Happy to help 
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I got my eyes done in May. I got AcrySof Toric lenses in both eyes. The right eye for distance, the left eye for close up. I saw visual improvement the very next day after each of the operations. I was amazed at the colors. I have had no glare problems driving at night. It took about three months for the light sensitivity to return to normal but I am pleased with the results. If I am going to read for any length of time I will use readers.
I am really paranoid about anything close to my eyes but my surgery experience was a breeze.
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That was my first reaction after cataract surgery–the world went from black and white to color!!
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That’s a very common reaction. As the cataract develops, it becomes more yellow over time, even brownish in some. It’s like growing a pair of sunglasses in slow motion. Then, you remove the color shift that took so long to develop that it wasn’t even noticed, and BAM! The blues and greens are back with a vengeance!
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I googled, and learned cataract surgery lasts a lifetime (generally). If thats the case, why don’t we do the surgery earlier?
I gave up contact lenses several years ago because of the sacrifice in near vision I had to make in order to see distance. And I didn’t like mono vision. Fortunately I don’t yet have cataracts, but what are you suggesting for something like this?
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@thumper1 I am also very nearsighted and scheduled for cataract surgery in a month. Only one eye, which rapidly went south in the last year. I am leaning toward near vision correction in that eye. The other eye will be untouched for many years. I don’t want reader glasses either and am happy to wear progressives like the one you describe. It seems the far vision correction is more common.
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Thank you for this information. My surgeon was not enthusiastic about a multifocal for me. I hate night glare - this is something she hadn’t mentioned re: multifocal lenses. Glad to have this info that I can ask about at my next appt.
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For what purpose, improving best corrected vision (i.e. the best yo can see with your best vision correction), or reducing refractive error (glasses and/or contact lens correction)?
Cataract surgery is intended to remove a vision impairment that negatively impacts an activity of daily living, say glare when driving, while wearing your best correction.
It can certainly be done earlier (the term is clear lensectomy), but insurance won’t pay for it and it’s not without risk.
First, there’s risk of complication. It’s very low, but endophthalmitis (infection inside the eye), capsule rupture, expulsive choroidal hemorrhage and retrobulbar hemorrhage are all happen.
Just as importantly, an intraocular lens isn’t the same as the natural lens. For one, it doesn’t focus. Multifocal cover three ranges of vision, but all three are simultaneously in focus, leading to increased aberration and glare. Many tolerate it in order to not wear glasses, but it’s not the same. There are possible optical weirdities that aren’t well understood like temporal photopsia and temporal disphotopsia.
Still, all that said, you can pay out of pocket for it to be done.
Contrary to popular belief, myopic LASIK lasts forever too. The reason people feel it doesn’t is either because their vision gets progressively blurrier in the distance or they lose their reading power up close.
Neither clear lensectomy nor LASIK preclude the eye from continuing to change in power. It’s like gluing on your current contact lens power.
LASIK also doesn’t preclude presbyopia. The lens will continue to harden regardless if one alters the cornea. Clear lensectomy creates absolute presbyopia. The IOL doesn’t change focus at all.
So, it’s not something I’d personally do unless my hobbies were difficult with glasses and I was contact lens intolerant.
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I’m having my first cataract surgery mid December. I’ve been wearing glassing my entire life so I almost prefer glasses at this point in my life. I’m leaning toward a monofocal IOL. It’s my understanding that I can choose what distance I want the lense to focus. Near, Intermediate or distance vision. I’m leaning towards having the lense focus on my near vision and having glasses for the distance vision (that’s what I’ve been use to all of my life). Will I need separate glasses for working on the computer or perhaps playing music? Can a single pair of glasses take care of both distances? I also have an astigmatism. If it can be handled with glasses I’d prefer not to spend the extra 3-4 thousand dollars for the toric lenses.
I opted to correct my distance vision a lot but not to 20/20…and still wear glasses for that. My near point vision is perfect without glasses.
My post cataract glasses are progressives but the bottom part is clear glass.
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Are you able to use a single pair of progressives for all of your tasks including computer and music now? If so, they’ll work the same after cataract surgery. You’ll just need a different prescription.
As for what distance to choose, base it on the distance you use most. For the majority of patients that’s reading. I wouldn’t shoot for a full reading correction (-2.50 residual) because there’s a standard deviation to where you’ll land. I typically recommend -2.00 residual.
Good luck. 
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Thank you. Yes I wear progressive lenses. They haven’t worked well for music (or distance in one eye for that matter) for the past year but I chock that up to the cataract in my right eye. It’s gotten pretty severe in my opinion. I quit riding my bike on roads as my depth perception isn’t what it used to be. I have pretty severe myopia and until about my mid 50’s never needed reading glasses. I always just took off my glasses to read. I feel better about my decision to stay with monofocal lenses.
Another consideration is what distance would be the one where it is inconvenient to wear glasses (e.g. swimming), where there is more of a risk of losing the glasses (e.g. water activities generally), or which may be essential to do even if you are unable to have your glasses at the time (e.g. driving or bicycling).
The difference between -2.00 and full distance under water isn’t that meaningful, because the optics of water are so poor. Diving is a different story, because with goggles on, the eyeball doesn’t interface directly with water.
Choosing driving would be a major difference though.
At the end of the day, it’s a matter of convenience and preference. My wife has no distance correction, but has to have reading glasses everywhere. I’m -2.00 and wear glasses all the time except when I’m reading in bed. I much prefer it that way, but each person has to make that decision with the understanding of what they’ll give up.
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Will need cataract surgery in the next year, so have been following closely. Thanks to all for your thoughts and experiences. I’ll probably choose correction for distant vision. By far, I spend more time reading or on the computer, but glasses don’t bother me then. I’d rather be ‘free’ when hiking or driving, so can understand how personal differences play a role.
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If you have surgery and need glasses for those two remaining distances, occupational lenses like the ones linked below are the best way to go. https://shamir.com/for-professionals/lenses_and_more/shamir-workspace/
That’s me…I’m just not a readers wearer! I wear my glasses except when I read and that works for me.
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I corrected for distance. Just wear cheap readers when on the computer (or reading). It’s so great being able to drive and do lots of stuff without stupid glasses! Buying off the rack sunglasses and keeping them in each car and in the house has been great as well.
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Another lagniappe for me is that I’ve got bags under my eyes that show my age 
. Glasses hide that somewhat (especially to me).
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