I had laser surgery 10 years ago to correct short sightedness (I was - 4.50 and -4.25 ). I realised I would need to wear reading glasses following the surgery as I wanted the best possible distance vision I could. Surgery was brilliant and I knew straight away it was successful. 10 years on and I'm wondering whether to try and be free of reading glasses and today had an eye test and currently have some contact lenses in which are + .5 left eye and +1.00 in the right. They are multifocal lenses and are taking some getting used to. I have an appointment next week with the eye clinic to look at lens replacement but I'm very nervous having read some of the reviews here and not sure whether I'm expecting too much from any possible procedure. Maybe I should leave well alone but reading glasses are starting to frustrate me. Thought I would try to contact lens trial just to see how I get on but it is day 1 so I should probably persevere. Any suggestions thoughts - anything gratefully received. Thanks.
I would advise you not to do lens replacement if you don't have cataracts that are affecting your vision such that you can't correct better than about 20/40 distance vision.
The results are not guaranteed and the result can be quite a bit off from the target just due to the steps the IOLs are available in and the unpredictability of indivdual eye cornea healing. Can be left with too much residual astigmatism, etc.
Multiocal lenses add night vision artifacts, etc. So there is no perfect solution yet.
But if one has severe enough cataracts, the only choice is the lens replacement surgery but "glasses free" result is never guaranteed, more often than not will still need glasses at least for some focus range(s).
Also if you had LASIK in the past, that makes it even tougher to achieve a result close to the target with lens replacement surgery.
Hi Margo159
I agree with NightHawk on this and you will not find many fans here on the cataract forums for clear lens exchange. These are being pushed aggressively nowadays by doctors/surgeons and I have to say at what they charge are motivated by profit. If they are providing good consultations then they should be telling you that if your reason is to be glasses free - there is no guarantee of that and many are wors off than priorvto surgery. Someone posted today by name of vlad873 that he/she had a lens replacement 3 weeks ago and is worse off than with glasses.
As mentioned by NightHawk the IOL lenses to correct for presbyopia compromise your night vision and there are halos that never go away. Also there is at least a 15% reduction in contrast sensitivity. A person with cataracts already experiences that and has no alternative but to go blind. I won’t repeat all that night hawk mentioned but in my opinion you are better off as you are. When the time comes and you experience cataracts - these are often covered by national health and you won’t be outlaying all that money.
The short answer! Don't even think about replacing your natural lens with a trifocal IOL or any other IOL at this time. All multifocal lenses have night vision artifacts, which you don't want to deal with until you may have cataracts in another 25-30 years. Those will also need to get used to (just like getting used to trifocal glasses). And the IOL prescription you end up is not always correct.
I think that it is terrible that some of the ophthalmologists are doing a selling job for this undesirable surgery just to make money.
Any way, it seems that you are able to use contact lenses. So, it is easy for you to try using monovision to see if that helps you avoid reading glasses (it took me less than 5 minutes to adjust to monovision 30 years back).
If your right eye is the dominant eye, try using +1.0D for the that eye and +2.0D for the left eye. With some adjustment left in your natural lens, you will probably be able to read (and do driving etc) fine with that combination. You can try some variations (such as +2.25D, +1.75D etc) for the left eye to see which one you like the best.
Similarly, if your left eye is the dominant eye, try using +0.5D for the that eye and +2.5D for the right eye. Again, with some adjustment left in your natural lens, You will probably be able to read (and do driving etc) fine with that combination. You can try some variations (such as +2.25D, +2.75D etc) for the right eye to see which one you like the best.
Try it out and see if you like this approach. If it works for you, then you won't be needing any reading glasses.The doctors are used to working with patients, who use monovision.and your doctor should not have any problem letting you try it out. If he keeps on pushing lens replacement, find a different doctor.
I had lens implants approx 8 weeks ago now, I went from just using reading glasses to full time glasses,not what I expected.Before the surgery I could read 4 lines on the eye chart,now I can't read the big letters at the top.I had YAG treatment which I thought would clear up the cloudiness on the back of the lens ,but it only made it worst.The left eye is cloudy also along with a shadow/rim in the corner of my eye that very bothersome.
Do a lot of research and ask a lot of questions before you make the right decision.
Good Luck.
Really appreciate your thoughts, thank you. I have a slight astigmatism on the left eye which I was told was there prior to my laser treatment. I was also told I have cataracts but I have had them since birth in both eyes and nothing that needs treatment. First I knew of it. My dominant eye is my right eye. It isn't that Lens Replacement has been suggested to me, it's more that I've seen adverts and it's been appealing to me as I need some new glasses. I think my best route to is try and get the right mix of contact lenses and if I can't get that right then I'll stick with my reading glasses. Good to hear the advice on this forum and so pleased i found it tonight. Was so pleased when I took the contact lenses out earlier after 8 hours - I could see better without them. Thanks again. Margo
Yes, it was Lasik with Wavefront as an additional treatment. Even more reason to stick to my glasses/contacts. Cheers.
Thank you for your help with my query. I really do think I'm better of as I am too having seen the additional information you, and others have offered to me on this forum. Fate that I found you all this evening when everything was going around in my mind. It's become very clear that there are often 'issues'. Thanks again. Margo
I absolutely agree w/everyone else that has posted. It's not worth the potential problems just to get out of readers. I truly understand how you feel, because I've been in your shoes, only worse. My eyes are super-crappy (retina issues aren't going to go away). I was wearing -8.0 (astigmatism) and -8.5 contacts and still had 1001 problems just trying to focus. I needed readers for anything remotely close up. My eyes were deteriorating rapidly and cataracts were starting, so I had the surgery. Truthfully, my expectations were low, but I'm 100% free of glasses and can read to the bottom of the doc's eye charts. I also don't have (so far) any issues, BUT the truth is that if I'd had a bad doc or not the trifocal lenses that I opted for, the outcome could have been so much different. I went through with it because of my trust in the doc and the fact that my eyes would never get any better than they were at that point. Had I had any other options, I would have waited. Readers are a pain, but they beat surgical complications. As Sue.An and others have said here and elsewhere, there are a lot of docs that seem to be pushing the surgery for the money. We have a few of those where I live and...no exaggeration...there are at least 3 people who've lost their sight in one eye because the doc ignores potential health issues.
Thank you, this has been such useful information. I just haven't enjoyed the multifocal lens experience today. I was glad to get them out this evening and see clearly again. I was watching tv earlier and couldn't focus the text (England lost 1 - 0 so maybe it wasn't worth focussing anyway!). I'm right eye dominant and I was given +1.0D for that eye and 0.5 for the left and it's clearly not going to work. More choices needed.
Lens Replacement hasn't been suggested to me, it's a case of me seeing the advertising and wanting to be free of glasses all together. The urge is quickly disappearing. I thought if I tried contacts I might just see how it would be after Lens Replacement but clearly that's unrealistic. You're right - don't even think about it. Thanks again, you've been most helpful and I'll post how I get on. Cheers. Margo
Thank you for posting about your experience. Not what you were expecting at all and I really hope that in time it all settles down. It's so good to have found this forum where people are sharing their experience and offering so much good advice. I'm sure you'll they have been/will be helpful for you too. You're absolutely right about doing a lot of research. I'm feeling very lucky to have the vision I have now and if it's reading glasses from here on, or contact lenses then so be it. Thank you again. Margo
Yes glad you found these forums too - so often we get the sad after surgery stories. The adverts you see are so prevalent today and honestly make me angry. Perhaps by the time you need cataract surgery there will be better lens options but the lenses are far from perfect and there is always a compromise. Best wishes to you Margo.
YVW. FWIW, I had tried multifocal contacts once, but the eye doc (not my current one) was horrible. The diameter he prescribed was too large and they floated around on my eyes. Ugh. For the future, don't forget that the multifocals will replicate your eyes distance viewing. Having been through it myself, I can honestly tell you it's much different, BUT you might want to give it a few days to be sure. I also had a doc push ClearLens way back when I was told that there wasn't a procedure that could be done (Lasik, RK, etc). Fortunately, I waited and I'm so glad that I did. Yes, please continue to let us know how you're doing.
BTW, hubby (Brit) doesn't know about England's loss...heh heh. I think I'll wait to spring it on him. ;p
I taped the England vs Belgium game and you’re right wasn’t worth focusing on. Disgusted and can’t figure out why the coach played B team. I would think England would rather face Japan than Colombia. Hoping they don’t regret this next match.
Wow how truly sad for those 3. Wish word could get out for people to do their research.
Thank you for your honest opion, it's much appreciated. I've only read positive stories in magazines or when I've researched online of course, until today. I really believe in fate and tonight has proved that things happen at the right time. Thank goodness I've found you all on this forum. You had a good result and that's great to hear. As you say, for me readers might be a pain but they beat surgical complications any day of the week. I intend to try a few contact lens combinations until I get a good result, otherwise I'll have a few pairs of reading glasses around so I can always find a pair! Thanks again for your valuable help. Margo
Both my wife and I have used monovision successfully for the last 30+years, first with contact lenses and then with IOLs after the cataract surgeries. Thus, keep that as an option (as an alternative to multifocal lenses) if you don't want to use reading glasses.
Hi Margo!
I'm 34 years old and didn't have cataracts but had very poor vision with +8.50 and +8.75 with -3.00 astigmatism in both eyes. I was pretty much useless without my glasses!!
I decided to go for lens replacement because as a young man with a very active life style, being heavily reliant on very strong glasses was really impairing on my lifestyle. I'd tried to get LASIK several times and of course was always told that I was not eligible.
Today I am exactly 1 week away from being a year since my surgery and I can tell you that I have not worn a pair of glasses for anything in that time!!
The recovery process was fairly long, I would say a good 4-6 months before a complete recovery. There was some strange side effects in the first few months, like for at least a month my distance vision was a blur, then that cleared up and became crisp. I had the peripheral shadows and light shimmers and that totally went away after about 4 months. The only thing that I notice now is that there is still some minor glare from lights, but it seems to only really occur during the dusk hours, when the daylight is beginning to fade into night, I'm not sure why this is but it's fine by the time it gets dark!
The two main compromises for me (I have the Zeiss Trifocal Toric lenses), is that there is definite sweet spots and soft spots in the near - intermediate vision. For example at around 12 inches from my face, even the smallest of print is extremely clear, however at say 14 or 10 inches away, it's very slightly out of focus! Its strange, but you get used to it and is definitely worth the benefits!
The other thing is that the lenses rely on having good lighting conditions, for example if you go to a dimly lit restaurant, you might struggle to read the menu, and feel like you need glasses, but shine a light on it and it will be crisp as anything. So you'd probably find yourself using the torch on a smartphone more than you did before!
I have no idea what the future will hold, but right now, 1 year on, I would do it again in a heartbeat, even if it cost double!
One thing you should really keep in mind is that most of the people who post of forums like this, do so because they had a negative experience. There are thousands who don't post because their experience is good. I found this site because I was panicking during my recovery, and would be on here all the time looking for people in the same situation as me, but once my eyes completely recovered, I barely ever go on the site or research vision problems on the internet. I only come on here now because I still get email notifications and like to help somebody if I can!
Best of luck with whatever you decide!
Neil
Appreciate the update. There are at least two happy owners of Zeiss atLISA Trifocal IOLs on this site. If there is is an analogy, it is either "Point & Shoot" vs "SLRs" or "DSLRs".