One for the PH eye specialists
Discussion
The prescription can be set with a reasonable degree of accuracy to whatever you want (with some guidance from your Ophthamologist/Optician). Some of what prescription you end up with depends on the other eye, having perfect distance vision in one eye when the other is -8.00DS can be tricky, so if nothing needs doing to the left eye keeping the operated on eye short sighted but reducing the strength would be an option, but often second eye surgery even if the vision is good may be considered.
All replacement lens surgery done under the NHS in the UK uses a single focus lens so if you have perfect distance vision you will need reading specs, multifocal implants to give distance and near vision are an option privately.
I'm an optician and try to spend time with my patients before surgery discussing possible outcomes when I refer as then if someone is short sighted and would prefer their best uncorrected vision to be for close work rather than distance so I can note it in my referral.
Hope this helps
All replacement lens surgery done under the NHS in the UK uses a single focus lens so if you have perfect distance vision you will need reading specs, multifocal implants to give distance and near vision are an option privately.
I'm an optician and try to spend time with my patients before surgery discussing possible outcomes when I refer as then if someone is short sighted and would prefer their best uncorrected vision to be for close work rather than distance so I can note it in my referral.
Hope this helps
anonymous said:
[redacted]
If you are having the operation under the NHS bear in mind they will only fit a single correction lens not a toric type so this won't correct your astigmatism. Like me you may well end up needing glasses for reading if you have the correction set for the distance vision end of your prescription.Like you I am used to having super close up vision & I think it will be this that I miss most.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Astigmatism can come from the curvature of the front of the eye or the lens inside the eye (or a combination of the two) and can get better or worse after lens replacement surgery. Have they discussed second eye surgery as that will often influence what the surgeon will set the prescription at,perfect distance vision in one eye can can be pretty difficult to live with if the other eye is -8.00 (although in most areas 2nd eye surgery can be carried out under the NHS if you find the difference between the 2 eyes to be a problem). If you would rather have good close vision without glasses over distance vision (alot of short sighted people miss being able to read in bed without specs post op) it may be worth discussing this with the surgeon pre-op aiming for -3.00 would give you a big improvement in vision without specs compared to now but would focus clearly at 33cm without specs.anonymous said:
[redacted]
It isn't scheduled yet as i'm looking at going private. I feel that if I'm going to have lens replacement done then I want to be as glasses-free as possible so I would need to correct my astigmatism as well, which the NHS won't do. I've also been told they wont treat the second eye so I'd be left with wearing one contact lens or a pair of glasses with only one lens in it. Hence my asking if anyone can recommend a good surgeon in East Berkshire or maybe even London.In general private health insurance won't cover the cost of more advanced lenses or treatments so you may well be looking at picking up some of the cost yourself anyway.
Thought I would join this thread for a bit a moral support.
Previous history - Short sighted (about -8.00) in both eyes. I have had a vitrectomy in my left eye, macugen injections in my right eye and fairly heavy retinal laser treatment - all about ten years ago. I have also started needing varifocals.
About three years ago I was diagnosed with cataracts (very early diagnosis due monitoring of my 'other' complications)
Last summer the prescription in my left eye started rapidly changing. Two new prescriptions later and I have a slight double vision in my left eye. Diagnosed as cataracts. Appointment at the hospital in February to see what they will do. I am probably going to go private and have both eyes done if my consultant recommends it. The high myopia will mean wearing glasses with only one eye corrected will be difficult/ impossible.
Biggest inconvenience at the moment is looking at monitors at work. One eye wants to use the varifocal and the other eye does not - meaning a slightly blurry image - so I am just enlarging the image size to compensate.
It will be interesting to read how you get on with your operation. Do you know the waiting time on the NHS locally to yourself?
Best of luck
Mike
Previous history - Short sighted (about -8.00) in both eyes. I have had a vitrectomy in my left eye, macugen injections in my right eye and fairly heavy retinal laser treatment - all about ten years ago. I have also started needing varifocals.
About three years ago I was diagnosed with cataracts (very early diagnosis due monitoring of my 'other' complications)
Last summer the prescription in my left eye started rapidly changing. Two new prescriptions later and I have a slight double vision in my left eye. Diagnosed as cataracts. Appointment at the hospital in February to see what they will do. I am probably going to go private and have both eyes done if my consultant recommends it. The high myopia will mean wearing glasses with only one eye corrected will be difficult/ impossible.
Biggest inconvenience at the moment is looking at monitors at work. One eye wants to use the varifocal and the other eye does not - meaning a slightly blurry image - so I am just enlarging the image size to compensate.
It will be interesting to read how you get on with your operation. Do you know the waiting time on the NHS locally to yourself?
Best of luck
Mike
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I do feel tired, especially on weekends. But, I don't think this is linked to the cataracts particularly. (ie I think it is hereditary - my Dad and Grandad always liked 40 winks on a Saturday afternoon 
) Generally, I have about 7 hours sleep a night- but could probably do with a bit more!!Thanks for your other post about waiting times - hopefully I will find out in a few weeks too. I am not sure whether I could wait 20 weeks.....
Mike
My wife ended up with cataracts in both eyes. Ever since I first met her she was unbelievably short-sighted and used to wear what I called glass bottle lens specs.
She hated them and I remember her saving hard and going to a specialist optician to get fitted for contact lenses. This was c1972 (she was the only person I knew who had them fitted back then, it was a really new thing. Great optician who also worked at the local hospital, it was her short-sightedness readings - I can't recall what they were - that made him help).
From then onwards, she always wore contacts right up until her cat ops. She had both eyes done in 2017 on the NHS, one a few months after the other. She says and still does, one of the best things she's ever had done. Her eyesight was transformed, she just has reading glasses now! She was lucky in that when she went in for the op, the head bod/surgeon said he would do hers personally, simply because of how short-sighted she was. He didn't do the next one and she worried a bit. But need not have. I won't go into the details of the op, might put you off! It has me, but I'm not too bad eyesight wise compared to many my age. Oh, one thing the surgeon did say in general chatting was avoid laser eye surgery when younger if not needed, can make cat ops difficult in later life or impossible.
She hated them and I remember her saving hard and going to a specialist optician to get fitted for contact lenses. This was c1972 (she was the only person I knew who had them fitted back then, it was a really new thing. Great optician who also worked at the local hospital, it was her short-sightedness readings - I can't recall what they were - that made him help).
From then onwards, she always wore contacts right up until her cat ops. She had both eyes done in 2017 on the NHS, one a few months after the other. She says and still does, one of the best things she's ever had done. Her eyesight was transformed, she just has reading glasses now! She was lucky in that when she went in for the op, the head bod/surgeon said he would do hers personally, simply because of how short-sighted she was. He didn't do the next one and she worried a bit. But need not have. I won't go into the details of the op, might put you off! It has me, but I'm not too bad eyesight wise compared to many my age. Oh, one thing the surgeon did say in general chatting was avoid laser eye surgery when younger if not needed, can make cat ops difficult in later life or impossible.
mike9009 said:
Good news - so sight cured and tiredness cured too. I hope it goes well.
I have my first NHS appointment soon - but I am wondering whether to just contact the private clinic and by pass the NHS route?
We have 2 "NHS" options in Shropshire either operations are carried out in NHS hospitals with the risk of operation dates being changed at short notice (which can be a pain if you are working) or contracted out to private hospitals where you may have a shorter wait time and things generally get carried out on the appointed date(particularly important if you have a difference between the 2 eyes), worth asking your optician if they know of any local schemes. If my patients are prepared to travel they can get the wait time down from 18 to 4 weeks. I hope it goes well. I have my first NHS appointment soon - but I am wondering whether to just contact the private clinic and by pass the NHS route?
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