Seeing without glasses: priceless!

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I prefer blue myself, but green is good too :)  Some things just can't be fixed with a knife, too bad.
 
Ned,

That's good news! Won't recognize you without glasses!!! ;D I have a cataract started in my left eye. It's been "starting" for over 5 years. I do see a small amount of cloudiness at times. It would be great to be able to do without glasses. I can see well enough to drive but the street signs are hard to read. They're even hard with my glasses. :) Due for a checkup next month.
 
Jim, they won't do the surgery until the cataracts are sufficiently developed.  Get an eye exam yearly from an ophthalmologist (not optometrist) and they will tell you if you're a candidate.  My GP said I'd know when I was ready, and I did.  I think the six headlights on cars at night was the big clue :)
 
I'm happy to hear how well this is working for folks.  My opthamologist said I have lots of little cataracts but nothing near ready to do anything with.  Apparently its effected my night vision.  I do not drive in unfamiliar places after dark anymore.  That's why when I start going places in the motorhome I will be limited on driving time.

I didn't notice it till about 4 years or so ago, DD and I were coming home from Florida and I was out on a road over in Louisiana around Gulfport.  We were going to stay there that night but I had to go on a circle deal to change from one road to another.  I just couldn't see, I was creeping along, it really scared me.  Thankfully there was no traffic at that time.  We got to the hotel and I said no more unfamiliar driving on dark nights. But that's ok, I can still see fine during daylight hours.  Soon as they say I can I will get something done.  I think I may have to back off on the transitional lenses though, it seems to make things a bit darker.  They did lighten them last time I had glasses made.  But its so good to hear they can correct vision like that.  The doc said my cataracts are likely the cause even though they are small.
 
Both Lorna and I have avoided night driving for the past several years because of our cataracts and aging eyes.  Lorna had both of her lenses replaced this summer and her night vision improved markedly so she's not so concerned about driving now.  There is still some degradation of night vision due to age but that's not nearly as impairing as the cataracts.  However, the halos around the lights were rather pretty :)
 
Good for you, Ned!  How exciting. 

Tom has cataracts which are still "ripining".  We can tell he's getting close, though.  He has a checkup next month.  It's encouraging to hear your surgery was so successful.

Margi
 
Ned said:
Jim, they won't do the surgery until the cataracts are sufficiently developed.  Get an eye exam yearly from an ophthalmologist (not optometrist) and they will tell you if you're a candidate.  My GP said I'd know when I was ready, and I did.  I think the six headlights on cars at night was the big clue :)
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Ned,

Yes, I know. I've been going to an ophthalmologist for several years now. He checks them every year and tells me the one is starting. The guy in Mexico told me that 5 years ago. :) I guess mine is not growing very fast. With my diabetes I have to get checked every year. Someday it might be to the point they will take care of it.
 
Jim,

Normally you wouldn't hasten the development of a medical problem but this may be an exception :)  But only if you need glasses for everyday vision.
 
Ned said:
Jim,

Normally you wouldn't hasten the development of a medical problem but this may be an exception :)  But only if you need glasses for everyday vision.
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Ned,

I think you are correct. This is one time when hastening the development might prove beneficial and only if you really need to wear glasses all the time. This idea only works because of the vast advancements made in eye surgery. I still will be hesitant when the time comes since one tiny mistake can mean the end of vision forever. Someone has to be that negative statistic and I hope it isn't me!
 
Ned said:
Jim, they won't do the surgery until the cataracts are sufficiently developed.  Get an eye exam yearly from an ophthalmologist (not optometrist) and they will tell you if you're a candidate.
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Ned

Why the limitation to ophthalmologists as opposed to optometrists ??? I have used both over the years and, IMO, my current optometrist does a better job of examining and monitoring my eyes than my previous ophthalmologist. The equipment is better and more complete and, except for surgery, no added benefit to seeing an ophthalmologist.
 
Jim, the success rate on cataract surgery and lens implant is something like 99.8% (don't have the reference, sorry) and when I asked my doctor about her success rate the answer was nearly all complications were due to pre-existing conditions and not from the surgery itself.  This is probably as safe a procedure as there is today in medicine.
 
Tom and Margi said:
Good for you, Ned!  How exciting. 

Tom has cataracts which are still "ripining".  We can tell he's getting close, though.   He has a checkup next month.
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Let's hope they get a lot worse fast! ;D

-Don- SSF, CA​
 
Bernie, I have found over the years that I get a much more thorough exam from an ophthalmologist than from an optometrist.  I believe there are some tests that an optometrist can't perform while the ophthalmologist can, but that may have changed over the years.  If all I want are glasses, an optometrist is fine, but for anything else, you need an ophthalmologist.
 
If you are dealing with cataracts and want Medicare to cover you have to see an ophthalmologist.  Bernie, I saw an optometrist for many years until I worked at the Eye Institute in Milwaukee.  Then when I had a problem with the left eye several years ago it was necessary to see an ophthalmologist in Minneapolis.
 
Ned said:
Bernie, I have found over the years that I get a much more thorough exam from an ophthalmologist than from an optometrist.  I believe there are some tests that an optometrist can't perform while the ophthalmologist can, but that may have changed over the years.  If all I want are glasses, an optometrist is fine, but for anything else, you need an ophthalmologist.
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Ned,

This is variable by state.  Here the optometrist can do most things till you get to surgery and prescribing certain drugs.  Pat has problem and must see an ophthalmologist.  She and the others in the office have referred patients to my optometrist for routine exams  In CA, we both saw ophthalmologists because of the restrictions on the optometrists.
 
Lorna said:
If you are dealing with cataracts and want Medicare to cover you have to see an ophthalmologist.
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Ned & Lorna

As both Jim and I mentioned, when surgery is required, such as cataracts, only an ophthalmologist can be used. For routine annual eye exams and monitoring of developing cataracts, optometrists can and do everything that an ophthalmologist will do. My optometrist even has a device that takes a digital image of the inside of my eyeball and we compare my blood vessels from year to year.
 
My optometrist even has a device that takes a digital image of the inside of my eyeball and we compare my blood vessels from year to year.
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My optometrist in po-dunk Cortez has that nifty gadget, too. He loves looking at my retinas (or lack thereof) and comparing them to previous years. Best thing about it is no need to dilate the pupils. I've thought about having him email me the pic to use as a screen saver  :D

Wendy
 
Congratulations on renewed eyesight Ned.  Wonderful, isn't it?  Had both mine done in the summer of 2000, and can read two lines below the usual eye chart without glasses.  I Can read newsprint, but use reading glasses in low light or smaller print, since it takes too much concentration otherwise, and I'm too impatient....
I can buy my reading glasses at the drug store now, get two for the price of one.  ;D  I have them all over the house, so I don't keep losing them.  :D  The optometrist I go to told me my surgeon did a really terrific job.  The only problem I have are the "rays" around street lights and those extremely bright white headlights that are so popular now, that literally blind me, so I have Fred drive at night....  ;D

Daisy
 
Daisy, you must have taken the same option as Lorna, she uses readers too.  Since I spend most of my time reading or at a computer, I opted for near vision correction and will still wear glasses for distance.  Lorna still does most of the driving, and now night driving isn't nearly as scary as it was before, for both of us :)

Looking forward to "seeing" you and Fred next month.
 
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