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Thread: Cataract Surgery

  1. #16
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    My elderly father had cataract surgery a couple years ago and not only did it remove the issue, it also corrected his vision such that he could stop depending on glasses to see clearly. It was a nice benefit of the surgery. I wouldn't hesitate to get it done based on that alone. I also had a positive experience with LASIK in 2003 which makes me more comfortable with the idea of eye surgery for things like cataracts should I need it in the future. (likely based on my last exam)
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Friedrichs View Post
    I may be the youngest, here, but I've had one done.

    Uneventful. Major improvement.

    Only downside is to consider how it will effect your focusing. If you are nearsighted, they can implant a lens with some correction to avoid the need for distance glasses. You may also require reading glasses for near vision, though. Definitely think hard about this. Because I only needed one done, I don't use reading glasses, but essentially rely on one eye for near vision, which makes delicate work quite challenging (no depth perception).
    I am 56 and only started wearing glasses about 3 years ago. I needed them to see street signs when driving. My close vision is fine, although I need more light than I used to.

    I asked my eye doctor about laser surgery to avoid wearing glasses. They said that I could fix the distance problem, but then would need glasses for reading. $5K to trade one problem for another doesn't seem like a good idea. They also suggested one eye for distance and one eye for up close. Not sure I like this idea either. I am on the fence waiting for a few more years.
    Steve

  3. #18
    74YO here, and had both done a week apart in '16. No longer need glasses except for a mild 1.25 reader set. 'normal' surgery, not laser. That was offered at a $3K premium because it would likely result in no correction for reading either, but NOT guaranteed to do so.

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Peterson View Post
    I asked my eye doctor about laser surgery to avoid wearing glasses. They said that I could fix the distance problem, but then would need glasses for reading. $5K to trade one problem for another doesn't seem like a good idea. They also suggested one eye for distance and one eye for up close. Not sure I like this idea either. I am on the fence waiting for a few more years.
    Steve, I took that tradeoff with a smile on my face. I was a slave to my glasses before LASIK in early 2003...I couldn't even read the clock on my bedside table clearly I was so nearsighted, let alone anything farther away. The surgery took about ten minutes and corrected me to 20/20 in one eye and 20/15 in the other. How do I know it took ten minutes? Because when I sat up from the machine, I looked at the clock on the wall. And after a few seconds, I realized the clock was over 20 feet away. For awhile, I didn't even need reading glasses, at least if there was good light and the type wasn't too tiny. I have been using OTC readers for a long time now, but only need relatively low powered ones. Needing reading glasses is typical for many folks when they reach "a certain age" as the eyes tend to relax and gradually lose their ability to focus closer. And that's with or without the surgery. I actually was offered mono-vision (one near/one far) but turned that down.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  5. #20
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    My wife had the multi focal lenses placed two years ago. She’s now 20/20 in both eyes. More expensive and the doc said not everyone is a candidate for them. Have a friend who has had some adjustment problems with them. We think she may have been someone who wasn’t best suited for them but they were placed anyway ($$$). If you can afford them and are indeed a good candidate for them they free you up from needing glasses to read. LOML loves them.
    Real American Heros don't wear Capes, they wear Dogtags.

  6. #21
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    This is my advice for what it is worth and was the procedure I followed. Back story was I was chronically short sighted since I was a child and most probably nearly legally blind without either glasses or contact lenses. My glasses were like the bottoms of Coke bottles to look at as they were so thick and they were heavy and started to distort my face and nose so I went to contact lenses which were a god send and gave undistorted peripheral vision. When I was told I needed a cataract done and a corrective lens could be implanted at the same time I was over the moon. It was also suggested that I have a contact lens in the other eye as an experiment that enabled me to read so I saw long with one eye and read with the other. Some people cannot tolerate it but I took to it like a duck to water and have never worn reading glasses since.

    Mono vision as it is called does cause a very small depth of field problem but day to day it causes me no issues. When I needed the other eye done they implanted a reading lens and I could not be happier. If it was me I would ask about it, some doctors can be a bit reluctant but it is only a contact lens experiment and thus not permanent and you have nothing to lose except reading glasses. For the short period I had to wear them, less than 12 months prior to the first cataract op due to astigmatism I absolutely loathed them and would be very unwilling to have to wear them again.
    Chris

    Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening

  7. #22
    My mom had the surgery about 20 years ago, and it went so well she had her other eye done. Really improved her vision.

  8. #23
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    My wife (75) has worn glasses her whole life, and goes in for the first eye in two weeks. She is getting the lenses that are like blended trifocals, and the Doc says she should not need any glasses at all.

    I still passed my DL test last year without glasses, but I can tell I am getting worse, and got some glasses mostly for reading with blended distance also. I just wear them all the time. I can hardly tell the difference in sunlight, but at night it is more obvious. Doc says I have to wait a few years before I qualify for cataract surgery (I'm 75 also), and I can hardly wait. I started wearing OTC readers at age 45.
    Rick Potter

    DIY journeyman,
    FWW wannabe.
    AKA Village Idiot.

  9. #24
    Appreciate this thread as I have my appointment with the eye doctor today for the exam and then another this Saturday cwith the surgeon. I am leaning toward having mine set for distance and continue to wear glasses with a mild prescription of a progressive lense for reading.

  10. #25
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    Aug 2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Peterson View Post
    They also suggested one eye for distance and one eye for up close. Not sure I like this idea either. I am on the fence waiting for a few more years.
    I had cataract surgery on both eyes, but 10 years apart. Those ten years were great. One eye for closeup - one eye for distance - no glasses at all. My wife had her surgeries 6 weeks apart, and those six weeks weren't good at all. I think this one eye vs. other eye only works if your vision wasn't too bad to begin with. Mine was 20/80, hers was significantly worse.
    "A lot of people are afraid of heights. Not me, I'm afraid of widths."
    -Steven Wright.

  11. #26
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    I am ahead of the age curve for it but, due to the location of the cataract in both eyes I had multiple vision and could not drive at night. As soon as my "best" refractive correction met the insurance requirement, I had the surgery. The worst thing you can do is assume that your slowly degrading sight is not as bad as you think. Ego can also get in the way for some.

    The surgery was quick and pretty painless. The worst part for me was taking it easy for a couple of weeks following each eye. I do not sit around and take it easy very well at all . I still need glasses for close work but, once again I can see the freeway signs, small details in my work and enjoy my restored sight more than I can tell you.

    I guess you'd say I was happy with it.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  12. #27
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    Jun 2012
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    I had cataract surgery on both eyes about 5 years ago. I was very shortsighted and wore glasses from age 12 until my surgery at age 63. I chose a multi focus lense. My lenses are the strongest prescription available at that time, there may be stronger ones available now, so my vision is not quite 20/20 but very close, I can read comfortably and drive without glasses. I would highly recommend you discuss the multi focal lense with your surgeon.

  13. #28
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    You guys are courageous, my hat's off to you.

  14. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by lowell holmes View Post
    You guys are courageous, my hat's off to you.
    Everybody I talked to that had the surgery says, "There's nothing to it."

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  15. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by lowell holmes View Post
    You guys are courageous, my hat's off to you.
    It's also an extremely common procedure. 3M procedures per year in the US, compared to something like ~500k knee replacements. Lots of volume = lots of expertise and low complication rates.

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