Eye question

I do not have cataracts but do wear varifocals. I also struggle to refocus after close work, reading and screen use. I have to take care not to drive for 30 minutes after close work while my eyes go back to normal. My optician said it's simply ageing. The muscles that control focus become accustomed to whatever distance we have been working at and, as we age, those muscles take longer to recover. It's prolonged use of the eye at a fixed distance whether near or far which causes the problem. The cataracts may also be contributing as they are reducing the amount of light getting to the pupil making your eyes work even harder.

My brother (71) has worn glasses since he was about 12. He had his cataracts removed about a year ago, and he said he couldn't believe how clear and bright everything seemed afterwards. He has Glaucoma, for which he has eye drops, and he still needs to wear glasses due to double vision (his glasses have a prism in the lenses)

I had cateracts removed from both eyes earlier this year, a couple of months apart. Fantastic to be able to see again and no
Longer need varifocals for driving etc, just a pair of readers. The surgeon ruled out giving me varifocal lenses because of a history of eye probs that may recur. It’s life changing in a good way watermeadow

My opthalmologist operated almost as soon as my cataracts were diagnosed.
He dismissed the old idea of 'ripening. He believes that the op should be done before the cataracts interfere with driving or reading.
With my prescription replacement lenses I'm not aware of having to refocus. However I chose to have distance lenses so still need specs for reading, sewing etc.

I don’t have cateracts but have problems with my eyes adjusting to distance after sewing and knitting. I usually wear varifocals which are comfortable except for really close work. I resolved this by asking the optician to make up a pair of half glasses with a short focal length for the pupose. I look over the top of the glasses to see the TV while knitting and don't have any trouble with adjusting to distance. I find this comfortable and the glasses were not very expensive.

My iPad doesn't think I spelled cataracts wrong!

This is an interesting post to me as i have them in both eyes and recently have noticed that i am constantly cleaning my glasses as things look misty especially in the evening, i suppose when i am getting tired. Have an appointment in Jan to get them reviewed and after reading these posts i am certainly going to push to get them removed sooner rather than later.

Do push for sooner rather than later travels afar. My surgeon operated on the 2nd eye despite it not being quite bad enough to hit the NHS target. He said I'd feel much better if he balanced things up. He was right. Also, it's great not to have to have my sight deteriorate as it did in the first eye to the extent I didn't feel I should drive at night. The lights become an issue.

My surgeon's policy was to operate as soon as the patient found the cataracts interfered with normal life. I had both my eyes treated in my early 60s and chose a lens that enabled me to read without glasses, just needing glasses for distance work.

I have no problem with focussing, but do find, after dark, that if I walk out of a lit house and get in the car to drive, it takes my eyes about 10 minutes to adjust fully to darkness.

I haven't seen an optician since 2003 and my eyes were good then. I bought a pair of £1 glasses with +2.50 lens and have them to this day for reading and the computer,otherwise I don't wear them. I can even see the television better without them.
I don't know what the answer is as the rest of the family wore them.

You're lucky EllanVannin, enjoy it.

monica I had the same choice as you re lenses but chose to have good distance vision and reading specs.
Quite a few of us seem to have been lucky with good sympathetic surgeons who advocate action sooner rather than later without the long wait.
Is this one of the "postcode lottery" situations?

Now I have had cataract surgery, my prescription will not change, but as I am still driving I still go for regular eye checks. This is especially necessary for me as quite a number of people in my family have glaucoma.

mcem, I was fortunate in that my Optician wrote to the GP stating the five reasons my surgery would be complex, so I should be referred to Royal Manchester Eye Hospital, rather than our local hospital. RMEH waiting lists were so long, they referred me to a private provider. The surgeon decided I should have both done, a couple of months apart. He's also kept me for regular review because I'm high risk for various eye problems. It feels so much safer than having to present myself and be seen by different practitioners with varying degrees of expertise.

I had mine done privately because I worked for a charity and one of my clients had been left virtually blind in one eye as the result of a botched cataract operation at our local hospital. Shortly afterwards I tripped over my feet, fell, and cut my face just under the eyebrow and needed stitches. The treatment I received at another local hospital could have damaged my eye.

I just did not trust the local NHS eye clinics to provide a safe environment for my operation and eyesight is precious.

That's an unsettling post MOnica and sadly, confirms the advice from my optician to avoid our local eye unit. The cost cutting in the NHS, over stretched doctors etc always feels to me like robbing Peter to pay Paul, or sinking the ship for a halfpenny of tar.

I wear lenses. The left eye is the reading eye and the right the distance eye. I have no trouble adjusting from close work to distance - my brain does it for me.

dragonfly I envy you, but I was so shortsighted before the cataracts came that the adjustments necessary to do that were not possible.

When they replace your natural lens, they will be able to put in a new lens with a prescription to improve your vision.

You may still need to wear glasses for some tasks but only a very small magnification.

In the mean time you may find putting a very bright task on your embroidery may help the focus. (I work for a charity supporting SI people)

Good luck with your operation.

My two op's were done at the excellent opthalmology department at our local teaching hospital.
I couldn't have had better quicker care. Had I decided that I wanted to have the procedures done privately the local bupa hospital would have referred me to the same unit (charging for pre and post-op care).
The alternative would have been to travel to Edinburgh or Glasgow instead of a 3hour appointment.
I suppose that is the postcode lottery.

Best operation ever! I’ve had two new knees and one new hip and fitted the cataract op in between. It was so quick, and the improvement was immediate. I just wear glasses for very close orint now. Mind you, getting used to your face without glasses is scary!

For months after my cataract operations, my first action every morning was to reach for my glasses - and then remember I did not need them anymore.