Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Welcome to the Leverguns.Com Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here ... politely.

Moderators: AmBraCol, Hobie

Forum rules
Welcome to the Leverguns.Com General Discussions Forum. This is a high-class place so act respectable. We discuss most anything here other than politics... politely.

Please post political post in the new Politics forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
Canuck Bob
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1830
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:57 am
Location: Calgary, Canada

Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by Canuck Bob »

Visited the eye doctor and am looking at cataract surgery in both eyes, I'm a good candidate for good vision after surgery. I'm wondering for those folks who have gone through this did your iron sight use improve. I'm hoping my peep sight lever action vision will allow me to have effective sight picture vision again!
mark
Levergunner 2.0
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:44 am
Location: Tumbi Umbi. Au

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by mark »

I had my surgery, both eyes, plastic lenses inserted about a year ago.

Results are better than I ever expected.

Speak to you surgeon re the tasks you want the eyes to do. It's all a compromise.

It was a pleasure to throw away the white cane.

Cheers Mark
User avatar
crs
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 3153
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:32 am
Location: Republic of Texas
Contact:

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by crs »

My wife and I hsave both had the surgery and she became 20/20 in both eyes and I became 20/30 in both eyes.
It was a success. Over time, there may be a need for a laser touch up in one or both eyes.
Good luck with your surgery.
CRS, NRA Benefactor Member, TSRA, DRSS, DWWC, Whittington Center
Android Ballistics App at http://www.xplat.net/
jmiller
Levergunner 2.0
Posts: 264
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 11:40 pm

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by jmiller »

I had cataract surgery last year in both eyes primarily because my vision was interfering with my shooting. Here's the thing a lot of people don't realize about getting new lenses put in your eyes: they don't work like the lenses you were born with. Plastic lenses are set for one distance, and one distance only. If you have 20/20 vision with your new lenses, they will focus at distance and not at intermediate....where your front sight is. Depending on how bad your eyes are now, it may seem like you can see the front sight a lot better but it still won't be in really sharp focus. They now offer lenses that will accommodate to some extent. I had accommodating lenses put in at a much higher cost than the standard lenses that are used and covered under most insurance plans. Even these lenses don't work perfectly for a lot of people and they're very expensive....several thousand extra for each eye. Bottom line is this: you'll be able to see a lot better, but not as well as you could in your youth (if you had good eyes then). You may find that you can see the front sight a lot better than you can now, but you may still need a pair of glasses to see the front sight really clear. Still, just being able to see more clearly at any distance is going to be a definite improvement. The operation is completely painless, quick, and the results are usually pretty profound. Good luck and I hope it helps your shooting.
User avatar
Blaine
Posting leader...
Posts: 30495
Joined: Mon Dec 17, 2007 2:22 pm
Location: Still Deciding

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by Blaine »

I had the onset of cataracts several years ago, so I'm coming up for it. I heard that they can give you one for close and one for far and in a few days your brain takes over and you can't tell.
The Rotten Fruit Always Hits The Ground First

Proud Life Member Of:
NRA
Second Amendment Foundation
Citizens Committee For The Right To Keep And Bear Arms
DAV
pshort
Levergunner 3.0
Posts: 586
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:43 am
Location: Central Minnesota

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by pshort »

Howdy,
Same here... Both eyes, much better than expected....

Paul
"Pain plants the flag of reality in the
fortress of a rebel soul"
Pete44ru
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 11242
Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2007 7:26 am

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by Pete44ru »

.

After I had both eyes done (each a few weeks apart) several years ago, I was most surprised at the vivid color changes around me (homes, vehicles, etc). :o

For the first few days afterward, when walking @ night, every light (streetlamps, porch lights, vehicle headlamps, etc, etc) seemed to have vivid streaks of light emanating from them in all directions, like in a comic book. :roll:


.
saw whet owl
Levergunner
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 10:15 am

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by saw whet owl »

Stumbling upon this discussion has been a real blessing, as I am facing cataract surgery this summer. I have been unsettled about facing the procedure, but this discussion has eliminated much of my anxiety. Thanks guys.

Canuck Bob, I have always enjoyed reading many of your posts, as we both seem to share an affinity for 32 caliber firearms :D
User avatar
Shasta
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1556
Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:50 pm
Location: Shasta County, the far right stronghold in California

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by Shasta »

I am an avid metallic silhouette shooter, and for some years the orange targets on our range appeared very indistinct to me when looking through the tang peep sights I use on all my rifles. I wore eyeglasses for 25 years, but after getting cataract surgery on both eyes,I no longer need corrective eyeglasses to see at distance, and now see the targets clearly. I do still need to wear glasses for reading.

Shasta
California Rifle & Pistol Association LIFE Member
National Rifle Association BENEFACTOR LIFE Member


http://www.hcrpclub.org/schedule.html

avatar pic is Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake, & Mt. Shasta
Pete44ru
Advanced Levergunner
Posts: 11242
Joined: Sun Sep 02, 2007 7:26 am

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by Pete44ru »

Shasta wrote: Fri Jun 02, 2017 11:54 am
after getting cataract surgery on both eyes,I no longer need corrective eyeglasses to see at distance, and now see the targets clearly. I do still need to wear glasses for reading.


That ended up being the results in my case, also - I hope much the same occurs after other's eye surgery......... :)



.
Terry Murbach
Shootist
Posts: 1682
Joined: Sun Dec 09, 2007 7:46 pm
Location: BLACK HILLS, DAKOTA TERRITORY

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by Terry Murbach »

YES it did . I had 20/400 vision before the surgery and 20/15 when it was all over. With my shooting glasses I have 20/10 vision in both eyes now. Iron sights are so clear it is ALMOST spooky. NOW mind you, I still have to put on reading glasses for the really upclose work of reading what I just wrote here but do not need 'em to see clearly see pistol sights.
And so it goes...
RIDE, SHOOT STRAIGHT, AND SPEAK THE TRUTH
piller
Posting leader...
Posts: 15188
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:49 pm
Location: South of Dallas

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by piller »

As in most things, the main parts of cataract surgery are the same as always. What is better now is that we have better tools and can get it done with more precision for shorter healing time and better outcomes. Discuss what you expect or want with your Doctor, and he can put in the right lens to match your needs. Slightly far sighted and reading glasses for close up work is easy to do now.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
User avatar
Canuck Bob
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1830
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:57 am
Location: Calgary, Canada

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by Canuck Bob »

Thank you all. I've decided to go with the mono focus lenses. I evaluated that the most important visual skill I need to perform is driving the family till it is over. Up here spotting the suicidal moose is critical. I want long vision both eyes. Reading glasses and the belief that any procedure will eventually require fine tuning with glasses are not a problem. Kinda old school for me. Reports like jmillers and others are spot on, thanks.

As far as shooting a lengthy search of shooting forums was revealing. I want to be capable of peep sighted rifles, 3 levers and a Lee Enfield. The CMP, Civilian Marksman Program (wish we had one), reported good results generally with peep sighted service rifles. On other forums some had problems with barrel sights and pistol sights due to close focus limits. Two thing jumped out. Regardless of shooting vision outcome almost everyone raved about their new vision and often commented "simple, low risk, shouldn't have worried and waited so long". It also means most likely no glasses for my binoculars!

Bob
User avatar
Canuck Bob
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1830
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:57 am
Location: Calgary, Canada

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by Canuck Bob »

The right eye was done on Wed.. The return of vision has been as expected and I've been advised to allow 4-6 weeks for final vision stability. I am certain at this point that peep sights are back on the table or should that be bench!

The surgery was a non-event, about 20 minutes, and post op has been simple. The return of color vision is breathtaking. If you suspect your vision is wanky please check it. The second eye is in mid July and they advise 2 weeks before shooting. I plan nothing heavier than 22lr for a month post-op. No need to screw up a good thing.

What a blessing.
piller
Posting leader...
Posts: 15188
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:49 pm
Location: South of Dallas

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by piller »

Glad you can see better out of that eye. Medical procedures are improving all the time. Nothing is perfect, but the issues which worry some people are becoming increasingly less likely.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
mark
Levergunner 2.0
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:44 am
Location: Tumbi Umbi. Au

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by mark »

I'm pleased that the operation turned out well.

Cheers Mark
User avatar
Ysabel Kid
Moderator
Posts: 27790
Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:10 pm
Location: South Carolina, USA
Contact:

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by Ysabel Kid »

I had better than perfect vision most of my life (something akin to 20/10; I could see at 20 feet what most people had to be 10 feet away to see). My parents and all my siblings wore glasses or contacts from their early teens on.

I hit fifty, and as with a lot else, my body started to betray me. Including my eyes. I went from nothing to bifocals immediately. Within a year they weren't working. Turned out to be cataracts - a 51 years old. I had the surgery and multi-focal lenses put in. It made sense for me being so young (relatively), because I would get the payback (it was expensive over what insurance would pay). They said there was less than a 2% chance it wouldn't work completely.

We, as anyone here knows, if it won't work for some small portion of humanity, I'll be in that pool. I should have just gone with what insurance paid for and got a good pair of reading glasses. I had the surgery in January 2016, and I'm still trying to get it sorted out. Part of it is scar tissue, part if cloudiness I still have, part if just my poor medical luck. I can see the bricks on my neighbor's house across the street clearly if it is bright outside, but have trouble with closer distances. And the warning they give you that your night vision will be impacted is NO JOKE. If it is dark at all, I lose a tremendous amount of clarity. I now carry a flashlight with me at all times.

I'm happy I had the surgery, because the rapid onset would have left me legally blind by now. I just wish I had taken the simpler path.

Good luck!
Image
navajo
Levergunner
Posts: 26
Joined: Fri Jun 30, 2017 7:02 pm

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by navajo »

Glad to read it all went well for you.
My Dad has had cataract surgurys and a detatched retina
he still shoots fine.
I'd say anyone who has eye troubles shouln't be hesitant
to get it fixed.
piller
Posting leader...
Posts: 15188
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:49 pm
Location: South of Dallas

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by piller »

Just a warning to all who get put on statin drugs for cholesterol. Expect to get cataracts, and after surgery to fix them, expect to get them again.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
User avatar
Canuck Bob
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1830
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:57 am
Location: Calgary, Canada

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by Canuck Bob »

I'm just 4 days since my left eye surgery and 3 weeks from the right eye. My right eye is about 20-30 and my left is tack sharp at distance. I'm a lefty. I've sighted my rifles and found that I see barrel sights very well and my beloved peeps like an eagle eye kid! I chose the standard lens and happy I did. I got cancer and dropping thousands on fancy lenses seemed like patching the canoe just before it goes over the falls!

Here is something I learned. Years ago I had lasik correction that was a roaring success. I was an ultralight pilot and could easily see gophers on the runway at quite a distance. When I went for evaluation recently for cataract lenses I was told they needed my old numbers pre-lasik for a a well designed lens. My info was long gone. If you have had corrective eye surgery track down these numbers and file them away. This explains my 20-30 for the first eye. I have no idea what numbers they are referring to but sure wish I knew this years ago.
piller
Posting leader...
Posts: 15188
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:49 pm
Location: South of Dallas

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by piller »

Glad your vision is improved. Medical technology improvements are often worth the time and effort put into them.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
User avatar
Canuck Bob
Senior Levergunner
Posts: 1830
Joined: Sun Oct 11, 2009 11:57 am
Location: Calgary, Canada

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by Canuck Bob »

piller, I agree. I'm breathing because of the advancement in treatment options and a blessed drug trial I'm on. My cataracts were the outcome of the steroids my cancer treatment requires.

I'm so excited that shooting will remain in my life. It was looking like another loss, like hunting and my career, to the thief cancer. I'm weak as a school kid, got a pain in the rump right arm tremor, and bone disease from cancer that excludes real recoil. However I'm so lucky. I can stand up on my hind legs and shoot my 94 32 Special without optics with new vision, my retirement 30-30 Handi might just stay with a barrel sight, and there are shelves full of 22LR for my 9422 outfitted the same as the 94. I also picked up a little 22 Savage Cub for Barb and the kids.

Retired and shooting with my gals with our needs met by grace. Like I say, blessed.
samb
Levergunner 3.0
Posts: 711
Joined: Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:47 pm
Location: Calgary, Alberta

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by samb »

So happy to hear the surgery went well. May you and your family have a blessed time enjoying those rifles and your new vision.
Samb
daisygordoninc
Levergunner 2.0
Posts: 393
Joined: Thu Nov 19, 2009 8:06 am
Location: Junction City Oregon

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by daisygordoninc »

I had cataract surgery 2 years ago this month. It was remarkable, hunting was the main reason
I had the surgery when I did. Things got brighter by a lot, my view out a ways is 20-20, I use
metal sights, peep sights lots. It was almost miraculous to me, probably isn't true of everyone
who has it done but often it is. I need reading glasses for up close, but not for shooting, just
reading small print. Go for it.
mark
Levergunner 2.0
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:44 am
Location: Tumbi Umbi. Au

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by mark »

piller wrote: Fri Jul 07, 2017 10:01 am Just a warning to all who get put on statin drugs for cholesterol. Expect to get cataracts, and after surgery to fix them, expect to get them again.
Statins seem to be pretty universal.

How do you get cataracts with plastic lens inserts?.

Just asking.

Mark
piller
Posting leader...
Posts: 15188
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 9:49 pm
Location: South of Dallas

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by piller »

Cataract tissue grows onto the lens. It grows from the outside in. It can cover up a synthetic lens.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
mark
Levergunner 2.0
Posts: 268
Joined: Mon Sep 24, 2007 5:44 am
Location: Tumbi Umbi. Au

Re: Shooting vision after cataract surgery?

Post by mark »

Thanks Piller

Shot skeet today.

Best to leave the red tinted clip ons in the back of the safe.

Cheers Mark
Post Reply