With cataracts there is really only one option. And that is surgery. When to have it as a matter of choice being when it bothers your vision enough that it affects you everyday life. the only other decision you'll have to make is to what kind of lens you want and how you want to see with that eye. By that I mean do you want to see far, near, etc. That decision will also depend on the other eye. In my case I had surgery in one eye and I had him set it for reading close up because I could see distance with the other eye. This is what they call monovision. We all get cataracts as we age pretty much and typically will get it in both eyes so it depends on between you and your doctor as to how you want to proceed. The surgery is basically painless restless at least it's minimal risk and fast the next day after my surgery I could see good I no longer need to wear glasses because as I said I read with one eye and see distance in the other. I'm now getting a cataract in the other eye which I will have the lens replaced with a distance one so I will still have monovision.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/considering-cataract-surgery-what-you-should-know

Approx 20 months ago I had both eyes done, about a month apart.
I used to have glasses for driving, and glasses for reading (including computer screens).
Extreemly sucessful as I don't wear glasses at all now, and can read the bottom line of an eye chart.
The operations itself were very quick. The first one was into surgery at ~9am and leaving the eye clinic at about 9:45 am after a cup of coffee and a sandwich. The second one was similar except no cofee as it was the last one of the day. You do need somebody to drive you home as you can't legally drive for a couple of days, at least down here.
The only minor discomfort was keeping the eye patch over one eye, so you don't rub it, untill the follow up visit next day with the doctor.
Took the bandages off about 6-7 hours after the operation(s) and I could not believe how good my eyes were.
Feel free to ask any questions.

Hi All, I just posted this in the Main forum, and want to post here in Chit-Chat. So here goes:

Well, I saw (sort of!) this coming. Saw my optometrist Friday and left with a referral for a refractive surgery consult. I know there have been several threads re: cataract surgery here on UHH over the last few years and that several members shared their personal experiences here. Unfortunately, a “search” here came up empty.

I have 2 requests of my fellow Hogs:
1) links to cataract surgery discussions here
2) personal experiences from members who have had the surgery - specifically in retrospect what, if anything, they would have done differently and why (especially as it relates to the choice of an intraocular lens). I have horrific astigmatisms in BOTH eyes, so I’m quite concerned about that.

The thing that concerns me most is choosing the right lens for me. My photography is an extremely important part of what makes me me.

By the time I arrived home from my optometrist on Friday, it was too late to call docs to make an appointment. I’ll be following through on that first thing tomorrow AM. The plan is to get two opinions and evaluating my options before proceeding. We live within easy driving distance of Philadelphia, and I’ve been researching several of the docs at Wills Eye Hospital there, and I now have a short list. Also have done research on the VERY few nearby docs who do cataract surgery. We have lots of great birds and other photo ops where I live, but when it comes to medical professionals - not so much!

Thanks in advance. Please feel free to PM me if you prefer not to share publicly.

“Mike”

I have had both eyes corrected by surgery and was amazed at the ease and comfort level that I experienced. No pain, almost instantaneous eyesight correction and total satisfaction with the process. I chose to have the distance lens put in and my wife who had her procedures about the same time as me chose the close up lenses. I am very happy that I chose the distance lenses because this means I do not need corrective glasses for driving (I am 82) and my vision is corrected to 20/20. I have no trouble manual focusing since both my cameras have diopter adjustments in the viewfinder. I do have to wear glasses when reading or doing computer work but do not find this to be distracting. My wife, on the other hand has to wear corrective glasses when driving and it is so noted on her driver's license. This all boils down to it being a personal choice and with 25 years of flying jet fighters, my choice is see the "Big Picture" without glasses. Do it. You will love the results.

Had cataract surgery done on both eyes this past February (just before COVID-19 hit). Only regret was that I didn’t do it a couple of years before. Amazing improvement in eyesight.
I selected Symphony lenses, which are more expensive than mono focal lenses, but in my opinion well worth it. I can see clearly at all distances except reading in dim light, where I need corrective lenses then to wear.
I don’t know if the Symphony lens is acceptable for people with strong astigmatism, as I don’t have that.
I’m now talking to my eye surgeon about possibly getting lasik surgery done to correct for reading in dim light. Might not do that.
Only downside to the Symphony lenses is I see lights at night that look like small starbursts, but I’m told that should improve over time. I can drive at night fine.
Colors are truer now. Whites are much whiter, and greens are greener. Both had a yellow cast to them that I didn’t realize before the surgery.
Advice would be to get an eye surgeon that has done THOUSANDS of these surgeries. Mine has done 25,000 cataract surgeries. These surgeons are out there. You don’t want any mistakes done with your eyes.
PM me if you have any questions. Good luck!