Hello, I am having cataract surgery in 3 days. I have cataracts, but they are very minimal and not really causing vision impairment.. I was choosing to have it because of my astigmatism and bad vsion, I am not a candidate for lasik. I have been doing a lot of research on the success rate of cataract surgery of paitients with high nearsightedness. I am really getting anxious because there seems to be a lot of risk involved. My eye Dr did say that he is dealing with human tissue and there are no guarrantees, but he didn't mention how much more at risk I am. Has anyone here have good results with high nearsightedness? : )
If you have no vision problems and it is a question of wearing glasses, stick with glasses and avoid surgery.
Glen, I wear contacts during the day and my glasses at night. I see perfectly with them. I thought that vision correction with catarac surgery was as successful as lasik, but I think that is not the case. I was worrying because of how bad my eyes are. I was thinking as I get older my eyes would be in worse shape to do the surgery. I have been doing a lot of praying about it. I have already started taking the eye drops, my surgery is in 3 days. I am not feeling good about it and know they wont like me canceling. Thanks
I had cataract surgery done on both eyes last Fall. I was extremely near-sighted all my life, particularly in my right eye, and have astigmatism in both eyes. I was hoping to become glasses-free from cataract surgery. However, that's just not feasible with astigmatism. Catract surgery did significantly improve my distance vision (though not to 20/20) but my close-up vision became horrible. Bottom line is I still need to wear glasses. My thoughts on your situation -- get catract surgery only if you need it due to the condition of your cataracts. Also, I had some post-op complications (now gone) wholly unrelated to the above. However, those are always a possibility.
What is considered high nearsightedness? The cataract on my left eye was also very small, but the doctor said it was causing my nearsightedness to get worse. (This in contrast to the cataract on my right eye which was quite large). I put off having the left eye done, waiting for it to get bigger and was pretty miserable because of the poor vision
i can can now see fine, both distance and up close, though I do have glasses to make my night driving easier. I don't see 20/20 but am quite content that I don't need any type of glasses
Before my surgery I only needed glasses for reading and that was only on smaller print. My distant was okay. But now since my second surgery my vision is bad near and far. The Dr. is fast to remind me that I was hoping not to wear glasses at all, and he said because he corrected my vision for reading it made my distant vision blurry. My catacts were the fast growing kind and I needed the surgery. Like glen45723 said avoid surgery, but listen to your heart only you know best.
Thanks for your reply Songbill! I was planning on getting the monvision, which is of course, one eye for distance and the other for close up. Do you think that would make the difference? I really am not having, (I don't believe) complications from cataracts. I have been told I am begining to have them and would qualify for the surgery. He told me I would lose my, what he called, my magnification close up vision. That did sound scary to me, since close up has always been the only real vision I have on my own. Did you wear glasses before? I wear hard gaspermable contacts and glasses at night. I have really bad astigmatism as well. thanks again!
Thanks for your reply! He told me that I was in the less than 1% of having this bad of nearsightedness. I have done a lot of rearch and it seems that with high myopia (which is what I am) there seems to be more of a risk for not seeing as well. I am just concerned because. I am choosing the surgery myself. I was choosing it for vision correction. I am not sure it makes sense to take the risk if I am seeing well now. : ) I was picturing my down the road 75 yr old person, who wished I had done it when I was younger lol
You currently have no vision issues that you cannot correct with glasses or contacts. What you are comtemplating can lead to complications. People on this forum would not be here if they were happy with their outcome. While risk is low, there is risk and I would take glasses over my surgery any day if the week. Do what you think is best for you but do not take your doctors feeling into acoount. This is your vision and not his and you will live with outcome either good or bad.
Hi Pam. I recently had cataract surgery and had both astigmatism and extremely near sighted. The cataracts got bad quickly and my eye dr was concerned i would not be able to pass a vision test for a drivers license. I am 58. Even with my glasses and contacts my vision was 20-55 and dull. I was excited to qualify for insurance paid surgery. What i read about extreme near sightedness is that there is higher risk of retina detachment. The surgeon confirmed this to be true so did a thorough exam of my retinas prior to the surgery. I had complications with both surgeries but week 4 my first eye is doing well. I go back tomorrow to see if my second eye is stable enough to determine final vision. Cutrently the eye with the most astigmatism is 20-40 which where i live means no glasses for driving. My s cnd eye is 20-25. Which is amazing. It is a personal decision based on your circumstances. I had no choice so even with the complications i am thrilled with the outcome. As for problems if you wait most cataract patients are in their 70s and 80s
I was always wore glasses (with progressinve lenses) and was pretty much in the same boat as you -- real bad near-sightedness with astigmatism, but able to see things close-up really well. However, last year my catracts got so bad I had no choice but to have the surgery . Since the catracts didn't bother me for a number of years, I waited until they were really bothersome and the doctor said "OK, it's time to do it.".
As for the monovison surgery option, I know what that is because my brother (who doesn't have atigmatism) chose that option. However, I thought that the monovison surgery technique won't work for people who have astigmatism. i may be wrong, but that's the impression I'm under. I'd thoroughly research that if I were you.
I was miserable for months after the surgery on the second (right) eye due to some complications. Also, my once great close-up vision is now horrible (without glasses). Catract surgery won't fix you to the point of being glasses-free and you always run a possible risk of complications. The only reason to do catract surgery, in my opinion, is to fix catract problems. Don't expect it to do more than that. In the end, you yourself have to make a judgement you feel most comfortable with, after considering all the risks and rewards. Good luck! i hope all goes well whatever you choose to do.
I am very near sighted and had my first eye done one week ago. I am thankful that my doctor is conservative, and it appears he helped prevent possibly serious complications. He recommended that I go to a retinal specialist to be examined before the surgery and it was discovered that I have retinal thinning in the eye that does not have an advanced cataract. For that reason the surgery in that eye is delayed. In addition, in that eye, the vitreous gel has not separated, and it is recommended that I wait until it has separated to do the surgery. As my doctor put it, we are just going to hope it separates before the cataract in that eye is so bad that it interferes with my vision. Also, in my surgery eye I will see the retinal specialists four weeks after my surgery to assess the health of my retina. I also learned that as the gel separates, it can tug on the retina which can then tear it. So now I know that the non-surgical eye is at risk and to get to the doctor quickly if I have symptoms.
The problem with only doing one eye when you are severely myopic is that the eyes have trouble working together. The solution for me is to wear a contact in the non-surgery eye to make it match the surgery eye. I have found that mono-vision is also somewhat satisfactory, so I feel that I have several workable options for correction. Because of the lack of accommodation after cataract sugery, I would delay surgery as long as reasonable. Finally, I really struggled with whether to correct for near or far. So many people correct for far, but I love my near vision and use my smart phone a lot. My doctor recommended that correct for near. It does require that I wear glasses, but I have many options for how to correct my eyes and don't mind glasses at all. I am thrilled with my bright, clear near vision. I also went from -10 to -3 in my cataract eye, so ironically I'm pretty pleased with my new vision in that eye, even though I am still near sighted. I also learned that when both eyes are done, my glasses will only be one third as thick as the old ones which I feel is a major improvement. I fretted about all this a lot, but feel that I ended up in the right place for good vision going forward.
PS. I started my cataract journey with a doctor who never did a great job answering my questions, didn't recommend a retinal specialist despite my high myopia, and made me very concerned. It was upsetting, but I canceled the scheduled surgeries and changed doctors. I am so thankful that I did, and I would not worry about inconveniencing your doctor. You are making a pretty big decision for your future and if you aren't ready, then wait. I agree with everyone else....don't have the surgery until the cataract is preventing you from having satisfactory vision.
Thank you Glenn! I do believe I am going to cancel. I was doing a lot of research, but I really wanted to hear from people who have gone through the surgery. I appreciate your time! : )
Thank you again Songbill! I am feeling the same way. Cataract surgery for vision correction is not the right reason. It should be cataract complications first. thanks for your time! : )
Thanks Adelaide! I have done a lot of praying the last few days . ..and I do believe finding these answers could very well be my answered prayers. thanks for your time! : )
thanks Linda! one of the reasons I was going to have it done was to avoid doing it when I was 70- 80 yrs old. I was thinking my eye would even be more unhealthy. If I was having trouble with seeing now because of cataracts then its kind of a no brainer. My Dr sure didn't have any problem with me getting now. thanks for your time! : )
Thanks Barara! Your information is very helpful! Since you know what the negative numbers mean, I am a -14. : ) you sound like you have a nice Dr. My Dr is very well known but he doesn't really like you to ask questions. He does make me feel like a number (literally : ) I agree as long as I can have options on seeing I am ok. I just don't think I should be risking my vision, since I am seeing well now. I have read to that retinal detachment is a big risk for us. I am planning on talking to the Dr tomorrow. : ) and planning on delaying it. I feel bad because I know they have a room scheduled for me Wednesday, but our eyes are way way too big not to take seriously!! thank you for your time! : )
Pam. I cancelled the same day as my surgery so dont be afraid to do that
No surgery is without risks, including laser surgery, however the vast majority of patients have great results with cataract surgery, or "refractive lens exchange"/"Clear lens exchange" as its called when done for people without cataracts. What you need to remember is that even if only a minuscule fraction of patients have trouble, they are likely the ones that will be reading an online forum and posting and so you will get a skewed impression of the results. They are a reminder to take the risks seriously, but if you have cataracts then you will need surgery anyway at some point. You said at first you don't have much vision impairment from them, but another posts says the doctor indicates you qualifiy for surgery which suggests your vision may be more degraded than you realize compared to how it could be, and it may not be too long before you'd want to get surgery anyway. I think those with bad eyesight often don't notice when their vision gets a little worse at times.
So there is a tiny risk you'll have a problem you'll live with a few more years than you would otherwise, and greater odds you'll have good results that you'll have more years to enjoy. That said, you do need to be prepared for the risk of a problem.
The evidence is actually not conclusive regarding how much of a risk factor high myopia is for retinal detachment after catatact surgery. If I include a link the message will get sent to the moderator, but if you google for this article: "'Cataract surgery not apparent risk factor for retinal detachment in highly myopic eyes, study finds " you'll see that they noticed a problem with prior studies. Studies for retinal detachment after cataract surgery showed that people with high myopia had a greater risk of retinal detachment. However people with high myopia have a higher risk of detinal detachment even if they don't get cataract surgery. Their look at the data suggests cataract surgery may not change the risk of retinal detachment much. Unfortunately many surgeons don't keep up with the latest papers, and the issue is still being researched so I wouldn't rule out some added risk.
It partly depends on issues like whether losing accommodation, the ability to see near, is a big deal to you. You don't give an idea of what your age is, the question being whether you are already dealing with presbyopia, losing the ability to see near. If you are, have you tried contact lenses with monovision to see if you can adapt to it before you try it with IOLs? The cataracts may be impairing your vision too much to give them a good test, otherwise it would be useful to see whether you like monovision. Alternatively if you have presbyopia already you could try multifocal contacts to decide if you like them to see if you'd consider risking a multifocal IOL (which most people have great results with, but has a risk of halos at night). Unfortunately premium lenses like multifocals or the accommodating Crystalens are more expensive than monofocals, but since you say you are "not a candidate for lasik" I'm guessing you were considering spending money on that so they might be an option in your case. I also don't know what country you are in (this is an international site), there are newer IOLs available outside the US that are better in various ways, like trifocals and extended depth of focus lenses. I had my cataract surgery done at age 52 a year ago and since I figured I'd be living with the results for decades longer than the typical cataract patient, I went to Europe to get the new Symfony lens (not approved in the US yet, they are waiting on FDA approval now), which studies show has a risk of side effects comparable to a monofocal but gives good intermediate and more near vision. (I'm almost 20/15 at distance, and 20/25 at my best near distance).
The major risk for highly myopic people is that they have a harder time selecting the right lens power. There isn't an exact formula for what lens power someone will need, they use formulas based on your eye measurements that are essentially an educated guess based on statistics on prior patients. For various reasons there seems to be a higher risk of errors for more myopic patients, partly I'd guess because there aren't as many high myopes so there is less data, though its partly they suspect some errors in the measurements they take for high myopes.
Usually if they don't get the power exactly right, it isn't too far off so either you won't need to wear correction since its close enough, or it'll be minor correction, or you might be able to get a laser enhancement. Even if you aren't a candidate for lasik for high myopia, if the error is only -1 Diopter or something instead of -14 diopters then you might be, most people can get laser tweaks afterwards (or they can, with added risk, swap lenses or add a piggy back lens).
I do have a rare side effect from surgery (flickering light when reading close up, likely due to my iris moving) that hasn't yet gone away, though its slowly improving and my vision is great otherwise, but its perhaps one out of tens of thousands or more surgeries or rarer (they don't have statistics on it, thats a guess based on doctor reactions) so I keep it in perspective that I'm very atypical and most people get great results.