Vision

[theotherwaldo]

I've basically had monocular vision since a fight back in elementary school.
My right eye, which had been my primary eye, took an injury which temporarily blinded me and then left that eye extremely far-sighted.
Since my left eye was somewhat near-sighted, that meant that I could only use one eye at a time if I wasn't using glasses.
-And glasses only worked if I was looking straight ahead.
Now I've just had a retinal separation in my left (relatively good) eye and I have a load of 'floaters' drifting through that eye.
The ophthalmologist said that it should fade some over time but that I should just get used to it
On the 'good' side, he said that, beside some damage to the optic nerve on the other eye, he should be able to remove the cataract in a few years and mostly restore vision on that side.
This should allow me to keep working, driving and shooting for the foreseeable future... .

 

[LiveLife]

I went through single vision glasses, bi-focals, tri-focals then to progressive and later cataract surgery. I also have glaucoma with optic nerve end damage and take eye drops daily to control intraocular pressures (Which was helped by cataract surgery and went from two eye drops to one eye drop).

Regardless whether you use glasses or cataract surgery, do tell the eye doctor about your need to see the gun sights at specific distances, especially for pistol sights that are at two focal length distances (Hold your pistols and measure distance to front/rear sights and show these numbers to the eye doctor) because our bodies are different.

Regards to eye glasses and seeing pistol sights, there is no comparison and hands down progressive is the way to go to smoothly transition to see both rear and front sights (Near and mid vision) without annoying lines (And for me, bi-focal was definite "No go").

Regards to cataract surgery Intraocular Lens (IOL) implant options, you essentially have two major groups of monofocal and multifocal. Monofocal allows you distance vision but your near/mid vision is poor and will need glasses for reading up close and viewing your smartphone/computer screen.

Multifocal allows you distance vision but also "improves" (Depending on IOL type/brand) near/mid vision that may require use of glasses for close up reading of fine print. And downside of multifocal IOL are "star burst/halo" effect over oncoming headlights for night driving and splitting of amount of light between distance and near/mid vision which affects night vision. After explaining to my eye doctor that I do a lot of driving at night and shoot pistols/scoped rifles, she suggested Vivity IOL implants, an upgraded multifocal with extended depth of focus that minimize "star burst/halo" effect and 100% light transmission for both distance/near vision with great mid range vision (Hands reach/computer screen/car dash distances) that helps with night vision. And I may only need reading glasses for close up reading of fine print - https://www.nvisioncenters.com/iol/vivity-vs-others/

It's been 3 years since my cataract surgery and 20/20 distance vision is maintained, there is no "star burst/halo" effect on headlights for night driving, mid vision is excellent (I can see everything inside the car, including dash) and can read restaurant menus without too much difficulty. (I only need reading glasses for really fine print like medicine bottle fine print) And of course, I can see my pistol sights clearly against clear target picture and using scopes for 50/100 yard shooting produces clear field of view picture to see 22LR holes on target.

But this is one shooter's experience and your experience may vary based on your medical situation so definitely consult your eye doctor and research/educate yourself to make informed decision that you will use daily for the rest of your life (FYI, some patients have gone from monofocal/other brand multifocal IOL implants to Vivity with report of improvement. YMMV).

BTW, here's repost from THR and hope this information can help others - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...#post-12322678

"After looking at Symfony, Synergy and PanOptix multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) implant options, because I do a lot of night driving and look at computer/laptop/cellphone screens, my eye doctor recommended Vivity IOL - https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices....vivitytm-toric

Main departure from other multifocal IOLs is the benefit of not having star bursts or halo around the oncoming headlights or other light sources at night and brighter/vivid vision due to 100% transmission of light like monofocal IOLs (88-93% for other multifocal IOLs).

Cost on top of Enhanced VSP eye insurance was $2500 per lens and getting Vivity toric for right eye to correct astigmatism. (I was planning to get laser eye surgery but since that is no longer needed after cataract IOL implant surgery, it's a wash with better outcome. My sister and BIL both had laser eye surgeries but now he's got cataract and will need cataract surgery).

After surgery vision is 20/20 and I can clearly see sights of my guns and only require use of reading glasses for really small print up close (Near vision is improving to where reading restaurant menus is now doable).

My eye doctor knows I am a shooter and we talked about this. I considered PanOptix as it provides better close up sharpness than others (Symfony, Synergy) but eye doctor told me that I won't be shooting all the time (Ha, she doesn't know me that well. She thinks I play with puppies and cook/BBQ all the time ... Wait til she sees my reloading room

) and "activities of daily living", especially night driving which I do quite a bit, may have higher priority over shooting later in life.

Besides, 88% light transmission of PanOptix vs 100% for Vivity was the game changer for me, especially night driving issues with Vivity hands down being more superior as demonstrated to me last night.

BTW, view through scope - Target and crosshair both sharp.

One Month Update:

Saw the eye doctor for one month follow up and had retinal scans done. She is happy with surgery results but looks like I will need reading glasses for really fine print up closer than hand's reach distance. (2.5x power) She was happy to hear I do not have any halo/rainbow effect driving at night as I do a lot of night driving helped by 100% light transmission.

When I went shooting for the first time since surgery in both eyes and happy to report that Glock 22 sights were clear against clear targets. When I consistently produced 1" groups at 7 yards, it brought tears to my eyes as I thought before surgery I was done with sighted shooting for the rest of my life.

I also did follow up and reference baseline shooting for upcoming myth busting dirty vs clean 22LR barrel accuracy thread and after adjusting the focus, was able to clearly see the bullet holes on target (50/100 yards) and cross hairs of Burris 6.5-20x and Bushnell 6-18x at maximum magnifications. (Better vision probably helped produce almost 1/2" group with 10/22 and CCI Blazer)"

2 Year Update:

20/20 distance vision with excellent mid range. Reading glasses power down to 1.5-1.75x

 

[theotherwaldo]

Thanks - when cataract surgery time comes then I'll look into your suggestions.
In the mean time, I'll have to just muddle through... .