Mark_B_Good said:

Glad it went well. My uncle had this surgery done, but he had an option to deal with far and near sightedness.  They were able to fix both for him ... it cost more, but apparently there's a lens that can do both???

I'm due, soaking it all in, thanks fellas.

My Dr talked me out of the corrective lenses too. I never understood why. Half of me thinks maybe he was ugly up close ... but the other half of me thinks maybe he was ugly from far away. I woke up thinking I couldn't see **** and he was wiggling on top of me in an unnatural way, especially for an eye doctor.

My mother in law adapted to contacts in her 70s that gave her one eye near focus and one eye distance. She had an easier time than I ever imagined it could be for anyone regardless of age.  I was given the same option recently and I passed, for now.

Surgeries don't always go the way they're planned and that's not always because bad doctor or malpractice. There's a reason you're informed of all of the risks and possible outcomes - you're making an informed decision, if you really read and listen to the info available.

People aren't cars.

(Hey @alaskanassasin ☝️)

Legume said:

My mother in law adapted to contacts in her 70s that gave her one eye near focus and one eye distance. She had an easier time than I ever imagined it could be for anyone regardless of age.  I was given the same option recently and I passed, for now.

Surgeries don't always go the way they're planned and that's not always because bad doctor or malpractice. There's a reason you're informed of all of the risks and possible outcomes - you're making an informed decision, if you really read and listen to the info available.

People aren't cars.

(Hey @alaskanassasin ☝️)

We had a life changing almost death in the family due to a negligent doctor. Luckily my family member survived though permanent damage was done.  My family is not into suing but when a doctor almost kills your loved one, and is indifferent/dismissive of the medical situation as it unfolds because they are so sure of themselves…
  Most of the few lawyers they spoke to would not touch it because they work with the hospital network in one fashion or another. The lawyer that would take the case spoke over them and had a this is how it’s going to be attitude. Basically they had a case but it was going to be a marathon, testifying, what is your life worth monetarily at your age etc.

@alaskanassasin

Sorry to hear that. I kid around a lot obviously but I've also been through hell and thought I was going to die multiple times due to negligent Dr's. People assume Dr's know everything, but that's far from the truth. I have a team of specialists that I deal with but I have to be careful. I almost died getting a morphine pump put in. It got infected and blood pooled around it, pitch black.and steeped blood for days. My pain Dr got nervous and called in a wound care specialist, who would look at it every two days and decide if it needed some procedure. Everytime this happened, they reserved and or, just in case, costing me $200 each time. I finally looked at them both and sid "take it out now". They both said that was a good idea, and I was in OR withing 2 hours. I could go on and one about the stupid **** I've dealt with, for instance, I'm allergic to fentanyl,  I go into anaphylactic shock. It's in all my history, yet during three of my operations, even though I was on all the paperwork and I had the bright colored armband, they gave it to me anyway as an anesthesia. I got so damned sick all three times, for days, it was awful.

Ybabpmuts said:

@alaskanassasin

Sorry to hear that. I kid around a lot obviously but I've also been through hell and thought I was going to die multiple times due to negligent Dr's. People assume Dr's know everything, but that's far from the truth. I have a team of specialists that I deal with but I have to be careful. I almost died getting a morphine pump put in. It got infected and blood pooled around it, pitch black.and steeped blood for days. My pain Dr got nervous and called in a wound care specialist, who would look at it every two days and decide if it needed some procedure. Everytime this happened, they reserved and or, just in case, costing me $200 each time. I finally looked at them both and sid "take it out now". They both said that was a good idea, and I was in OR withing 2 hours. I could go on and one about the stupid **** I've dealt with, for instance, I'm allergic to fentanyl,  I go into anaphylactic shock. It's in all my history, yet during three of my operations, even though I was on all the paperwork and I had the bright colored armband, they gave it to me anyway as an anesthesia. I got so damned sick all three times, for days, it was awful.

Sorry to hear that @Ybabpmuts. I hope you have a loved one to help you navigate when you’re at the hospital, it really makes a difference having someone speak for you in a lot of instances.

Feel sorry for GWN families fighting CMPA's $5 Billion war chest. 
https://youtu.be/9Z35oDSnZ7g

lousubcap said:

Mark_B_Good said:

Glad it went well. My uncle had this surgery done, but he had an option to deal with far and near sightedness.  They were able to fix both for him ... it cost more, but apparently there's a lens that can do both???

I had the option to go with the lens to correct both.  I talked with a few who had that implant and the reviews were mixed.  Glad your uncle's deal went well but I passed.  As long as I don't need glasses to drive I am fine. 

And the lenses do have a substantial upcharge and you need to do both eyes.

Another option I passed on was to make one eye good for far sight and the other for near sight, relying on your brain to do the hard work of equalizing.

At my age I figure I don't need to put additional pressure on my brain to start a new project so skipped that as well.  FWIW-

I had laser surgery done on my eyes ... just before the operation, the doctor asks if I want one eye good for far, and one for near ... and in the 30 seconds I had to think about it ... I asked for his opinion, and because he thought it was a good idea ... I went with it.

BIG MISTAKE ... The reading eye is okay ... but I still need reading glasses for it, and now I kind of have this weird feeling of knowing one eye is "off" when looking long distance, and the other eye is off when I need to read ... it's a STUPID option in my opinion.  Fix both for distance, and deal with short sightedness with reading glasses, in my humble opinion.

Honestly, I might go back to the laser surgeon in a few years to get this "reading" eye corrected again, for long distance only.

My doctor told me that was an option, but advised against it for the very reasons you pointed out. He clearly slated that some people couldn't adjust to them at all, or that one them could be a little wonky, and then would have to be redone. I never needed reading glasses until after my cataract surgery, which confused me, but it's really a minor inconvenience considering how bad my eyes were. I couldn't even drive anymore. Those steroid induced cataracts came on fast. It was a matter of two weeks before I could no longer see to drive, or watch TV, or read. Steroids are the one thing I can take that makes my body feel halfway decent but they do so much damage to me. Still, on my worst days, I need to take them and just deal with the side effects. It's all evil.

And for what it's worth - I think that's totally irresponsible for a doc to present you with a huge option like that without all the info and time to consider.  Big red flag.

Canugghead said:

Glad I followed this thread. I think I'm settled on fixing both eyes for distant and glasses for near, unless the surgeon can convince me otherwise. Question for those of you that took the distant option, what's the minimum distance you can see clearly without glasses? TIA

When I first had my surgery, both eyes were at 20/10 vision ... what I could see at 20 ft, the average person would have to stand 10 ft away to see. On the golf course, we could drive a ball 280 yards, and I saw it clearly all the way, where it landed, no issues ... where most of the other guys had no clue where the ball went. It was incredible how far I could see.

Over time (it's been 14 years) that has settling into 20/20 vision ... maybe 20/25 for that "reading" eye.

I get my eyes checked every year.

Legume said:

And for what it's worth - I think that's totally irresponsible for a doc to present you with a huge option like that without all the info and time to consider.  Big red flag.

In retrospect ... I am a bit upset about not having the time to think about it. They did do a good job though, my eye sight has been amazing ... just in the past 2 years they have changed where reading has become a bit of an issue.