Coping with temporary sight imbalance after cataract surgery

I have no experience of cataract ops, so someone else will come along with more relevant advice, but I would think that you will adjust faster than you expect, after the first few days.

You currently probably have glasses that suit the current short-sightedness in both eyes. If it would help, maybe you could get very cheap temporary specs to suit the two different strengths for the 4 weeks? Ask your optician/optometrist.

I worried about this last year when I was in exactly the same position. As it turned out, all was well. I had distance lens fitted in my operated eye so I couldn't read. I then got very cheap reading glasses from Amazon and managed well after that.
I know it's daft but I found it so interesting to shut the good new eye then open it again. The difference between the two eyes really underlined the necessity of having cataract surgery.
Needless to say the second op was fine too. The ops themselves weren't nearly as scary as I'd feared. Over in about 15 minutes. I had a cover over my face. All I was aware of was dancing colours in the eye being operated on. Obviously, anaesthetic eye drops were administered before the op.
Try not to worry.

I had a cataract surgery on my right eye a few years ago,and had no problem at all . Hubby had his replaced too last year, no problems either, his left eye is very bad now and optician has made an appointment to get it done, but says the waiting list is 40 weeks

The eyes have a way of corrcting your vision with one good, one bad eye. I went back to work pretty soon after and was driving ok- but often with one eye shut! Same when reading. It is a bit annoying but when both eyes are clear you will be so glad you had it done1

I was previously extremely shortsighted from the age of seven, and wore contact lenses. After the first cataract was done I wore one contact lens in the other eye for four weeks. If you wear glasses you can do as my husband did recently and remove the “good eye” lens from your glasses until the second is done. I hope you’re as delighted as we both are with the result. I now have very good distance vision and wear glasses only for reading, and I don’t have to reach for my specs before getting out of bed!

I was very short sighted and wore varifocals. After my first cataract op, I sent my husband to the optician to have the glass removed in the operated side. Worked a treat!

Mr Retroladywriting is in the middle of waiting for his second eye to be done at the moment. He seems to manage ok, usually by peering over the top of his specs, like a slightly mad Professor!! He says the vision in the 'done' eye is amazing - better than it's been since he started wearing specs for shortsight about 20 years ago. Soon it'll be my turn ... he's been my test case!

I had my cataract done in my right eye a couple of years ago, my left eye cannot be done because the retina is scarred by an ulcer that I’ve got in that eye also a few years ago.
I do wish I had the option of having the left eye done because it really detracts from the vision of my right eye and there’s nothing really that could be done about it…

Thank you all for your encouraging messages with advice and practical suggestions from your own experience.
It is really helpful to know that I can get a lens removed from my specs, for example, to help cope with the imbalance better.

It’s a long time since I had my cataracts done. I was very shortsighted from an early age. After the first operation I had a contact lens for the other eye and also had the lens in my glasses replaced with plain glass. This worked quite well for me. It’s surprising how quickly you adapt. The only slight downside was that I got headaches for the first few days especially in sunlight. Paracetamol helped a lot. Good luck!

DH has had both his done very recently. Optician at Specsavers referred him on Thursday and by the time he walked back home his phone was ringing. He was offered a consultant assessment on the Tuesday and had op Thurs of the same week. Specsavers checked the operated eye and again referred for cataract op which he had the next day!!!! He then had to wait 4wks for his new prescription glasses. This was all done on nhs.

I wear lenses and have one lens for reading and one for distance. My brain adjusts perfectly.

Just a suggestion, keep a light on in the night or the as eyes play an important part in our balance. This was advised by my dh consultant years ago. He was right. Try standing on one keg with eyes. closed…..it’s hard.
Good luck with the op.

I too had severe short sight and have had cataract operations. . I simply got my optician to take the lens of my treated eye out of my specs and replace it with plain glass. End of problem.

I have had both eyes done with no issues but recently I met an 88 year old in A&E with severe bruising on her face. She was waiting for the other eye to be fixed when she experienced severe imbalance and fell over. So just a little warning.

My DH had this problem . He had one eye done ( not for the usual reasons ) as an emergency and just could not cope afterwayds. He had been very short sighted not one eye was fine while the other still poor. He tried an eye patch on his bad eye and all kind of things but could not comfortably read , watch TV etc.. He went back to his consultant and was told that he had been expecting him to return unhappy. He sheduled him to have the other eye done and he was afterwards a very happy bunny with sight so good he no longer needed glasses .

My right eye had a very dense cataract. Was fast tracked to a private London hospital. Three consultants were reluctant to operate making me shake all over with nerves. Not very helpful for the surgeon. Their boss insisted they remove my cataract and after waiting five hours it went ahead. A 15 minute procedure took over an hour. The local anaesthetic wore off and I had an injection in the centre of the eye releasing jelly from the back of the eye. I am not telling you this to put you off. The after care was excellent. It took about 9 months for me to recover but I’m so grateful. Right eye meant no reading glasses forever and cataract will never return. Left eye was almost as bad and I was offered urgent treatment. I really thought about the risk of going blind and decided to take the risk on my 73rd birthday, the date I was given. I was passed between several consultants as nobody wanted the responsibility. I told the anaesthetist that my birthday present would be great eyesight into my old age. No pressure then he told the surgeon as she walked in. She gave me the most painful eye massage but reassured me that would be the worst thing over. 15 minutes later she had removed the cataract and sent me home. At the checkup I can now drive. My distance eyesight was always good and I will never require glasses for anything. If anyone is wobbling, my advice would be deep breaths and go ahead.

I was incredibly shortsighted -12 in both eyes
I had no problem at all seeing in the month + inbetween time, good eye does the work, the brain sorts it all out and It’s perfect.u ok
Cattery I also had a bad time with one anesthetic but won’t go into any details
I still went ahead and had the second one done which was a breeze after the first one
Just need reading glasses now

I had the same problem, not a problem at all. Your brain will compensate. Hope this helps🤓

I had lens replacement surgery 8 years ago (same operation but I did it so I didn’t need to wear glasses at all), if you wear glasses already do what I did until the second eye gets done, I just took out the one lens out of my spectacles on the operated side so that the other eye maintained using the prescription lens

You could remove the lens from your treated eye.No need to have plain glass put into it.If you are struggling with reading buy some over the counter reading glasses. I’m a former ophthalmic nurse and this was the advice given to patients

Yes, there is a very big difference between my eyes, both of which are short sighted. I had my first cataract op on the worst eye ( in terms of sight) and had no trouble at all , though I didn't drive for a while. Of course I eventually got new spectacles.

I recently had my 2nd cataract op on the other eye, and laser surgery on the one that had the first op!> It's amazing what I can see. I've worn glasses all the time for the last 70 years, but now I can see really well without them, though I would never risk driving without them. But it's so odd to get up in the morning and wander to the window to look out at the day without any specs on.

My Beloved had cataract surgery a few years ag and was fine.

One thing I will advise is do not decide to rearrange your wardrobe. Beloved made that mistake and threw out a load of clothes, hers an mine, because the colours were all wrong, eg, black trousers looked blue. The surgeonhad forgotten to warn her about it.

Go to Specsavers well before your surgery date and get fitted for temporary glasses - explain why and they know what to do. If you take your spare pair in it costs about £50 and takes 2-3 weeks to get them altered. Then take them with you to the hospital so as to have them straight away