staehpj1 

I had my long overdue eye check up yesterday. It has been 4 years and at age 71 I know I should go every years. My eyes have been getting noticeably worse. Anyway the doc said may cataracts were a "2". He said they operate at a "2", but since I wasn't complaing about night driving problems and he could still correct to 20/20 with glasses he said we should wait and most likely operate next year or the following one, but make the call as needed.

I probably could have pushed for the surgery and if I want it next year I am sure all I need to do is say I am bothered by halos while night driving and to be fair that is a judgement call. So my question for those who have had cataract surgery is, would you get it as soon as it seems prudent or put it off as long as you can still have 20/20 vision with glasses and manage to drive at night without too much difficulty.

I suspect, that my opthomologist will lean on me pretty hard to get the surgery when the cataracts get to a "3", he can't correct to 20/20 wth glasses, or I ***** anout difficulty driving at night. Until one of those things happen I think I can probably make the call either way with his blessing. I am set for this year since I just spent a small fortune (well about $1k) on regular and sport glasses, but am considering what I might do next year if I am still about the same.

PaulH

Just got it done. Last operation was this week.There is so much more to vision than just acuity. I continue to be delighted and amazed by the result. Contrast is much better and the colors are really vivid now. For the first time in my life, I do not need glasses or contacts. Go for the premium lenses if you can.

DiabloScott

Yeah, get it over with. The replacement lenses never get cataracts so it's not like you might need to do it again. The surgery is the least uncomfortable medical procedure I've ever had - no pain at all, a little swelling afterwards.

Personal anecdote - had both eyes done a few months ago. My distance vision is better than it's ever been (uncorrected), close up is terrible but correctable, and I don't see any better at night... maybe a little worse.

Big thread on this in Pills subforum.

pdlamb

It's up to you (and your ophthamologist). As PaulH says, there's more to it than just the correction. I had mine done just over a year ago; my wife doesn't want to get hers taken care of because I need, and she will almost certainly need, reading glasses. Funny thing, while my eyes are now 20/20 and hers are corrected to 20/20, I'm the one who has to read the small signs far off. Getting rid of the cloudiness I didn't really know was there makes that big a difference.

FWIW, I bought a new pair of cycling glasses (with corrective lenses) the spring before my surgery in the fall; about $750 sunk there. I got a summer of riding with those glasses, and I don't regret cataract surgery when I had it.

BTinNYC

Coming Soon!
Driving at night is no bueno.

ironwood

I had the operation about twelve years ago. It really made a difference. I could not drive a car at night, oncoming headlights blinded me, I wondered why people kept their rooms so dark, why not get brighter light bulbs? I thought. After I had one eye done, I could see the difference. Things that were pure white in the corrected eye were a light tan in the uncorrected eye. Rooms that I thought were dark, became well lit. I could drive at night etc.

staehpj1 

Thanks to all for the comments. I can relate to a lot of them. The ones about dark rooms really resonated. It is a ***** of mine that there never seems to be enough light, especially to read things or do fine work.

I will enjoy the improvement of the new prescription, but will most likely push for the surgery next year unless my sight is really markedly improved by the new glasses.

Hermes

Moved to Pills and Ills.

unterhausen

I'm really happy I had it done. I'm one of the people that developed scar tissue after, and they are about to blast that with a laser to get rid of it. But I can still read the bottom row on the eye chart. My close vision is okay uncorrected. I would say the only downside is sometimes I have to wear sunglasses in stores because it's too bright.

Speedskater

If you are taking Flomax, talk to the surgeon. Flomax slows the effects of some of the eye drops.

pdlamb

FWIW, I asked my surgeon, "Please don't start yelling 'Pew! Pew! Pew!' as you're shooting laser beams into my eye." He blinked and then had a good laugh.

VegasTriker

Had this done on both eyes last September and opted to pay the $7K complete correction upgrade. For the first time since I was a young child I no longer wear glasses. I was informed before the surgery that with this type of correction I would see halos around bright point source lights like streetlights and headlights. It's true and more pronounced than when my vision was uncorrected. I'd still opt for the same treatment. My vision had gotten so bad with cataracts that 20/40 was the best the optometrist could correct for. I was worried about driver license renewal later this year and now that is not an issue. Surgery and followup were uneventful but a nearby neighbor who had her cataracts removed in September was not so lucky and has vision problems to this day. Medicare and my secondary insurance would completely cover cataract removal but only for the cheapest option with me still needing multifocal glasses. Single vision correction, either far or near but not both, would have cost about $4K and I would then get by with either reading or distance glasses. I don't need a magnifying glass except for very tiny print. A lot of things that were unreadable unless I was very close are now perfectly readable from a distance (e.g.,like overhead street signs that I can read far in advance now).

It's great to not have to deal with glasses. One side effect is I have to be very careful with things that would have gotten stopped by the glasses. There is nothing to protect me from getting splashed or poked in the eye now and who wants to damage a $3,500 eyeball! I did notice far more need to wear sunglasses in bright daylight. I guess the old cloudy lenses blocked some of the sunlight.

nesdog

I had my first eye done in Dec. and the 2nd last week. I've worn glasses my whole life.

Difference in vision (even though I didn't think I was that bad) is pretty pronounced. Much sharper. I opted for distance lens implant. I've lost very close acuity and need to wear correction for that. This is a monofocal lens that cost me about $3500 per eye as insurance doesn't cover it fully. I am not a candidate for multifocals and I was told it might cause night halos. Surgery was quick, painless and no issue at all.

Ultimately, I'll likely get a prescription for new glasses for close and computer work but be fine for distance. That's pretty cool.

The bad news is that I had a retinal detachment last year and a macular pucker removed, two surgeries. I have left over fluid in one eye that distorts everything. Will need something to fix this, probably another surgery. (I hope soon, this sucks).

peterws

Some including myself, did need a second op to clear secondary cataracts through YAG laser treatment. You do not need a third. But your vision will need some time to settle down fully. After a year or two, all should be well.

staehpj1 

I got my new regular glasses yesterday, but my biking/sun glasses weren't ready. Any way I was shocked how blind I have been with the old ones. It wasn't that the prescription changed much, but the coatings were shot and they were really like being in a spotty fog. I abused them pretty badly by not using a face sheild in the shop. Too much heat and chemicals did them in.

I didn't want to ride in the mud and sand with my new regular glasses so I dug out some 10 year old glasses. The prescription was close enough that they were 10X better than the ones I have been using and to be honest I don't notice any difference from the new ones at least out and about. I probably would for reading and close work, but even there they are pretty good! I think I will keep them for wearing when I want to ride in low light conditions.

I have not driven at night since I got the new glasses. I wonder if I will find I have issues that I didn't notice because I was too blind otherwise to notice much.

Any way I see so well now I may not push for cataract surgery next year, but will just go with what the doc recommends without lobbying one way or the other.

Glasses have gotten so expensive that cost of the surgery is not really a factor. It is pretty easy to drop a grand or more when the prescription changes. The surgery is a one time thing. Insurance will pay for part of it and glasses, if any, will be cheaper after that so pretty quickly I figure I'd be past the break even point financially. Being able to ditch the distance prescription would be priceless so when the doc recommends it I won't hesitate.