Would love some input

Posted , 4 users are following.

I wanted great distance and intermediate vision and chose Vivity. 1 1/2 weeks later, it seems there may have been a refractive error- I have good near and intermediate vision, but fuzzy distance vision. I realize that my eye is not completely healed and the distance might improve, but since my near vision is good, I am thinking I will get near and intermediate vision in my first eye which happens to be my dominant eye.

Second surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, 3 days from now. The cataract in that eye isn't as bad. I have 20/20 distance vision now (colors are yellowed). The difference between the two lenses are challenging for me and I've been told that two Vivity lenses work much better in unison. So, I'm eager to have 2 IOL's rather than one.

That said, I also know that the same thing could happen to my second eye and that would make my vision in that eye worse than it is now. I feel pressured to decide about my surgery quickly, because if I am going to postpone, I should do in immediately. My doctor would not have availability until March 14th- a long to wait feeling "weird" with a natural and artificial lens.

Thoughts?

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • Edited

    My advice is very blunt. Postpone the second eye surgery date. Tell the surgeon that you are not happy with the outcome of the first eye and you want to have it fully heal (6 weeks or more) before you make a decision on the second eye. Cataract surgery is (or should be) a once in a lifetime decision and you want to get it right. March 14 is not a long time. I went a year or so between eye surgeries. I found that the effect of having one eye done and not the other could be minimized by using a contact to correct the unoperated eye. This feels more natural than an eyeglass correcting the unoperated eye and the IOL correcting the other eye.

    .

    There is no magic synergy achieved by using two Vivity lenses. Two eyes are always a bit better than one eye due to the binocular effect. However there is no reason you should feel forced to use another Vivity especially when not happy with the results of the first one. If you get acceptable near vision with the first Vivity when it fully heals, then I would seriously consider putting a monofocal set for distance in the second eye. It may very well work better than two Vivity lenses, because the monofocal can offset some of the negative issues associated with the Vivity. You can simulate that to a large degree by getting a contact in your second eye that corrects it to full distance vision. Then you will know what to expect if you take the option to get a monofocal in the second eye.

    • Posted

      I LOVE blunt. Thank you VERY much. I have been leaning towards this today, despite the fact that I want to be done with all of this and get on with my life. That said, having been spoiled my whole life with 20/20 vision until the cataract, I am wanting to make the best possible decision. I hope to be around a while.

      So, thank you, RonAKA, I appreciate your response and willingness not to pull any punches. Thank you.- Michele

  • Edited

    I see no reason to get the second eye done as long as it can still achieve 20/20

    • Edited

      Some people that are left with an unoperated eye that needs a large eyeglass prescription can be left in a difficult spot. The eyeglass prescription can result in the brain getting a different image size when one eye is corrected with eyeglasses and the other is corrected with an IOL. It can be managed by using a contact in the non operated eye, but that is not always possible. I got my second eye done before it was optically necessary because of this issue of dealing with the unoperated eye. My differential was not that large, but I understand the effect is more significant with a large eyeglass correction.

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