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HamiltonGuy Cataract Surgery Update
I have posted before under "Restor/ReZoom/Monofocal" I'm 45, cataracts in both eyes - the left non-dominant eye was worse. For those wrestling with the decision of what Type of IOL, I'll offer you my experience with my decision to go monofocal. I had the left-eye cataract surgery yesterday, and met with the doctor this morning. I finally chose the monofocal over the rezoom / restor options. My doctor went with the AMO Tecnis foldable acrylic IOL ZA9003. Diopter 17.5.
Day 1: When they took that bandage off my left eye, I was amazed at the colors. There is great contrast between objects
Day 1: When they took that bandage off my left eye, I was amazed at the colors. There is great contrast between objects
"Since I see through a corrected eye and one that has a cataract, I have the advantage of comparing the the two. The cataract has to go."
Hamilton Guy, this is where it seems to me that you were a good cataract candidate. I see virtually no distinction between my two eyes; therefore, I think I was a premature cataract candidate. As I have a monovision contact in my non-surgical eye, it is essentially the same vision as my surgical eye. Your report is interesting to me for insight as to how it is to actually be corrected for distance. Thanks!
Jodie, thanks for the optometry advice about a ray of hope for my BCVA, the referral, and the sympathy.
I have felt very powerless as a dissatisfied cataract patient, as if my opinions and questions about my treatment are irrelevant, or at least treated by the doctors I've encountered as irrelevant. One doctor told me that my problem is that I know too much, as if that is a a bad thing.
Any bit of info we can share helps.
Hamilton Guy, this is where it seems to me that you were a good cataract candidate. I see virtually no distinction between my two eyes; therefore, I think I was a premature cataract candidate. As I have a monovision contact in my non-surgical eye, it is essentially the same vision as my surgical eye. Your report is interesting to me for insight as to how it is to actually be corrected for distance. Thanks!
Jodie, thanks for the optometry advice about a ray of hope for my BCVA, the referral, and the sympathy.
I have felt very powerless as a dissatisfied cataract patient, as if my opinions and questions about my treatment are irrelevant, or at least treated by the doctors I've encountered as irrelevant. One doctor told me that my problem is that I know too much, as if that is a a bad thing.
Any bit of info we can share helps.
Day 14: Distance Vision: Although my distance vision is 20/20 in the left eye, there is still a slight ghosting. My Doc thinks it's a slight refractive error - but very minor. It only bothers me low light. Still better than the cataract though. I am much more confident driving. Contrast is very good.
Intermediate vision: It's slightly out of focus out to 8 feet, then it gets better. Best at 12-18 feet,at that point the clarity is stunning. Afer that, the slight ghosting takes over. Seems to change all the time though. The computer is a bit of a struggle. I strive to find the optimal distance from the monitor with the right reading glasses...
Near Vision: This keeps changing as well. I alternate between 1.50-2.00 readers. reading 14 pt text or smaller without the readers is not possible.
Aberrations: Slight shimmering from the left if: A) I exert myself; B) if certain bright lights hit my eye at just the right angle from the far left. But it's nothing to write home about. No night problems at all. No halos.
The other eye is scheduled for the first week of March. At that point I will lose my "perfect" focus of my right eye, but will also lose the cloudy haze that I am looking through. It's the lesser of two evils though. Since I see through a corrected eye and one that has a cataract, I have the advantage of comparing the the two. The cataract has to go. Then, I guess it's Bifocals. I've never needed glasses before, so this is a little tough - but I'll deal with it. I can see colors now. I wonder how long I've been wearing navy blue socks that I thought were black......
Intermediate vision: It's slightly out of focus out to 8 feet, then it gets better. Best at 12-18 feet,at that point the clarity is stunning. Afer that, the slight ghosting takes over. Seems to change all the time though. The computer is a bit of a struggle. I strive to find the optimal distance from the monitor with the right reading glasses...
Near Vision: This keeps changing as well. I alternate between 1.50-2.00 readers. reading 14 pt text or smaller without the readers is not possible.
Aberrations: Slight shimmering from the left if: A) I exert myself; B) if certain bright lights hit my eye at just the right angle from the far left. But it's nothing to write home about. No night problems at all. No halos.
The other eye is scheduled for the first week of March. At that point I will lose my "perfect" focus of my right eye, but will also lose the cloudy haze that I am looking through. It's the lesser of two evils though. Since I see through a corrected eye and one that has a cataract, I have the advantage of comparing the the two. The cataract has to go. Then, I guess it's Bifocals. I've never needed glasses before, so this is a little tough - but I'll deal with it. I can see colors now. I wonder how long I've been wearing navy blue socks that I thought were black......
Your experience truly is nightmarish, beginning with the doctor who made inflated promises to you and then f'd up the surgery. I did experience a little improvement in my vision after 4 weeks post-surgery. Your eye might take longer to heal after having had two invasive procedures within a short time. And it might be a stretch (and no offense intended to ophthalmologists reading this forum), but who told you that your BCVA was 20/25 or 20/30? In the past, I was told the same thing by an ophthalmologist, but later discovered that I could easily read the 20/20 line when an optometrist added more astigmatism correction and changed the axis on my prescription. Obviously, individuals in both professions differ in their abilities, but it's been my experience that optometrists are generally better at prescribing glasses and contacts.
I don't know where in the Chicago area you live, or whether you want/need the name of a good optometrist. Mine is really first-rate. His name is Michael Zost, and he's located in NW suburban Glenview (847-657-8787). He's great with contact lenses, including the Triton soft bifocals.
I don't know where in the Chicago area you live, or whether you want/need the name of a good optometrist. Mine is really first-rate. His name is Michael Zost, and he's located in NW suburban Glenview (847-657-8787). He's great with contact lenses, including the Triton soft bifocals.
I'm one of the lucky majority of cataract patients who is much better off post-surgery than before. I only had one cataract, which developed as the result of a vitrectomy in January '06. My vision in that eye was still correctable to 20/20 prior to my cataract surgery last September, but my prescription seemed to become stronger every week in the cataract eye. (It went from -5.50 to -7.50.) I hadn't had glasses in my correct prescription for months, and I was dependent on the samples of disposable contact lenses my optometrist donated (which weren't always quite the right power). Three of the cataract surgeons I initially consulted ultimately declined to do the surgery until my cataract became so bad that the DMV could revoke my driver's license--the vitrectomy had increased my risk of retinal detachment with surgery. Finally, I found a good surgeon who believed that performing cataract surgery early (in higher risk patients like me, anyway) was preferable, since it's safer than operating on a very dense cataract.
So I went from being a high myope with astigmatism to having 20/20 distance vision without correction. I was so undecided about what to do with my "good" eye that I insisted on getting measurements for both an IOL and for laser vision correction. But once I saw the good results of my first eye, I knew I wanted an aspheric IOL for my second eye, too. I really had no problems post-surgery, and my recovery was very rapid. The only thing I don't like is the amber glow I sometimes get from the acrylic IOLs. (Has anyone else experienced this?) But with all the emphasis today on getting that "youthful glow" from makeup and skin care products, maybe this is actually an asset.
My advise to anyone considering cataract surgery is to find an experienced doctor with an excellent reputation. For best results, I'd suggest a surgeon who specializes in both cataract and refractive surgery (i.e., laser vision correction). Other ophthalmologists and optometrists often have a very good about who's good and who's not. If you're considering multifocal IOLs, delaying surgery whenever possible makes sense, since there are so many new innovations on the horizon.
So I went from being a high myope with astigmatism to having 20/20 distance vision without correction. I was so undecided about what to do with my "good" eye that I insisted on getting measurements for both an IOL and for laser vision correction. But once I saw the good results of my first eye, I knew I wanted an aspheric IOL for my second eye, too. I really had no problems post-surgery, and my recovery was very rapid. The only thing I don't like is the amber glow I sometimes get from the acrylic IOLs. (Has anyone else experienced this?) But with all the emphasis today on getting that "youthful glow" from makeup and skin care products, maybe this is actually an asset.
My advise to anyone considering cataract surgery is to find an experienced doctor with an excellent reputation. For best results, I'd suggest a surgeon who specializes in both cataract and refractive surgery (i.e., laser vision correction). Other ophthalmologists and optometrists often have a very good about who's good and who's not. If you're considering multifocal IOLs, delaying surgery whenever possible makes sense, since there are so many new innovations on the horizon.
bbd. I heartily AMEN your post. My experience has been nightmarish. Living with my incipient cataract was vastly preferable to sitting in an ophthamology office crying over the quality of vision that I have lost and having my life totally disrupted by unnecessary surgery.
My gut tells me that once it became apparent to my doc that I had been reading and researching (I asked questions about types of IOLs, how power cacls were done, etc), I may have branded myself as "hard to please" or "difficult patient"; now no one seems to be in a particular hurry to recommend the cataract procedure. In fact, at my last check-up, the cataracts seemed not to have changed significantly from the year before, even though they are the PSC type, which I understand is highly variable, and could be rapidly progressing.
I'm grateful to have bought more time, and I shudder to think what my situation would be had I blithely gone ahead with the procedure when it was first suggested.
For anyone out there considering this procedure, I would suggest that you wait good and long, until your vision cannot be assited by any other means. I cannot imagine contemplating lens exchange in the absence of cataract, just as a means to (hopefully!) rid oneself of glasses/contacts. Spending any time at all at this forum should tell you that good results are by no means guaranteed.
It boils down to the question of will you be better off after the surgery than before. If you delay surgery until such time as your vision is significantly bothersome and cannot be corrected any other way, I feel you stand a greater chance of being happy with the outcome, even if it is less than perfect. Sure, I have ghost images now, and night driving problems with glare/scatter/halo effects, but given the state of the industry, I'm happy to wait as long as I can.
I'm grateful to have bought more time, and I shudder to think what my situation would be had I blithely gone ahead with the procedure when it was first suggested.
For anyone out there considering this procedure, I would suggest that you wait good and long, until your vision cannot be assited by any other means. I cannot imagine contemplating lens exchange in the absence of cataract, just as a means to (hopefully!) rid oneself of glasses/contacts. Spending any time at all at this forum should tell you that good results are by no means guaranteed.
It boils down to the question of will you be better off after the surgery than before. If you delay surgery until such time as your vision is significantly bothersome and cannot be corrected any other way, I feel you stand a greater chance of being happy with the outcome, even if it is less than perfect. Sure, I have ghost images now, and night driving problems with glare/scatter/halo effects, but given the state of the industry, I'm happy to wait as long as I can.
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