The good -- 20/20 (or better,) all distances in my left eye. Right eye is currently sitting at 20/30. So my visual acuity is great. Yesterday, I could read a very small sign at the end of the supermarket aisle with no problem. Colors are amazing. I had no idea. I did find out at my last visit that my left eye had been much worse than I imagined. Before surgery, it was 20/400. It had a particular kind of fast-growing cataract that can take out an eye quickly. I no longer need glasses at all, although I still often wear them while on the computer due to the brightness and glare of the screen. My doc said the glare should diminish over time.

The so-so -- The world is now a very bright place. Too bright. I think I am now adjusting to what is normal for most people. My eyes are also often dry (this is new.) I have to use quality eye drops 1-2 times a day. I am told that this may be permanent.

The bad -- the halos and starbursts at night are pretty bad. This may improve to some degree but will probably never go away entirely. I expected them, but it is a lot. They are improving a great deal during what I call half-light conditions (i.e. cloudy days, shade, etc.) But they start around 4:30 P.M., and by sunset are quite strong. I also get glare from my computer screen, the TV, and reflective surfaces. Standard Christmas tree lights bother me, so I'm going to shop around for those with a more diffuse glow.

Starburts and halos are more likely with the multi-focal lenses, but can also happen with the monofocals (i.e. distance only.)

I can also still see the outside edge of my left lens about half of the time. My doc said this goes away for ~98% of people within six months.

IMO the important thing to understand is that post operative side-effects are highly individual. No one can accurately predict what you may or may not experience. Some people wake up from their second surgery and are good to go. Some, not.

The reason I suggested looking into different lenses made by various medical device manufacturers is that some have a better reputation than others for side effects. This is why I suggest that you ask your surgeon why s/he made the decision to go with a particular lens.

I'm getting a very thorough exam in late December. I'll also get another in the spring. By spring I'll have a better idea of what I'm living with for the future.

Thanks for asking! Have you made a decision yet about your own surgeries?

I like reading these updates.

Hi Summer, Two years ago I had an injury that affected a nerve to my eye. I had halos and starbursts. This post reminded me of them and to think, hey, their gone! You will get sorta used to them and then they will sneak away while you're not looking !


Good luck with all your healing.

For anyone paying attention -- I almost went blind due to diabetic retinopathy because I had diabetes for YEARS and didn't know it.

My treatment involves getting $2,000 worth of medicine shot directly into my eyes EACH MONTH.

I had ZERO symptoms of diabetes.

My condition was 100 percent preventable.

Don't let this happen to you. Get your eyes checked. Get your sugar checked. Don't go blind.

That's a great heads-up, Lois. I do need to get a blood test. I also recently upgraded my health insurance so I can get a vision exam every year. And my ophthalmologist told me that she has recently added two additional optometrists to her practice to keep up with the demand. I want to keep going there since they know my eyes so well by now.

Here's a little story -- I was recently telling a *very* Christian friend that the Bible verse, "I was blind, but now I can see" has become particularly meaningful to me. And she told me in frustration that it is meant to be taken metaphorically. I replied, "I know, but I can take it literally as well." This annoyed her to no end. lol



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2019 06:20PM by summer.

The Bible verse I keep thinking of is "anoint my eyes with honey."

I've tried everything else, but NOT that. Mebbe I should give it a go.

When my vision started tamking I drank LOTS of fresh carrot juice, which would have been okay if I wasn't diabetic, but I was, though I didn't know it.

Carrot juice contains lots of sugar, therefore I was making a bad problem worse.

What saved me wasn't carrot juice or prayers or blueberries or bilberries or faith but modern medicine. That's right. Big Pharma saved me.

PLUS I had NO faith in the cure. NONE. Was sure it wasn't going to work.

But it did.

You have heard of faith healing. Well, this was no-faith-whatsover healing.

So I have had to re-think a lot of things.

But yes, for me, too, I once was blind but now I see.

Not thanks to Amazing Grace, but thanks to Big Pharma.

Go figure.

Thanks for the encouragement, Kathleen! I do like that I've seen a lot of improvement during daylight hours and in half-light conditions. That tells me that it *can* improve. It the halos and starbursts at night can settle down to some degree, I will count it as a win.

Loislane, thank you for that wake up call !!! Seriously !

kind of trippy isn't it OPie ? ~


in b 4 ~ better than drugs ~


multi-focal lense crew checking in ~



in b 4 ~ there are some things that are better left unseen ~



brb ~ shopping 4 sunglasses ~

Very trippy, Ziller! I rather feel like a vampire. Too much light! I was comparing my experience to the vampires in Twilight. Like those vampires, you get some incredible gifts, but also some serious challenges. Either way, there's no going back. You do it only because you have otherwise run out of options.

The technology will only keep getting better. Young people today will have great options in the future.

agreed ~

I have a "fraidy-cat" appointment with the surgeon to ask these questions. He's been my doc for 30 years and I have lots of friends who's eye surgery he did.

I picked the multifocal, continuous, toric lens. The only "complications" I read about this lens is that people complain they don't have 20/20 after the surgery.

The lens has a thread attached to each side of it that positions it for the astigmatism. Hope that is not a problem......

The nurse said I could elect to be knocked out. Thinking about that.

Thanks, Lois Lane for the advice!

Hi, laperla, thanks for checking in!

What they mean by "knocked out" is in effect a twilight sleep (not fully knocked out as you would get for major surgery.) It was explained to me that you are somewhat aware (enough to cooperate with the surgeon,) but will remember little to nothing. I would recommend that. I also asked the anesthesiologist for 5 mg. of Xanax prior to surgery, and I would recommend that as well. Please trust me when I say that the surgery was the easy part. If your surgeon uses a laser first, to do the initial incision, it's not painful at all, just a bit weird feeling (they will give you a numbing solution ahead of time.) It's like looking at a psychedelic light show. Keep tracking the red light!

The main thing you will need to remember with the toric lens is *do not bend over" post surgery. At all. K?

If your surgeon is like my surgeon, you will be issued heavy-duty sunglasses post surgery. Ask about that. You will need them! I wore them for driving for a number of weeks afterward. I would also recommend you get an eye patch from a pharmacy ahead of time. I went ahead and rested each eye for about four full days post surgery. It won't hurt and might help. Plus there will be times after those first few days when the light will be too much and you just need a break from it for a while. They will give you an eye patch to wear at night for the first three days, but I liked the one I bought better.

I think the vision that you get is individual. I was thrilled to get 20/20. My doc thinks that some of the problems I have had adjusting is that I went from 20/400 to 20/20. Big change!

I am thinking about you. Let me know how it goes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/18/2019 07:57PM by summer.

I was abused when I was too little to fight back (by my TBM relative.) That involved being tied up. That's what I'm afraid of more than the surgery.


They said I could ask for general anesthesia - we'll see if I can just be too loopy to care.

I'll get the eye patch. Thank you.

Your anesthesiologist will discuss your options with you the day of surgery. Don't be afraid to ask questions or to clearly state your needs and/or fears. The one for my second surgery jokingly said to me, "I'm your bartender."

There will be a number of people in the room for your surgery -- the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, at least one nurse, etc. Nothing to worry about! The anesthesiologist will be standing right beside you at about hip level. They gave me a snack of juice and cookies afterward, and the second time, I was really looking forward to it.

You will really not want to do much for a few days if you can arrange that. I took off for surgery which was early on a Monday, and also Tuesday which is post-op exam day. If I could have rested a third day for each eye, that would have been ideal.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2019 05:11PM by summer.

Thank you so very much for your suggestions and input.

Since I am my sole breadwinner - this is scary!

I too will try Viteyes after the surgeries.

P.S. Got my $1,000 eye drops bill down to $335 via mfg coupons my doc recommended. That worked out....

I think you will be glad that you did that.

A little more about talking about fears with the anesthesiologist -- I am needle phobic, so I told the anesthesiologist that I would need to be somewhat doped up before they got a line anywhere near me. Hence the Xanax and enough time for it to kick in (if your doc is anything like mine, there is a large staging area before you go off to the laser room or the surgical suite. There are a number of patients there, and if you need more time, it is not a problem.) I also got the most talented nurse in the house in terms of needle sticks, and she granted my request to chatter with me while she was going about her business. They remembered me the second time, and gave me the same nurse!

So, let them know what you need in order for surgery to proceed smoothly. They want it to go smoothly, too. I could not have asked for a better surgical experience.

You are so lucky to get a week off. I think you will really appreciate the rest. Do get that eye patch. It make a world of difference to me. It will need to be somewhat stiff in order to protect your eye. Mine looks like a pirate patch. I got it from Rite Aid drug store.

Florescent lights are especially bothersome after surgery. It was so nice to put on my patch before going into a grocery store or department store.

I had surgery done on my eyes a while back and the vision got as good as 20/15 but has decreased to 20/20 vision. I still struggle with brightness of screen technology and glare at night and even dry eyes still. I just started that VITEYES blue light defender that tevai suggested and seeing if that helps. Its only been day two on the supplement and i think my eyes are less fatigued looking at screens but it could be better. Probably takes more time for the supplement to work.

I am trying Viteyes too as per Tevai's suggestion.

I have tried so many remedies on my poor eyes.
Will let you know if Viteyes makes a difference.

The sun's glare is like arrows stabbing my eyes.

I hate living like this.

Lois