On the subject of vision problems, My doctor believes I may be
getting cataracts as an exacerbation of Crohn's disease. Have any
of you, my fellow Orchidians, ever had cataracts? More to the
point, have you had them removed and how was your vision
afterwords?
I’m 56 and have had one cataract. It was operated on painlessly and
the new lens they inserted is excellent. Individual experiences
vary, and some see clearly the day after the op, but in my case my
vision was hazy for about a month afterwards, with a whiteish haze
over everything and halos around lights. Then… it cleared up.
Perfectly clear now.
However there is one thing you need to know about the Intra-Ocular
Lens (IOC) they put in your eye to replace your original lens. It’s
more rigid that a natural lens and so does not have the same
‘compensation’ between distance and near vision. It’s more fixed. If
you get an IOL set to excellent distance vision, then you will
always have to wear plus-corrective glasses for bedtime reading,
sawing gold, filing, reading recipes, checking the temperature
setting on the oven, etc.
So there is nowadays a trend to ask for some residual myopia in the
IOL. That is, to ask for an IOL that will give you a little bit of
short-sightedness. With about 1 diopter of short-sightedness you
will probably be able read in bed, read the phone book, read recipes,
make jewellery, etc etc, possibly watch the telly without glasses.
However for distance you’ll need to correct the -1.00 to zero so as
to pass the driving test.
To my mind it makes much more sense to have vision that is excellent
for the majority of your working day and to use one pair of specs
for driving, movies, concerts, etc, than to have perfect sight for
distance but always require various pairs of reading glasses lying
around the house/studio.
Some cataract operations will also do a ‘snip’ and correct
astigmatism as well.
It’s an imprecise craft, measuring for IOLs and snipping for
astigmatism. But most patients come out with better vision than
before. Regarding residual myopia 80% or thereabouts get what they
ask for (with some extra correction by contacts or spectacles). The
rest come out with clear vision but with more tiresome requirements
for extra correction.
For more discussion and info I recommend subscribing to
http://groups.google.co.nz/group/sci.med.vision
Brian
Auckland NEW ZEALAND