Cataract surgery?

[gsxrken]

Tim, I hope you continue to improve, of course. As I’m sure they explained, they take measurements of your eye to estimate which lens will eliminate the need for corrective lenses afterwards. It is usually fairly close, but not an exact science. My vision as corrected to 20/25 IIRC but glasses can dial me right into 20/20 or slightly better. If your major complaint is along those lines, that’s one thing. But if you’re having weird foggy vision, I’d make sure to make that distinction to the MD, but 5 days in you are still healing and I’m sure are still on a drop regimen. Give it time. At some point they may offer PRK or lasik to fine tune your vision if you want to push for 20/20 without aids. In my case I didn’t want to take that risk for a marginal benefit in my estimation.

[charlesbahn]

5-6 days post op is still pretty early. Sometimes improvement in vision is hampered by swelling in the retina ("cystoid macular edema"), which can resolve by itself but usually requires longer treatment with steroid eye drops. The diagnosis requires an OCT, a scan of the back of the eye to look for typical changes in the retina- it's not rocket science. If you are still unhappy with your vision ask your surgeon to check an OCT, only takes a few seconds to do and should not cost you anything since it is typically part of post op care.

Good luck and hope your vision improves

Charles

[Tim Hancock]

Day 6.... Distance vision is really coming along. Outdoors I noticed that my bionic eye now sees distance objects clearer than my left eye which was always my best eye.
Computer distance is still not so great but maybe a little better than yesterday. Think I may try some pickleball this afternoon after work.

[cjh]

I had both eyes done last summer. I had switched eye doctors due to what I would call "lack of confidence" in my old ophthalmologist. I was really near sighted and my old doctor bragged I was his second most near sighted patent. I commented to my new eye doctor that I wish I had cataracts so I could get rid of the thick lenses and his comment was that I had them and could have surgery any time I wanted to have it done.
Scheduled surgery and he adjusted the vision so I am -4 on distance and I can see the smallest metal sliver stuck in my finger. I hate my bifocals, so I take my glasses off to read. Biggest problem was I couldn't see distance and had to learn how to wear soft contacts and use cheaters so I could drive and read before my eyes healed and I received my new glasses.

[Dixie]

In case any of y'all are like the men I know and skip your follow-ups....

My eye doctor told me vision will improve for up to six months after surgery. For example, a membrane called the posterior capsule (holds the artificial lens) can sometimes become cloudy. If this doesn't clear on it's own, it can be cleared with a laser.

Yep, I've got a touch of this going on in my right eye.

[Tim Hancock]

12 days in.... computer screen distance vision is better but still a little blurry. Long distance is pretty good now. Still feel odd when going back and forth between focusing on something far away to sitting at a computer. I think my brain is still struggling with processing my vison change. Going to play pickleball again tomorrow. Cautiously optimistic that this surgery was successful. Have a follow up visit in 3 weeks.

[pavulon]

12 days post-op, you're playing pickleball, your vision is improving and you're adjusting to a new lens in your eye yet you're wondering if that qualifies as successful?

https://eyewiki.org/History_of_Cataract_Surgery

[dad911]

My cataract 'experience' did not go so well. Actually the surgery was fine, but it was complicated by my past RK procedures combined with a multifocal lense. I now see shadows/ghosting from that eye, and need corrective lenses for both near and far.

IDK what to do when my other eye needs cataract surgery.

[Dixie]

Originally Posted by dad911

My cataract 'experience' did not go so well. Actually the surgery was fine, but it was complicated by my past RK procedures combined with a multifocal lense. I now see shadows/ghosting from that eye, and need corrective lenses for both near and far.

IDK what to do when my other eye needs cataract surgery.

That's a tough one as I'm not a doctor. I presume the best course of action is to discuss it with your doctor, and probably opt for a second opinion.

I had LASIK done 25 years ago, which limited my lens choices for cataract surgery. That said, Lasik changed my life. My uncorrected vision was 20/850. Lasik got me to 20/20(L) & 20/40(R). To illustrate, the chart below is what someone sees at 20/600. That's quite a bit better than my uncorrected vision.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by Dixie

That's a tough one as I'm not a doctor. I presume the best course of action is to discuss it with your doctor, and probably opt for a second opinion.
....

Been to a few. At this point they don't want to touch that eye. Don't blame them.

I can't really complain, RK(pre-laser) gave me more than 30 years of better than 20/20. Changed my life also.

I just wanted to warn anyone that has had RK for vision correction (mine was in the early 90's) to be carefull and go over options with doc. I should have used a monofocal lens, which seems to be a recent recommendation. We used a multifocal.

https://www.reviewofophthalmology.com/article/cataract-iol-surgery-after-rk

[L8Brakr]

Thank you for the very interesting reading. I had RK back in the early 90's. No need for cataract surgery as of yet......but someday. At least I'll know now to look for a specialist that's experienced/skilled in dealing with RK modified eyes.

[WPOZZZ]

I'm joining the club on Tuesday. Haven't been to the Optometrist in a while since I thought my vision was getting better. Haven't used my glasses in about a year. Then a few months ago, it was getting harder to see. Decided to go to my Opthalmologist friend and he said I have cataracts in both eyes and he likes to tackle them when it is about a 3-3.5. Rt eye is at 4, and the lt eye is about a 3.5. lol I'm going for the distance lenses so I don't need glasses for driving and everyday stuff. Unfortunately, I am not a candidate for the multifocal lenses because I have diabetic retinal damage.

[jyl]

How well do the multifocal lenses work? How do they work?

[GH85Carrera]

From the photo my Ophthalmologist showed me they have rings of different correction. The center is distance vision and somehow your brain learns to use the further out rings for close up vision. Your brain has to do a lot of the work, not just your eyes.

I had my left eye done with the multifocal lens 4 days ago. The overall vision in that eye is way better than with the cataracts before the operation. I am still seeing a slight glow around with letters like in closed captioning. Very slight glowing, and it is supposed to get better, and my brain has yet to reprocess the new lens fully.

The biggest difference I notice is my right OEM eye sees everything at about 5,000 kelvin and the new left lens see the world at 6,000 kelvin. So for the non photographers, my new eye sees a bit bluer and the right eye sees a bit more yellow. No doubt the right eye has some age related ageing and a mild cataract.

My new multifocal lens is not quite as sharp as my old right eye as yet, but overall very good sharpness.

The operation is painless, and I have had zero pain from the experience. The annoyance is sleeping with a plastic eye cover for a week. It is like the lens from glasses with holes drilled in it to prevent moisture buildup. I have to use paper tape to tape it in place for sleeping only. And the eye drops three times per day. First thing in the morning, at 3:00 PM and at bed time. The drops seem to has a very fine grit that seem to resolve in 60 seconds. No big deal.

I have yet to drive at night.

[Tim Hancock]

Update since my right eye Vivity lens surgery in June of 25...

My distance vison in my right eye with Vivity lens is not as good as it was after the first two months but it is still better than before the surgery. I only use 1.5 reader glasses for close up small print but get by with no readers for computer distance.

[WPOZZZ]

Had my surgery early Tuesday morning. Easy procedure that I swear took all of ten minutes. The prep took way longer. Drove in the late afternoon and my eyesight was a little blurry. Came back after dark and I saw starbursts insead of halos. The starbursts at that time were about 180 degrees. Several hours later, the starbursts decreased to about 30 degrees. Things seem a lot brighter now!

[GH85Carrera]

6 days in for me. Whiteout a doubt, my new eye is better than before to implant. It still is not as good as my 71 year old right eye.

The color difference is the biggest thing that bugs me. Hopefully my brain will adjust. My new eye is just bluer than the old one, especially in the highlights, or brighter objects like a white paper towel or piece of paper. I suspect (feel certain) my old eye has yellowed and my brain thinks that was normal color. Back in the days when I worked in a photo lab color was critical. We had a reflective densitometer that could read the color values of objects. It was only really useful on white with RGB values if 255 on all values, to black 0 on all valuers. The real value was all the grey tones needed to be equal numbers on R G & B. Mostly we used it on test strips provided by Kodak that we processed on our paper processor, and that let us know if the processor chemicals were in control.

I see my doctor for the followup on Friday.

Overall it was pretty much 3 grand for the new eye. I am looking forward to not having to use the annoying eye cover at night. Taping it on my face, and removing it in the morning is annoying, but I will follow the doctors orders.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

I am looking forward to not having to use the annoying eye cover at night. Taping it on my face, and removing it in the morning is annoying, but I will follow the doctors orders.

I wore safety glasses for the first several nights as I was worried I might rub my eye in my sleep. The place that did my surgery did not provide or mention an eye cover.