How is your vision after Cataract Surgery?

[orbitnw]

How is your vision after Cataract Surgery?
Please specify whether you got a monofocal or multifocal/accommodative IOL.

I would like to know what distances you are able to see clearly. What distances are slightly blurry, but acceptable, and what distances are just unbearably blurry.

I am particularly interested in those who have received Monofocal IOL set to Distance but I would also really appreciate hearing those experiences with different IOLs. I have heard from several people that with a IOL Set to Distance, they are still able to use the Computer at about 18 inches. This has confused me since I had thought IOL set to distance makes intermediate distance blurry.

Thanks!

[SoftwareDeveloper]

re: "It usually takes 3 weeks to get a contact prescription "

Your profile indicates you are in the US, at least in Colorado most optometrists keep a supply of disposable soft lenses for trials in their office. Mine kept trial lenses up through -10, the odds are low you are more myopic than that. If your usual doctor doesn't, perhaps just pick a doctor at a large chain (.e.g one with an office at a Walmart or something) and due to high patient volume they are likely to have trials.  Had you tried multifocal contact lenses?

I'm not sure if I have your preferences right, but it sounds like you wish to have good computer vision, and that close-in reading distance, and driving distance, are less important.  If you are going with a monofocal,  if you are having one eye set at arms length to handle the computer well, you might consider setting the other at perhaps 2 meters out for a slight bit of monovision to give you good vision at social and household distances, in meetings and getting around  home/office, TV, etc. (I'm guessing those would be focused at like 1.25D-1.5D myopic for computer distance, and 0.5D myopic for 2 meters out).  I don't know if reading a smartphone is also a factor for you. I'd posted earlier on this page I think a link to a chart&formula for converting distances to diopters:

https://www.slackbooks.com/excerpts/67956_3.pdf

I would suggest you  consider whether you might want the Crystalens or a multifocal (  in my case I preferred to go abroad to get the Symfony).

I will add one additional approach to consider if you do go for a monofocal. There are new techniques for giving presbyopic people more near vision if their eyes are adjusted to distance. They  have also been tested on patients with monofocal IOLs. They have just approved the Kamra corneal  inlay in the US, and the Raindrop corneal  inlay is in wide use outside the US and is working on getting FDA approval (and may have less reduction in contrast sensitivity since they will implant it in 2 eyes if desired, whereas the Kamra usually just goes in 1). Those are lenses inserted in the front of the eye, which can be removed if they don't work well. In that case you would get your eyes set to distance, and use glasses/contacts for closer in, until you got an inlay in the future.

[reelmccoy]

In my case, with congenital cataracts, I've been wearing thick glasses all my life and do have a contact prescription I wear when driving. So either way, either near/near or distance/distance, I'm OK with glasses.

I need to call my ophthalmologist and ask some questions as this past Friday was a blur once he mentioned how I'd like to see and between him, another doctor and myself, seemed arms distance focus would be good. A quick check for astigmatism was enough for them to rule out the need for toric so my guess is they're going with monofocal. Wasn't much discussion mostly because I did I know any questions to ask at the time. This visit surprised me.

It usually takes 3 weeks to get a contact prescription filled with my prescription so that rules out trying monovision. But then I feel I sort of have that going on now with my left eye being so bad compared to the right.

I've got time. The pre-op measurements and consulting is in late June and then late July for the left eye. You and CBCT have given me some piece of mind, wonderful advice and this thread has given me a slew of questions I can ask. I feel far more informed, some anxiety lifting and look forward to perhaps seeing better than I have ever seen since birth.

[SoftwareDeveloper]

re: "I don't know if that means glasses don't help them in that case or just a frustration to have to use different strengths depending on what they're doing."

It is most likely merely a case of frustration since those with an IOL of any kind but with no  other eye problems should be able to use correction to get good vision at whatever distance they need.  I don't know if before the cataract hit you had already needed reading glasses to get a sense of what that is like, or if you managed to avoid it (usually by your age you would have had to deal with that, but not always).

re: "distance vision would be with a post-op prescription vs had I gone distance in the first place"

Overall the corrected distance vision with a near focused IOL should be comparable to vision with an IOL corrected for distance. Obviously if you are a high myope you are used to glasses and perhaps contacts. The corrective lenses don't make that much of a difference in terms of visual quality, its mostly an issue of comfort and convenience (and with glasses the usual tradeoffs you are used to like any anti-reflective coatings, etc).  
    
You don't mention what IOLs you are considering, or whether you are considering monovision (adjusting one eye for near).

It sounds like your vision may be too degraded to get a good sense of what an IOL targeted at a certain distance  is like by using contacts. Otherwise CBCT had a good suggestion to try contact lenses to correct you to whatever target distance you might wish to try out .  If  you can't do even 20/40 in one eye,  I don't know if it would  give you a good enough  idea of what 20/20 vision at that distance would be like (since unless you have other eye issues you should be able to get 20/20 or better with an IOL). Most eye doctors can give you trial soft disposable lenses. If you were going to try that, you might consider going  to an optometrist for that rather than the eye surgeon since they are usually more focused on surgery and medical issues than on trials of different contacts.

[CBCT]

Perhaps this article will shed some light
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/841991/Consider-ALL-the-Options-Before-Your-Cataract-Surgery-Working-Through-Whats-Best-For-You

[reelmccoy]

Thank you for the info. I know I'm getting lost and confused. I really don't know what the expectations are post-op with any of the choices compared to how bad I see now or have seen most of my life. I don't now how well I'll see w/ glasses distance wise if I go near/near. Or how well I'd see with readers and close work/computing if I chose distance/distance. Would it be good enough or will I be frustrated with that choice. Or any choice.

I do see it common both here and from an uncle that had one eye done that many miss near when they've gone distance/distance. I don't know if that means glasses don't help them in that case or just a frustration to have to use different strengths depending on what they're doing.

It has been great to see other's experiences as found in this thread. I just hope between my ophthalmologist and I, the right decision is made and I can compute, drive, watch tv and do everything else I normally do and see it all better than what I am now. :)

[CBCT]

like you, my job requires a lot of reading and computer work.  I chose close and intermediate IOLs.  I also wear progressive glasses which give me clear vision at all distances.  If you opt for distance IOLs, you would need glasses for all close vision, not just when you are at the computer -- think shopping, seeing your phone, etc.  Perhaps you can experiment with contacts before you have to decide.  Best wishes.