My left eye got a noticeable cataract when I was 53. (Noticed that I was seeing 3 moons at night with left eye instead of one).
By age 56 I could no longer read with my left eye (Now I was seeing 12-18 moons with the left eye, all popping out of one another).
Right eye - 20/20 correctible, no noticeable impact yet. So time came to get the left eye fixed.
Additional problem - I always had heavy astigmatism and -7 prescription. So - if they fixed the left eye to be close to 20/20, I could no longer wear glasses because a glass prism for a -7 prescription is too thick for the brain to be able to put that image together with 20/20 vision from the left eye.
The solution? Got the left eye fixed to 20/20, and I wear a soft contact lens in the right eye. So I now see 20/20 distance, but have to wear bi-focal reading glasses - top part for in-between computer screen viewing, bottom part for closeup reading.
Science is amazing, isn’t it? My VA doctor who did the surgery did an A+ job.
Hope this helps you.
Hope everything goes smoothly for you.
"Ceterum censeo Islam esse delendam."
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
99% of the time, the so-called laser surgery is totally unnecessary, does not result in a better outcome, and sometimes a worse outcome. It’s totally a gimmick for the eye surgeon to gouge you, and is NOT covered by insurance OR medicare for a reason. It’s also debatable whether it’s worthwhile to correct an astigmatism if it’s really small. Again, insurance usually won’t pay for surgical correction of astigmatism.
Likewise, the fancy AND expensive alternatives to plain ol’ monocular IOLs (ike progessive IOLs, etc.) frequently have worse outcomes than the plain ‘ol monocular IOLs, and are yet ANOTHER mostly unnecessary profit center for the eye surgeons. the fancy IOLS too are not covered by private insurance or medicare for a reason.
sadly enough, even the best of eye surgeons will often try to sell you on unnecessary “undercoating” when you buy that new lens.
Also, if you don’t have both eyes done back to back, you’re going to be stuck for two (or more) pairs of expensive eyeglasses, one set after the first eye and a second set after the second eye, so best to do each eye back to back with a couple of weeks between. Either wait until both “qualify” or see if the surgeon can justify both.
Regardless, you’ll need good pairs of progressive eyeglass lenses because with monocular IOLs, you lose all ability to accommodate, that is, you’ll have a fixed focal length lens instead of your original natural zoom lens.
If both eyes are done, one thing to keep in mind is that you can have one eye set to long distance and one set about 1.5 diopters near-sighted, which is called monovision. I did that, and it’s OK, but still doesn’t give great vision as a good pair of progressive eyeglasses, so I’ve elected to correct the mono vision with my progressive prescription.
Also, I don’t know why the surgeon is making YOU file for insurance qualification, that’s something that ANY surgeon normally does, especially eye surgeons. That alone would make me look at some other surgeons.
Nothing to it when I had it done I DIDN’T FEEL A THING.
I was afraid of having anything to do with the eye and had worn glasses then contacts for forty years.
As long as you have someone to drive you there and back there is nothing to worry about.
Don’t hesitate for an instant there is a whole new world to be seen
My wife just had this done. She did the right eye and had the “distance” lens put in. It worked out so well she just had the left eye done. 20-20 vision. She bought Walmart 3X glasses for reading. She has been very happy with the whole process. I would do it my eyes were bad enough but they are not at this time. She is 70 and I am 74.
Prayers you get it successfully treated !
Cousin Earl has been using ‘CAN-C’ eye drops. Amazon. 2 months now. Approx. $80. Goes back next month to see if cataracts have been reduced by drops. He claims he sees better. No idea if so...
Just a small historical note here. Back in the 60s was when the FIRST laser eye surgery was performed. One of those in attendance was a medical intern-—My cousin Marshal. And today he is one of the top laser surgery eye doctors in the world. He has an eye center in the Melbourne area. Same last name as me but years older.
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Check with Dr Joel Wallach on this!
Cataracts can be cleared through diet/nutrition.
Do some search on this, there is a ton of info on cataracts and other forms of calcium misbehavior. Vitamin K2 is very helpful for calcium management.
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I’ve had cataract surgery on both eyes. It was painless, and one result was that I no longer need to wear contact lenses or glasses (except for age-related readers). There is a common side effect - a fogging of the lens after a year or two, but this is handled with a quick laser zap.
I’m 56. 2 years ago, the eye doctor told me I have the eyes of a 70 year old. Cataracts starting on both eyes. Within the next 3 years, I’ll probably need the surgery myself.
If you can see and pass the eye test you don’t need it, I really needed it. My eye saw smoke and fog where ever I looked.
Did you pass the glare test?
Get a second opinion. I know someone who had an eye injury as a kid, they developed cataracts fairly quickly and had the surgery in their early 50s.
So yes, it is possible to do it that young. Also, shop around. You can always call different surgery centers and check the prices. But about $3k was what I recall they paid for a laser/robot type. I think they also had an eye correction lens put in.
If you have any other questions let me know, I can ask. Eye surgery is a big deal.
I had cataract surgery two years ago at age 59. I thought I needed new glasses, but my optometrist picked up on the problem right away when I couldn’t read anything on the eye chart without glases. He referred me to an opthmaligist. I had the surgery done two weeKS apart. No problems. My insurance wouldn’t cover the platinum surgery that would have fixed astigmatism, so I still need glasses for both distance and reading. I have worn glases since I was 13, so no big deal. My vision now is crystal clear. Thank God the cateract surgery exists. Without it I would have eventually been blind.
Don’t know about the costs, but the procedure itself is usually virtually nothing - quick, painless, results almost immediately - if you can swing the finances, don’t sweat the operation.....
Bump for reference
Had cataract surgery on left eye two weeks ago today. Am 71 years old. Paid $2,000 for corrective lens to take care of distance vision and astigmatism. Everyone told me it was easy as falling off a log and I would love the results. Wrong. If and when I get the right eye done, I’ll just get a clear lens. Procedure involved more than I anticipated, and I’m not crazy about the results. Good luck!
My Insurance will not approve the extraction of mine until my vision deteriorates to 20/50
Prayers and many good lucks.
Dissolved my cataracts, restored my vision (no restrictions on drivers license) after 60 years of wearing glasses..........Castor Oil $5 remedy.
https://galacticconnection.com/doctor-doctor-where-did-my-cataracts-go/