Cataract op and Astigmatism

I have marked astigmatism and short sight and when I had my cataracts removed I opted for standard lenses that would correct my short sight and provide good distance vision. I too have an epiretinal membrane and also a number of other problems including previous retinal tears and I opted to go for simple....... cataracts out, distance vision lenses in and varifocal glasses so I can read. I did not want to go down the toric route - as far as I was concerned that was just introducing something else to go wrong! - and quite enough had already gone wrong with my eyes to last a lifetime!

I have worn glasses all my life and was not bothered about continuing to do so. I chose varifocals because I did not want to mess about with reading glasses. I just wanted the cataracts gone and as good eyesight as possible which I have achieved. I did have some opacity of the capsule a year or so later - a very common complication after cataract surgery, but this was sorted by a 5 minute laser treatment.

I did actually have them done privately but only for speed, and they were both done on the same day.

Keep it simple was the principle I worked on!

I once had toric contact lenses and they were truly hopeless when it came to reading.

I had very dense cataracts removed recently. The first was my right eye and none of the surgeons wanted to do it. In the end, the senior surgeon told one to go ahead. A fifteen minute operation turned into a one and half hour procedure including an injection in the centre of the eye, presumably because the local anaesthetic was wearing off. Anyway, fast forward. About four months later I was wandering around the supermarket and my husband couldn’t read the price of something although he was wearing his reading glasses. I picked the item up and told him the price and listed the ingredients when he noticed I hadn’t taken my reading glasses out of my handbag. My eyesight had returned to my youth. Then I was invited to have my left eye done about a year later. I was terrified but went. Again nobody wanted to do the operation. In the end it was done by a very competent surgeon in less than 15 minutes. She told me to sit up for the wheelchair to the recovery room and said how everyone told her it was a very complicated operation but she found it easy and loved my green eyes. I saw her clearly. I was never offered any special lenses but can now drive, draw, see TV, no glasses required. However, I’m told most people post cataract operations require glasses. I can’t offer you any advice but just wish you all the best in the hands of the eye surgeons who only want the best results.

I recently had a cataract removed and opted for a multi focus toric lens which would give me long, mid and short sight and correct my astigmatism. I was told they couldn’t promise I wouldn’t need reading glasses but there was a very good chance I wouldn’t need glasses for that eye.
Turns out that my near distance vision is not as good as before the op. Whilst my long vision is very good, almost perfect, I still need varifocals because my short distance vision is very poor, worse than before the op. I had the laser treatment weeks after to no avail,
I am disappointed with the result tbh and, with hindsight, I would have opted for the nhs (free) lens either for long or short sight. It feels like I paid a lot of money for no benefit. I am resigned to the outcome as I like having the long distance vision and am pleased the cataract has gone.
Now I need to decide what to do about the left eye. It’s a difficult decision to make.
It may be a different result for you though. Tough decision isn’t it.

I have a cataract which is not yet developed enough to operate on. I use that eye for reading. It is very short sighted but great for very small close things and I like to embroider so I am afraid to lose that ability. The other eye isn’t the best but it is long sighted because I had macular holes and then a cataract which they fixed years ago. I,too am very wary about fiddling around with eyes especially as I have a friend where it all went horribly wrong and she lost her sight in one eye. I’m a bit of a wuss I suppose.

My brother in law paid privately, says it's the best thing he's done. I just had NHS lens, still have to wear varifocals, but as skint it was the best option for me

Many years ago, I had toric contact lenses. I was short-sighted. The lenses didn't do much for my sight, think I persevered for about 15 months when I gave them up and went back to glasses. Over the years had varifocals. Coming up for 3 years ago had cataractcremoved privately abd opted for a lense to give me long vision. Just need glasses for reading. If you have a good relationship with the optician I'd be guided by them.

I had a cataract op in my left eye a week ago and opted for the enhanced depth of focus lens (4k) with that eye corrected for reading and medium distance, ie screen work. I've worn gas-permeable (hard) contact lenses in both eyes for 40 years, the left one being toric to correct 80% astigmatism. I had the cataract removed in my right eye 20 years ago and had that eye corrected for distance. So, essentially, I've had monovision for years, very successfully managed through the different contact lenses. Then the cataract in my left eye got so bad that I had to have it removed. I wanted to continue as far as possible with monovision, hence the expensive enhanced lens.

One week on and I'm disappointed with my reading correction. I can read a normal size font in a book but I struggle with anything smaller, like my phone, so I'm using reading glasses, hopefully temporarily. I also have quite annoying flickering at the periphery of my left eye, which is apparently quite normal and will hopefully settle eventually.

I fear I might end up needing a contact lens in my left eye to restore a decent reading acuity if I want to get the monovision back, or settle for reading glasses, which I really don't want to do. I'll find out more when I return for my post-op check in a couple of weeks. I'll also ask for more clarification of the astigmatism in my left eye as I can't recall what they said about this.

I am astigmatic and shortsighted. I have never worn contact lenses (one experiment in the 1970s persuaded me to stick with glasses). My hobbies are needlecrafts and reading.

When having my cataracts removed I decided to have single focus lenses for reading (so I'm still short sighted and astigmatic). I'm used to wearing glasses, I don't mind how I look in them, and and they work perfectly well for me. I feared that any other lenses might not work for me and I would be stuck with non-optimal vision and possible headaches.

I was told that there is only a little that can be done to correct an astignatimsn in connection with a cataract op, so I think you really need to dicuss this with your eye surgeon before having the cataract removed.

The time to correct astigmatismns is in childhood, and surgery is unlikely to work once you are over thirty-five.

This said I have been more than content with the slight correction they could make when removeing the cataract in my poorer eye, which I see better with now than I ever remember doing since they age of seven, and I was 67 when the cataract was removed, 74 now and still hsppy with the result.

Yes, paid privately for this when oh still had insurance through work. I was extremely short sighted, astigmatism and, finally, cataracts. My vision still isn't 100% and could never have been as I still get floaters and smeary bits, the surgeon warned me of this in advance. However, the toric lenses are amazing! I had to learn how to make the most of them, the brain has to adapt to using different parts of the lenses but I soon found I could drive again, had better night vision, can see to go swimming - huge benefits when doing water sports like canoeing/sailing - if I fell in the water I'd be able to see the boat or the beach, and I hadn't been able to swim in a chlorinated pool for years with contact lenses! I opted for mid and long distance focus but the lenses are better than I expected as I only need reading glasses for very small print and reading in low lighting. Since I've had the cataract op, it was just before covid, I've never once regretted it and can't imagine how I coped before the replacement lenses, not least because of the considerable cost of contact lenses and spare glasses, and the hygiene issues with having to stick bits of plastic into your eyes every day. It's so different I can't really compare before and after to say anything about the actual astigmatism but I don't perceive it as an issue. I was careful to choose a very thorough surgeon who worked at an NHS Eye Hospital as well as having a private clinic. I had a number of tests at both the private hospital and the NHS clinic, to check it was a suitable procedure as due to my short sightedness it is more complex. The surgeon warned me not to expect perfection but the difference is absolutely life changing! I can recommend buying the very best lenses you can afford as they should give the widest depth of vision.

Yes my lenses are amazing as long as the room is lit properly and print is large enough as in fonts 12 or above .
I don’t need any glasses had them since 2019. Sometimes I wear glasses for reading if tired . But I’m really just being lazy I don’t need them
The op Is brilliant too. Both eyes done a month of each other . One had slight pressure but soon cleared by drops

I had medium astigmatism and a damaged retina on one eye. My NHS consultant (who also worked privately) spelt things out to me. Some folk do not adjust to toric lenses. Some people do not adjust to one lens for one focal length and one for another. If there is lack of adjustment that requires a repeat op. Not good. It may be a simple op but there are always possible complications. The NHS doesn’t do them for more reasons than just cost. I can see really well now, even without specs, driving standard plus. He said save the money for the best possible specs!

I was extremely short sighted, to the extent that I got free NHS treatment as I was classed as a complex prescription. I wore glasses and then contact lenses for over 60 years. I had a cataract op with one tonic lens in February- I only had a stigmatism in one eye. I paid privately for the tonic lens. It is the best thing I’ve ever done - I am now completely free of glasses and contact lenses, and have to pinch myself every morning when I wake up and can see without scrabbling to find my glasses. The procedure itself wasn’t pleasant but was over quickly, and I recovered very quickly - could see well enough to drive the next day. I wish I’d had it done earlier.

I should add that I don’t need reading glasses. I was already used to having a reading eye and a distance eye with my contact lenses, but it did take a few weeks for my brain to fully adjust after the op. I can drive, watch TV, read text on screens and in print, all without glasses.

I’ve worn glasses since age 3 and don’t at all mind them but I need varifocals plus reading glasses plus magnifying ones for embroidery. I’m swapping glasses dozens of times daily but rarely misplace a pair as I can’t walk round without one nor see anything up close without another.

I decided to go privately because of astigmatism in one eye. I was also very shortsighted (-9) and needed reading lenses for close work and had used multifocal contact lenses for a number of years. I did not have cataracts and therefore would not have been able to get the sight correction surgery on the NHS anyway. Once I decided that surgery was the way I wanted to proceed I first went for my normal annual checkup and to get advice direct from the optometrist. What I really hoped for is to be able to correct my vision so as not to need either long nor short distance glass, also keeping in mind that one of my eyes had astigmatism. So the suggestion was to have one lens in my strong eye that will give me perfect vision, also Toric; and the other eye would have a less strong lens to allow me to read (general reading on mobile, menus, prices, etc.) without resorting to reading glasses. The two eyes will work perfectly together and allow me to drive and read. For tiny printing or heavy reading sessions, a pair of reading glasses would be advisable so as not to strain the eyes. I tried this method with a different contact lens for each eye to see if I would adjust, and fortunately, I was happy with the outcome. I went with this option to the private clinic and the consultant did the rest explaining the pros and cons and ensuring the right prescription for each lens to get the optimum result. I have not looked back. I was delighted with the result. Wish I had done it years before!

This is all news to me,as over a year ago i was told i had the 'begining' of a cataract but they would just leave it for now. But no ones mentioned anything about putting any lenses in to improve my vision etc?🤔 Is that what they do? I assumed they just remove the cataract and i would be still wearing glasses.

I also have a slight astigmatism, but when i once trialled contact lenses for it, i saw no difference,so i just went back to contact lenses for just short sight, without the correction, with the advice of the optician of course.And now i mostly use glasses.

They totally numb your eye with loads of drops, then gently break up your cloudy lens and suck it out. They then slide in a nice new lens. The prescription is in the new lens.. You choose beforehand whether you want it to be a close up lens or a distance one. A lot of people then dont need specs. I still wear them to correct my astigmatism and long distance, as I have a strong prescription. I can now read with just my eyes.

Very short sighted ( -12 ) had retinal tears, astigmatism, and a macular hole in one eye Had both cateracts done …first, anesthetic didn’t work, horrible, second was a breeze after that
Didn’t have any choice about what lens were put in (NHS) but now just need reading glasses. Long sight reasonably good
Have needed the lens cleaned last year after about 3 years use apparently a one off need

Go for good ones!

17Jeanieallergy21
I have just seen a surgeon privately and I asked him about this lens his exact answer was "I wouldn't suggest it, because if it rotated which it can it will be like looking through your specs that you've put on crooked" So I am not getting that lens when I have my cataract operation.. Hope this helps. X