Cataracts

That does not seem to be a good plan. I would suggest postponing the second eye cataract surgery to at least 1-2 weeks after the first eye vision check.

The surgeon and you should know the exact prescription for the eye with the first IOL implant and "how much and why" it is different from the surgeon's target. The prescription for the second eye IOL may need to be modifed based on the first eye results (to achieve the vision you will like to have with both eyes together) as well as a clear understanding of the exact reason for the surgeon's estimate being off for the first IOL (if that is the case).

I agree. All my arranged dates were changed after theyd been sorted to fit in with his personal circumstances. I only found out about change to date of follow up after first op. Had i known this earlier id have gone with a different consultant. Thing is ive sorted my own life around the preplanned dates. I do trust hi but wish id been forewarned though all changes were so short

notice. I am going to ring and see if can have follow up day before at least. Feel this is the let down of using benendon rather than nhs though got dates sooner than could get in nhs.

Mm...so three weeks after first op...i had my follow up appt where a change to the planned lens presc for my second cataract op was made and performed same afternoon. My second eye has much more clarity and distance than my first. 6 days later i feel that whilst second eye vision has remainex static the first eye feels like the distance has lessesed slightly more. Is this possibly due to eyes still adjusting i wonder. My first eye feels loke it is straining to kerp up by end of day. Heres hoping things settle.

Thanks. Must say if i cant get clarity i have had with specs previously for distance i will probably use specs for driving..and for reading if need be. Probably part of needing specs since childhood and clarity is important to me. I did go for distance rather than near being the chosen replacement lens.

Maybe this is why he can do follow up same day?

why would your vision decline like that

 

Its different for each individual..some with cataracts had otherwise good vision..some have myopia which will not be stoppable as its the cataract they are getting rid of.

sue13546, I don't really know why my vision declined as it did.  The surgeon seems unconcerned.  Perhaps there's a period of time following surgery in which the vision fluctuates while the eyes adjust, eventually stabilizing.  I'm not complaining though.  Before sugery, I was pretty handicapped without corrective lenses.  I've worn glasses since I was 4 years old.  I couldn't leave the house if I didn't have my glasses on.  I couldn't walk down the street, read, watch TV, cook, put on makeup, as my whole world was one big blur.  I couldn't see faces or any detail.  Everything blended together into a mish mosh of blurred, muted colors. I was very, very farsighted which apparently put me at a high risk for narrow angle glaucoma.  The sugery lessened that risk, considerably.  Now I can see without any corrective lenses.  I can read, put on makeup, drive, cook.  I can see faces.  The only noticible side effect is a slight dry eye condition that tends to come and go.  I use moisturizing drops, as needed.  I have new eyes, as far as I'm concerned.  I feel free and in awe for being so fortunate as to actually have a dream come true.

sue13546, There is one other side effect I forgot to mention - floaters.  I never had them before and according to my doctor, it's not unusual after cataract surgery.  So far they only affect my right eye, but after a recent visit to the doctor, I'm told left eye floaters are iminent.  They're not severe and they haven't bothered me terribly yet (I hope they never do), but I will say that when I'm trying to clean off the kitchen counter top I sometimes mistake one for a crumb!!!!  By the way, I'm pretty young for cataracts, but the severity of my farsightedness brought on early onset.  They hadn't yet affected my vision, but the glaucoma risk justified the procedure.

re; some hae myopia which will not be stoppable a its the cataract they are getting rid of.

confused ....lol...i'm under the impression that myopia is stopped. you're getting a brand new lens.   anyone.....explain please

Usually the vision stabilizes in the first 4-6 weeks as the lens heals in place (though rarely for 2-3 months), though usually in the first week or two its fairly stable. The issue is that if the lens moves slightly forward or backward, that changes the power of the lens and makes you more or less myopic, though usually the change is minor.

One reason for a vision decline after the first few weeks is a reasonly common issue called PCO (posterior capsular opacification). Sometimes as the eye heals over the lens, some   cells can grow over the lens   and reduce visual quality. It is easily treated by a few minute YAG laser procedure where the doctor zaps the cells. It used to be that a fairly large % of patients got PCO eventually (anywhere from right after surgery, to even some years after), but now most people don't usually get it. It could be that you are developing some PCO, but that it just hasn't gotten to the point where the surgeon views it as enough of a problem to treat it since it isn't having much impact.  

Or it could be due to other factors, people's memories are subjective so it is hard to compare your vision now vs. how it was a few weeks ago. Most people see the world as far brighter after surgery since they now have a clear lens, but then their brains adapt to it over time and the world doesn't seem as noticeably bright as it used to be, even if objectively your visual acuity is the same.  

After cataract surgery, many people are struck by how much better their vision is than it was before surgey, and then they get used to it. It may be that the memory of "great vision" right after surgery has gotten built up to think it was even better than it is now, when objectively perhaps it wasn't. 

Some people get dry eyes after cataract surgery that resolves over time.  I had a minor issue with needing more eye drops initially, but that faded over the first year and a half. At 2 years postop only rarely use drops, and it could be that would be the case even if I hadn't head surgery in the dry climate here at my age (I wore contacts before surgery so I don't know how much I would have used drops without them, but I did need rewetting drops more often than I used drops now without contacts).

Unfortunately things like floaters are sometimes a side effect of surgery, though other times the person had them before surgery but just couldn't see them because of the cloudy aged lens. 

Thankyou..very reassuring..and yes slowly noticing it is improving..i think!!

I've been back to the eye doctor three times since my surgery (3/2016).  I'm told my eyes look great (as recent as last week).  That leads me to believe that the slight decline in my vision since surgery was part of the stabilization process.  I do know, however, that I really did see better in the first few weeks post surgery than I do now because during those weeks I went around the house reading tiny print just for fun.  But now I can't see that same tiny print as well.  Sometimes I can see tiny print more clearly immediately following inserting eye drops, but that is momentrily until the drops dissipate.  I now see a little better than I did wearing contacts pre surgery.  Then I still had to use drug store reading glasses in addition to my contacts - now I don't.

Cataract surgery will change your refractive error.  If you were originally myopic, you could end up hyperopic or more or less myopic afterwards.  It depends on what type of lens is implanted, and how closely the surgeon hits the targeted refractive outcome.  If you go with a single vision lens, the surgeon will target either distance, intermediate, or near, and may or may not hit the target.  You could also go with a bifocal or trifocal or extended depth of focus replacement lens, each of which could hit the target or miss it.

Yes. Im waiting to see how i manage once second eye done. At mo its deceptive as have very near sight in eye yet to be done so it is hard to imagine what i wont see close up without closing that eye first.

My understanding is that the lens is replaced thus removing the cataract. However the shape etc of eyeball can also affect sight. Hence myopia is not necessarily stopped by replacement of lens. The eye is very complicated. The surgeon did say that removal of cataract is often done as an initial step before looking at certain other problems affecting sight. This is because cataracts do deteriorate and lead to sight loss if. left untreated.