  I'm not a strong candidate to remove glasses completely, outside of having two surgeries.  One to get close, another to fix it based on the findings from that.  Yah nah.

 

I wonder if I should shop around.  This place is clearly high end.  What's the value?  My optometrist, who I trust, says this is his top pick.  Is the next best...10% less good?  Also is there some specialist out there for my specific issue?  Dunno.

 

What to do.

 

[blackhawkxx]

3 hours ago, SwampNut said:

Insurance won't pre-authorize this.

I don't understand this, either they will pay for it or not.  Maybe try to elevate up the food chain to push for an answer?  

[SwampNut]

They just don't.  Nearly none will.  And by nearly, apparently they mean none do.

 

Also, does it change my decision? Should it?

 

[SwampNut]

New glasses have at least improved things a lot.  It seems likely that I'll just pay for the extras and run my chances on the basics with insurance.  But also shopping around.

 

[DaveK]

We spend $3500 - $7000 on garbage.  Spend it on your eyes which are a key part of your overall health and well being. 
 

Go with who your doctor says is the best. 
 

 

[SwampNut]

On 4/22/2025 at 4:16 PM, DaveK said:

We spend $3500 - $7000 on garbage.  Spend it on your eyes which are a key part of your overall health and well being. 
 

Go with who your doctor says is the best. 
 

 

 

Yeah, duh.  I mean, I needed to hear it, thanks, but duh I should have seen it that way.

 

[DaveK]

1 hour ago, SwampNut said:

 

Yeah, duh.  I mean, I needed to hear it, thanks, but duh I should have seen it that way.

 

 

I literally compare ever expense to how much I spend on Sushi.   I probably spend $1000 a month on really high grade sashimi.  

 

My wife want's to go visit her family but the flight is $XXX.XX, no way she's going.  Well, if I only skip Sushi X times this month she can go.

 

Sad, I know.  But it's me.

[SwampNut]

39 minutes ago, DaveK said:

I literally compare ever expense to how much I spend on Sushi.

 

"For the price of just one coffee a day..."

 

I'll schedule it on Monday. 

[superhawk996]

On 4/24/2025 at 9:59 AM, SwampNut said:

 

Yeah, duh.  I mean, I needed to hear it, thanks, but duh I should have seen it that way.

 

It's not your fault; how the fuck could you in your present condition?  Maybe after the surgery you'll be able to see it.

 

I was thinking what Dave said, in different but similar words.

[SwampNut]

It is almost impossible to get DETAILED as in step by step, how recovery and sight goes afterward.  I finally directly said that they can book me AFTER they give me the patient instructions that they normally give you the day of the surgery.  Like they don't want me to plan ahead?  Don't want to scare me off?  I will not be able to use the existing lens in my glasses afterward, so then what?  Some people just remove the lens, but then that leaves me far-sighted (if I choose that as my default, which they recommend).  They said some people just go get readers, but no, can't, because my other eye won't be done.

 

So...those of you who did it, what were your exact recovery steps?

 

[SwampNut]

Long story short...and boy is it a FUCKING LONG story trying to figure out what insurance covers what or does not...I'm paying "cash."

 

$300 literal fucking cash to the anesthesiologist.  Is he basically just going to South Phoenix to pick up something to give me?  WTF!  Also what is "anesthesia" for this?  I get one Versed pill, which the doctor says is more for his benefit than mine.  Is that $300????  Da fuck?  They called me to inform me about the cash thing, because as she said, "Nobody uses or takes cash any more."  True.

 

$1k "cash" meaning what everyone says is cash now, as in pay up front, on a credit card.  Or debit.  You know how much I love debit.

 

And $4828.83 billed to CareCredit 18 months same as cash.  This is how the poor get poorer and people sign up to get scammed.  If I fail to pay, the interest on that is 32.9%.  And if a person were to miss a payment or otherwise do anything wrong, it goes to 39.9%.  I'll play the game as I get 3-5% cash back up front, that's the hook.  Joke's on them, I can pay this off and will never pay interest.  That's a sin according to the bible.

 

So a shitload of money, but I will have better eyesight in that one eye than I did as a kid.  First time in life without astigmatism.

 

[CBR-RR-XX-CESS]

5 hours ago, SwampNut said:

Also what is "anesthesia" for this?

I had both my eyes done in my late thirty's. They do numb your eye then jab a big f------g needle into your eye to paralyze said eye. Ok, just kidding about the size.  I was fully awake and was able to see the new lens being inserted. My Susan had hers done two years ago and in comparison not much has changed thirty-five years later. Amazing improvement in sight along with very easy healing for a few day's.  

 

 

[blackhawkxx]

15 hours ago, SwampNut said:

That's a sin according to the bible.

Can you quote that for me?

[superhawk996]

Thou shalt not deprive thy creditors of collecting interest.

[SwampNut]

5 hours ago, blackhawkxx said:

Can you quote that for me?

 

...??  I mean, you can google it as well as I can, no?  And aren't you a believer, and therefore, would have read the whole bible at least once?  I'm three full passes in and dozens of hours of individual section reading.  Which is what led to not believing.  But I don't recall specific passages. So google says:  Exodus 22:25, Leviticus 25:37, and Psalm 15:5 as the easy finds.  I know it's mentioned many many times as exploitation, though sometimes allowed against non-believers or foreigners.

 

Also my comment was meant tongue in cheek and joking, not serious.  Though it's accurate.

 

[blackhawkxx]

2 hours ago, SwampNut said:

 

...??  I mean, you can google it as well as I can, no?  And aren't you a believer, and therefore, would have read the whole bible at least once?  I'm three full passes in and dozens of hours of individual section reading.  Which is what led to not believing.  But I don't recall specific passages. So google says:  Exodus 22:25, Leviticus 25:37, and Psalm 15:5 as the easy finds.  I know it's mentioned many many times as exploitation, though sometimes allowed against non-believers or foreigners.

 

Also my comment was meant tongue in cheek and joking, not serious.  Though it's accurate.

 

Yes I knew about Jews were not to charge interest to other Jews in the Old Testament but the way I read what you wrote "Joke's on them, I can pay this off and will never pay interest.  That's a sin according to the bible.", I thought you were talking about paying early. 

[SwampNut]

2 hours ago, blackhawkxx said:

I thought you were talking about paying early. 

 

I find myself extra peeved about the vagueness of English language structure lately.  I mean, I could do better, too, but it's an unstructured language.

 

[SwampNut]

If I could do the other eye tomorrow, I would run there.  In fact I put myself on their standby list for last minute cancellations, otherwise it's about a month to get on the calendar.

 

The one thing NOBODY has talked about, and I've read dozens or hundreds of user experiences, is color.  Everything looks bright blue now.  This is obvious in retrospect but I never thought about it.  Cataracts are brown/yellow.  Every time I walk into daylight, the shop, or our huge living room (has dozens of south-facing windows), I am shocked.  It's just so blue and bright.

 

My lens is for mid to distance vision.  22 hours after the surgery, when I "should" still be fuzzy, they tested me at 20/20 distance vision.  He thinks when the eye fully heals I'll have 20/15 or close to it.  Somehow I've healed faster than anyone he's seen before.  I can see my monitor just fine, about 25-28" away.  Close vision, as expected, is still not good but at least now it's just a magnification, not astigmatism requiring weird refraction.

 

I can see a red dot sight as a dot.  Not a blob, or diagonal stripe.

 

So I'll be down $12k total, which is shitty.  But also it's a life-changing improvement.