I have been super nearsighted ever since I was a kid. I learned I had cataracts a couple months ago, likely a diabetes complication, had surgery on my left eye a couple weeks ago and last week had surgery on my right eye! If anyone else needs cataract surgery it is pretty quick and painless. With the implanted lenses I can now see about 20/30 without needing glasses or contacts.
It is pretty amazing to be seeing bright colors and things clearly in the distance without glasses. It is probably the best distance vision I have had since I was 6 years old!
So I guess, thanks diabetes? Otherwise I’d probably have to wait until my 70’s to get cataract surgery?
Now I just gotta get used to reading glasses because anything within an arm’s length is really a blur. I still haven’t figured out a good system but am starting to amass a collection of different readers to stash in different places…
Congrats!!! It is great that it works so well with you!
I just found out this year I have the very beginning of cataract, so another 10 or 15 years and it will be my turn.
I have had to do that for a good 5-6 years. My system:
I keep one pair on my hair, with a red neoprene tether, that I carry everywhere with me. It is my constant companion. I lower it over my eyes everytime I need to read: phone, menu, book etc. The tether helps me keep it always w me and helps hold it in place, the color allows me to find it better when I have taken it off (rarely)
One set of spares in the car, in the day pack, in each room of the house, by the computer, and a stack of spares (and spare tethers) in a bedroom drawer.
The ability to keep the glasses in my hair all the time is a big enabler for me.
@kenrick Congratulations on your new eyesight! Glad it all went well. I wasn’t aware that cataracts were a diabetic complication.
I too have been nearsighted and glasses wearing since childhood. And then a couple or few years ago my vision really got bad. Being a dentist I knew it had to be taken care of immediately. The ophthalmologist diagnosed cataracts, and a week later I had my first surgery. A truly amazing difference!
In any event, if they are a complication then “thanks diabetes”!
High blood sugar can lead to problems like blurry vision, cataracts, glaucoma, and retinopathy. In fact, diabetes is the primary cause of blindness in adults ages 20 to 74.
I’ve had cataracts for the past 20 years, but was told they are a complication of the eye condition that causes my vision impairment (which they are). My ophthalmologist has never mentioned any connection to diabetes. He’s also never mentioned surgery, but I think that’s because surgery in my case would be quite high risk and so I don’t have any interest in doing it until my vision worsens to the point that things can’t get worse if there are complications.
I actually like the way I look in glasses. Growing up, I had strong (+12.5) reading glasses, but they only helped somewhat for reading and were super thick and bulky. I was kind of excited when I was told a couple years ago that I have astigmatism and got glasses. I didn’t notice a major difference, but felt they did make things a bit sharper.
Then a couple weeks ago one of the lenses fell out, in my better eye no less, and I didn’t even notice for a day and a half! So that makes me think they make zero difference, and I’m not sure spending money on new ones when the time comes will be worth it, even though I do like the way I look with glasses compared to without!
But, then again, I have the superpower of braille. So who cares about glasses and all that nonsense when I can just read in the dark if I want to.
Cataract formation or progression occurs in 80 to 100 percent of patients who undergo pars plana vitrectomy, the type commonly done to clear out hemorrhages resulting from retinopathy and also to repair a detached retina, a common complication of a vitrectomy. So in this sense cataracts are not just a complication of diabetes but may also be a complication of a complication of a complication.
I have a very slowly developing cataract in my left eye, the result of diabetes in general, but had much more rapid cataract development in the right eye after I had a vitrectomy.
To be fair, cataract is like death, taxes, and prostate cancer for men: everybody gets them if they get old enough. Here is what U Michigan has to say about it:
I keep different pairs of readers in different locations so that I am not constantly needing to carry a pair with me.
Yes… The older I’ve gotten the further away the words have gotten on paper so the greater the magnification in the readers so that I can actually read the pages of books I need to read.
I started messing readers when I was 40…20/20 my whole life before 40. I’m having difficulty now reading with 1x magnification so may need to go to to 1.5. I tried then before but they have me a headache.
Do you mean magnification (1x, 1.5x, etc.) or diopters? Most reading glasses are measured in diopters (+1.0, +1.5, etc.). Usually, 1x magnification is equal to about +4.0 diopters, which are usually the strongest reading glasses you can buy in regular stores. Beyond that range is getting more into the realm of low vision aids… My glasses as a kid (that I do still have and use occasionally) were +12.5 diopters, which is super strong (even most glasses stores couldn’t make them), but magnification wise it was only equal to about 3x. I also have a pair of glasses that are +40 or 10x magnification, which are truly amazing and actually allow me to read regular print, but I don’t use them often at all because I have assistive technology that does the same with less effort.
I was told at my last eye exam that I have cataracts. Problem, they are too “young” for surgery. Terrible as this sounds, I can’t wait. My baseline is astigmatism + farsighted. I have never seen less than 3 moon, with a new Rx no less. Basically, I have the vision of Monet, without the talent. Since the surgery can get rid of the astigmatism, I can’t wait until my cataract is “mature” enough for removal.
Yes, there is a definite silver lining! I had really strong astigmatism and the implants mostly corrected it (to about 20/30 and 20/40), but I do need glasses to make it a bit sharper.
Having been a while since the surgery, the main downside is I can’t read anything up close. I used to at least be able to hold something super close to my eye and be able to read it. Now I need the right power of reading glasses. I do use progressive lenses which are great for reading or using a phone but not so good for the computer so I still swap glasses in and out.
