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I want to be near sighted after cataract surgery

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dc9mm
dc9mm

I have already had cataract surgery on my left eye about 8 years ago. Its my bad eye. Now my good eye needs cataract surgery. I still need glasses for the left eye so I will be wearing glasses no matter what is done to right eye.  I read without glasses with my right eye now. I can see sharp with right eye close in(near sighted) I want that to continue. I can quickly look over my glasses and read something like my phone with no problem. If I got the surgery to change that for long distance I would still have glasses but no longer be able to read without reading glasses making me have to change the glasses every time I want to read something like my watch. that would suck. Doctor has no problem making me nearsighted.

BUT I go into docs office friday and i get all these options he NEVER said squat about before. LRI Limbal Relaxing Incisions 500 dollar adder or Toric Lens 900 dollar adder.  Which both are supposed to reduce or fix Astigmatism. Not sure what to do. Would a Toric lens make sense because Iam having the Doc make me see close in already. Not seeing why I would want a Toric lens. Money is a factor. He has laser options that drive cost up tp $3025, yikes. I originally thought I was on the hook for 300 bucks. NOT 3 grand. 

Any opinions.

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Sue.An
    Sue.An dc9mm

    Posted

    If you are opting for standard lens (monofocal) you can opt for which distance you want to see clearly at.  If the other eye was already opted in for cataracts (from your post looks like for distance) you can opt to have this one set 1.0 or 1.25 diopters in.  It is called monovision where one eye sees distance and the other sees intermediate/near.  Not everyone’s eyes tolerate monovision but most are fine with mini monovision so discuss those with your surgeon.

    As far as limbal relaxing incisions or Toric Lens those are to correct astigmatism.  Do you know what your astigmatism is?  If not much you would not need this.  I have .50 of astigmatism in one eye and .25 in the other and didn’t need toric lenses. Be careful as once a surgeon corrects for astigmatism your cataract surgery will not be covered under the USA Medicare plan and you will pay thousands of dollars for the lens and cataract surgery interlude.

    Since you are already wearing glasses and e pect to following surgery astigmatism that you have can be corrected with glasses.  

  • at201
    at201 dc9mm

    Posted

    If you are happy with the way the 2 eyes work together right now and don't mind wearing glasses for seeing well at distance, you should aim for the best focus at the same distance (16 to 20 inches, corresponding to about -2.D to -2.5D ).

    Regarding the option of having Limbal Relaxing Incisions or toric lenses, you want to consider those only if your astigmatism is really bad, say definitely more than 1.0D. (the sign of that depends on the ophthalmologist or the optometrist). You may want to check the cylindrical part of the prescription going back about 2-3 years (the latest one may not be accurate due to the cataract). Both Limbal Relaxing Incisions and toric lenses reduce the astigmatism, but you may still end up with needing about 0.5D of cylindrical correction at the end. That small an improvement is not worth it.

  • dc9mm
    dc9mm

    Posted

    I think my astigmatism is bad if I rember correctly. Iam still not 100 percent sure what astigmatism is. I have read the definations but not sure  what it means in the real world,. Right now i have sharp vision up close with my right eye which i read with look at computer screens which I do a lot.With my glasses are OFF. I like it that way. I need glasses for distance. My last script read like this for right eye. OD -450  +25x42    Not sure what that means. OD I know is for right eye.  If I still have astigmatism after surgery will my sight up close still be sharp without glasses like it is NOW. Assuming Doc does cataract lens for up close which he IS doing. He knows I want close up sight after surgery. BUT if I dont do the LRI or Toric lens and have astigmatism will my sight be ok up close (no glasses) like it is now and then OK with glasses for distance. This astigmatism has me confused.

    All I want is to get rid if this cloudy cataract and still have same vision I have NOW but less cloudy. I never worried about astigmatism before. Not undert=standing why I should now.

    Lets assume I have this astigmatism. Well right now I see fine up close. With glasses fine also except for cloudy noticeable in day light and decrease in long vision some from the cataract. .So if I have astigmatism it seems to be corrected with glasses at long range and not noticeable at close reading distance. 

    Not sure Iam explaining myself very well.

    • at201
      at201 dc9mm

      Posted

      I think that there may be some decimal points and /or zeroes missing in your script "OD -450  +25x42 "

      "-450" is most probably -4.50.

      +25 x 42 may be +0.25 x 42 (indicating a very small astigmatism) or +2.5 x 42. (indicating much higher astigmatism).

      Obviously, it is very important to know the exact prescription. If the doctor's prescription is not readable, you may want to see the sales slip from the optician (where you bought the glasses).

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