Surgery for age related long sightedness! OMG! No more reading glasses!

[dogsaremybusiness]

Posting here for traffic. I want to let people know about this. Because I had no clue this surgery existed until I got cataracts. Basically if you have cataracts or need reading glasses due to getting a bit older, you can have an artificial lens placed in your eye and your eyesight will be perfect again. I had this done a few days ago and it is LIFE CHANGING! I’ve never seen any adverts for this, didn’t even know it was a thing. No more glasses to watch TV or read a text! Mind blown!

Good luck - truly life changing!

You could get a new lens to get rid of reading glasses.

I had laser surgery about 20 years ago to correct short sightedness, and they did warn me that I would still need reading glasses when I got older. Of course that did happen in my mid 40's.

Then I got cataracts which is how I learned about IOL surgery. But you can have IOL surgery just to correct your vision if it's changed due to getting older.

I can now see far away, and I can see my phone or a book, without any glasses. Previously, to see small text (like tiny writing on a food tin), I needed reading glasses AND a magnifying glass (!) - now I can just read it!

They’re essentially the same person. My cataract surgery was done privately by the most skilled and experienced NHS consultant in a dedicated ophthalmic theatre with low infection risk. It was genuinely like being reborn. Specsavers, who diagnosed my cataracts, recommended the best surgeon.

Yes, it is like being reborn!

I work in an ophthalmology department and I see the difference that cataract surgery makes to people every day, however even I wouldn’t come online and be quite so evangelical about it because I also see the other side, when it doesn’t go as planned.
When if comes to an option for refractive surgery it can be life changing but needs to be considered carefully. And choose your surgeon well.

You can research whoever they recommend but most ophthalmic surgeons do this as ‘bread and butter’ - the guy who did mine is also a specialist in certain areas and teaches ophthalmic surgery. I think he spends one day a week doing LRP to pay for the skiing holidays! He does NHS work as well, I don’t think you’ll find anyone who just does LRP surgery and nothing else.

I have had my astigmatism corrected, because I was paying privately I had a toric lens as described above. It cost slightly more than the other eye, and after the anaesthetic drops had been put in I had to go back to the surgeon’s consulting room and sit in the chair so he could look through the magnifying lenses and mark exactly where it had to sit. I got the impression he was marking my eyeball with a felt tip pen, but I’m sure that wasn’t the case!

I have some cheap reading glasses for reading in bed, using the computer and so on I can manage without them but if I’m doing a lot of reading, it’s just a bit easier. As someone else said above, what I lost was the ability to bring something really close to my eyes to focus, eg threading a needle. It took about a year for me to get used to that! A minor inconvenience compared to being able to see across the room the minute I wake up, see the other side of the swimming pool, use binoculars easily and a multitude of other things.

Due to my extreme shortsightedness and astigmatism a new pair of glasses was around £600 each time as I paid extra for thinner lenses, it would’ve been like looking through bottles otherwise. I still get an annual eye check for health reasons. I consider this one of the best things I’ve ever spent money on. I only wish I had done it sooner.

Thank you to everyone for sharing their experiences on here.

As I said further up-thread,I'm getting one cataract done in the next few weeks.They plan to deal with the other eye approximately 2 weeks following the 6-week post-op check,as I have a high prescription so I will temporarily have one fully functioning eye and one which still needs glasses!

I've spoken to my optician about this and the options,including a plano(plain glass) lens for the 'good' eye so that my specs look normal (rather than just poking the lens out and leaving an empty space).However,I'd love to know how people on here have coped practically in the interim period between operations?

I just had the lens removed from my glasses and nobody noticed!

It wasn’t ideal, but I was able to drive, read, watch tv etc without too much difficulty.

Thanks @MerelyPlaying
Yes,I think I'll probably end up doing that .The plano lens will cost as much as an ordinary one and I have super-thin lenses so I'd be paying extra to have a piece of plain glass to match the other lens.I'm wondering if it's worth it!

DP's had this and is very happy with the outcome. I'm still pondering
It will cost €8k where I live.

I got my DH to punch out the lens on my reading glasses (for the eye that's been operated on), and that's how I am doing it until I get the next eye done in a few days. So I do look weird and have to explain to people, ha ha.

An interesting thread because I have a moderate to severe cataract in my right eye which has really been bothering me, and a mild cataract in my left eye. My right eye is causing blurry print and difficulty with occupational screens, I am forever cleaning my glasses. Night driving has become a nigjtmare with glare, splitting lights and poor contrast. My prescription is -7.50, +2.5 and a very mild astigmatism. My NHS optician advised that because my sight could be corrected to 6/12 or better, I was not eligible to be referred for NHS cataract surgery. I have had three new pairs of varifocals in three years at £900 a pop.

I have to read complex info daily and drive at night so Inreferred myself to the best ophthalmic surgeon I could find. They have recommended cataract surgery two weeks apart and confirmed the right eye is "ripe". The left must be done due to the risks of anisomotpria (sp) - the brain can't cope with a wild imbalance. I will have a contact lens for the left eye between surgeries.

We discussed the different types of lenses and because night driving is very important to me, I am having monofocal distance lenses and accept I will need reading glasses. I understand the risk of continued headlight glare is greater with multi-focal lenses and am happy with readers as Inhave worn glasses for the last 60 years. Vis the astigmatism they will make a cpl of tiny cuts in the lens to correct because the mildness does not warrant a toric lens.

We also discussed the risks which are statistically small but which exist.

I shall be relieved to get it done in a week or two. It is covered by my health insurance.

Advice welcomed.

That would depend on why she wears glasses.

Its also upto the person my mum decided she didn't want to buy new glasses so had same prescription when she had hers done! 🤦🏼‍♀️

Wow. My glasses were completely useless after my surgery.

Literally no risks? Can you post a link to the clinical studies proving this?

Quite right OP, it is life changing, although I had mine done by NHS. I didn't know about this and was having to get a new prescription / new glasses way too frequently. In no time I would be seeing two birds flying in formation when I knew it was only one. One eye needs a much stronger lens, so a very thick lens unless they use the shockingly expensive glass. New glasses were £700 generally.

After an acquaintance spoke of their cataract surgery I asked my optometrist to refer me. First surgery was in January. I ditched my glasses completely with just the one eye done because I could see perfectly well. It was my long distance eye but I could also read, just very slightly further away than I had done with my glasses. Also, I have never had dual vision since my eyes are so different. Never had depth perception so can't miss it.

Both eyes have been done now and it is lovely! I might get some drug store specs to help reading subtitles on telly though. I still reach for glasses I don't need every morning. Still adjust non-existent glasses absentmindedly when reading. But yes I can sit reading in bed and look up to see the trees out the window. Bliss.

No surgery has literally no risks but they’re infinitesimal for this procedure.

Could you link to the clinical studies showing that please? Or is it anecdotal?

There are risks. You can get a detached retina like my mum did after the same surgery. It happens quite fast and without much warning and unless a repair is possible can leave you partially sighted.

I had my cataracts treated.

prior to the surgery, as well as cataracts I was seriously short sighted in one eye and long sighted in both. I had a contact lens in one eye with reading glasses as well.

the surgery replaces your lenses. There are 3 kinds of lenses both which treat your cataracts.
one kind leaves you short sighted.
one kind leaves you long sighted.
the third leaves you with 20/20 sight.
However….the final one is not available on the NHS (at least it wasn’t when I was treated in 2021. ) There may be a way of having one of each which might improve things.

I opted for the lens that leaves you long sighted. I’m 60, practically everyone my age wears reading glasses and I didn’t want to feel left out!

despite that I was delighted with the results and as well as treating my cataracts my distance is perfect!

Mine are the opposite. I didn’t want to keep whipping reading glasses out so I have perfect near and medium sight and wear glasses for driving/cinema/theatre.