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Thread: Anyone have cataract surgery performed?

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    Team GunsNet Platinum 02/2015 davepool's Avatar

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    Anyone have cataract surgery performed?

    I found out a couple months ago that the vision in my right eye cannot be corrected and i need cataract surgery (sucks getting old). Everyone tells me it's a very simple operation, but the the idea of someone cutting on my eyeball is a little scary.

    I started shooting in F class and F-TR long range matches a year ago. I use a Nightforce 15-55x competition scope on my 6BR and a vortex 15-60x scope on my .308 and i just can't get my right eye to stay focused for more than 2-3 seconds anymore, so i guess i'm getting this surgery done.

    Any horror/ worst case stories?

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    Even old grannies get it done with no pain or other issue. That being said, sometimes even the replacements have to be replaced as the body grows a film of sorts over them, occluding vision to a degree.
    "And how we burned in the camps later thinking, what would things have been like, if every security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain, whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family?"

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    I had to have that surgery in 2007 after a training accident. It was real quick and improved my vision a lot. Its not 100%, but that is due to the damage done to the eye and not the lens replacement surgery itself. The big downside is that it is a synthetic lens and as such cannot change focus like a natural lens can. I had a problem for a while reading. Glasses helped. Fortunately it was my right eye and I am left handed so it never affected my shooting. After about 10 years the vision in my right eye started getting real foggy. Had to make an appointment where the doctor cleared it up in a matter of minutes. Apparently the fogginess comes from build up over the years. The synthetic lens gets attacked by the bodies immune system and the fogginess is a result of that, or something like that. Can't really remember what the doc said.
    Overall I am happy with the surgery and never had any serious problems after it was complete. With the lenses and medical tech they have out there now I don't think its even necessary to replace the lens anymore. Hope the surgery goes well and you recover quickly. Bring some dark sunglasses. They have to dilate your eyes and the wrap arounds they give you look goofy as hell.

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    Team GunsNet Platinum 02/2015 davepool's Avatar

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    Thank you sir. My left eye is good and i have tried to learn how to shoot left handed but after 40 years of shooting right handed it ain't working out, i can get a good head position but i still pull the trigger with my right hand, and use my left hand to make adjustments to my front rest, awkward to say the least.

    There is a guy we shoot with who is right handed, shoots from the right side but uses his left eye, he has his butt stock modified so he can lay his right cheek on the stock to get the proper eye position, looks weird as hell but the guy shoots in the mid 190s

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    Team GunsNet Platinum 02/2015 davepool's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by 5.56NATO View Post
    Even old grannies get it done with no pain or other issue. That being said, sometimes even the replacements have to be replaced as the body grows a film of sorts over them, occluding vision to a degree.
    Gee thanks, old grannie huh, now my feelers are hurt.





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    Team GunsNet Gold 07/2012 / Super Moderator Gunreference1's Avatar

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    I hand cataract surgery on both eyes two years ago. I was nervous too. They'll deadened the side of your face with an injection. I was actually conscious through the procedure. I just felt a vibration on my eye. Very different. Now I've worn glasses since I was 13 and I'm 58 now. I still wear glasses but my vision is at least as good or better before the surgery.

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    Quote Originally Posted by davepool View Post
    There is a guy we shoot with who is right handed, shoots from the right side but uses his left eye, he has his butt stock modified so he can lay his right cheek on the stock to get the proper eye position, looks weird as hell but the guy shoots in the mid 190s
    I have seen a few old school duck guns altered like that. Never any that were used for long distance. But, if it works then don't knock it, right?

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    Administrator imanaknut's Avatar

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    Have had both eyes done and am thrilled I did. I have worn glasses since I was 12 and after a few dozen years it is really weird to be able to drive and watch TV without the specs on!!!.

    Be aware of three basic levels of replacement lenses, the least expensive just corrects for distance problems, the next up adds correction for astigmatism and the top allows both long distance and reading correction.

    My lenses are the astigmatism correction so I still need glasses for reading, but being able to do everything else without them is amazing.

    As for the surgery itself, very simple and quick, with the only recovery being the time it takes for the anesthesia to wear off and having a schedule for eye drops for a few weeks. Also for a few days you would have to wear an eye cover to protect the healing eye from you accidentally rubbing or poking yourself in your eye while you sleep.

    Do it, you will be thrilled with the results of being able to see "normally"!

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    Team Guns Network Silver 04/2015 mrkalashnikov's Avatar

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    Had it done 3 years ago as I was literally going blind from cataracts. The procedure is pretty simple nowadays as others have stated.

    It's weird having somebody poke around in your cornea whilst being awake, but they give topical painkiller and a sort of drug "cocktail" that does the trick. I had my eyes done about 2 weeks apart, per the doctor's order. Now, I have almost 20/20 vision after wearing glasses for almost 50 years for distance stuff. I DO have to wear reading glasses now though for up-close work & reading.
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    Team GunsNet Platinum 02/2015 davepool's Avatar

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    Thanks gentlemen for the replies, good info. I go to the eye doctor next month and i promise not to act like a little girl and pee my pants, also good to hear nobodies eyeball fell out after the surgery, very reassuring

  11. #11
    Senior Member JTHunter's Avatar

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    Davepool - my mother had both of her eyes done about a year apart when she was in her early 80s. She can see to drive W/O glasses, can use a cheap holosight on a .22 rifle to pop the turtles, muskrats, and snakes in her lake but does need readers for up close or small details. For several years, the first eye was 20/20 but has dropped to about 20/40. The second eye never did do as well as the first but she still doesn't need glasses to drive.

    Good luck on your surgery.
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    Team GunsNet Platinum 02/2015 davepool's Avatar

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    Thanks.

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    Quote Originally Posted by davepool View Post
    I found out a couple months ago that the vision in my right eye cannot be corrected and i need cataract surgery (sucks getting old). Everyone tells me it's a very simple operation, but the the idea of someone cutting on my eyeball is a little scary.

    I started shooting in F class and F-TR long range matches a year ago. I use a Nightforce 15-55x competition scope on my 6BR and a vortex 15-60x scope on my .308 and i just can't get my right eye to stay focused for more than 2-3 seconds anymore, so i guess i'm getting this surgery done.

    Any horror/ worst case stories?


    My wife had a "capsular lens replacement" done about 5 years ago (age 55). She's had no problems or complications and can see just fine.

    You may want to ask your doctor about "Multifocal Intraocular Lenses" which are supposedly better than fixed focus "hard" lenses. (My wife got the hard lenses - this was before they had the multifocal type).

    BTW, who said you need cataract surgery? Cataracts are an opacification of the lens of the eye (kinda like clear egg white cooking to opaque white). As far as I know, this has nothing to do with the ability to focus.

    You may simply have Presbyopia (aka "old eyes" - a gradual hardening of the lens with age that limits the range of focus and diminishes your ability to see CLOSE UP as you get older - the reason for "reading glasses").

    Can't you just adjust the scope's eyepiece focus?
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    Team GunsNet Platinum 02/2015 davepool's Avatar

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    I went for an eye examination, and the doctor told me about the cataract, said there was no way to correct the vision in my right eye. He said it wasn't severe yet but it wasn't going to get any better. When i told him about my long range shooting difficulties he said that the cloudiness in the cornea was causing my eye to constantly refocus while staring through the scope

    Adjusting the scopes eyepiece just brings the retical into focus. You use the paralax adjustments to bring the target into focus. I set the scope at 40x because the MOA retical subtends at that power and it makes it easy to make accurate adjustments on target.

    Today i was testing 2 different loads for the .308 at 200 yds for accuracy and velocity. I shoot 5 -5 shot groups for each load. When i first started i was able to see the 3/4" red target dots pretty clearly for a few seconds, after the 3rd group it became difficult to maintain the clear target picture and i was shooting at the middle of the red fuzzy dot.

    I know staring through a high power scope for long periods causes a lot of eye strain, but up until about a year ago i would just close my eyes for a while or concentrate on nearby objects before looking through the scope and things would come into focus again. Today and lately that just doesn't work anymore, i even tried playing with the paralax to try and get the target to focus for a few seconds but to no avail ( not a good idea anyway )

    As i'm typing this, when i close my left eye the screen looks like it's clouded, the longer i stare the fuzzier the letters get until they begin to run together, when i blink my right eye the screen comes into focus briefly and fuzzes up again

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    Team Guns Network Silver 04/2013 alismith's Avatar

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    Davepool, the next time your eye goes out of focus, try lying down on your back with your face facing straight, for a few minutes, then go back to the scope and see if that makes any difference. If it doesn't then my thought isn't right.

    If it does go back into focus, even briefly, then I might know what the problem could be.
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    Team GunsNet Platinum 02/2015 davepool's Avatar

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    I got a 600 yard practice session coming up next week, i'll try that, it will be easy from a prone position, if anyone asks what i'm doing i'll tell them i'm working on my tan
    I'm going to have the surgery done hopefully it will solve the problem, i've talked to a few other shooters who had cataract surgery, only one said he has had any problems, the others confirmed what everyone here has said and their shooting improved

    I've got a lot a money and time tied up in these rifles/reloading equipment and both are excellent shooters, i'm retired now so i have the time to work on perfecting my marksmanship/handloading skills and this recent vision problem is really frustrating
    Last edited by davepool; 07-12-2018 at 01:08 AM.

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    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Wife had both done. No issues other than you end up having to pick whether or not you want to see up close or at distance. They do have some very high end lenses that sometimes work for some people that let you see very close to natural vision. No guarantees on them working right. Wife opted to see at distance and wear reading glasses for short range work. You will notice an marked increase in how colorful the world is once the cataract is removed.

  18. #18
    Senior Member JTHunter's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by alismith View Post
    Davepool, the next time your eye goes out of focus, try lying down on your back with your face facing straight, for a few minutes, then go back to the scope and see if that makes any difference. If it doesn't then my thought isn't right.

    If it does go back into focus, even briefly, then I might know what the problem could be.
    Are you thinking "detached retina"? If so, that would probably cause other vision problems as well.
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    Team Guns Network Silver 04/2013 alismith's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by JTHunter View Post
    Are you thinking "detached retina"? If so, that would probably cause other vision problems as well.
    Yup. Just checking all possibilities.
    "Valar morghulis; valar dohaeris."

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    Making good people helpless won't make bad people harmless.

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    I'd rather be an American than a Democrat.

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  20. #20
    Team GunsNet Platinum 02/2015 davepool's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by alismith View Post
    Yup. Just checking all possibilities.
    Believe me that has been at the back of my mind for a while now, scares me silly thinking about it. My daughter used to be an eye technician a few years ago and i had this possibility checked out, there were no signs of it then but i quit shooting the big magnums. I use a Bald Eagle front rest and a sinclair bi-pod and try not to let much of the recoil of the .308 hit my shoulder. Not sure if that's what cause detachment but i ain't taking no chances
    Last edited by davepool; 07-19-2018 at 10:40 AM.

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