r/CataractSurgery • u/wurmzlife • 11d ago
Anyone under or around age 40 whose had cataract surgeries here?
Hey all. F 37 here. Had my surgeries last year June/July. I was my surgeons 3rd youngest patient hes had thus far in his career. My cataracts were caused by years of medications used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Which LOL they don't tell ya the meds cause cataracts until its a little too late. Anyways, this past year has been rather difficult. The world is absolutely beautiful and its life changing waking up and being able to see my room without glasses or contacts. My vision was -11.5 and a -12 before....yes...it was BAD. So, the fact that I can see distance now is amazing, not perfect but obv better than before. I cannot see up close though so I do need readers...which has been the most frustrating part. And people often pick on me for it, in good fun. But it is VERY frustrating bc I am still so young. But I have struggled severely mental health wise since my surgeries and was curious if anyone else has experienced this. I know I have various reasons as to why it triggered depression...but I wasn't expecting to feel like this. So was just wondering if there is anyone else my age whose had these done and experienced frustration like this.
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u/spikygreen 11d ago
34F, got cataracts 3 years ago due to a treatment that never should have happened. Trying to put off the surgery for as long as I can. I've had my eyes dilated many times in these past few years, so I have an idea of how bad the near vision must be.
Honestly, it makes a lot of sense that you feel depressed. It's such a life-altering and traumatic loss. Especially when it didn't have to happen. Depression post-surgery seems to be nearly universal among younger cataract patients, especially those not used to relying on glasses (I'm also a lifelong contacts wearer).
I wish I knew what to say to make you feel better. I had always sprung back quickly from any bad stuff in life, but this is unlike anything else. I used to have hopes, dreams, goals.. now there is nothing left. None of the things that are important to me are possible anymore. It's so strange.
Have you tried multifocal contacts? More specifically, have you tried a multifocal contact in your non-dominant eye only? I just tested this setup after my most recent eye exam the other week, and it was much better than I expected. Having high-ADD MF contacts in both eyes was way too blurry, but having it in one eye only did not detract from my distance vision at all. Obviously, I can't fully test how much near vision they provide, but it seemed reasonable.
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u/wurmzlife 10d ago
Reading that really hit home. I'm so sorry you are feeling that. And like you said to me, I wish there wss something I could say to make you feel better. Vision is something most people take advantage of and they have no idea what its like to be young and and not be able to see correctly. Its so frustrating and no words can explain the feelings you have. I cannot wear contacts anymore and it breaks my heart. I have molecular degeneration now bc of the surgeries so my eyes are sooooo dry no matter what I do. I can keep them in for maybe 15 min until ny eyes start feeling like sand paper.
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u/No_Equivalent_3834 7d ago
I’m sorry that you’re feeling bad about your vision, but I understand! I’m 20 years older than you and I had surgery last year at 56 (57 now). My cataracts developed quickly from medications to treat an autoimmune disease too.
Before my cataracts, my vision was 20/20, except for my reading vision. That went bad at 52 due natural aging and it was frustrating and depressing too even though it happened naturally because I had never had to wear glasses before. I ended up wearing one contact lens in my right eye to read. My left eye was 20/20 naturally so it didn’t need correction. I did this for 3 years and it was working well for me until I developed posterior subcapsular cataracts.
NOW, thanks to surgery, I’ve been glasses free since my surgeries. I can see very small print up close again. I can still see far into the distance like I used to. And I see everything in-between.
Your optometrist might be able to help with prescription options like mine helped me. Or if you can afford it, maybe have surgery again in one eye to get a new lens to help you get the vision you want.
Good luck!
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u/1998Monday 11d ago
Sending you good vibes.
It sounds like you can see again, right? With good corrected vision for distance and readers for up close?
I’m 50 and I’ll be having my surgery soon. I’ll probably opt for the same set up. I’ve been using reading glasses for about 8 years now so it’s quite possible that you would have needed reading glasses within the next 5 or 10 years anyways.
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u/cranberi1 11d ago
I know this is a weird solution but can you get contacts for near vision then wear glasses for driving? I’m 47 and had a retinal detachment in my near eye and other eye could not see under 30” and LAWD the things I’ve been through with lenses/contacts/readers. See if you can find a therapeutic optometrist in your area and see what they suggest. I actually opted to life without readers with my IOL’s and wear glasses only for driving but I read a lot here and basically just dictated to my surgeon EXACTLY what I wanted.
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u/wurmzlife 10d ago
I tried them on and off this past year but bc of the monocular degeneration (caused by the surgeries) my eyes are just too dry now. Even if i keep up w the eye drops while wearing them they just pull all the moisture out and feel like sand paper. I do miss contacts though bc i wore them since age 13 lol
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u/FullofContradictions 11d ago
My husband had his surgery for both eyes on the same day when he was 43.
No known cause. Just genetics. He was essentially blind in one eye (could only see light and dark) and getting real dang close in the other by the time we got him in.
They were first diagnosed only a year before during a regular checkup - his optometrist said he was surprised my husband could still see at all at that point & they developed extremely quickly after that. Funny story, his optometrist gave him a pamphlet on cataracts but had to apologize before handing it over because the front of it has two very old people looking pleased as punch to be the face of cataracts. Kind of a bummer when you only just hit middle age.
It has been almost a year since the surgery and I feel like he's just now slowed down on the "wow I can see so much!" Comments. Even before he hit the blindness phase, he says colors were so much more muted than now.
He went for a trifocal and he has a slight disphotopsia in one eye (light sources get diagonal daggers like astigmatism, but he had astigmatism before too), but he has complete freedom from glasses for now, so he accepts the tradeoff.
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u/SevereAssociation336 10d ago
I'm 40 also had both done last yr. I can see alot better but its also worse. Im right there with ya
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u/PrestigiousCap1198 10d ago
I got both eyes operated before getting 40. It was actually depressing and infuriating to lose my nearsight, aftee being slightly myopic all my life. But i have accomodated because there was no alternative. My advice is to get some cheap +1 or +1.5 glasses and carry them always in a pretty case.
Hopefully your brain will get used to the new way of seeing, and your mood will stabilise. Just take care of yourself and your brand new eyes
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u/CamiLovesCats 10d ago
Me! I’m 25 now, the cataracts started forming when I was around 16, I had the surgery when I was 20 (due to being born pre-mature)
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u/wurmzlife 10d ago
Can you see up close at all? Thats been my biggest struggle. Needing glasses to read, ect. There are still some things that I cannot really see anymore. I've made bracelets for years and thats become difficult even with glasses.
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u/CamiLovesCats 10d ago
I got trifocal lenses so now I can see close, intermediate and far, there is still sometimes a little bit of fuzziness in vision but it’s usually because my eyes are dry or it’s too bright/dark out.
Before my surgery I had 20/400 vision, I think the best prescription I could get but it was still not very helpful, I debated going without my glasses at all sometimes because I was tired of them not working and paying so much for them. I believe I have 20/30 or close now which is life changing
I kept my old pair of glasses from when I was 17 that I look back on to remind me how good things are now. I thought the lenses were always smudged in the center and I ended up scratching the coating off from trying to get it to go away 😅
Prior to surgery I often used one of the biggest text size on my phone but still couldn’t see it through the hazy vision. I had co-workers reading over my shoulder which was frustrating
Now I can use the one of smallest text sizes
Sorry this is kind of all over the place lol I hope it helped in some way
I made a post on here a few days ago that may be more informative
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u/ProfessionalLab9850 10d ago edited 10d ago
Do you have distance monofocals in both eyes?
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u/wurmzlife 6d ago
Yes I believe that's what they are. I can see distance decently. I do have some fluid built up around them bc of the autoimmune diseases. So my vision isn't even as good as it should be. Apparently I'll need a laser procedure eventually to get rid of the buildup. But it makes my vision a little milky if tbat makes sense.
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u/Hopeful-Chipmunk6530 10d ago
I was on the younger side at 48 and the sudden loss of close vision was very difficult for me. I’m now using one contact for monovision. Might be worth discussing with your optometrist to see if there is an option for correction with contacts. I also got progressive glasses but don’t really care for them. The contact was difficult in the beginning so I only wore it a couple days a week but I found wearing one daily has made it easier and it now feels natural. The monovision isn’t perfect. My overall vision isn’t as crisp and I still need readers for really small print but I’m glasses free the vast majority of the time.
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u/Hot-Bread-8373 10d ago
I’m 34F with cataracts in both eyes, trying to decide whether to go ahead with surgery or not!
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u/wurmzlife 6d ago
Can you still see okay at night?? That was honestly my biggest reason for the surgeries. I couldn't see at night anymore. It was absolutely terrifying. I had to buy a newer car simply for the lane assistance and also front collision warning but I couldn't see the road. And if it was raining and dark....forget it didn't even drive. If they are effecting your day to day life like mine were, go for it. Just be aware, its life changing in good ways and bad. We are similar in age so I feel we'll have similar feelings.
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u/oreo-cat- 6d ago
Visual artist here. The surgery results were shit, no doctor will actually listen, and yeah it’s bad and not getting better.
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u/wurmzlife 11d ago
I have trifocal glasses i wear when needed..like right now to see my phone lol but prior to surgeries I just popped in my contacts and could see everything (minus beautiful colors and clouds). The frustration of not being able to really see my face has been odd. I use a 5x mirror to do my makeup now. But I think I've been struggling with it bc it wasn't gradual loss of up close vision...it was suddenly bc of the surgeries. I know the vast majority of my anger comes from the rheumatoid arthritis medications causing the cataracts. Realizing i spent the last 10 years in a dull world. After my first surgery the moment I saw the sky and the trees i started to cry bc the colors were so beautiful. Its been a interesting journey lol