Best cataract IOLs for photography/life in general? Any complications? (Page 2): My wife is a retired Ophthalmic Technician and has always said that mono vision is not for everyone...

n4jee Loc: New Bern, NC

My wife is a retired Ophthalmic Technician and has always said that mono vision is not for everyone, so checking it out with contacts is a good plan. My wife had her cataracts removed a couple of years ago and opted for a focus point that would allow her to put her eye makeup on without glasses. She needs glasses for everything but looking in the mirror. Now she drives me nuts asking me if I've seen her glasses. Love the woman!

Hornfan1

Had mine done many years ago (my family gets them at a young age) Only option was distance and readers. What an improvement! And the surgery even back then was a snap. My wife just had hers done. Again the surgery and recovery was very easy. We were going to spend the extra for multi focus, but Her eyes were so bad that the multi focus would not work. Our next thought was one near and one far. The doctor highly recommended AGAINST that. Said that only works well for people who have been wearing contacts configured like that and were already used to that configuration. One thing we would recommend if you have an option go for the laser surgery rather than traditional. This can correct astigmatism. My wife’s corrected to 20/15 for distance (she was blind without glasses before). She does still need readers. The cost was approximately $1400 per eye with Medicare and Medicare Supplement.

pendennis

Check out this thread from a few weeks back. A great discussion on cataract surgery.

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-663648-1.html

yssirk123 Loc: New Jersey

I had cataract surgery on both eyes in December 2019 and January 2021. Originally I thought I would go for distance correction. After speaking with others about their experience, I instead opted for near vision correction and wear glasses for distance. Much of what I do on any given day is relatively close work, and I didn't want to put on readers to shave or see the time on my watch. I' m completely satisfied with that choice, and only need glasses when driving or watching TV. Also, my distance vision seems to have improved slightly.

ray1940 Loc: Raleigh

I did the one eye distance and one eye reading. I would recommend both eyes for distance and glasses for reading. If I had a chance, I would redo it for the same for both eyes for distance and the reading glasses.

Don W-37 Loc: Bangkok, Thailand

wjones8637 wrote:

I can't speak to IOLs (InterOcular Lens), but I ha... (show quote)

I wore monovision contacts for over 30 years. I adapted within a week. If anyone is going to get monovision contacts or IOLs, first be sure to determine which eye is dominant. Usually, but not always, the right eye is dominant for righted handed people. But any competition pistol shooter can show you how to check. Most people want distant vision in their dominant eye and near vision in their other eye. Good luck!

FredCM Loc: Central Illinois

I didn't see any mention of this above, be sure to reset the diopter setting for the camera viewfinder! Your eyes will be entirely different after the surgery. I had real good luck with my surgery. Still need reading glasses but not as much, and not as strong.

Daryls Loc: Waco, TX

edrobinsonjr wrote:

I had distance lenses installed and use reading glasses for close up. Works great.

The procedure is quick and almost painless. Go for it. You'll not regret it.

Ed

Dittos for me too! I had the procedure done a few months ago. It was painless and the far vision is perfect. I use two sets of reading glasses - a strong one for reading and a weaker one for computer work. It is great to be able to see distance stuff without glasses.

Go for it. You will be very pleased with the results. I am.

Daryl

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

pendennis wrote:

Check out this thread from a few weeks back. A great discussion on cataract surgery.

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-663648-1.html

Dennis,

That was actually my thread, and I put up the link in my response to the OP. It gave me loads of really good info. Definitely a great discussion. I hope the OP has actually read through it. I used lots of the info to help me make a list of questions for my appointment with the surgeon. I also used the info to do my own additional research. My husband had the nerve to poo-poo me when I told him I was going to ask my fellow Hogs for their thoughts and experiences. He wanted to know where we all got our medical doctor training. Then when I started getting lots of really good info, he started to finally understand how fabulous this community is.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

Don W-37 wrote:

I wore monovision contacts for over 30 years. I adapted within a week. If anyone is going to get monovision contacts or IOLs, first be sure to determine which eye is dominant. Usually, but not always, the right eye is dominant for righted handed people. But any competition pistol shooter can show you how to check. Most people want distant vision in their dominant eye and near vision in their other eye. Good luck!

That’s an important distinction about determining which is the dominant eye. Don’t take it for granted that because you are right handed you are also “right eyed”. I’m most definitely right handed but LEFT eyed. That’s one of the reasons I can’t seem to be able to use back-button focus successfully. It may also be why my attempt at mono-vision contacts several years ago was such a resounding failure.

TreborLow

Just had my second eye done and I went for MonoVision. The reasons were- A) First eye was for distance and untreated eye was nearsighted, so I was almost there for the last 10 years. B) I can use my camera with no glasses and get much closer to the eyepiece and see the info at the bottom of the viewer. C) Just walking around with no glasses is quite convenient. Only slight issue is the computer screen. Without glasses I have to be about 1 foot away. If I sit back, it is beyond the range of the new lens. My ophthalmologist indicated that some folks get an extra pair of glasses that help focus in that 1 to 2ish foot range. I didn't want to mess with that so I mostly do wear my glasses for the computer. Net result MonoVision works for me.

pendennis

MadMikeOne wrote:

That’s an important distinction about determining which is the dominant eye. Don’t take it for granted that because you are right handed you are also “right eyed”. I’m most definitely right handed but LEFT eyed. That’s one of the reasons I can’t seem to be able to use back-button focus successfully. It may also be why my attempt at mono-vision contacts several years ago was such a resounding failure.

This reminds me of my younger days when I was shooting for our high school ROTC rifle team. I was shooting left handed, since I'm a southpaw by birth. I was having an awful time keeping a good sight picture. Our coach, a long time target shooter in the army, noticed, and asked me to step off the line. We chatted for a few minutes, and he excused himself for a moment. He came back with an empty paper towel tube. He asked me to hold the tube with both hands and raise to between my eyes. I instinctively moved the towel tube to my right eye; we deduced that I was right-eye dominant. He worked with me and changed my shooting to right hand. My scores went up quickly, and I've shot right handed ever since. Simple, but effective at the time.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

edrobinsonjr wrote:

I had distance lenses installed and use reading glasses for close up. Works great.

The procedure is quick and almost painless. Go for it. You'll not regret it.

Ed

Me too.

Flyerace Loc: Mt Pleasant, WI

I had the basics inserted. My doc put a "distance" oriented one in my right (dominant) eye and a "closer" one in my left. They are both barely distant/close. Just enough to give me some help. I see at 20/20. It has been 4 years since I had them done. Easiest surgery ever! The cost for each eye with the auto-adjusting lenses was over $2000 EACH. Not worth it. (I can find "funner" things to spend $4000+ on every day)

I asked people how their eyes were working and the ones with the auto-adjusting lenses ended up with glasses after 5 years anyway. I just wear glasses for reading and computer. I adjust my diopter, or wear my glasses, when doing very close up photography. I do not need glasses when doing my regular photography.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

jgudpns wrote:

No contacts here, but it is very spooky (or not) that the rolling ad for this specific page came up for contacts....

Not spooky . . Algorithmic ad placement.

Stan