I had mine done about ten years ago. The procedure was fairly easy. I had to sleep with a plastic shield over my eye for awhile, and use drops. No big deal.

Depending on how bad your vision is now, you may be struck with how clear things appear. I was not as wowed as others but my post op vision was excellent..

My only mistake was getting monovision, one eye for far and one eye for near. My brain could never adjust to that. Wish I had gotten both eyes corrected for distance.

You’ll do fine!

Of course you are feeling some butterflies, that's your EYES that are being messed with! ! ! I had it done a few years ago, and it was definitely pretty much a non-event. I'd rather have cataract removal than go to the dentist.

Yes, I had to wear a plastic shield when sleeping, and had to use drops. I don't remember now for how long, but it was no big deal. And I was so amazed at how much brighter everything seemed, so much clearer!

You'll be just fine, and so glad you had it done!

Rusty

I had both done and it was not painful nor scary. In fact, we went out to lunch after it and did the same after the second one. My sister had her second done last week and went to a concert that night. You will be fine.

I haven't had cataract surgery but a couple of friends have had it done. One just had the second eye done last week and he did trifocal lens and so far so good. With just having one eye done he did have some vertigo but now that the second eye is done he's fine. Apparently vertigo isn't uncommon as the brain is adjusting to the new vision.

Slightly OT - a friend has laser eye surgery about 15 years ago with one eye distance and the other eye for near. Everything has been fine up until the last few months and she's having trouble seeing properly. Her depth perception seems to be off. She wishes she had just done distance. Her doctor thinks it because as she's getting older there is a natural aging in the eye as well.

I had both done a few years ago about 6 weeks apart. A piece of cake. It's the only operation I have ever had and I was apprehensive. Had to wear the glass patch while sleeping and drops but not for long and I see well without glasses and even can read without if the light is bright.

My sister recently had both eyes done at one time. they offered a choice of bifocal or monovision. she is used to monovision so chose that. i cant imagine making this selection without having previous experience with contacts that work this way. i had experimented with bifocal contacts and could not get used to them. as soon as the monovision contacts were in my eyes i felt immediately at ease.

my sister felt extra confidence in her doc of choice when she learned that dr faucci was having his eyes done at the same time. she said it was easy and felt great.

I am having my first cataract surgery in March. I feel so much better now after reading this post. Thank you'll.

they offered a choice of bifocal or monovision.

There aren't really 'bifocal' IOLs (intraocular lenses). There are the standard, monofocal ones that most people get, usually set either for distance or in a monovision configuration. And then there are the various multifocal IOLs, which purport to give you good vision at all distances, but which often come with a lot of visual artifacts like large halos and glare around lights, especially at night, which can make driving difficult.

Well Im back home and doing ok. My eye feels scratchy which is not uncommon. I will have to say that there was no pain duing the surgery but I told the anesthesiologist that they next eye I want a bit more anesthesia. I felt anxious during the procedure and didn't feel like I had any anesthesia at all. Now for the drops.

I had mine done last month. I requested having it done without sedation anesthesia at all. He compromised with my request by having an having a line set for an IV just in case something went sideways. I didn't need it. I wanted to not have to have that possible extra day of tiredness or fogginess after sedation. I was able to drive myself back the next day for my checkup and I was back on my horse the next. I wore close fitting sunglasses to ride until I was done with the drops to avoid dust and debris but other than that it went great. Got to agree you need to be prepared for all the weirdness of lights and sensation that go on during the surgery but I focused on "how interesting'' so I wouldn't get anxious.

Glad your surgery went well. The scratchiness will get better soon. Having to fit the drops into a busy schedule is a bit bothersome but no biggie. If you have floaters you will see more of them and at least for me the lights were a bit to bright and bluish for the first week or so. Now all I deal with is great vision and those pesky tiny floaters I didn't notice so much before. LOL

I chose the lens that gives me distance and moderate vision. I need to see distance for trail riding and moderate for my phone, rigging and day to day fiddling with stuff. Still need readers for really close up vision or small print. But I can read my phone easily and I can count the leaves on trees at a distance. I love it. My other eye doesn't need the surgery yet but I will get the same lens for it. Never had Lasik on that one so the risk of side effects or a less desired outcome is even lower.. I was warned about possible halos, especially since I had previous Lasik done on that eye. But other than a little bit more light sensitivity it turned out great. No noticeable glare or halos other than the ones that some newer lighting types have a bit for almost everybody if they bother to notice.

“Got to agree you need to be prepared for all the weirdness of lights and sensation that go on during the surgery but I focused on "how interesting'' so I wouldn't get anxious.”

I requested Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon when having my second eye done. They stuck with country & western.

Glad you are home and resting, Satine. I have a few friends who had it recently ( one eye at a time ) and each one is very pleased and had no complications.

One friend commented that aside from the improved vision which was delightful but sort of expected, she was seeing colors so much better. She said she had a throw on her couch that she always thought was pretty plain beige but was surprised and delighted to see lots of other colors in there as well!

Colors are very weird, I found out. I bought what I thought was a cool sage green large apple for my kitchen. After I got my eyes done, I found out the apple was a light blue.

Blue + yellowing of your lens due to the cataract = green!

I had mine done 11 years ago, one eye at a time, and I'm so glad I did. I elected to pay for lens implants to correct astigmatism, and the doctor recommended what he called "mini-monovision"--right eye for distance vision and left eye for closer. It's worked very well for me.

I was told not to rub my eyes and to wear safety glasses while mowing the lawn.

I was thrilled to be without glasses for the first time in my life since Kindergarten. I was not informed that I might need glasses again at some point, but I think that's coming, at least for driving.

The only problem I had with the procedure was the use of Versed. I do not do well with it.

I know that I have early cataracts, but it seems that having to do something about them is far in the future yet.

I had Radial Keratotomy vision correction for severe myopia way back in 1990 - for the first 10-15 years it was great, but then I started having issues due to presbyopia and worsening astigmatism (because the RK weakened the cornea.) So, I am back in eyeglasses to mostly control double vision, along with the presbyopia.

I also have difficulties with large floaters that sometimes make it quite difficult to see clearly.

I wonder what my options will be when the cataracts are "ripe".

Because you had RK, your options may be somewhat limited, and you'll probably be better off with a monofocal lens. But this field changes pretty quickly, and new IOLs are coming out all the time.

For anyone contemplating cataract surgery, this is an excellent site, with some very knowledgeable posters on it: https://patient.info/forums/discuss/browse/cataract-386

I had both eyes done a few years ago. I still have to wear glasses. No problems with the surgery it was easy, the eye drops are a pain.

I wonder what my options will be when the cataracts are "ripe".

You no longer wait for them to "ripen". Mine could have easily been corrected with eyeglasses but I wore them for years before my Lasik correction 15 years ago and never wanted to go back to them. My right eye is in the very early stages of cataract but I am waiting to get it done next fall just for financial reasons.

My previous RK did not negatively impact my outcome with the multi vision lens I chose at all. I was warned it could be a bit less successful but it has turned out fine. I only need mild readers (1.25/1.50 ) now for very small print. I just carry a little folding magnifying glass in my pocket when shopping to read those tiny sell by dates. I'm looking forward to having the right eye done. Never had RK on that one so all should go quite well. I will chose the same multifocal lens for it.