. Hi Guys
Hooe you are doing good. I am set for cataract surgery on this month end and i have only one good eye as posted in other topic. I am planning to set vision for intermediate as i work on computer all day.. doc said lets go with -1.5d so may i know how life will be with -1.5d with no other eye.. do i need glasses for TV , driving or to walking
can i have progressive glasses that covers all ranges and can i wear them always pls share your inputs based upon experience
Hope your surgery goes well. As far as my experience… you’ll probably need glasses for the computer. I use -readers- which work just fine. The issue I have, and from reading this forum, many cataract patients have, is driving at night you will have ‘starbursts’, halos or glare of some sort that come from streetlights, on coming headlights, signs or just about any direct lighting pointed at you. ASK YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT THEM! The lights are difficult to deal with. Night driving will be something that you will try to avoid if you have these light sensitive anomalies. I was told they should go away. I’ve been given eye drops, tried night driving glasses, neither helped and it’s been a year with no change… maybe even getting more prevalent.
On the other hand… your vision will seem brighter/clearer… the natural lens being replaced has a slight yellow hue to it. The replacement lens is clear. Good luck, I hope you don’t have any problems I described, or any problems at all.
Wishing you all the best on your upcoming surgery.
I am assuming you are going with a standard monofocal lens? That would be best option to avoid the night time glare and halos over any multifocal or extended depth of focus lens. You could still experience those as the risk isn’t zero but the risk is definitely less with a monofocal lens. The other side effect if your pupils are large or dilate in the dark beyond the lens is what is termed negative dysphotopsia. No way to predict that ahead if time and most (if not all lenses surgeons are using) ate 6mm.
Do you know if you have astigmatism? That might be one upgrade you do want as toric lenses to correct astigmatism do come in standard monofocal lenses. In Canada upcharge on toric lenses are $300.
So with -1.50 lenses set for intermediate that should give you good computer distance (without glasses if all goes well and power calculations with your surgeon are spot on). You may find you’ll read too without glasses. Beyond that expect to need glasses for TV and driving.
Again hope all goes well - give us an update after the surgery. Your’s is s unique situation that may benefit another down the road.
Thanks Sue yes I am going with monofocal standard lens.. I dont have astigmatism so surgeon did not recommend Toric lens. Quick question so if i wear glasses for driving or tv then the near vision gets blurry ? i.e can i watch tv with glasses and work on computer at same time with out need of taking out glasses? Also my surgon will use ORA so hoping for accurate vision calculation.please aadvise
Depends what type of glasses you get. You could get progressive lenses. However if I were in your shows I’d likely get distance ones. I was only starting to lose my near vision when diagnosed with cataracts. I could still read without glasses but my optometrist gave me a prescription for progressives with mild +1.00 add for reading. Did not like them!
No one can say for certain what your outcome will be but if all goes well and power calculation is accurate and no underlying issues you may be surprised and see perfectly fine to read and see computer (very usable walking around house vision) and only need to out on a pair if glasses for TV and driving! Sure wishing you that outcome as you’ve enough to contend with having just the one eye. Good luck. When is your surgery date?
I had my first cataract surgery just over two weeks ago, receiving a Tecnis monofocal. According to my doctor, I am currently at -1.5. If that’s correct, Sue.An is pretty much on the money. Computer distance with that eye (and my other one closed) is very good. I mostly use a laptop, which now is best for me at about 20" out, but further out is also usable. Of course, my laptop’s display resolution may not be the same as your computer, but you can generally increase font sizes if needed. If your cataract is now clouding or yellowing your vision, you will be amazed at the contrast and clarity your computer will provide through the new lens.
For near vision, I can read most normal size typefaces best at 20". I can’t read very small type, such as that on the back of my small bottle of eye drops, without a magnifier or reading glasses. I can watch my 32" TV, which is about 10 feet away, without glasses and am able to read a lot of the lettering, but it’s not 20/20. The experience with my 60" TV from about the same distance is not as good, maybe because I have the lights turned down and the picture is not as vivid. In general, I think you would want glasses for TV watching.
I could get away with driving in familiar areas without glasses, but I prefer to have the best vision possible when driving. Signs are difficult to read until they are up close. At night, I’m not seeing halos, starbursts, or other artifacts with the new lens.
For walking, I’m okay without glasses but there is a loss of clarity with distance. Still, my distance vision is much improved over my previous cataract-clouded vision.
I would think progressive glasses are possible, but your doctor or an optician could probably give you a definitive answer. I’ve had progressives that I’ve hated and I think that, at least for me, the reason is that most progressives don’t bring distance vision down far enough on the lens. For my last glasses purchase, I had them bring the distance portion down to mid-lens and reduce the near vision portion at the bottom. This worked perfectly for me as I had no problem and no adjustment period with the glasses.
sounds like a good outcome BobDob. I too really didn’t like progressives for same reason- not enough distance viewing and when I looked down when walking the pavement was all wonky - ripple.
Thanks for sharing as I m sure it’s a help and comfort to vjkrish who’ll soon be in your shoes.
The outcome wasn’t what I originally wanted. I’ll post about it later in my original thread, but basically I was aiming for mini-monovision to provide both near and intermediate vision, needing glasses only for distance. Now I need glasses for close-in vision and for distance. I have a decision to make for my right eye target.
I should emphasize for vjkrish that he may not have the same results that I did because of variations in individual eyes.
vjkrish has a unique situation of have only one eye and is deciding on best strategy.
BobDob are you still waiting on 2nd surgery? If so you can still achieve that goal of near and intermediate distance with target for 2nd eye
Yes, I haven’t scheduled my right eye yet. I didn’t want to derail vjkrish’s thread, so I posted earlier today in my original thread about the decision I need to make with the right eye. Since I can read normal text at 20", I’m starting to think it might make more sense for me to improve on distance with the right eye.
Hi Everyone. (Apologies in advance for the length of this post)
Some of you may recall posts from me earlier this year when I was debating something as simple as multifocal lens vs mini monovision. Will spare everyone the details, , but since July I have had 2 detached retina surgeries in each eye, one of which lead to central vision loss in my left eye which was dominant. My right eye is currently filled with silicone oil and has a scleral buckle. The cataract in the Right is now forming very fast and I have scheduled combined oil removal & cataract surgery for early January which is where my questions and Extreme interest in this thread lies.
I had complications in my left eye from the detached retinas, but did not know how badly until cataract surgery on 11/26. I have permanent central vision loss in the Left, and while the target for my Left eye was -0.50 as part of a mini monovision plan, it appears to have settled in at -1.50 in remaining peripheral field I have in the Left eye based on the auto refractor and a quick trial of holding a lens over the eye. With peripheral only, I can sort of get to 20/200 by looking off to the side of the eye chart.
Similar to Vjkrish, the million dollar question is what target do I choose when I only really have one eye? Assuming I can get close to the targets which I will explain in a minute, I’m trying to choose between Plano and-1.50. It was presented to me that Plano would give me pretty clear vision from basically infinity until about4-5 feet away, but it wasn’t explained what the depth of field would approximately be with a target of -1.50. As quick background to that, I was a long time -1.50 & -2.00 in my eyes and would wear single vision glasses which I just flipped up to read. In other words, -1.50 might be a familiar reality for me, only there will be no more accommodation with an IOL.
Here’s where it gets tricky. Because I still have silicone oil in my eye, the IOL calculations can be inaccurate. There our studies that show wide variation from target in some patients. I am with a highly regarded cataract surgeon and corneal specialist, and I have expressed my serious concerns about hitting close to target. The reality is most of the time I am going to wear glasses as a protective measure as much as for vision.
My questions for the community here are:
minus 1.50 sounds good in theory since so much of our world tends to be computer and handheld devices, and I lived with -1.50 in both eyes much the past 10 yrs. Can anyone provide a better sense of the depth of clear vision may be with -1.50? Is it roughly 20" to 4 feet? If so, that just seems so small of an area to have “good” vision, vs Plano 4 ft to infinity.
Is Plano vision with really clear beginning about 4 feet away? If so, how bad is it to drive and not see the dashboard very well?
Other things I think about are…with Plano, in a pinch I can borrow somebody’s readers, buy a pair, or use my phone magnifier to read something out of focus, but with -1.50 you can’t just borrow distance vision glasses and you can’t just buy them off the shelf in a pinch.
What else am I missing when making this decision? With only one good eye, what to do is really weighing on me. The surgeon says we can always tweak it later with Lasik but I would be hard pressed to ever do another eye procedure given what I have gone through since July. Too risky IMO. I just don’t want land in no mans land and have no real good zone of clear vision.
According to my surgeon, my left eye (non-dominant) lens replacement 3 weeks ago has left me at -1.50 in that eye. You have it about right in that best focus is between 20 inches and 4 feet. However, the improvement is not that limited. I can read large type farther out - for instance, in daylight, I can read a license plate 15 feet away. Even distance vision has improved to a degree.
I don’t know how much of the improvement I’m seeing is the result of no longer having the cloudiness caused by the cataract rather than what is otherwise seen with vision at -1.50. I’m comfortable walking around the house and neighborhood with this vision; however, sharpness does reduce beyond about 4 feet. At -1.50, you would probably need readers for small type, such as on the back of pill bottles, and close-up activities. I can read the small font under the app icons on my cellphone, but only after changing to black text on a light background. You would also want glasses for sharp distance vision.
With plano beginning at 4 to 6 feet, you will likely need glasses for near and intermediate vision (including cellphone use). There are multifocal readers that provide 3 different magnification powers in a progressive fashion that might work for you for near and intermediate. For driving, maybe the half-frame readers would let you read the dash and still allow you to see distance.
It’s a tough decision for you, and made tougher because the IOL might not hit the target you desire. I hope all works out for the best for you.