A shooting question for members that have had cataract surgery

lrrifleman

lrrifleman

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Hello All!

I am enjoying reading the threads about cataract surgery, I have mine in 2 weeks. Fortunately, my eye doctor and his colleague doing the surgery are gun/shooting friendly! I have been wearing glasses for almost 40 years, and the prospect of losing them (to a degree) is very exciting.

I have a question that hopefully those of you that have had the surgery and selected distance lenses for implant can answer.

With the implanted distance lenses, can you raise a pistol and obtain a sight picture without glasses? Not asking about sustained shooting, but more along the line of a flash sight picture for defensive shooting.

Thanks for sharing!
 
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OFT II said:
Yes Sir, I can see the sights now and there is no fuzz. I still need a set of reading glasses for up close work but I no longer need specs to drive. I think you'll be very happy with the results.
Click to expand...

At the moment, in order to gain a flash sight picture, I have to look through my bifocal's reading lens. I definitely don't want to have to rely on glasses in a self-defense situation!
 
Had one removed 6 years ago in my right eye. The doctor installed a lens for distance. I agree completely with OFT II and my results were the same.

Be SAFE and Shoot often!
 
lrrifleman said:
With the implanted distance lenses, can you raise a pistol and obtain a sight picture without glasses?
Click to expand...

I'll take the word of those who have distance vision lenses. However, I have a near vision lens, and it's good for the front and rear sights on a handgun. The depth of field for artificial lens implants is quite small. You want to focus on the front sight, of course. I can "see" a "target" fine without glasses, but not focused in detail.
 
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I went from being nearsighted to far-sighted when I got the new lenses. You may notice some flare at night when driving. It's tolerable though.

Bob


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I had cataract surgery, both eyes, several years ago. I opted for multifocal lenses. I told the surgeon I wanted to be able to see my front sight clearly. With these, I can read, see the front sight, see at a distance, etc. IIRC, he used Bausch + Lomb lenses. Night and color vision improved after the surgery.
 
Yep, I also had the corrected lenses placed in both eyes. It is like corrected glasses, only the lens is in your eyes. My insurance didn't cover the cost, because they were considered cosmetic lenses (makes no sense to me) but I've been enjoying 20/20 vision over 10 years now. The only small drawback is that I can see the reflection of the lenses on the inside of sunglasses at times...no big deal, just sayin. It was worth the money in my opinion.

spricks
 
I had cataracts removed from both my eyes a little over a year ago. I remember being amazed at the clarity of the "the world" after having them removed. I still need readers (because they wanted $4,000 per eye to correct that!) I had even stopped driving at night because of them.

I can see my sights again, and my red dot sights are no longer "red clusters". I can focus on the front sight of a rifle, but without using a peep on the rear, it's not real clear. However my pistol sights at arms length are fine.

You're going to see a whole new world. The sky is bluer, the clouds more distinct, and I no longer see 4 red lights at night.
 
Your options should be fully explained prior to the procedure. Your choices may include distance lenses (for which you may require eyeglasses for reading or close work), near vision lenses (fine for close work but you may require eyeglasses for distance), a combination (each eye with a different lens, with the assumption that your brain will train itself to differentiate as needed), or custom lenses (seldom covered by insurance).

Others may contradict my brief explanation, but the point remains that you can make the decisions in consultation with your ophthalmic surgeon in advance of the surgeries. Making a change afterwards might be a more difficult option, so discuss your concerns with your doc before proceeding.

Yes, the sky is bluer, the stars are more brilliant, I can't remember all the colors that have always existed before my eyes went to pot. I chose distance lenses for both eyes with eyeglasses for reading and close work, now I am 20-20 for distance in both eyes and I can go about my daily business (including night driving) with no problems. If I want to read the newspaper or the government warning on a beer label I need my eyeglasses.

Shooting on the range is not bad at all. I will never be competitive for PPC events again, and I doubt that I will ever achieve 'distinguished' status in Service Rifle competition, but I can easily distinguish handgun sights and turn in acceptable results at defensive handgun ranges. I am very happy that current medical technology allows me this much!
 
Due to astigmatism I still need glasses full time. My daily wear glasses are progressive safety glasses. That is all I need when shooting a pistol that has a red dot.

When the pistol has iron sights things get more involved. For shooting at 10 meters the daily wear glasses work fine. When the target distance is 25 yards I take the prescription glasses off and just use another pair of non-prescription safety glasses that has a 5/64 diopter taped to it. The diopter just serves to increase the depth of field which gets rid of some on the unsharpness.

You may have to experiment a little depending on your eyes, prescription, and target distance.
 
Left eye is near and sees sighta fine. Right eye far and sees target fine. Both eyes open and its all good. I can reaad the paper or a road sign a ways off at 68 had both eyes done about 3 years ago
 
I had both eyes down about three years ago with distance lenses. 20/20 in one eye and 20/15 in the other but front sight on a pistol is workable but not crisp shooting at an indoor range. Front sight gets better when shooting outdoors in good sunlight.
 
Under excellent light conditions, I can see the pistol/revolver sights. Usually out doors. On the indoor ranges I need to use Walmart reading glasses. Certainly need glasses to read. I also have macular degeneration in my left eye, up to 40 injections at this time frame. Therefore, I have very little or no depth perception.
 
I got the distance monofocals for both eyes about 3 yeas ago. Long guns no problems, indoor pistol can be difficult without cheaters, but outdoor is fine. All red dots work very well.
 
As stated above in post #4, I had a distance lense put in right eye now 8 years ago. All good !
My left eye now has a sever cataract and I just got glasses a couple of weeks ago. Having problems adjusting to them. Saw the surgeon that did the first eye and he recommended putting a distance lense in that one also. Said 90% of his patients did that. Couldn't guarantee if he put in a multi focus lense that my brain would adjust to it. He said once the lense is put in it can't be taken out and replaced with another. It's a one shot deal.

I don't really like wearing glasses and if I can't adjust to them, I will have to get the surgery.
Looking for any additional comments from those who have had only the two distant lense put in that didn't have other eye issues but only cataracts. I'm 74 and enjoy shooting handguns. I also carry concealed.
Comments are also welcome from those that posted above (with a 2 year update). Thanks for everyone's input!
 
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