That may help. I shall try but it’s gone beyond that: it’s deterioration of vision: see Shiba’s post …
Wow! Back to the days when every other utterance was !“Far out, man!” 
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Thanks Shiba. Very encouraging. Did you make your first approach to your M.T.? I understand that RdVs to opthalmalogues [?] are difficult to come by - lead times of many months unless with a bit of a queue-jump via M.T.
No, cataracts were discovered on my 3-yearly Opthal exam re glasses etc and at first, nothing to be too worried about but they grew very very fast and then on the next three yearly visit, the Opthal said it was time to get them both sorted so she arranged it there and then and I literally had about 8 weeks between then and the actual start of the process which was to see the anaesthetist a week before the actual operation so they knew how much “juice” to give me in advance according to my weight and height etc. On the day of the first op, I had to be in the clinic at 7am to be admitted and all that paperwork, carte vitale etc and then upto the day surgery floor where I had to strip off everything (changing cubicles provided as well as lockers for your valuables etc and clothing) and put on J-Cloth pyjamas, socks and a hairnet and then they gave me a tablet to lower the blood pressure for the eye and wrapped me in a duvet and put me in a wheelchair ready for the op. You go into a pre-op room first with the other “bodies” all being done and are given your local and then the one that freezes your eye area so it dosn’t blink or move, all totally painless and then off to see the surgeon who was one of the Opthals in the cabinet I used. You get wired to a heart monitor and an automatic blood pressure cuff (thought my arm was going to break it was so tight) and then your head is taped to the table so you can’t move and they completely cover you with a sheet and I had fresh oxygen blowing over my face from a pipe under the sheet which was refreshing. 15 mins later, all done, the eye is covered with a plastic cover and taped on and you are put in recovery for an hour and then back to the room you have been allocated for regular pressure checks etc. They won’t let you go home unless you have someone with you at home and to take you home too although you can get a medical taxi but having someone at home is required. I had to go back to the cabinet for 9am next morning for the surgeon to take the cover off and check all OK and it was marvelous to be able to see clearly without glasses and those damned cataracts. I had the second eye done three months later, exactly the same and then three weeks after that a visit to the Opthal to check all OK and a prescription for new glasses for reading etc. My sister had hers done in the UK and had to wait nearly two years for it, then it was done wearing her clothes and outdoor shoes and no after check by the surgeon and this was all during Covid, so a mask had to be worn which was a right pain in the *rse I can tell you. So no, no doctor involved, just your usual Opthal to get it booked in.
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Thanks for that blow by blow account. "…your usual Opthal to get it booked in". I don’t have an opthal. Other than scrip specs I haven’t had any dealings re vision. I think my MT would have to direct me to one
I see a problem. When I ad an op with general anaesthetic to remove a skin cancer carcinoma [all good now 
surgeon said “Only 1 % chance of recurrence or spread”] I had to o/night at the hospital because I have nobody to stand as ‘minder’ or driver. I had taxi ambulances to and from CHU Caen and for subsequent check ups. I guess it would have to be the same procedure for the eye op.
don’t you know someone who can drive you there and back, or is it toooo far???
thankfully, our hospital isn’t tooo far and believe that the ladies of the village who have had their “eyes done” in recent months… have made use of a helpful neighbour.
I reckon there are 4 or 5 “newly sighted” ladies in my gang now, 
it certainly does seem a doddle, but I’m crossing fingers that my eyes behave themselves
I can recommend a book about the meridienne and measuring things, such as the earth, and using the measures to define the metre… The Measure of All Things by Ken Adler.
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You can have the op done at Clinique Notre Dame in Vire - my wife had both her cateracts done there a couple of years ago. From what I know of your location you could walk home from there.
However, if you really didn’t fancy that I’m only round the corner & would be happy to help.
Maybe start with a check up here first…
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I don’t think so. My neighbour might drive me there but then he would have to wait until I was released, to drive back - a considerable wait, perhaps, depending on where I was in the queue. They would do me a taxi/ambulance but then there’s the issue of having a ‘minder’ at home that night, as they wanted after my gen anaesthetic.
Then there’s the follow-up next day.
Unless they do this op in the local hospital in Vire, it’s St Lo or Caen - both <1 hr.
Thank you Badger. How very kind.
The info is gold, the locations manageable, tho’ with my rt knee in the state it’s in these days, a lift would be fab. The 2km walk [mostly] downhill from Alain Garage on the Route de Renne - it took two days for the ‘balloon’ to deflate. 
Is the procedure ‘on the National Health’ or is it all private? Or a bit of both, as they do things here?
Mine was possibly hereditary as my sister had them same time and both our parents had been done so it can be in the genes
Deleted as Shiba has done such a fab job of giving all the details.
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I’m happy to help if needed
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A bit of both. My mutuelle, which is only for hospitalisation, picked up the rest, apart from the preparatory rdv with the anaesthetist, which was not covered by it as I wasn’t yet considered to be “hospitalised” at that point.
Mine were done in a clinic which is more expensive than a CHU but was the only place you could have it done where I lived . I only paid €19 twice for the day chambre which I only used for a few hours but I am CSS so it was all paid for, same with my feet last year.
I didn’t have cataracts, but wore contact lenses for short sight, which were a faff, plus a bit uncomfortable if eyes got dry or sweat running into the eyes during sport, so I took the plunge to do the lens change op, the same procedure as the cataracts op. The thought of my eyes being operated on filled me with dread but I was reassured it was very straightforward, which indeed it was. Both eyes done and hey presto, no more contact lenses. Best thing I ever did. Just amazing to wake up and immediately see without any aid, plus white really is white now, which I guess also applies to colours being more vivid. Because it was not a medical necessity and my choice, the procedure was quite costly, but worth every penny!
I wore soft lens contacts for 35 years before the op and eventually had to stop wearing them and now obviously don’t need them but can’t wear them ever again. I was scrupulous about cleaning them nightly, never slept in them or wore them in water and changed them end of each month for a new set but it did not stop the cataracts forming.
I don’t think the contacts contribute to cataracts, but a few other issues, including sunlight, do.
I’m on la Complémentaire Santé Solidaire. That takes care of all costs and medications [so far]. I wonder how it would work with this eye procedure?
It covers everything as far as I understand but @Shiba will be able to confirm. You will almost certainly need a referral letter from your MT first in order to get all the costs covered but it will be a general one (to an unnamed opthalmologist). They’ll cover a knee op as well 
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