Cataract Lens Replacement

[yakers]

Had my second eye done a week ago, the first one was three months ago and I used a contact lens in my second eye for that time period. First eye gave me very good (20/40) distance vision. I chose a monovision lens and my second eye can see close very well (20/20) , can read the fine print on the pill bottles without glasses. So I see well distance and close, the middle is a little blured with floaters and visual adjustments, I may want glasses for longer times on a computer screen to 'relax' my eyes. I usderastand that my eyes will continue to adjuc=st for a month or more so it should only get better, I haven't seen this well since 1st grade when I began wearing glasses.
Anyone with a monoviaion arrangement, how long did it take you to reach a final adjustment?



Now if they could only fix my ears, kees and back as well.

 

[donheff]

I use monovision contact lenses and adjusted almost immediately. My cataracts are not developed enough to counsel surgery yet but I plan to go with monovision when I do.

 

[frank]

what is the difference between regular cataract surgery and monovision? I will need this surgery in the next year or so and want to come out of it with no glasses. is that possible?

 

[MRG]

what is the difference between regular cataract surgery and monovision? I will need this surgery in the next year or so and want to come out of it with no glasses. is that possible?

Monovision has one eye focused on distance and the other for reading. I'm typing this with no glasses as I sit outside the eye doctor because I lost my readers.[emoji23] it's not perfect.

 

[Moemg]

It took about a month for my monovision lenses to reach full potential . I have had them for about 15 years without any problems.

 

[SheitlQueen]

I don't have cataracts, but I've worn monovision contacts for years. Took me a couple of days to get used to it. Some people never can adapt.

 

[donheff]

I would definitely try monovision contacts before having monovision lenses implanted. Only proceed if the results are to your satisfaction. Reading glasses are not a bad alternative.

 

[braumeister]

I would definitely try monovision contacts before having monovision lenses implanted. Only proceed if the results are to your satisfaction. Reading glasses are not a bad alternative.

That's exactly what my surgeon told me when I asked about it. He said that those who were already comfortable using monovision contacts were happy with the same treatment in IOLs, but it's the only way to be sure.

I thought that was good advice and I went with distance only IOLs, which I'm very happy with. Reading glasses are no problem. Since I've been very myopic all my life, I'm in exactly the reverse condition now, and it's great. The ability to drive and do most normal activities without glasses is wonderful.

OTOH, DW chose monovision when she developed cataracts, although she had never tried monovision contacts. She got used to them within a couple of months, but as @MRG said, they're not perfect. She still needs readers for some tasks, and without them she has to hold reading material at just the right distance. She isn't perfectly happy with the situation, but says it's "good enough."

 

[erkevin]

You have a mixed discussion going of Intraocular and contact lenses. I had a mono lens implanted in January. I see about 20/15, but lost my near vision, so I need reading glasses for that eye (yes, I pop out the other lens in my reading glasses).
After my surgery, at one week I was 20/20. At one month 20/15.

 

[eytonxav]

I opted for monofocal (distance only) when I had my eyes done. One complicating factor is that I had an epiretinal membrane in right eye which made the right implant less effective. The Dr told me after the procedure he used a lens in my right eye that might give a little better closeup vision, but it was not apparent to me after the surgery. Nevertheless, I was glad to have gotten the surgery and my vision turned out be 20/25 afterwards as I recall. Fast forward a few years, I had my right eye operated on to remove the membrane and a large floater via a vitrectomy. That eye had a lot of inflammation post surgery and therefore healing continued to take place for over 1 year. To my surprise, I can now see better closeup as the cataract Dr originally told me. It's by no means great closeup, but I can read many things closeup that I previously could not, so I can certainly see the point of mono vision, although some may have big problems adapting to that approach.

 

[MRG]

Monovision has one eye focused on distance and the other for reading. I'm typing this with no glasses as I sit outside the eye doctor because I lost my readers.[emoji23] it's not perfect.

After a real eye examination the problem I'm having is a secondary cataract. In a couple weeks they're going to zap it with a lazer.

 

[Teacher Terry]

My husband couldn’t adjust to contacts with 2 different distances. I didn’t even consider it when I had cataract surgery.

 

[eytonxav]

After a real eye examination the problem I'm having is a secondary cataract. In a couple weeks they're going to zap it with a lazer.

Isn't that just removing scar tissue around the edges?

 

[MRG]

Isn't that just removing scar tissue around the edges?

My understanding is the pouch your lens was removed from becomes cloudy post surgery. It took over a year for me to notice any problems. They zap it with a laser to remove the clouds.