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After cataract surgery do you go back to being able (Original Post) marybourg Jul 2020 OP
Depends on the lens you choose. It you aren't able to read small print because of blur from the still_one Jul 2020 #1
Yes, print not blurry, just looks too marybourg Jul 2020 #4
Buying an inexpensive pair of reading glasses should take care of that. If you don't want to change still_one Jul 2020 #7
I've been reading with my progressives, but that's marybourg Jul 2020 #10
I had both of my eyes operated on about 6 years ago. overleft Jul 2020 #2
Yes, thank you. I have hundreds of paperback books I marybourg Jul 2020 #3
What is the standard? I'm going to need the surgery one of these days, raccoon Jul 2021 #28
If you can't be corrected to 20/50. marybourg Jul 2021 #30
Yes, I think I'll try some drugstore readers. My progressives marybourg Jul 2020 #13
There are two kinds of lenses they offer. One is for distance. It is good for most close up tasks. 3Hotdogs Jul 2020 #5
Thanx. That's valuable info. marybourg Jul 2020 #9
Info about the flex lense is a couple of years old. 3Hotdogs Jul 2020 #11
I wish I had found this post before my cataract surgery this month! I spent $6,000 to get the RamblingRose Jun 2021 #26
My opinion Ritabert Jul 2020 #6
Thanks. That's good to know. marybourg Jul 2020 #12
Same here. ShazzieB Jun 2021 #27
I got mine done a couple of years ago with Medicare Champion Jack Jul 2020 #8
I was near sighted before cataract surgery but KPN Jul 2020 #14
I have one eye for distance, one for close unc70 Jul 2020 #15
Yes and no. Jirel Jul 2020 #16
Oh, one more thing. Jirel Jul 2020 #17
Yes, I don't yet meet the medicare standard marybourg Jul 2020 #19
I'm 74 wore glasses since about 9 years old gibraltar72 Jul 2020 #18
Yes, IF you have good 'newly installed' lenses; elleng Jul 2020 #20
I am trying to decide if I should any longer keep all the excellent paperbacks marybourg Jul 2020 #21
The reverse, in my case question everything Jul 2020 #22
Probably not. trof Jul 2020 #23
A late response to this, but here's my experience. PoindexterOglethorpe Aug 2020 #24
my implants are set for distance, so I have to wear reading glasses. No big deal. demigoddess Dec 2020 #25
This thread is very helpful and reassuring. That's why I'm going to bookmark it. Nt raccoon Jul 2021 #29

still_one

(91,967 posts)
1. Depends on the lens you choose. It you aren't able to read small print because of blur from the
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 01:08 PM
Jul 2020

cataract, that blur will be gone

if you needed correction before the cataract, the lens they replace it with will most likely contain an appropriate correction

still_one

(91,967 posts)
7. Buying an inexpensive pair of reading glasses should take care of that. If you don't want to change
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 01:32 PM
Jul 2020

to reading glasses whenever you want to read, you might consider for bifocalsg

marybourg

(12,540 posts)
10. I've been reading with my progressives, but that's
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 01:38 PM
Jul 2020

not helping with small print paperbacks. And I don’t want to go to the optical shop now. Maybe I can get drug store readers. I hadn’t thought of that. Thanx!

overleft

(353 posts)
2. I had both of my eyes operated on about 6 years ago.
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 01:14 PM
Jul 2020

Before surgery on my right eye, it was as though I was trying to look through wax paper. After surgery, I can now read most small print without reading glasses. On very small print and dimly printed things I use a pair of mild magnification reading glasses from CVS. I hope this helps.

marybourg

(12,540 posts)
3. Yes, thank you. I have hundreds of paperback books I
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 01:18 PM
Jul 2020

kept, thinking I might want to re-read them if I were ever stuck at home for months at a time. Now that the day has actually come, I can’t read them! I’m going to need the surgery, but I don’t meet the standard yet.

raccoon

(31,092 posts)
28. What is the standard? I'm going to need the surgery one of these days,
Sun Jul 11, 2021, 08:35 AM
Jul 2021

But I don’t need it right now.

marybourg

(12,540 posts)
30. If you can't be corrected to 20/50.
Sun Jul 11, 2021, 08:51 AM
Jul 2021

There msy ne others, but that's thr one I didn't meet; I can be corrected to 20/40.

marybourg

(12,540 posts)
13. Yes, I think I'll try some drugstore readers. My progressives
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 01:41 PM
Jul 2020

aren’t cutting it, and I don’t want to go to doctor yet.

3Hotdogs

(12,210 posts)
5. There are two kinds of lenses they offer. One is for distance. It is good for most close up tasks.
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 01:31 PM
Jul 2020

You would need reading specs for close up stuff.

Medicare pays for that.

The second one is a flexible lens. It allows for more range without putting on close range specs. It costs a couple-a $k and medicare doesn't pay for that one.


The people on my local website who bought the flex lenses say it isn't worth it.

RamblingRose

(1,030 posts)
26. I wish I had found this post before my cataract surgery this month! I spent $6,000 to get the
Mon Jun 28, 2021, 02:46 PM
Jun 2021

Panoptix lenses and totally regret my decision.

My distance vision is half as good as it was with my contacts and lights cause a halo effect which is just as bad as the cataracts. The doctor said their is a 'minor laser procedure' that can be done to fix the halos but how much do I want them to keep doing laser surgery on my eyes.



Ritabert

(644 posts)
6. My opinion
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 01:31 PM
Jul 2020

If I get the operation I'm having my distance vision corrected and wear readers if needed like I've done forever. I have serious reservations about any "bifocal" implant. And whatever you do don't get the implant that splits the difference between distance and near vision. For anybody who used to have clear distance vision pre-cataract it's a disaster.

ShazzieB

(15,958 posts)
27. Same here.
Tue Jun 29, 2021, 04:41 PM
Jun 2021

I'm hoping to have cataract surgery in the near future, and I have the same plan. I don't mind wearing readers at all, and if I can drive without glasses, I'll be able to use store bought sunglasses for the first time in decades. Sounds like a good deal to me!

Champion Jack

(5,378 posts)
8. I got mine done a couple of years ago with Medicare
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 01:32 PM
Jul 2020

because of the coverage They said I could have distance or reading. Since I was already used to readers I picked distance. I also got vastly improved night vision. Only Downside, incredibly dry eyes which eventually went away...

KPN

(15,587 posts)
14. I was near sighted before cataract surgery but
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 01:47 PM
Jul 2020

chose the distant sight lens. I love being able to see clearly without needing glasses or contacts for everything but fine print reading and other close up things. I just use cheap readers that I get at Big Lots for $6 a pair and have about 10 pairs of them so they are always readily handy when needed — in my vehicle, in the garage, at my desk, by the bedside, in the kitchen, etc.

All I need when I’m outside is sunglasses. Never needed readers before the surgery but I would have it no other way.

unc70

(6,095 posts)
15. I have one eye for distance, one for close
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 02:13 PM
Jul 2020

That was how I had my contact lenses configured before the surgery. I can see everything from about 4 inches on out. I can function in almost any situation with this combo. I do have a pair of glasses which make each eye equivalent with graduated focus from near to far. I mostly use them for driving at night, particularly in rain.

Also have a pair of safety glasses which are low power readers.

Jirel

(1,993 posts)
16. Yes and no.
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 02:36 PM
Jul 2020

There are bifocal-type artificial lenses that would help. However, they are disfavored for many patients, in part because eyes do keep changing.

Fundamentally, your near vs far vision is controlled by the little eye muscles that move the lens focus. They get crappy as you get older, which is why you can both be nearsighted and have trouble with near vision for reading. Ergo, bifocals.

When I had mine done in my 40s (medication side effect caused cataract - boo!), my surgeon said no to the bifocal type lens. A few years down the road he was proven right. I had 20/20 on my distance vision, and my near vision didn’t suck too badly. But now, I use a slight distance correction on that eye with a bifocal.

Jirel

(1,993 posts)
17. Oh, one more thing.
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 02:53 PM
Jul 2020

I talked my dad (in his 80s) into seeing my surgeon when his mild cataracts suddenly got troublesome. He did the bilateral surgery about 2 weeks apart. He was convinced by my explanation that having artificial lenses rules, to be able to go without glasses for distance.

He sailed through and was amazed. As soon as his 2nd eye got unpatched, he called me, somewhat embarrassed, because he had really not had a clue how bad his near vision was, and needed urgent help to get readers for now at the drug store. He couldn’t even read the tags when he went looking!

So expect you’ll need bifocals right away. Get the progressives. Make sure to be a “demanding” customer. Go to a GOOD optometrist, not just any, especially the default that works with a store. Your prescription will matter, even if it’s a hair off. I worked with 2, and the reason I now love the 2nd is that she gets it that sometimes you have to tweak things to make it just right.

Any decent optician will remake lenses if they aren’t right within 30 days. Give yourself just 1 week to decide if the lenses are right, and don’t be shy about having lenses redone if you aren’t feeling right after 1 week. My surgical eye is a difficult RX to begin with, and I needed the bifocal portion adjusted waaaaay down lower than the standard placement for the near vision area. Post surgery, your eyes will not be the same as before, for where that change needs to hit.

marybourg

(12,540 posts)
19. Yes, I don't yet meet the medicare standard
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 03:05 PM
Jul 2020

for surgery, and can read online fine, but going back to small-print paperbacks after many years, no good. Ordered readers from Amazon. Had Rx.

gibraltar72

(7,486 posts)
18. I'm 74 wore glasses since about 9 years old
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 02:57 PM
Jul 2020

had both eyes done couple weeks apart. I was shocked I don't need glasses for long range. But need readers for tablet or books. I'm 100% ok with that. I've got readers from dollar tree everywhere I might have to read or do something at less than arms length. Of course I see colors now. I had forgotten how vivid they are supposed to be.

elleng

(130,156 posts)
20. Yes, IF you have good 'newly installed' lenses;
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 03:32 PM
Jul 2020

I've never returned to years before daughter's birth (NOT her fault!) when I realized I needed reading glasses.

Get info from cataract doc about variety of new lenses possible.

I had cataract surgery to remove HALOs I saw from opposite direction, when driving at night, and they are gone; do use glasses for reading.

marybourg

(12,540 posts)
21. I am trying to decide if I should any longer keep all the excellent paperbacks
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 04:39 PM
Jul 2020

that I’ve read, but decided long ago to keep for just such a forced confinement as this. Now that the occasion has actually arisen, I find I can’t read most that I’ve looked at.

I don’t meet the standard for surgery yet, and I wear progressives which are fine for everything but driving, and I read on Kindle fine, but trying to read these small-print paperback books has been impossible.

I would ordinarily go back to the optometrist for help, but don’t want to get so face-to-face right now. I just ordered some drugstore readers in my current add-on (2.5) . If that’s not good enough I’ll try stronger. Thanx

question everything

(47,271 posts)
22. The reverse, in my case
Sun Jul 26, 2020, 05:06 PM
Jul 2020

Needed glasses, later contact lenses, since high school.

But I really liked to read with the naked eye. Could read tiny prints - washing instructions are the worse, especially on a black tag..

When I had my surgery I just wanted to replace the lens, no change of prescription, to continue with my glasses, though the prescription did get smaller.

But... I lost my ability to read tiny prints. I have to use a magnifying glass. I was, still am, unhappy and wrote a letter to the surgeon about that. And... all of a sudden I have astigmatism, did not have one before.

In hindsight I would have waited. The doctor said that I "could" have a surgery. Spouse had some five years earlier and, as an amateur astronomer could not stop praising the step so I decided to do to..

Oh, and readers do not help

PoindexterOglethorpe

(25,750 posts)
24. A late response to this, but here's my experience.
Sat Aug 29, 2020, 01:35 AM
Aug 2020

In first grade I couldn't quite see the blackboard in school, despite being in the front row. Got my first glasses around then. The glasses got progressively thicker and thicker as my vision got worse. When I was 16 I got contact lenses, the hard ones, and that stopped the deterioration of my vision cold. Nice.

Eventually I got soft contacts, which were wonderful for the comfort. After the age of 40 I needed reading glasses. Sigh. I also like to embroider, and I'd typically do that either in the morning before putting in the contacts, or at night after taking them out, because my near vision -- and by near I mean 12 inches or less from my eyes -- was excellent.

Around the age of 50 an eye doctor commented that I was showing the beginnings of cataracts, which distressed me quite a bit, but they simply didn't progress for quite a while. Then, about 13 years later my current eye doctor said, "It's time for cataract surgery." Oh, crap. I'd experienced changes in my vision but didn't realize it was from the sudden growth of cataracts. And at 63, I was a bit on the young side for the surgery.

I called up a friend of mine who was already 80 years old, and she said, "Get the surgery immediately! Trust me on this!"

Every time I went to one of the several appointments leading up to the surgery, every time they looked at my paperwork or at my eyes, they'd sort of gasp. I finally asked, "How bad are they?" The person said, "Well, there are four kinds of cataracts. You have three of them. And they are numbered from 0, none at all, to 4, where you're pretty much blind. You are a 3 in one eye and a 3 plus in the other." Wow. It's a wonder I wasn't walking into walls.

Also, at every appointment, I was at least 10 years younger than any other patient in the room.

So I got the surgery. The eyes were done about two weeks apart, although I recovered so quickly the second one could have been done two days after the first. My distance vision is phenomenal. I feel as if I can read small signs on distant hills. In reality, I test very close to 20-20 in each eye, which I never have done before, not with glasses, not with contact lenses.

I made the choice for good distance vision and I'm happy to use reading glasses for reading or reading this computer screen, or doing my embroidery. I actually need a slightly different correction for each. Michael's is the place for reading glasses. They are incredibly inexpensive there, often only three or four dollars. When I first started needing reading glasses, I'd buy more expensive ones, and learned they wore out or I'd sit on a pair or lose them, and so buying the least expensive ones you can is best.

I tell people that cataracts are the best things that ever happened to my eyes. And even though I was always grateful I was at least born in a century where good eyeglasses were available to me, and later on contact lenses, I see so very much better than ever before. I'll add that the way my vision had gone south right before the surgery, I understand why there was a common acceptance that old people went blind. That doesn't need to happen any more. We are very fortunate to live now.

To answer your question in the OP, if you couldn't read small-print books without glasses before, you probably will need reading glasses for them after cataract surgery. Alternatively, you can opt for lenses (the ones that will be implanted at the time of the surgery) that will let you do that, see up close, and then you'll need some kind of glasses for distance viewing, such as driving your car. Do spend time discussing this with your eye doctor, because it is an important decision. For me, going with good distance vision and using reading glasses was a no-brainer. Your decision could easily be different.

The other thing I'll add is that cataract surgery is by far the most common surgery out there, and is almost invariably a stunning success.

demigoddess

(6,640 posts)
25. my implants are set for distance, so I have to wear reading glasses. No big deal.
Tue Dec 29, 2020, 10:32 PM
Dec 2020

And I can see clear across the street quite well and my surgeries were done years ago. I had the cataracts at a really young age 47 and 50 or so. Haven't had any problems since just need new reading glasses every so often.

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