Who else has had cataract surgery?

[seannx]

One of my brothers-in-law has had both his eyes done. His full color vision returned after the first one. When he saw his favorite bright orange shirt, he asked my sister how she could ever have let him leave the house wearing it, not that he would have listened to her anyway. He thought it was much more subdued, and almost yellow.

[MattM]

Originally Posted by Chicago Sandy

Half of all 65-year-olds will have (or had) at least one cataract, but not necessarily ripe ones. Two good reasons for not waiting until they’re completely ripe: first, it’s downright dangerous to drive at night unable to read signs and seeing glare and halos around lights (and electing not to drive at night can impact both career and enjoyment). Second, the likelihood of a cardiovascular condition requiring blood-thinners rises with age--and those meds have to be stopped for several days before and after cataract surgery lest the risk for stroke or heart attack increase.

My husband had one done seven years ago. He reported the biggest difference was that everything “looked like it was in 3D.” (My mom reported marveling at the intensity of the color blue). He did have clouding last year, but the in-office laser procedure cleared it right up. His distance vision and astigmatism are too severe to be able to forego glasses, however.

I have two cataracts slowly ripening--the only effect is that sometimes I want to clean my glasses, only to realize I need to clean my eyeballs. But I’m going to wait a little longer. There’s a new lens being tested in the UK that not only corrects myopia but also astigmatism and even presbyopia (no idea how it corrects the latter, since that’s not “farsightedness,” which is a function of eyeball shape, but rather of age-related sclerosis of the muscles that focus the lens). Having dinner with our ophtalmologist & his wife in Vegas next week (our vacations coincide) and I’ll ask him. I don’t mind wearing glasses--they hide my dark undereye circles much better than any concealer, and they’ve sort of become my trademark. But it’s getting to be a PITA to have to carry OTC reading glasses for small print. If I get any stronger reading correction in my progressive lenses, they’ll be disorienting to use.

Hi Sandy. We have had multifocal lenses in the US for about 10 years, just not with astigmatism correction built into the lens. The most successful have been Restor and Chrystalens. There is a lot of info that you can google to find out how these work (google "multifocal IOL"), but a lot of patients do simple monovision correction and do very well with that. The multifocal implants have some pretty significant issues over the long haul and have not been a slam dunk by any stretch. For this reason, they have never caught on that big in the Midwest.

[Chicago Sandy]

Thanks, Matt. But from what I understand, the experimental UK lens is not merely multifocal but also addresses presbyopia, which was always thought to be merely treatable by periodic changes in refraction but not fully remediable because loss of muscular ablity to focus is a progressively degenerative disorder (not attributable to eyeball shape or length, as with astigmatism, myopia, or hyperopia). Unless, of course, the news story I saw sensationalized the innovation.

[Ciarre]

When I went for the procedure which was lasering a hole in each eye to reduce the pressure (apparently there wasn't enough angle) I had to wait for an hour after for them to recheck the pressure. They did one eye at a visit. 40 minutes in, I couldn't focus out of the lasered eye. Oh, lawd, they've done kilt my eyesight...turns out it was only the gunk they put in there to protect the eye.
Anyway, that thing worked, and hoping that cataract surgery for those destined for it will be equally as successful.

[lmacmil]

I'm surprised how many responses this post has generated (I am the OP). I get eye #2 done on Wednesday. If it goes as well as eye #1 went, I'll be a happy camper.

Was at Costco this weekend and they have a 3-pack of reading glasses for only $20. I will buy them so I can leave a pair in multiple rooms.

[dirkronk]

Originally Posted by lmacmil

I'm surprised how many responses this post has generated (I am the OP). I get eye #2 done on Wednesday. If it goes as well as eye #1 went, I'll be a happy camper.

Was at Costco this weekend and they have a 3-pack of reading glasses for only $20. I will buy them so I can leave a pair in multiple rooms.

Reading glasses can either multiply like rabbits or disappear with amazing frequency. Be warned.

Also, I've found that Walmart now has a second (spinner) rack of readers that are a good bit cheaper than their usual display: $5.99 a pair vs. the usual $9.99 to $15.99. Lighter weight, but the optics seem OK. Just in case you're not close to your Costco next time you discover you've lost a pair.

Dirk

[Chicago Sandy]

Until I started carrying a much smaller purse, I used to haul around a pair of LED-lit Foster Grant readers in a hard clamshell case. I looked ridiculous, but at least I could read menus in darkened restaurants without burning my hand on the little votive candle on the table. Now I carry a smaller pair of readers from Whole Foods (much cuter frames) and use the flashlight app on my phone. I blend in with all the millennials Instagramming photos of their food.

[lmacmil]

Originally Posted by Chicago Sandy

Now I carry a smaller pair of readers from Whole Foods (much cuter frames) and use the flashlight app on my phone. I blend in with all the millennials Instagramming photos of their food.

That's really funny! I am FB friends with many of my kids' friends so I see a lot of that.

[khedquist]

I got cataracts two years ago. Two in each eye. The cloudy ones on the front of the lens but also the back of the lens was crystalizing from taking prednisone. I had both done about a month apart. The surgery was a piece of cake and recovery was quick. Unfortunately, I chose to have the multifocal implants. I was told they would give me all range of vision. I had to pay an additional $5000 for them outside of what the insurance covered. Distance, mid and close. I did get the distance and close (I can read the tiniest print). What I was missing was the mid range. Everything from 3-10' was blurry.

I had the YAG procedure done. I then had to have a piggyback lens implanted to try and recover the mid distance. It helped a little but now I have to wear a -50 contact to fine tune the mid distance. It is better but I am disappointed that I have had to continue going back to the surgeon and Drs. to fix what should have been fixed with the multifocal lens.

It looks like I fall into the 1% that the multifocal don't work for. I feel I wasted my money except for the fact that I can see verses being blind.

[lmacmil]

Originally Posted by khedquist

I got cataracts two years ago....Unfortunately, I chose to have the multifocal implants. I was told they would give me all range of vision. I had to pay an additional $5000 for them outside of what the insurance covered. Distance, mid and close. I did get the distance and close (I can read the tiniest print). What I was missing was the mid range. Everything from 3-10' was blurry.

Sorry to hear that. Makes me glad I just chose the distance correction option. The multifocal would have been twice as much and I figured I could get used to reading glasses. I have noticed in the eye that's been done already, that it is impossible to read any normal print size w/o the reading glasses, regardless of distance.

[Chicago Sandy]

I am so used to progressives (w/middle-distance for computer screens and dashboards) that the multifocal option would also drive me nuts. Since my distance vision is fine for watching TV and movies and even legally OK for driving (per the last DMV test I took), maybe a pair of no-line bifocals for reading and computer, that I can look out over the top of for distance, might be the way to go.

Will discuss it with our ophtalmologist at lunch Fri. aft. in Vegas. (The weather there will be crummy per their stds.--50s-60s, cloudy, occasionally rainy, what Angelenos call “June gloom in February"--but it beats the heck out of Chiberia).

[epluribus36]

Originally Posted by epluribus36

Yeah, I had a detached retina in my right eye when I was 29, back in 91. Just had the inevitable cataract removed Monday, Feb. 16. I'm dealing with double vision, because the cataract had me blind in the right eye for 12+ years, so the eye had kind of gone walleyed. But at least I can see something with that eye now. Good luck and God bless us all.

I've got both my eyes lined up together pretty good a week after my cataract surgery. I still drift into double vision, but it's not so bad. It's weird being able to see with both eyes now, though.

I bet I'm giving lots of folks I see weird looks, though! Little kids at the store have been staring at me kinda strange.

[lmacmil]

Originally Posted by epluribus36

I've got both my eyes lined up together pretty good a week after my cataract surgery. It's weird being able to see with both eyes now, though.

Ain't that the truth? I still reach to remove my glasses when I go to bed at night.

I had my 2nd eye done yesterday. Not quite as easy as the first. At little more discomfort afterwards and it lasted a little longer (had to take 4 Tylenols during the rest of the day vs 3 the first time.) Vision at my follow up today was 20-30 vs 20-20 in the first eye. The doc said there was still a little swelling. Overall quite acceptable though I think. Gotta have those reading glasses handy though, can read nothing without them.

[epluribus36]

My right eye had been totally blind for 12-13 years, so it's having a hard time focusing on the same thing as the left eye, the old anchor. It's getting better all the time (the Beatles!), but the right still takes a split-second to catch up to the left. The right eye doesn't "bounce around" like it did for awhile there.

I'm just praying it keeps improving.

[Chicago Sandy]

I imagine that waking up the morning after being corrected to 20/20 must be analogous to the first time I woke up in continuous-wear contacts! (only without the pesky allergy-drift issues that forced me to give them up). We had lunch with our ophthalmologist today, but we didn't talk shop at all!