My eyes have been getting progressively worse over the past couple years, to the point where looking with my left eye is akin to peering through muslin. Yup; with age comes cataracts. So here’s what awaits me later today (squeamish warning):
…and I’ll be getting the right eye done too, in a couple of weeks. Fortunately, my eyedoc is an absolute artist at this surgery — he’s the same guy who carries a SIG 226 under his white coat… how bad could he be?
After a lifetime of shitty eyesight that not even Lasik could take care of properly, here’s hoping things will get better. Apparently, it does.
Wish me luck, y’all.
Update: all done, no problems. See you tomorrow.
Piece-o-cake, young man! It might seem “ookie” when you see the pictures, it’s the results that count. Before I had mine done (bilateral,) every light looked like a star and even the sunniest days had a permanent” dust storm” haze. Trust me, when they take the bandage off the next day, you will be moved to tears at the improvement you will, well… “see.”
It will be like comparing an out of focus Polaroid to the latest digital picture.
One more thing: when they remove the bandage, you might consider having some “eye-candy” (sweet young thing, smokin’ fast car, gun pron, your choice,) to look at for that first, memorable moment. Just a suggestion.
Now, that there is some gore.
Well, good luck then. May you be rendered master of all you survey with the buckhorn sights on your lever gun.
I had the lens replacement surgery twelve years ago and it is a miracle. It’s going to be a lot brighter so get good sunglasses. Shooting with iron sights will be fun again when you can see bugs at thirty yards. Amazing procedure.
I had it done back in ’02. They no longer use a scalpel; it’s all done w/ ultrasound and a vacuum.
Absolutely *LOVE* the results.
My Dad had horrible nearsightedness (like -12 or worse) and wore glasses ever since he was a small child. He had cataract surgery several years ago and now has perfect vision.
My eyes are worse and I can’t wait to get cataracts.
Good luck, Kim!
Speaking as a five-year-old crybaby candy-ass, I’m here to tell you there’s nothing to it, once they’ve started the IV. (But you probably already know that by now.)
Bright side: It makes ALL the girls much prettier.
Nazzo fast, Guido…
May the fellow have a steady hand and great skill. Heal quick old boy, much writing remains yet to be done. And yes, all of us who grew up in sunny climates are probably going to need this at some point.
You’ll be fine. Momma did the thing on both eyes two years ago and says that now she can actually see. I’m on the schedule for this summer or fall. No big deal. The docs almost do drive through service these days. I remember when my parents had the surgery back in the 80s and you did an overnight in the hospital.
I remember when I got my first set of bifocals back in the 90s. I got home and took my pistol out to see if I could still see the sights. Thankfully that part worked. I did look down and for some reason I was seeing double at that range. It took me a few days to figure out which penis to pee out of. Got that part figured out too.
Both of them, obviously.
I had my left eye done a week ago. Still settling in, but the eye went from damn near useless to 20/30. Right eye is TBD…there’s a yellow haze over everything, but I’m currently correctable to 20/20. And unwilling to mess with that when I’m headed to the World Muzzle-Loading Championships in August. Sometime in late October would work OK…
Now for the Big Question…which sort of replacement lens did you get? I wound up with a monofocal. The multifocals have a very bad rep in the shooting community, and the doctor told me the accomodative lens currently on the market has stabilization problems…”the gift that keeps on giving” was precisely the words he used. Bummer…I was planning on going that route.
I got a monofocal. Haven’t done the test yet, as it’s still settling in. I should have 20/20 or thereabouts, which suits me fine. After a lifetime of severe myopia and astigmatism, I can live with reading glasses, believe me.
When I had it done in Sep 2016 (both eyes), I got a bifocal, but I focused the second setting for computer work. So I still need reading glasses for books, but otherwise I’m 20/20 both eyes and no more astigmatism.
It’ll take several weeks to settle in to final acuity…at least that’s what I’ve been told. Budget for a pair of bifocals for driving. Top 2/3rds plain sunglasses, bottom third set up for map reading and the instrument panel. I can’t make out a thing close up with my left eye.
For me, the cataract op about six years ago was the best bang for the buck and discomfort of all of my too many medical procedures. I could hardly believe how bright and pure colors became, and by choosing a mono lens at near infinity focus, I can clearly see everything down to about arms length, where two pair of glasses, one focused at arms length for workbench, computer monitor reading and shooting with iron sights, and the second pair focused at about 12″ for reading and close work do the job just fine. I can hardly wait to do the other eye, not quite ready six years ago. Maybe this spring.
FWIW, my surgeon still recommends the mono for its reliability over the variable focus.
The first thing I noticed after the surgery was how much more BLUE everything looked. The dirty yellow haze went away, everything popped. I wasn’t all that happy with results though–I asked for distance vision with the mono lenses, what I got was intermediate vision in one eye, and close intermediate with the other. I expressed my displeasure with the eye doc, he wasn’t happy. I think I’ve since developed astigmatism as well–astronomy is one of my passions, now when I look at the sky brighter stars flare badly, and I don’t see dimmer stars at all. Contrast is way down as well.
Good grief! I’d see another doctor…and an attorney.
Optically, a monofocal lens can only give sharp focus at one distance. But set to infinity, it’ll give decent results down to 20 feet or so. Close-in? You’re hosed. So am I. But reading glasses can correct the focus, even if you have to use two pair.
Incredible. Such amazing advances in medical technology.
How are the eyes coming along now?
Oh, and here is some eye candy for you to look at while your vision improves