Cataracts - NHS or Private, Near or Far lens

[Peaceloveandhappiness]

Not asking much I know! Basically told I need my cataract in one eye doing, other eye just short sighted but believe will do that one as well even if other eye is ok. My eyes have both been short sighted, I read and see small print without glasses but need them for driving, watching tv. Use varifocal glasses ok. I don't know whether to go NHS and whether to get near or distance lens. I am thinking Near as I like to see close up - reading etc and putting make up on. I don't mind glasses for driving, watching tv etc. Can afford private but if NHS ok would stick with that. Have astigmatism in one eye too. Any experiences would be much welcomed.

What did you go for in the end? I’m just at this stage now

@Peaceloveandhappiness & @HopeWillTriumph please come back to update as I am in the same boat ...

I went private and have one of each 😄 my right eye does close up and the left does the distance. My brain sorts it all out and I don’t notice the difference.
My life is transformed as I had very short sight before (-10 and -9) so I’m delighted. Excellent sedation too.

@ArielHawksquill that's interesting, I had heard of that before but I thought u have to be quite young to do that as brain is more flexible then (I'm 60+)

I was disappointed with my close up one. I was misled into thinking I would be able to see close up c. 10cms and I've ended up with one that's c. 30cms. That was 3 years ago, still mad about it.

@columnatedruinsdomino hugs 🤗
that's what worries me, it's a one way street and no way of knowing what it would be like for real..

Another thing I heard is that some people still find it hard driving at night despite going private which I thought would have been perhaps a more specialized option than NHS

@YogaLite same, I was 61 when I had it done

I changed my NhS referral to moorfields so I could get the best advice (my local hospital told me I didn’t have a cataract).
they would do one eye of each but generally only if you tried it first in contact lenses and get on with it. Except I can’t try that now with one blurry eye so I don’t want to risk it. I’m still exploring nhs and private options in Sheffield area as I don’t feel I have enough information yet about the best lens for me and it’s such a big decision. I’m putting up with my non dominant eye being cloudy for now.

@HopeWillTriumph thank you, was it easy to change to Moorefields? Did u need a formal referral? I wasn't given any paperwork at first or 2nd test place 🤔

I wasn't given any advice, just was asked to choose long or short option based on lifestyle which is what's offered by NHS. At that point I decided to research more even if it means going private. What's difficult is that lifestyle changes with age so I might not need a long distance vision when I am really old - just medium and near, I would hate to lose near vision.

Strangely, the optometrist said I am borderline for driving but after a subsequent test I was told I have beginnings of a cataract, so at least I have time to research more.

I am thinking I would like to try different distances for each eye and need to find a place that would offer it.

I'm about to have mine done. Went private with an open mind (well, complete ignorance really). Good discussions upfront about what my objectives are (distance, anything that can be done to improve night driving, not so fussed about reading, prevent the growth of my beginning-of-cataracts) and a plan to suit that. One online consultation, one in person eye test and consultation, one plan-and-consent discussion with the surgeon. I hope I'm realistic bout what I'm going to get out of it, ask me again in a month or so.

It was quite easy… the local hospital told me I had to contact my GP. I thought this was strange because my initial referral came from Optician. But I could send a message to my GP online via nhs app and they changed it for me. Only took a few days and appointment came through for earlier than it would have been via local hospital

Your experience sounds very thorough, I think that's where private scores better. Do come back to update, I can't see me doing anything this side of Christmas.

@HopeWillTriumph thank you. I will try the same route.

Couple of points. I went private with job related health insurance but NHS waiting time was surprisingly short. Something like a month longer to wait.
I got one eye fixed and was concerned about disparity between eyes but it isn't a problem. Brain sorts out what i see and glasses don't look weird.

@WhisperGold interesting! I was told that they start with the weaker eye but never asked how soon after they would do the other. This could potentially work for me although I think I would try the distance lenses first for the first eye just to see how it feels. I wish someone suggested it rather than me trying to experiment - but I will.

@Peaceloveandhappiness have u made any progress on this? I am similar (short-sighted) and still researching... A friend of a friend has recommended eye surgeon she used, considering them.

I would prefer to stick to like-for- like lifestyle with glasses rather than becoming suddenly long sighted. So if I need glasses for driving/theatre etc, I am happy to stay that way post-surgery.

@columnatedruinsdomino did you want 10cm for anything in particular? I think I would be ok with 30cm for reading/crafts.

But what I am not sure about is what the vision is like when out of new lenses focus, eg say watching tv if u are set for near, ie 30cm).

I’ve seen a few doctors now and got some contradictory opinions so I’m a bit confused.
NHS would do the monofocal lens. Astigmatism not bad enough to correct.

a private clinic in my local hospital would do monofocal with toric correction for my astigmatism. Reason being I wear toric contact lenses currently so I must benefit from it. Also I’m swayed by a friend who had it done recently and she said the main reason she now needs glasses is to correct her astigmatism. My eyes not suitable for multidistance lenses due to thin retina- could cause problems later in life. Likely end up -2 prescription as with my level of short sightedness they aim for zero but it’s not perfect.

moorfields private - my retinas are good for my level of short sightedness. Could do EDOF lenses. May leave bad eye deliberately -4 so it’s not too different to my good eye. Seems madness to me. They assume I don’t want surgery on my non cataract eye so tie themselves in knots with options. But I’m assuming I will need it and it makes sense to me to have the same treatment in both eyes

@HopeWillTriumph it's hard to get my head around all too, I wish they could just replicate like for like with glasses - I don't want to end up with more than 1 pair for a start and definitely NOT reading glasses.

Friend of a friend had a version of distance lenses and she is able to read ok w/o although not for too long b/c of eye strain. So now I am worried if I choose near I might be risking glasses for everyday use ...

@YogaLite- I had mine done last year and it's been really successful. I had both done at the same time. I used to be -10.5 and it's now around -1.5. Had it done on the NHS because it's the same surgeon for both. I had short-sight lenses put in both eyes. So I need glasses or contacts for driving, watching TV but don't need anything for reading or computer work. I then need readers for close-up over my lenses, eg if I'm shopping. I also have astigmatism and it doesn't affect that.
The reason I made the choices I did is that DIL is an optometrist and she advised me. She said that very short-sighted people often struggle with new long-sighted lenses. I'm very glad I listened to her and I couldn't be happier. But a wider range of lenses is available if you go private.

I hope this is useful. Please give me a shout if you have any questions.

Dh had his done through health insurance, very good consultant etc but he was told with his astigmatism he was best off getting that corrected plus distance but wear glasses for reading. I think if i remember it correctly the bill would have been just short of £6k if he didn’t have insurance. The biggest advantage was that he got to schedule the surgeries 1 week apart and got first dibs on the good appointments on top of choosing the consultant. Same place does nhs but you don’t get the astigmatism fixed and they won’t do the second until first is signed off

Ps consultant worked at eye hospital 3 days a week and two days in private practice so could deal with his complex eye history

@AgentPidge I definitely don't want to end up long sighted. Yes, short-sighted would be ok but I don't want glasses for reading/craft work either because I never needed them.

I can see the pros and cons for some types of lens on line but that is not related to the pre-surgery status, ie how the new lenses would behave for someone who is long or short-sighted or even if they are suitable in each case (ignoring astigmatism for now).

I was also told that everyone has some degree of astigmatism although to different degree but never been told that short-sighted people don't handle long-sighted lens well so that is good to know.

I have been to the same place twice now for the NHS and private assessment. NHS felt like a conveyor belt and I was told majority get long-sighted lenses and I was expected to sign the consent with no discussion what's right in my case.

Private was a bit better but I am still not quite clear what's right for me and whether I can stay w/out glasses for reading. I would prefer to end up with 1 pair of glasses for driving but it seems no one as yet could confirm that or maybe I am another asking the right questions ☹️

I had my cataracts done privately nearly seven years ago when I was 66. I have a close distance lens in my left eye and a medium distance one in my right. I only wear glasses for driving and they live in the car. The surgery was life changing. I couldn’t believe how bright colours were after it and how liberating it is to be freed of glasses. My surgeon is so skilled my optician calls him God.

ETA Because I seem to have exactly the combination you want I can PM you my surgeon’s details if you’d like them.

@BIossomtoes maybe that's what I need - that's exactly the outcome I would like although it hasn't been suggested. Please let me know where this surgeon works (PM if preferred). Did you do it via NHS or private?
I had thought the options were mainly down to the different types of the lenses - and not how they can be "mixed".

Do u remember what u were before? Mine are about -2, slightly different for both eyes.

It’s so confusing isn’t it- I’m glad some others are in the same boat. My normal prescription until recently was -10 but moorfields told me my cateract is the kind that gets bigger so my bad eye is -23 currently 🤯 I can’t get treated yet as I have some other medical conditions going on. Looking at treatment in a year or so researching now- around Sheffield and london hospitals.

i also felt like the nhs was a conveyer belt and we’re ready to list me for surgery for the distance lenses. It was a private consultant who got me thinking about how correcting my near sight might work better for my lifestyle eg I’d be ok for computer work and tv, need glasses for driving.
I wish there was some kind of test glasses I could put on to test each option! When you are as short sighted as us it’s really hard to imagine what the different options actually would feel like.