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Thread: Intra ocular lens (IOL) choices

  1. #1
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    Intra ocular lens (IOL) choices

    As part of an eye surgery I’m going to get a lens implant. Of course I will discuss this in depth with my surgeon, but I don’t think he will have any experience with shooting sports.

    This will be my non-dominant eye. I shoot both RDS and old style sights. It wouldn’t bother me if I had to use RDS all the time for my primary pistol, but I’d like to still have the option of a revolver or small semi-auto for a “rule #1” gun.

    I’d imagine I will eventually have cataract surgery on my dominant eye but that is likely quite a few years away. (Providing this info because some choices are recommended that you get the same thing done in both eyes).

    I know IOL lens replacement for cataracts is super common anymore. What have others here chosen? Monofocal far vision for your non-dominant eye? Multi focal? EDOF? Accommodative? I’d appreciate any info.

  2. #2
    Member Wheeler's Avatar
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  3. #3
    Site Supporter Totem Polar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by luckyman View Post
    As part of an eye surgery I’m going to get a lens implant. Of course I will discuss this in depth with my surgeon, but I don’t think he will have any experience with shooting sports.

    This will be my non-dominant eye. I shoot both RDS and old style sights. It wouldn’t bother me if I had to use RDS all the time for my primary pistol, but I’d like to still have the option of a revolver or small semi-auto for a “rule #1” gun.

    I’d imagine I will eventually have cataract surgery on my dominant eye but that is likely quite a few years away. (Providing this info because some choices are recommended that you get the same thing done in both eyes).

    I know IOL lens replacement for cataracts is super common anymore. What have others here chosen? Monofocal far vision for your non-dominant eye? Multi focal? EDOF? Accommodative? I’d appreciate any info.
    I am literally still putting steroid/antibiotic drops in both my eyes after having lens replacements. Moreover, I’m picking up the ipad for a sec after having just spent 30 minutes looking through the sights of a good number of the more common items in my safe.

    After talking with several people, including @mmc45414 who was most helpful, I ended up going distance vision in my non-dominant eye, and setting my dominant (right) eye for arms-length focus. As it happens, the ideal distance for a music stand is within a half inch or so of the FS on a G45, so having an eye optimized for arm’s length yields both specific (shooting, music) and non-specific (using a cell phone, reading a menu, email, checking my watch, etc.) benefits. In short, I’m sold on the mono vision solution. I don’t *need* glasses to do the things I want to do at this point. I’ll probably get a pair optimized for distance so my dominant eye can be more equal to my non-dominant/distance eye for driving long distances, but I don’t have to get glasses any time soon to function.

    At this point, I have peregrine falcon vision in my distance eye, and I can see the sights on my old fixed sight J-frames with my dominant eye, so I am a seriously happy camper. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend mono vision as a solution, with the caveat that I’m only 4 days out from the dominant eye.

    mmc will be along at some point—I found his input to be most reassuring, but I’m thinking mono vision all the way. Two distance eyes would be killer for hiking and driving, but you’ll be chained to low-mag readers from any walgreens to check the time if you wake up at 3am, or read a menu, or surf P-F on your phone. Not the end of the world; I did that with my first eye for 2 weeks, but it’s nice to be able to see my watch or the sights of a vintage j-frame without glasses. On the other hand, there is at least one other P-F’er who did distance in both eyes, and is doing wonderfully. The up close correction isn’t a deal breaker, considering the overall improvement.

    Whichever way you go, you are going to like it a hell of a lot more than what you’ve got now, for sure.

    HTH.
    Last edited by Totem Polar; 02-15-2021 at 10:18 PM.
    ”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Totem Polar View Post
    After talking with several people, including @mmc45414 who was most helpful, I ended up going distance vision in my non-dominant eye, and setting my dominant (right) eye for arms-length focus. ... mmc will be along at some point—I found his input to be most reassuring, but I’m thinking mono vision all the way.
    Glad my experience helped somebody, I am really happy with how I ended up, though I must admit I sorta backed into monovision. When I needed my first surgery I was not thinking monovision, after being nearsighted since sixth grade I was so horny to get distance correction I wasn't thinking past being able to drive and ride without prescription glasses. But I asked the doctor to maybe not take me all the way out past the ability to see pistol sights. But in the end I probably have better distance vision in my right eye than I intended (they are approximating a bit when they select a lens, maybe there are better methods now?), I can shoot a pistol but I pretty much need fiber optic sights.

    But I was about three years between surgeries, and in those three years I easily got used to still being nearsighted in my left eye, so when it clouded up I went with a near vision lens and am very happy. I am a big advocate of corrective lenses for driving, especially at night, but the vast majority of my driving is in the daylight, so I would almost always have sunglasses hanging on my head anyway. But I probably need more bifocals, because it is hard to read the GPS. I have a pair of ESS ICE Naro with an insert I use on the motorcycle, and those have bifocals.

    One thing that complicates my situation is I am cross dominate, but now my non-dominate eye is corrected for distance, and I do most of my shooting without correction, and I think it has helped my shot gunning significantly. If I had actually had a strategy I might be better off with near vision in my right eye so pistol sights would be crystal clear, but then I would be required to shoot pistols with both eyes open, and that would be a change.

    ETA: The ability to snowmobile without fogging glasses and still be able to read a map is awesome...

  5. #5
    I started wearing glasses in the first grade. By the time I was in high school when they screened for vision I said 'E' with my left eye and was fibbing - couldn't see squat. IIRC, I was 20/800 20/400. After the service I went to work for a PD that just had 20/20 corrected as a vision requirement. First time my glasses clouded up going indoors to a fight during the winter, I got soft contacts. This was kind of pricey for a guy making right at four bucks an hour, about $400.00 in 1977 dollars. I wore soft contacts into my 30's, right up to the time I developed presbyopia. I continued with contacts and readers, then bifocal/weighted contacts (sucked - but it was over 25 years ago) then tried one far and one near. Didn't like that either. Eventually I dropped the contacts completely and went to progressive glasses.

    In my early forties, a prescribed steroid (they think) caused cataracts in both eyes. It was hilarious, I kept thinking my glasses were dirty, I'd clean them and still couldn't see for shit. One night watching TV, I asked my wife, who was the vision specialist for the school district, to clean them for me. She looked at them, went and got a flashlight, checked my eyes and said (quote) 'Well, bobo, you have cataracts in both eyes.' She was correct.

    I debated getting the right eye done with a far lens and then running with a near lens in my glasses for the left eye to see if I could handle it before getting the left eye done, but ultimately based on the experiences outlined in the first paragraph, I went with a far vision correction in both eyes. Got them done a week apart.

    I'm not sure they have anything but mono-focal lenses for implant, at least they never told me about them 25 years ago.

    I would get the one you are having done now in a distance/normal vision, and if needed have your doctor prescribe you a contact corrected to what he would suggest leaving you at for shooting - my first eye doctor called it a 'menu correction.' I'd ask the doctor to do this even if right now your vision in that eye is 20/20. If you cant tolerate contacts, get a pair of glasses made with a clear lens in the eye you have the implant in.

    That way you'll be able to make your own informed decision. Like I said, I didn't find that such a correction worked well for me, and, once they get implanted you are pretty much done, I believe.

    Keep in mind, my experience with cataract surgery is over 20 years in the past, things may have changed.

    ETA: I currently have a shooting RX that puts the correction to see my front sight at arms length into my dominant eye. Great for the range, helps me shoot with both eyes open using irons, and my eyes aren't bad enough that I cant see the sights good enough to shoot a guy in the chest inside 10 yards if I don't have my shooting glasses on.
    Last edited by DDTSGM; 02-15-2021 at 11:46 PM.

  6. #6
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    My wife shoots very little, but she has the PanOptix lens in her R eye after some damage years ago. (She is 47 now) She loves it and I will look into into it in the next few years as my vision goes.

    I shoot USPSA. Originally I had a bit of up close correction in my dominate eye. Of late I have moved to target focus vs. sight focus and shoot as or more accurately with no correction at all. I no longer feel that I need to see a "clear and sharp front sight" to be very accurate. This makes me feel better about the future as the near correction for the dominate eye makes scope use a pain.

  7. #7
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    Tagged. Interested. Trying to decide between PRK and ICL. If this in an option...

    pat

  8. #8
    I wear monovision shooting glasses but don't think I would be comfortable with it all the time.
    If and when I develop cataracts, I guess I could have a pair of monovision bifocals made up to test the system before surgery.

    Or maybe I will try the "target focus" trick. I have a pair of Trap glasses with both lenses at distance. Wonder what the purple tint meant to emphasize an orange clay pigeon will look like on a cardboard target.

    An opthalmologist near here is promoting the Vivity implant for "high-quality distance and intermediate vision, and functional close-up vision."
    http://www.dleemd.com/presbyopia-tre...yaQ9MpUS6jkG9s

    Not saying I would buy on the basis of one ad, but it would serve a lot of situations.
    Code Name: JET STREAM

  9. #9
    Member JHC's Avatar
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    In October and November I had cataract surgery on both eyes. I had been seriously near sighted my whole life. I went traditional surgery (vs laser) and single focus distance both eyes. I got spectacular acuity testing 20/10 in EACH eye weeks later. My front sight looks "good enough". I've observed the front sight on my 5" guns looks better than the G26's. Still need readers of course however. But after a lifetime of nearsightedness I was taking no prisoners on distance acuity.

    ETA: because of a certain structure of my dominant eye, it was not a candidate for the multi-focal intraocular lens anyway, so it was pick a focal distance.
    “Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais

  10. #10
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    Thanks everyone, this info is really useful and encouraging!

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