Cataract surgery - standard or multifocal?

I would be very interested to know if anyone has had problems with varifocal-type lenses used in cataract surgery? I have an appointment for an NHS op at the end of January, they only use single focus lenses. I am considering going private if I think that varifocal lenses would be much more effective.........but really need some guidance!
Thank you for reading.

I have worn contacts for many years - extended wear, changing them only once a month, I have dry eye and use drops frequently but, I still need to do that when I am not wearing them.

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It depends on your eyesight whether you will need glasses after a cataract op. or not.

I will, I have had glasses since I was seven, and the surgeon says it is not possible to improve my sight completely, but she will get as near to perfect as possible.

If she manages that, I doubt I will need glasses after both eyes have been done, but presumably she knows best.

There was recently a Q&A session on Gransnet with Larry Benjamin a renowned consultant ophthalmologist. You may find it helpful look at his responses to Gransnetter's questions.

Forgot to put the link to the main RNIB page on Cataracts in my post. It has a link to the guide we produced with the Royal College of Ophthlamologists.

Oops!

If you contact RNIB's Eye Health Information Service (020 7391 3299), they can help with understanding your options, and the benefits and risks of multifocal lenses.

If you did have problems with getting surgery we also have a Cataracts Access to Treatment Toolkit that might be useful.

DH had his 1st eye done yesterday, he’s amazed, he says he can see!

Iam64. Yes, I might try the optician route, before my appointment in July.

Patsy - can your optician help? Otherwise, it's worth asking for a referral to an ophthalmologist. Not having a go at GP's but we only get one set of eyes and we need an expert if things are going wrong.

Iam64, I have been prescribed Hylo-Forte for 'dry eyes', but there is no improvement.

Patsy70, you may be allergic to the drops. I had the cheaper ones prescribed for dry eye but the eye surgeon recommended a hydro tears and my eyes are no longer itchy or red.

Eloethan my DH had one lense put in because of a detached retina other eye had to be done because his eyesight did not match in that eye . He now needs no distance glasses after wearing them since he was a lad . He does need reading glasses and he still goes to take off his glasses before taking off a sweater and going to bed though they are not there. He thinks he is very lucky.

jane I haven't worn contact lenses for several years now. I think I did use eye drops to lubricate the eye but my eyes still felt "gritty" and uncomfortable. Thanks for your input though.

I had cataract surgery on my left eye last June to correct the high pressure/early cataract and was told that I would only need reading glasses. I do not consider that the vision in my left eye has improved and was prescribed eye drops for the high pressure (in right eye) and drops for 'dry eyes'. The drops have made the area around my eyes very dark and also caused red itchy areas. I am still using distance and reading glasses. My next appointment is in July and I really don't know what to do for the best.

I find contact lenses too uncomfortable now and just manage with glasses for distance
Eloethan could it be that your eyes are dry? I only wear contact lenses if I’m going out, but was having trouble putting them in & they weren’t very comfortable. The optician said my eyes were very dry (I had no idea they were dry) & recommended Systane eye drops. It’s made a great difference.

As I understand it, the NHS lenses are generic in that they are not specifically tailored to an individual's sight. I think that means glasses are likely to have to be worn for either short or long sight (but I might be wrong).

When my son had his eyes lasered privately about 6 years ago, he was offered a discount for anyone he knew who wanted sight correction treatment. (He no longer needs to wear glasses).

I went along and had the relevant tests and was told that if I had the surgery (not laser treatment - that wasn't suitable) I would not need to wear glasses at all - I was told NHS treatment didn't offer this. However, it was very expensive (then, I think, around £5,000 - presumably more now) and I didn't go ahead.

I find contact lenses too uncomfortable now and just manage with glasses for distance - although I'm always mislaying them!

I had both mine done about two years ago when I became nervous of crossing the road (and put my hand out to a fire engine at the bus stop).

I can see distance very well now but have a pair of varifocals which go dark in the sun so that I can sit in the sun reading but when I look up, I am not looking through a reading bit.

If I use an escalator, I do not want to look down through the reading bit so would take varifocals off.

I have reading glasses (3 strength) all over the house and in various pockets, from the pound shop.

My DH a glasses wearer had both lenses replaced so he now does not need glasses for distance. What he cannot do , and I can , is take off his glasses to read something like in the supermarket . My optician's advice was to wait as long as possible before I had mine done .

My DH had both eyes done some years ago. He wears glasses for reading now rather than the varifocals of before, and is very happy with that! He wears sunglasses in the summer when out and about . No complaints from him . I'm just cross with the selective deafness that he seems to have.

Thank you all for the advice. Interesting that nobody appears to have had multi focals done. Sounds like they are not available on NHS. I’d love to hear from anybody who has. I hate having to put glasses on and off (having worn varifocal glasses for years), so I would prefer similar cataract lenses. However, there are possible side effects (eg halos round lights), but my consultant doesn’t do multi focal at all, so is possibly biased in his advice. The surgeon who does multifocals locally doesn’t have such a good success rate, so it’s a real dilemma. I’m in my early sixties so will be stuck with my decision for a long tine! Thanks again and keep the replies coming!

DH was referred last September he has had 4 new pairs of glasses since then, he hasn’t driven for months.

He had a letter about a month ago from NHS Wales to say patients are seen in order of priority and he should hear by the end of the year, by which time he wouldn’t be able to see at all.

We have opted to go private hence his operation this coming Thursday.

Most of you have said "only reading glasses" but I wear my reading glasses a lot - for reading, sewing, painting, knitting, finding out what is in the small print on items in the supermarket - and not having to dig them out of the bottom of my handbag would be a very welcome improvement. I came to terms long ago with such things as having to wait until a bus is approaching the bus shelter before being sure what its number is, so I hardly ever wear my distance glasses.

I am now eighty, so when my cataracts are bad enough to be operated on, I may only have a few years before I am care-home-bound and won't need to see very well to do housework etc, (dust? What dust?) but I sincerely hope I will still be able to read, sew, paint and knit. If I have a choice, I suspect I shall choose the close-up lenses.

Daisydaughter, I have the permanent lenses and I've been delighted with them. As I'd always been long-sighted I opted for those lenses and have several pairs of cheap reading glasses for small print.

In the drawer I have several hundred pounds worth of designer specs, all useless to me now. Go for it. You won't regret it. Just think on hot days when you haven't got specs riding down your nose and leaving marks!

My optician referred me last November. I'm still waiting for the consultation appointment, and been told that there will be a wait of about 5 months after that for the actual surgery