jaunty75

Let's see a show of hands.

I know this site is populated mostly by old people, myself one of them, and I’m curious how many have had cataract surgery and what has been your experience.

I had my left eye done yesterday. The overnight eye patch was removed this morning, and the difference is astonishing. I expected improvement, of course, but not this much this fast. I tested at 20/20 in that eye immediately. They said it usually takes several days to achieve that as the effects of the surgery (slight swelling going away, gels squirted on the eye during the surgery slowly dissipating, etc.) wear off. I no longer need eyeglasses for that eye. When the right eye is done in two weeks, I shouldn’t need eyeglasses at all for the first time in 60 years (I’m 67, and I got my first pair of eyeglasses when I was in the 2nd grade).

I went with the most expensive version of lens available. It isn’t fully covered by insurance, but it’s worth it if you can afford it because the less expensive options, while still very worth doing, still require you to wear glasses in some situations. This newest technology, and I don’t know how old it is, gives you 20/20 vision at all distances, near, intermediate, and far.

I’ve had my new eye for all of about three hours now, and I only wish I didn’t have to wait two weeks for the other one!

My recommendation is, if your doctor tells you that you're a candidate for cataract surgery, and he told me that, while my vision could still be corrected with lenses, it was deteriorating relatively rapidly and that I would need cataract surgery sooner or later, get it done. The younger you are, the easier the surgical process is on your body (took all of 15 minutes, and you're awake the entire time with your eye numbed), and the more years you'll have in front of you to enjoy the improved vision.

https://www.myalcon.com/professional...reon-panoptix/

oldcutlass

I've had both eyes done and still need glasses to see clearly. The procedure in itself is not rough physically and had no pain, healed up about the same time the drops ran out. If you need it get it. I will say, if you do get glasses, get trifocals, you'll thank me later.

Tedd Thompson

I've had it done on my right eye and I no longer wear hard lenses, but I still need reading glasses. My left eye is pretty much shot with a bad nerve behind the eye and can't be helped with cataract surgery. I would do it again in a heart beat, should I ever need it, I see about 20/ 25 now and could see better if I had corrected glasses, but I see well enough to not have to hassle with glasses for distance...Tedd

REO442

I changed the oil in my F85, checked my spare tire for proper pressure, had cataract procedure, took a drive , stopped for a beer, all is normal. May do it again tomorrow.

Don R.

It is miracle surgery. I had both eyes done a few years ago, it was amazing to see how much haze and color loss I had gotten used to just disappeared.

VC455

I had cataract surgery on both eyes two years ago. I had the option of alternate corrections. I chose perfect focus at a bit under 2 feet because I read a lot.

Now, I rarely wear glasses when I'm outside, except for driving. So that was a good choice for me.

I'd worn glasses since I was 3 and had 20/700 vision. And I wore hard contacts for 62 years. What a change!

The biggest surprise was colors. A simple gas flame looked an unreal shade of intense purple.

For someone who hasn't been to a doctor in 40 years, it was a big step mentally. But I did my research and found a great eye surgeon in San Antonio.

redoldsman

I had the right eye done last year. I did not do the upgraded lense. There was an amazing improvement in my eyesight. The cataract on the left eye is not large enough yet. It really is a minor thing. The doctor that did the surgery was 80 years old and still working. I suspect he is more experienced than most. I still do use glasses but only when I want to see.

budg

I’m 65 and had the first one done at 56 . I went from near sighted to far sighted . I didn’t need glasses to see at a distance and more importantly to drive. I had the other eye done at 61 and it improved my distance that was starting to deteriorate . I haven’t needed an upgrade in glasses since . I still need them to read and more importantly to eat , but I still don’t need them to drive . I highly recommend it to anyone who needs it .

rocketraider

One of the best things I ever did for myself. Had both eyes done in 2019, aged 63. I knew the cataracts were there but I thought I could see pretty good. Uh huh.

1st half of 2019 I started noticing that when driving at night there were twice as many headlights in my rearview mirror as should have been, and I was also seeing twice as many road lines. Eye doc said it was time.

Had the right eye done in September. I was amazed at how much my right eye vision was improved. I could look down and see individual blades of grass again.

Had the left eye done in November. 20/20 in both eyes, but I still have to have readers to read and for close work. I can live with that.

If you need cataracts removed don't put it off. With the procedures in place today, the prep time takes longer than the actual surgery and recovery is usually pretty quick. I was driving again in a couple days.

67OAI

Wife and I both had cataract surgery several years ago, same doctor, same year. We both had astigmatism but of different levels. My vision prior to surgery was 20/100 and 20/200. Wife had laser surgery, my astigmatism being a different level, the surgeon chose knife to correct my vision. My wife still requires corrective lenses but very mild script; My vision is now holding at 20/15 both eyes but I require 2X multipliers for reading. Love it!

Olds64

That's awesome that the surgery has such good results. I wear glasses all the time and the optometrist said bifocals aren't far off. I guess I'd consider surgery if the doctor told me I'd be a good candidate.

Vintage Chief

I've never owned bifocals. I purchase graduated lenses.

BangScreech4-4-2

I had no idea we're all so old. Most everyone's persona on the site is fairly youthful.

No cataract surgery yet, but last time I had my eyes checked he said I'm starting to get them, so it's probably in the cards if I live that long.

Lonnies Performance

I got my first at 55 & chose a multi-focal Lense so I can read up close.
It gives great reading capability where I can read my phone less than 1ft from my face, but it sacrifices sharpness at distance & also headlights at night have halos around them.
I am about 20/30 at distance.

When my second eye needed fixed 2 years later, I chose the standard Lense.
(fully insurance covered, whereas the multifocal cost me an extra $1200 or so)

The second eye is much better & I'm 20/20 with extreme crispness & great night vision, but under 2 ft. it gets a little blurry.
With the combination of the 2 lenses, I can read anything up close & also see at distance.

I had about 20/400 vision previously, so waking up with great vision is very nice.
It is also amazing how bright & vibrant colors are after the correction... you slowly lose the clarity & do not realize how bad it is until it is corrected.

jaunty75

How the @#@%$ young are you???

I started needing bifocals when I was around 50 or so, maybe earlier. I can't remember. It's great that you don't need them yet. Maybe you never will.

Cataracts is a separate thing. I think the need for bifocals arises as you age and your eyes' lenses lose flexibility, so they can't flex enough to focus at close distances. Cataracts is a clouding of the lens that happens with age. I'm guessing it happens to pretty much everyone to one degree or another if you live long enough. I'm having the surgery at age 67. My brother, who is one year younger than me, had it at age 59.

Cataract surgery is a sort of subjective/elective thing. As I said earlier, I didn't NEED to have it now. The doctor said I could continue to correct my vision with increasingly stronger lens prescriptions. But I would continue to suffer the other slowly-building problems that cataracts cause: loss of night vision and an overall diminution in perceived brightness as the increasing cloudiness decreases the total amount of light getting through to your retinas. I could have the surgery now, or I could have it later when the problems became annoying enough. The doctor said that I would need it eventually. I thought get it now while I'm younger and my body is that much more able to handle whatever stress is placed on it by the anaesthesia and the surgery itself, and I would have just that many more years ahead of me with better vision. There's few things in life more valuable than good vision.

The other problem I was having was not only that my vision was getting worse, but that it was getting worse more rapidly. For all of my glasses-wearing life until now, a yearly visit to the eye doctor for a checkup and a possibly new prescription was all that was needed. My prescription might change a small amount year over year, but I never needed to get new glasses more than once a year.

The increasing degree of cataracts, especially in my left eye, meant that any new prescription would only last maybe four to six months before my eye changed again enough to require yet another new prescription and another new pair of eyeglasses. I didn't want to have to go the doctor three or four times a year and have to buy new glasses three or four times a year. Insurance isn't going to cover all of that. So surgery was the decision. The doctor said it was a great idea to get it now.

solly

Had the cataract surgery both eyes about 8 months ago ( age 70 ) about 2 weeks apart, amazing results since cataracts are a gradual thing you don't realize how much your vision has diminished until you have the first eye done and can compare the corrected eye to the cataract eye for me it was how much brighter things were and how vivid the colors were !! The laser aided surgery was painless and recovery time from blurred to normal vision was about a day and a half. I opted for the mid grade lenses, I had to pay the difference between the base lens that Medicare covered and the mid grade corrective lens, I still need glasses for reading in low light but no longer wear glasses for normal every day vision or driving. I had been wearing glasses since I was in my early 30's, Imagine obstructing the view of this handsome face for over 30 years !!
If the Doc recommends it don't hesitate GET ER DONE !!!

jaunty75

Glad it worked so well for you.

I just had the second surgery yesterday, the patch came off this morning, and, for the first time in 60 years, I'm not wearing eyeglasses. I got my first pair of eyeglasses when I was seven years old in the second grade---I was one of the "cool" kids who got to wear glasses, like it was a good thing---what did kids know?. The hardest habit to break is going to be not reaching for my eyeglasses when I come out of the shower or get out of bed in the morning.

I opted for the highest-end lens for each eye. Cost an extra $2400 per eye that insurance did not cover, but I figure this is my eyes we're talking about, so if I can afford it, why not the best. While I shouldn't need any correction, they say I might still want reading glasses, but too soon to tell as I'm supposed to wait at least a month after the second surgery for things to fully heal and then get a sense of where my eyesight is. But I did test 20/20 in both right off the bat, which the doctor was impressed with. He said the procedures went very well and that healing should be simple and quick.

I never realized until now that cataract surgery could do this. I always thought it was just a procedure to clear out the clouded portion of the eye or whatever and that you would still need eyeglasses like before. I didn't realize that vision could actually be corrected as well. These news lenses are basically permanent contact lenses.