I was shocked by the difference in my perception of color after I had cataract surgery. My world went from sepia to technicolor!!
2 Likes
Reviving this thread. One of my eyes worsened over the last few months. Not sure why. I posted on January 22nd and I did not need surgery then so sometime after that. I now need the surgery to feel comfortable driving. I had to go to a clinic that specializes in cataract surgery because my regular doctor could not do it until mid-June or later. I am now trying to figure out what lenses I should get and what vision I should correct for I currently take off my glasses to work on the computer and read and wear glasses for driving etc. I am leaning toward going with correcting near vision and getting glasses for distance since this is what I am used to. Any experiences with this?
1 Like
I was corrected for far vision and wear off-the-shelf reading glasses for close work, reading, computer, etc. I find that this way I can go glasses-free for most of the day, unless I am specifically reading, etc. Driving is wonderful, wearing âregularâ sunglasses. Same for taking walks, etc. Both of us had the same correction, so we keep reading glasses stashed all over the house, in cars, etc.
I am retired and was retired when the surgeries were performed----not sure if I would feel the same if still working.
Thanks My husband suggested that as well but I am still working and do long days at my desk with the computer and reading. Itâs a hard decision for me
I have always worn glasses, and I wouldnât picture myself using readers. So I opted for this. My near vision is really 20/20 or better, and I do all reading and computer work without glasses. I wear glasses for anything distance. But my distance correction is FAR less than before. I actually got rimless glasses which I could not get prior to my cataract surgery.
The second option I was given was to correct my far vision to 20/20 but use readersâŠnot for me.
There are new lenses that can correct for bothâŠhave you asked about that? IIRC insurance wonât pay the full cost, but everyone I know who has gotten them has lived them. No glasses at all. I wasnât a candidate for them or I would have gotten them.
I think going with what is most comfortable for you is important. I opted for correcting distance. I hated having to wear glasses for drivingânever a problem till cataracts. Now I see street signs and can drive at night.
Iâve worn glasses my entire life (blind as a bat) so opted for the most expensive option which corrects both near and far. Iâm so thrilled! 20/20 with no glasses, no readers. The new lenses keep getting betterâmake sure youâve got the newest lens if you do it. Some people have halos at night around lights but I guess thatâs true for all options. I have some but it keeps improving as time goes on.
I will say when I had contacts at first had them corrected for distance and it drove me absolutely nuts to constantly have to wear reading glassesâon, off, on , off constantly. Easier to wear my glasses (progressive lens).
Then I did monovision contacts (one eye for distance, the other close up) and that worked great. It took a few days for my brain to get used to it and put both eyes together but that eliminated the need for readers. Iâd hesitate to suggest it (it is an option) unless youâve already tried it with contacts to see if your brain cooperates as well as mine did (not everybody can do that). I considered that option but then decided to go for the highest option and really glad I did.
2 Likes
I love to hike, and walk neighborhoods, so am leaning toward correcting my distant vision. Our trips are typically driving, and scenic in nature. It doesnât bother me to wear readers for a menu, or at the computer. Iâd much rather have the âfreedomâ when away from my desk. YMMV.
1 Like
I mention earlier in this thread that I did a combo in correction. I work at a computer almost 10 hours a day, and did not need corrective glasses to see the computer screen. My brother and I always would put our distance glasses on our forehead when we went to read anything, as we could not with see print with our glasses on. As I have worn glasses since the 4th grade, I decided it didnât bother me to continue wearing glasses for distance. Actually, I am able to see the tv without my glasses, but it is clearer with. My glasses go on to drive, and I take them off once I get to work; they donât go on again until I am ready to leave.
While both eyes received correction, my right has has more for distance, and my left for reading. If I close my right eye, I can not see the closed captioning on the tv; if I close my left, the computer screen and my phone are blurry. With my correction, I can see text on my phone without reader, and can still see distance. I do still have my glasses, but again, only need them for driving, or when I want to see something at a distance clearly.
1 Like
Reviving this again. I get my right eye done next week. It will be set for distance with an astigmatism correction as well.
Scheduled to get the left done three weeks after that. Waiting to decide what lens to choose after seeing what first result is.
I am considering monovision (eyes set and different distances) but would like to know if there are any horror stories out there or positive as well. Thanks
Wouldnât it depend on whether you are willing to wear glasses most of the time, but want to be able to go without if necessary, versus wanting not to wear glasses most of the time?
Do whatever is most comfortable for you. I choose distance, But after the surgery I find that I donât even need readersâexcept for very small print.
4 choices:
- set for distance and wear reading glasses
- set for reading distance and we ar distance glasses
- Monovision with one eye distance and the other cl.ose up. This was only suggested to me since I already did that for years with my contacts. Not everyoneâs brain adjusts to the difference. I almost chose this as the safest bet to not need glasses.
- Multifocal lenses. Expensive but good chance you donât need glasses at all. I went with these. Ive worn glasses since second grade and the chance to chuck them and have two operating eyes was too enticing. I worried about the astigmatism (Iâve got it pretty bad) but it wasnât a problem. Love the result. There is I think an increased chance of halos at night but I have not experienced that. They said if you had halos that it would probably decrease with time.
I did have problems with the surgeryâfirst eye didnât have enough anesthesia (Iâm weird that way though). And as short as it was it hurt. Surgeon wasnât happy with me moving every two minutes. Traumatizing. Second eye surgery went much better but I ended up dizzy probably from ear crystals being dislodged. Iâm fine now though.
Overall I think the office didnât stress enough to take it easy and just let things heal after surgery. They SAID all those things but it really didnât sink in how disconcerting it is to have eye surgery and not be able to see for 2-3 days while hope it worked.
There are a lot of eye drops! My doc had a combo bottle with all mixed in and Iâm glad I had it. It cost more but worth it to me. They give you a chart to keep track.
Good luck! It was wonderful afterwards. The colors of everything were vibrant, I could see without glasses. Felt like a kid in a candy shop!
1 Like
I would have chosen this for sure. But my ophthalmologist said I wasnât a candidate for itâŠat all. I was disappointed but oh well. So check to see if you can even get this. I would have been very willing to pay the extraâŠ
Iâve worn glasses my whole lifeâŠso continuing to wear them wasnât a big deal. My new lenses are very very thin which opens up the door to glasses I couldnât even consider in the past. Plus, my RX is so uncomplicated now, I can easily order onlineâŠfor a lot less money.
Can I ask why you werenât a candidate?
I honestly didnât think I wasâit took me years to even get soft lenses that could I could use because of the astigmatism and high power combo. Everything I read on-line said I wasnât a candidate and then my eye doctor said it wasnât a problem! That was a leap of faith on my part. I do know that the lenses being used have improved by leaps and bounds in just a few short years.
I have worn glasses for decades so I am not against them. The result I would like and seems possible with monovision is seeing distance and intermediate without glasses. That would cover being outdoors and using the computer at work without the glasses. Iâd like to limit the glasses to readers if I can. I guess the big question is would I be one that can adjust to monovision. Some love it, some hate it. Right now the way the old eyeballs are working this is a typical work situation. If I need to see some small print I grab readers then take them off to squint at the computer and then if I want to see something across the room I put on my regular glasses. I have bifocals but they have never seemed to be the answer.
Something related to my glaucoma.
1 Like
I did monovision contacts for several years. It did take about a week to adjust fully but I didnât even need readers. Basically the less dominant eye is set for close up and the dominant eye for distance. Is your right eye the dominant so youâre set up for monovision if you choose?
Have you worn contacts before? Your eye doctor has a million samples of contactsâis there a way to try monovision prior surgery to see how you adjust?
Right eye is dominant. Trouble is I have been a life long wimp when it comes to anything near my eyes so I have never even thought about using contacts. Might be the time to take that big step out of my comfort zone to check it out.
Trouble is by the time you really need cataract surgery might be the same point they canât correct your sight without actually having the cataract surgery. I had to have cataract surgery because that was the option or be blind to some extent (not an option if you want a driverâs license). So I suggested trying it out but that might not be possible for you.
I do think the hardest part of the entire process is making the decision on what type of lenses you want.
There are so many factors involved. I was extremely near sighted and monovision worked great for me. I think that was a factor.
Just do some research and ask all your questions BEFORE you get the surgery! Nothing is ever perfect of course but better to be sure before you go through the surgery.