Things Are Looking Much Better — Literally!

[Altritter]

I'm happy to report that my eye restoration project is halfway complete. Two surgeries done on left eye (retina procedure in June followed by lens implant to correct cataract 10 November), to be followed by the same (in reverse order) on right eye 8 December and 19 December. Looks like I'll be fixed just in time to stare at the bike all winter in the garage.  

The left eye was scary. After the June surgery, my left-eye went from 20/40 in July to 20/700 just before the surgery. I could still drive the cage legally (only one good eye is needed in Virginia), but I rarely took the bike out because of problems with binocular vision and the difficulty seeing small objects in the road ahead (e.g., scattered gravel). Yesterday the surgeon checked my eye and announced that my distant vision is 20/25, though I'll need a moderate Rx for close vision (reading, etc.).

The right eye is not nearly as badly impaired, but the surgeries are necessary now because (1) the retina problem is progressive, and generally is correctable surgically by only about 50% of the degree of deterioration, and (2) a frequent byproduct of the retinal surgery is cataract formation. (And I already have a slight cataract in the right eye.)

In short, the Holidays are coming early for me this year, and I'll be back aboard Der Rittmeister on the first warm day thereafter!

John

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Good for you, John.  Just having a hand out of commission for a couple of months is bad enough - I can't imagine what I would do without eyesight!  

[not-so-fast-ed]

Congratulations, John!

Can you believe the surgeon actually asked me if I wanted him to put in a clear (plate glass) lens or a corrective lens when I had mine done almost 20 years ago?

 

My right eye glasses prescription went from "Coca Cola bottle" thickness, to downright skinny.

Still took a while to get used to the different depth perception issue, as I only had the right one done.
My problem was caused by a "stick in the eye" accident as a teen that quickly deteriorated one year.

Take your time recuperating.

Ed

[montmil]

I'm happy for you, too, John. Vision is one of many things we often take for granted... until something goes amiss. Follow your rehab instructions and you'll be good to go.

Last year I had surgery on my left eye to correct an over pressure issue that was leading to glacoma. Cause of the problem was a decades old left side head injury which involved... a motorcycle. Surgeon said injuries such as mine will manifest themselves as, "we age." Smart ass medicine man

Now, all that's left is the small cataract issue in the same eye. Looks like my Spring Break will be spent as your recent days.

I took a black humor solace in the knowledge that, "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king."

Monte

[Altritter]

Thanks for the kind words, folks. I consider my problems to be a flyspeck compared with the injuries so many of us have suffered. I'm really lucky.

John

[suecanada]

I am so happy for you John!!  Keep us in on the operations as they are due in December and we are cheering for you! Now I wasn't so happy to hear that Monte had
an operation to his eye because of a left side head injury....errrgh!  :oMaybe I have had the motorcycle injury so late in life that there is no time for the injuries to manifest themselves in the eye, for example,as I age???!!! I'll be long dead before they can get up to the stage of affecting something physical!

So, I do have one question for those up on eyes....... I have been shortsighted since 13 yrs. of age.(Can't see a distance). Now I have had to wear reading glasses from age 50 on, my naked close-up vision is perfect and rather stunning. It hasn't gone downhill at all and allows me to do very close-up work whivc is great for the bike work. Question" If I got laser surgery to correct my short sightedness, would I lose the really good close-up vision?

[montmil]

I am so happy for you John!!  Keep us in on the operations as they are due in December and we are cheering for you! Now I wasn't so happy to hear that Monte had
an operation to his eye because of a left side head injury....errrgh!  :oMaybe I have had the motorcycle injury so late in life that there is no time for the injuries to manifest themselves in the eye, for example,as I age???!!! I'll be long dead before they can get up to the stage of affecting something physical!

So, I do have one question for those up on eyes....... I have been shortsighted since 13 yrs. of age.(Can't see a distance). Now I have had to wear reading glasses from age 50 on, my naked close-up vision is perfect and rather stunning. It hasn't gone downhill at all and allows me to do very close-up work whivc is great for the bike work. Question" If I got laser surgery to correct my short sightedness, would I lose the really good close-up vision?

You're asking US, Sue?  
Thanks a question for the eye doc, if you're really considering laser.

I have worn glasses since I was nine years old in 1955. Tried the hard contacts back in the day but motocross, dirt, and contacts never did play nice together so went back to specs.

Some years ago, my Soldier son was told to report to the eye surgeon prior to his first deployment to Iraq. He had a minor correction and wore glasses for his very slight near sighted condition. He told me he took his specs with him, "Just in case", but buried them in the sands of S'West Asia and never looked back. I envy him.

Me, I'm a cripple without my specs but am too chicken to let some guy use his arc welder on my old eyes.    True story... When I wore contacts, I had to put on my regular glasses each morning just to find the contacts. That ain't right.

Monte  

[suecanada]

You're absolutely right Monte, I should be asking the eye doc but i forget to ask the once every two years I go there. Anyway, it stands to reason that if they put in a corrective lense that the reading eyes would be affected too. I still wear the gas permeable contacts and didn't even have riding glasses till two summers ago when I too got sick and tired of the "dirt in the eye" which always comes at the worst possible time. Have you ever gotten BOTH eyes hit by dirt at the same time...and this is with a full-face helmet! The dirt speck feels like a lump of coal and even when it is teared out or extracted with the finger, my eyes were then very, very light sensitive as the pupils really enlarged under the duress.

So now I have my aviator glasses with the transition lenses and progressive lenses..all the old fart stuff. Anyway, these glasses survived the crash and didn't even hurt my face at all during the crash....their side arms however are pretty bent out so they fit BIG..I will get them fixed in the new year. I really hated tiny glass lenses with my helmet on as they always went askew and I'd end up looking through the frames which I hated..that's why i went back to big lenses! Looks out of fashion but now I think big lenses are back in!!???

[Altritter]

Sue, regarding your questions about correcting nearsightedness:

Not being a doctor, I can't give advice. However, I *can* say that I've heard at least one middle-age friend express reservations about the laser corrective surgery they've had. YMMV, of course.

Now, a lens implant is what I had (and will have in the other eye), and that's another matter altogether. Technically, it's an IOL (Intra-Ocular Lens Implant), used to correct cataracts. According to the surgeon doing my work, there's a great deal of latitude over which (near or distant) vision problem to correct with the IOL. (The correction is a beneficial byproduct of the cataract procedure.) It's possible to correct both in the same with the one lens, but the informed consent forms disclose that the  possibility of complications, or less than perfect vision, is higher — and the procedure costs a lot more. Also, it's possible to correct one eye for distant vision, and the other for near vision. The problem with that approach is decreased depth perception for some people, according to the surgeon — something that a motorcycle rider is not likely to take lightly. Also, I understand that some people are uncomfortable with their eyes focusing at different distances.

I was told that the overall success rate for a simple IOL is in the high-90th percentile.

Quick summary: At your next eye exam, describe your symptoms and take it from there.

[Justin B.]

John, glad everything went OK and you are on your way to "seeing clearly".  Makes it a lot easier to ride if you can see where you are going!  

[suecanada]

Thanks for the replies. I will investigate. One pair of contact lenses I have are set up for different focal lengths so I can read and see a distance. It's called monovision. Takes a bit of getting used to but the brain figures it out. So plastic are our brains that it doesn't take too long. I have never noticed a big depth perception problem at all. I can still catch things fine. BUT, the problem with monovision is that you do NOT want to drive at night with them...the close-up lense takes over!!! Terrible! I even had a pair of glasses made with one uncorrected lense and one lense made up to make the close-up contact lense into a long distance lense for night. That solves the problem of night driving.  I know it sounds way too complicated.

[drewboid]

Sue, I am "of a certain age" and have presbyopia - the inability of the eye to change focus from near to far. Progressive lenses work for me and I too have contacts made up for monovision. I find that I can't read for a long time with the contacts - my one eye gets tired.
I'm told that I will eventually need the cataract surgery and the doctor can provide correction for for near or far but not both. I would be hesitant to permanently go with monovision so I see reading glesses in my future.
Hey - YMMV - each to their own - as long as I can see to ride!!!

[nhmaf]

Sue, I didn't stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I believe that if you do go with the laser corrective surgery it is very likely that you will indeed lose your
near distance focus ability and have to use reading glasses.    At least, this has been mentioned to me by my eye doctor.   I've been able to see up close all my life, but since about 6th grade I've needed glasses to see at distance.   I am now at the point where I need reading distance/long distance bifocal type glasses, but I can still when needed, hold a printed circuit board with the tiniest of parts up to my nose and focus on and see tiny solder joint defects on chip legs only a couple hairs wide.  My eye specialist says that I will always have this ability, even as my other distance vision continues to degrade further with age.

As we age, our lenses become less flexible/pliable, so they can't be made to adaptively focus over the wide focal range required for seeing clearly at 150 feet or 1.5 feet.
This usually hits most people at the close focus end more than the far distance end, but we all get less and less flexible over time.   The basic shape/size of the lense
allows you to see and focus at very short distances without much lense flexing, but if you get the laser surgery they will reshape the lense itself with a laser, which will basically reduce or eliminate some of this ability - this is my understanding, anyhow.

On top of all this, I've been battling a rare form of glaucoma for the past 10 years - so far my vision has been very well preserved by my eye specialist, though it requires a daily regimen of some annoying eye drops, with annoying side effects.  But given the alternative (blindness), I'll certainly put up with the drawbacks.  As part of the treatment, he has also burned holes through each of my irises, to help keep the pressure equalized and lowered in the front/back portions of the eye.   IT sucks getting old, but it beats the alternative !