Cataract...what choice?

Ok…so my doctor is giving me three choices for lenses after my cataract surgery.

  1. Lens which will give me just about 20/20 far vision, but would mean wearing reading glasses for reading.
  2. Lens which would give me some correction for my near sightedness..but but would require progressive lenses...though not as strong as now.
  3. Far point lens in one eye...near point in another.

I’m leaning toward number 1.

My eye doc says that since I’ve always worn glasses anyway…he thinks two is good.

I don’t want to do three…at all.

Your thoughts?

I guess it would depend on how frequently you’d need those glasses for reading (option 1) and if you tend to lose/misplace glasses. In option 2, you’d be wearing your glasses all the time and not need to hunt for reading glasses when you need them.

Do you spend a lot of time at a computer? If you do, you might want to ask which of the options is best for computer work.

I’ve done all three and am currently on #1 for the second time. #3 made me sick; my brain would not adjust to the visual difference in each eye.

I would go with #1 also (and intend to do so when the time comes, which I have been told won’t be for a while).

I’m having first eye done in sept. I’m going with option 3 because that is how my eyes are naturally. I’m nearsided in one and farsighted in the other. Together they work brilliantly and so I’ve never needed to have glasses.

@thumper1: When is the surgery scheduled for? Is it one eye, or two?

I did 3 but I had used mono-vision contacts for years. It works for me, but I don’t like to wear glasses. I still wear contacts in both eyes. Mine was a little trickier because I already had retina surgery.

Surgery will probably be in December @VeryHappy. Both eyes will be done within two weeks.

I had #1 done, both eyes 6 weeks apart. I have worn glasses for over 50 years and I wear them now. I LOVE the distance vision correction. I can even drive without glasses, but I can’t see closeup at all without them.

I will say that my vision changed over the years a little and my astigmatism came back in both eyes. I did not expect that.

@dentmom4

So do you just wear reading glasses for close up?

My eye doc says I won’t even be able to see clearly enough close up,to put mascara on. Is that true?

@thumper1 . No, I wear progressive lens glasses all the time. The distance 1/3 corrects only for astigmatism, the middle the same, and the lower 1/3 for closeup. It’s easier to just keep them on, especially with my job as a dentist when I need glasses for protection and sight.

I don’t wear mascara (or really any makeup on a daily basis) so I can’t speak to that, but the closeup vision is odd. Bringing things closer to my face without glasses just gives me fuzzy double vision, so yes, your eye doc is right.

I’m scheduled for October—will probably choose option 1, since I’ve worn glasses my whole life, reading glasses wouldn’t be a big deal.

My dilemma is laser vs. knife surgery–laser is $1500 extra per eye. Laser sounds like a money maker, since insurances won’t cover it. Laser is supposedly more precise and is very quick–the thought of my ophthalmologist coming at my eyeball with a scalpel is frightening!!! Leaning toward conventional surgery, unless friends who have had the procedure tell me differently.

My doctor gave me option 1 but I still need progressive lenses. I have nearly 20/20 vision for distance but can’t drive without glasses because I can’t focus on the speedometer or tachometer worth a darn. I have a big magnifying glass in order to check my ventilator settings during the night.

Seems like you would need (lined or progressive) bifocals in all three cases for normal use (or put on and take off reading glasses for #1). Which you would want depends on what situations of not having your glasses on (or misplaced) you anticipate (e.g. waking up in the morning, beach/water activity, etc.).

If you want to test #3, perhaps you can order a low cost set of single vision glasses, with one lens corrected for far vision and the other at zero (or corrected to leave a moderate amount of nearsightedness for reading). Wear them to find out what monovision is like to decide whether you want that.

I did not opt for the laser surgery and my doctor didn’t recommend it. Not worth it. The conventional surgery is so quick and easy! I was in and out and went out to breakfast right after!

Isn’t there a 4th option-Crystal lens, I think-that corrects for all vision deficits-far, near, and middle vision?

Accommodating IOLs like Crystalens and Trulign Toric are described here:

http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/accommodating-iols.htm

I don’t think monovision glasses are a thing. I don’t think your brain can work with them to tell you if monovision will work for you. They usually use contact lenses for that purpose.

Like you, I would choose #1.