need feedback re: cataract surgery & correcting for near vs far vision

Hi Nina: Curious about that case. Ask him if he can do the close work with his "unoperated" eye closed...

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   Also, this is a "For What It's Worth" item--a curiosity if you will--for all who've help me through this process. As background, I'm 20/20 in my left (fixed) eye with a toric lens for astigmatism and -6.50 in my healthy right eye. 

   We have a lamp with so-called vaseline glass. It's an unremarkable putty color; however, if you put a black light bulb in it, it glows green, which is how I always saw it and everyone else sees it.

   If I close my right eye and look at the lamp through just the Toric lens, it glows a grayish color. It's the only color shift I can find with the new lens.

   If I look through both eyes the color will flutter for an instant, then my brain sees green.

   As I noted: Just a curiosity.

   I've adapted to the monovision life--as everyone notes, there doesn't seem to be a perfect outcome from these surgeries that lets us see perfectly both near & far so best wishes to all in making their individual adaptations.

But since he is having success do not tell him/her that is what is going on; let them enjoy it :-)

The natural lens yellows over time, which blocks some blue wavelengths.

So it totally makes sense what you are seeing with your eyes. The left is not yellowed, so you see all the wavelengths in that eye.

When you say 'everyone else' sees the green, how old are those people? I guess around your age. They will have yellowed natural lens, and is why they see what you see with your right eye.

After my surgery I notice how pavement looked grayer, and whites look whiter.

Hold up a white piece of paper, and look at it with one eye then the other. It will look whiter (actually bluer) with your left. 

My grandson also sees the green.  

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Here's a plagiarized description of Vaseline glass.

Vaseline Glass is a particular color of yellow-green glass that is made by adding as little as 0.1% to 0. 2% Uranium Dioxide to the ingredients when the glass formula is made. The addition of the Uranium Dioxide makes the glass color yellow-green. Vaseline Glass is ALWAYS verifiable by using an ultraviolet light (blacklight) on the glass item. When this is done, the glass turns a bright florescent green! Sometimes, even the most trained eye can be fooled by a piece of glass that looks like Vaseline Glass, but will not ‘glow’ or fluoresce bright green under a blacklight.

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Surprisingly, I don't note a big color shift in my eyes--though friends and literature all say to expect it. Maybe it's because my cataracts were/are small. The left one turned out to mess up my fine vision and needed to be fixed; the right one is off to the side and apparently not bothering anything.

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I wonder if the astigmatism correction in the lens has something to do with it?

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Anyway, just a curiosity. I find all the talk about different cataract "solutions" fascinating and wonder if surgeons should have a facilitator on staff to help patients with this part of the procedure.

Would be nice to have more assistance from medical team in making selection. I would at least like to hear their recommendation even if there nderatood decision is up to patient. I actually asked mine what he would choose for himself when time comes. Didn't want to answer at first and he clearly said what he'd choose is not an endorsement but he would choose a multifocal. So my guess is he has seen a lot of positive comments from MF patients.

Tech who checks my eyes was (guessing: mid-30s). She said she's been nearsighted her whole life and would have her eyes done to stay that way and continue wearing glasses. "First thing I do in the morning is reach for my glasses. I'm used to it." .... Surgeon wouldn't answer: Said it was my choice ... For a while, I regretted not having my eye fixed to stay nearsighted, too, but having the 20/20 left eye is great for driving and distance-related sight ... It's all a compromise ... My friend who had multifocals, is about 20/40 in each eye.  Wears glasses to watch TV and drive at night....

Everyone's eyes are different. My doc one could see different colors between their two eyes if everything equal.

You might also see a difference if you haven't had the YAG (i.e. capsule popped) yet.

I hear you. I think what we are currently used to is what we believe we would be still comfortable with after surgery. I am nearsighted since teen years. Still have good near vision so thought of being reverse with monofocals to drive is a little disconcerting.If MF wirk I do believe you are much happier if it doesn't think you'll be very unhappy. It is a gamble.

:-)  So far, he hasn't shown any signs of the family nearsightedness. Hope he has his dad's eyes.  Of course, they haven't started throwing him curveballs yet, either!

I have read of some people who get both eyes done for distance with standard IOLs who can also read without glasses most of the time if not all of the time (although maybe it doesn't last forever for them). Anyway, I'm sure most of the time the Symfony lens like Sue is planning on getting turns out fine, but I'm going for the standard lens.

Interesting. Wonder how the heck they can do that?

While both are distance, they are probably not exactly equal; so I think that helps a little. And the '3D'/depth perception, of using two eyes, probably helps too.

I know my father says he can make out the caller id on the phone, and I know I cannot with just my Right eye (the one that is 0D). So based on what you said, maybe that explains that.

I don't know, maybe you're right and their eyes aren't exactly equal only they're not aware of it maybe because their doctor didn't tell them. I'm not sure. Anyway, after I get mine done I will report back here and I also texted my friend about his and I'm waiting for a response.

Seems like a waste of money to get multifocals and end up having to wear glasses anyway! But lucky your friend's worst problem is only having to wear glasses after getting multifocal IOLs after some of the things I have read online about what can happen if you get them.

I bet most people don't even know about the choices there are and just go and have the surgery without researching a thing and it turns out fine.

Agree - 2 of 3 people I personally chatted with here were totally unaware of choi es. Optometrist referred them to opthamologist- opthamologist said yup your cataracts are bad enough to be covered under Medicare and date is set for surgery.

Thinking back to my first consult I believe I asked about lenses - if I had t likely he would have done standard with a slight bit of monovision. All this stressing of options would have been gone. I just don't know

Yes keep us posted.

I'll do the same after my appt at the end of the month.

And yeah, I do not think too many people know about choices. I only did a hint of it because my eye doc said I should try for -1D.

He said with the eye that had the cataract surgery it's clear from about 18 inches on and somewhat blurry closer than that, but I don't think he needs glasses unless it's really small print.

He closes the other eye when trying that?

My -1.5D (with minor astig) sees my PC when it is at 18 inches. But I cannot see beyond that.

With both eyes open, I can kind of do that; but is remains a little blurry because my brain cannot handle the monovision fully.

He is luckly.

Yes that's with the other eye closed, but maybe it's because he had lasik like me. I'm not sure. Also, I didn't need reading glasses all the time after the lasik (although I got some and didn't mind wearing them when needed) and I had the lasik done when I was 43.

Oh I thought you hadn't had any cataract surgery yet Mark...you had one eye done so far?

Just before 2 weeks was up (just before the Right being done), the Left was coming out as -2D. Since the plan was to do -1D, they figured the calc error (for my eyes) was 1D; so they adjusted the original calc for the Right to still try to -1D. But it came out 0D.

I am looking into getting the Left IOL changed. If they cannot do it, which is the ideal, I will probably get lasik.

OK Mark, I wasn't sure if you had it done yet or not. I can't find out my friend's numbers (is that called acuity? I don't know much about it myself either - I basically only know the numbers like 20/20 from the Snellen chart). I also asked him what brand of lens he got and he said he didn't know and didn't seem to care either!

I'm going to look up diopters to try to figure it out...for now I'll stick with the feet measurements lol...