I am confused. I am due to have cataract surgery on one eye. I currently wear varifocals. After the operation there will be a period until my eyes settle down enough for my prescription to be reviewed and get new glasses. In the mean time do I continue to wear my old glasses, as normal cover up the eye that has been operated on
I would value any advice you can give
I had my eye done in March & I too wear varifocals. They matched the implant, as far as they could, to the lens they removed, so that I can actually wear the specs I was wearing prior to the op.
I have a new prescription & it is my other eye that has changed, rather than the eye that was operated on most recently.
Good luck & I hope your op goes well for you.
Hi there,
I can only say what my husband did when he had his operation last year and that was to take the one lens out of his glasses. He was like that for about 8 weeks until his eyes were tested again. Good luck with your op.
Hi, Lotsofpain, so cool the name you picked, he he.
I'd like to tell you my experience for whatever clarification or relief you might achieve or feel afterwards.
I had been wearing multifocal eye glasses for about 10 years, I think. After the cataract operation done to my right eye, my doctor prescribed me, one month after the operation, separate monofocal glasses to wear for far sight and near sight respectively,
The lens of the left eyes are with the same power as before as when I was wearing the multifical lens, only this time it is monofocal, therefore separate eye glasses, the lens of my glasses of my left eye will be changed some time later after I'll have my eye operated for cataract (not in a hurry) While for the operated eye, the prescribed lens should not be subject to any change.
I must say that I seldom use either of these glasses after the operation, as the operated eye seems to be managing my eye sight well both for far sight and near sight views. I do however put them on respectively if I engage myself in long hours of watching tv, driving, or reading
I truly believe it has everthing to do with the kind of lens (IOL, monofocal, not multifocal) and the power your doctor put on the lens for you. My IOL is monofocal, the power the doctor chose for me is set to give me good vision to see far, and good vision to read as well, he says the perfection is reached when I have the glasses on, both for far and near sight views.
So check with your doctor on the choice of the lens, ask him to explain to you what power he will have for your lens.
I assure you I am typing without glasses on as I write, and I am fine, I confirm my left, not operated, eye alone cannot read what I twriting now (I put my palm on my right, operated eye), just as I confirm I see well and clear with my right, operated eye alone (I put my palm on my left, not operated eye).
Hope this helps, All the best.
You won't really know the best answer to your quesion until after the cataract surgery.
If the prescription in the operated eye ends up to be about the same or almost the same after the surgery as before, you can continue to wear the same glasses as now. If the prescription (specially the cyliderical prescription for astigmatism) changes much, you may not be able to do that.
Just removing the lens (or putting a zero-power lens) in the side of the glasses may or may not work well if you are using varifocal lenses right now. That is because depending on the prescription of the unoperated eye, the difference in the prescription of the 2 eyes will be small at some distances and large at other distances. A difference of more than 1D between the 2 eyes can cause enough of a difference between the image sizes seen by the 2 eyes that the brain has a problem dealing with it.
Depending on how well you are able to see with the 2 eyes together in the distance after the surgery, you may find that just using the inexpensive reading glasses from a store for reading will be good enough.
Finally, I got an inexpensive pair of glasses with a new prescription about 10 days after the cataract surgery (for use at night for best vision), knowing fully well that those will become useless a month later. You will have that option also. (if the prescriptions in the 2 eyes are not different by more than about 1D at that time)
I find it discouraging to hear that I might have to aim for the same vision after surgery as I had before. I thought my vision would improve! Shouldn't it?
My vision is corrected with multifocal glasses to 20/40.
I am waiting for my measurements etc. prior to surgery on my first (and worst) eye.
When I seen the ophthalmologist the first time he told me after I got one eye done I wouldn't be able to remove a lens from my glasses because I was a high myopic and the difference in image size would lead to double vision - turned out he was right and I had to use a contact lens in the unoperated eye until it was it's turn to get done.
Bottom line is that some people will get away with simply removing a lens from their old glasses and some will not - what did your surgeon say?
As I said in one of my earlier emails, "Just removing the lens (or putting a zero-power lens) in the side of the glasses may or may not work well if you are using varifocal lenses right now. That is because depending on the prescription of the unoperated eye, the difference in the prescription of the 2 eyes will be small at some distances and large at other distances. A difference of more than 1D between the 2 eyes can cause enough of a difference between the image sizes seen by the 2 eyes that the brain has a problem dealing with it."
Using a contact lens does not cause a similar difference in image sizes and thus works for more-than-about-1D difference in the eye prescriptions for the 2 eyes, as you have found out. At least, being used to contact lenses, you have a solution.
Hi I wanted to know I already had cataract implant surgery and I still wear old glasses and also I will get another cataract implant on left on May 22 its almost 2 month would it be ok if I wear old glasses ? The reason I am using for reading below its why I am afraid it will messed up my new right eye LOL let me know PLEASE ok thank you , Brett