Not sure whether to go for lens replacement!

Hi Margo!

I'm 34 years old and didn't have cataracts but had very poor vision with +8.50 and +8.75 with -3.00 astigmatism in both eyes. I was pretty much useless without my glasses!! 

I decided to go for lens replacement because as a young man with a very active life style, being heavily reliant on very strong glasses was really impairing on my lifestyle. I'd tried to get LASIK several times and of course was always told that I was not eligible. 

Today I am exactly 1 week away from being a year since my surgery and I can tell you that I have not worn a pair of glasses for anything in that time!! 

The recovery process was fairly long, I would say a good 4-6 months before a complete recovery. There was some strange side effects in the first few months, like for at least a month my distance vision was a blur, then that cleared up and became crisp. I had the peripheral shadows and light shimmers and that totally went away after about 4 months. The only thing that I notice now is that there is still some minor glare from lights, but it seems to only really occur during the dusk hours, when the daylight is beginning to fade into night, I'm not sure why this is but it's fine by the time it gets dark! 

The two main compromises for me (I have the Zeiss Trifocal Toric lenses), is that there is definite sweet spots and soft spots in the near - intermediate vision. For example at around 12 inches from my face, even the smallest of print is extremely clear, however at say 14 or 10 inches away, it's very slightly out of focus! Its strange, but you get used to it and is definitely worth the benefits! 

The other thing is that the lenses rely on having good lighting conditions, for example if you go to a dimly lit restaurant, you might struggle to read the menu, and feel like you need glasses, but shine a light on it and it will be crisp as anything. So you'd probably find yourself using the torch on a smartphone more than you did before! 

I have no idea what the future will hold, but right now, 1 year on, I would do it again in a heartbeat, even if it cost double!

One thing you should really keep in mind is that most of the people who post of forums like this, do so because they had a negative experience. There are thousands who don't post because their experience is good. I found this site because I was panicking during my recovery, and would be on here all the time looking for people in the same situation as me, but once my eyes completely recovered, I barely ever go on the site or research vision problems on the internet. I only come on here now because I still get email notifications and like to help somebody if I can!

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

Neil 

you have to build up your time with contact lenses I eventually used 30 day all day all night lenses and gave myself a weeks break from them every 4 wks .. tbh tho .. lense replacements without cataracts seems very extreme in my opinion and you cant guaruntee the result. I had cataracts in both eyes and chose to correct my distance vision which means i will need reading glasses...My lenses often feel like I am wearing contacts for those who havent worn them before. I would imagine though that surely if you were going to have 20/20 vision it wouldve been achieved with the initial surgery you had. I have had close up vision all my life and terrible distance vision ..I just think there is no comparison, putting on reading glasses now and again as opposed to permanently for distance vision is a no brainer for me. Unfortunately I got to the point with contacts where I would have to wear one distance one close and I found it very debilatating.  Im interested to know how does the contacts work with the rest of your vision? I never thought it would be an option to wear contacts for reading assuming they will kill your distance vision?