More cataract related questions - expectations and improvements

[CheeseDreamz]

People on here were really helpful before so I hope you won't mind me asking some questions again.

I had op on feft eye last week - all went fine, home by dinner time and taking it gently since. Took the dressing off the next morning and it seemed like a small miracle, colours are better, I can function without specs and I have proper peripheral vision!

However, I am a bit concerned or didn't properly understand what it would be like. I realise it will be much diffferent when second eye is done, but atm I am struggling to find a workable balance.

I can see well now up to about 2m, but distance and very close are not great. Right eye is -10 and I have an astigmatism in both eyes, which was corrected in the op. With glasses off I am reliant on my new left lens - tiring but fine for screens, though typing this is exhausting. With glasses on I am reliant on my right eye, and can see much further and feel safer. With left lens poped out of glasses as advised - I feel very woozy and unbalanced and my eyes don't seem to work together.

I walked the dog earlier without glasses, but can't really see faces until they are very close.

So I guess I am asking - will it improve, should I keep glasses on or off and how do I manage for 6-12 weeks till op and new prescription (which I guess will have to be varifocals)?

I know its early days but people speak of such a transformation and I am so confused!

I'm here for the answers OP, I'm going to need the surgery so I'm curious what's ahead of me.

I've recently had both eyes done, 6 weeks apart. It really did seem like a miracle, after I took the dressing off on the first eye I couldn't believe how bright and colourful everything was. I was able to drive without glasses straight away (passed the number plate test easily).

I didn't have astigmatism so perhaps things are different for you but I didn't use my old glasses with lens popped out as they didn't help.

Like you, it felt unsteady when I walked about, took dog for walk etc, as left and right eye would randomly take it in turns to be the dominant eye, I got used to it though and would just briefly close the untreated eye to see clearly again.

I bought cheap reading glasses off Amazon (2.5) for close vision and they worked fine for both eyes, then when I had the second one done I bought a pack of 4 for £7 for upstairs, bag car etc.

Is there a helpline you can call to ask if you should be wearing your old glasses?

Are you not due a check up this week?

Did they correct the eye slightly for close vision? you also might have a little bit of swelling at the back of the eye which would also cause your vision not be great for distance. It's very difficult to say.

I do cataract post-ops and we usually see people about a week later.

Was your left eye also very shortsighted before the cataract surgery. Usually when you have cataract surgery the replacement lens will usually correct that eye for distance getting rid of any longsight or shortsighted that was there before. The artificial lens does not change focus unless you have had a multifocal lens implant and you will need a reading correction for near. If you were very shortsighted in both eyes the surgery will have caused anisometropia (difference in prescription between the eyes) the brain can find this difficult to adapt to and causes the biggest problem in people who have a high prescription beforehand. Anisometropia can cause the images in each eye to be a different size and sometimes cause double vision as the brain struggles more to fuse the images from each eye together. Is there a plan to operate on your right eye as well

I am very short sighted. -13 in both eyes. Had my right eye done first as this is the dominant eye and uses for far sight. It worked perfectly and while I waited for the left eye to be done I used my contact lens in my left eye. I believe mono vision doesn’t work with glasses. The brain can’t adapt. my left contact lens was already adjusted for reading as that’s how I’d been using them.
Do you know what lenses they are putting in and which eye is dominant.
with very bad eyesight having only one eye work is difficult although when younger I often removed a lens when hurting and drove home like that with one eye shut 😬 not advisable.
Good luck with the next op. It has been life changing for me.

I was driving for 6 weeks with just one good eye, between cataract ops, was told it's fine as long as you meet the driving standards which I did.
People with only one eye are allowed to drive

Yes I was told that by the opthalmologist but I found driving difficult like that. I actually now have a pair of glasses for driving at night which has one clear lens and one that is for the slightly short sighted left eye

Thanks for responses - really helpful. I meant to say my astigmatism was NOT corrected, mistyped in original post.

Things are settling, but the discrepancy between the eyes is so large that I think it won't resolve until other eye is done. I am coping with glasses with one lens better now. But my eyes are slow to align and change focus.

Check up tomorrow, hoping that they can give date for next operation asap. Main issue atm is my eyes are v dry (weather and central heating) but not sure if i can go back to using optrex on top of the drops the hospital gave me.

Still not feeling the miracle atm though. but after 40 years of very bad sight, maybe it all takes time to adjust?

I couldn’t wear glasses when I had only had one eye done as I was seeing double vision. I was previously minus 6 in both eyes. So I relied on contact lenses until both eyes were done. Now both done the same and I just need reading glasses now. If you have only had one eye done don’t despair, you’ll be fine once the other is done.

Hi, I’m in a similar ish position (uk). How are you getting on?

Had one eye done recently. I’m very short sighted and unable to wear glasses to help with the other eye, which I hadn’t expected. I’ve tried but getting too much vertigo and weird vision. This means everything is a bit blurry (including this forum). I feel unable to go outside, which isn’t good. / Floor is blurry and I can’t see far, which will make walking or using public transport trickery.) It’s also going to impact on my working life. I am told I need to wait 4-6 weeks before the next step (meanwhile aLeo avoiding bending over, lifting things). It feels like I could be living like this for a long time.

I also currently seem to have lost the very close vision in my operated on eye, which I am missing, grieving even. My vision has improved in some ways but I will still need glasses to see intermediate-distance.

Both of these things are making me doubt having my other eye done, particularly as it will mean a long wait before I can get new glasses and see to do things.

whilst I did ask questions, I think more detailed info could have been provided.

I was told that it's normal to get dry eyes for a while after the op and was told to buy preservative free dry eye drops. Wait 10 mins or more after the hospital eye drops before using.
I've used Hycosan Extra on and off for years, £11 on Amazon, expensive compared to other brands but really moisturising and soothing and lasts for ages.

I had my left eye operated on and they won't do my right eye until absolutely necessary as I previously had a detached retina. My right eye is -5, I wear a contact lens to correct it and the artificial lens in my left is a +1 (I think) so doesn't do close up. I've essentially got monovision. Right does reading and left does distance. It isn't ideal but I'm sort of used to it now. Definitely give it time to settle. They often end up doing both eyes even if there's no cataract present in the other as it is really difficult to adapt with such differing prescriptions.

Sorry you are struggling @Jenawanderer , I was really anxious about going out earlier in the week. I also have vertigo, depth issues and feel both wobbly and vulnerable at various points, but am just being very slow and cautious. I find trips out very tiring still though.

I have popped the lens out my glasses for the eye that's been corrected to -2 (advised that 0 was not advisable as the adjusment was too much and people were often not happy) and it's sort of workable. My vision for reading/screens is now much better in that eye, but close and distance aren't great at all, plus I still have astigmatism (in both eyes) which I will continue to need glasses for, but I totally get you about the loss of the very close vision - in a world where I am largely a bit rubbish eye-wise I have always been chief needle threader, unpicker and splinter-remover.

This was all done because I got a cataract within a few months after a detached retina earlier this year @CreatingHavoc . It's funny because the doctor originally said I could just get glasses for the cateract for now as it wasn't that bad or then they said they would do that eye, but only bring it into line with my right eye - so up to -10, and then another doctor (the consultant) came in and said he would do both eyes to -2. The retina has healed very well, so they seemed fine about doing both. But I didn't ask enough questions and they rather rushed through what the changes would be like.

What I am a bit sick of now is people saying "ohh my 90 year old dad had that and he was fine within a few days." and "aren't you a bit young for that" - it's making me feel ancient and a bit crap.

Ha ha I was 46…don’t worry about it - least I am ahead of the game ha ha

Thanks for your reply CheeseDreamz. Sounds like it was a confusing period, all that chan8ng advice. I spoke to the opticians this week to try and get some advice and they really weren’t interested.

Im glad things sound like they may be very slowly improving a little bit for you, I think it’s brave of you going out. Im not sure about trying it when I won’t be able to see where I’m going. I’m walking around slowly indoors but still knocking things over at the moment and loosing things. I’m feeling a bit sorry for myself this morning as I it looks like it’s a dry day outside and even a tiny bit of sun but the shortest path I would normally take for some fresh air is very uneven.

I took one lens out of my glasses , which I had assumed would work from what I’d heard but unfortunately it didn’t work and I don’t have contacts. So I’m currently trying using one eye at a time for different things. (Listening to more music than usual!) It sounds like you have gradually been able to start wearing the one lens, which i hope is helping. How long did it take before you could see with it, without a spinning head etc?

Interesting to hear you were advised that more than -2 wouldn’t work. I also had -2 and really wishing they had discussed it more with me. Ditto being able to see needles and splinters etc. It’s going to affect my art as I currently can’t see well enough to draw precisely with that eye. I’m guessing my near vision isn’t going to improve.

I feel stuck about whether or not to have second operation.. I really don’t want to a) loose my close vision in my other eye and b) be housebound and wait 2-3 months before I can get new glasses and go out. I’m also going to lose work while I can’t see clearly enough.

good luck with your check up.

@CheeseDreamz yeah, I got a small cataract after my detached retina but bizarrely the one in my other eye became problematic very quickly. The optician said it's because of the type of cataract it is. Something about posterior sub something or other! Can't remember now. But he said the one in my right eye could just decide to go bad quickly at some point so if it does they'll re refer me. I had mine done when I was 39 so felt very weird in a room full of elderly people when I went for the op!

So I just wanted to come back and say, in particular to @Jenawanderer I have just had second eye done and quite frankly it's amazing!

It's been really hard for the last 5 months and I didn't realise till now how tiring and how much extra brain work I was doing just to function with a massive difference in each eye. I feel completely different today (op was on Friday) with renewed energy and brain power!

There is very little pain or irritation this time and I am fully functioning with balance and sight - the only issue is itchy eyes from bloody hayfever. I will still need glasses for astigmatism and distance, but have to wait until after next check up to go to Optician (4 weeks). I am now -2 and -1.25 (not sure why they changed this, but it's great). Loss of near sight is manageable because I can see much better at 20cm away!

BTW surgeon mentioned that they are encouraging people to have the cataract surgery younger.

So it's very lovely to be in the "life changing" bit and but I will try to tell others that the bit in between can be trickier than people say or remember!

@CheeseDreamz thanks for the update, I’m pleased to hear that. I’ve now also had the second eye done and have new glasses. Beforehand i chased up the consultant and saw the opticians again and the second lens was set at a better distance. The time in between the ops was really hard! I had difficulty getting out anywhere, couldn’t see properly to paint, and had to turn some work down. I still have ‘wrinkles’ in my eyes, so vision is better but not 100%, however it was such a relief to get back to some sort of normality. I do wish I had been better informed last year.

@Jenawanderer Ah I am glad you are better sorted.
I think they can tell you stuff till the cows come home - but it's really hard to understand what is actually going on and what it will be like for you, especially if you have had a complex prescription for years and as I have no expertiese in how eyes actually work.

My vision is different AND better but yes not perfect. Just Differnt and not Better was the rubbish bit!