From Newsgroup: rec.bicycles.tech

On Tue, 31 Mar 2026 15:31:05 -0000 (UTC), Ted Heise <theise@panix.com>
wrote:

On Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:06:42 -0700,
Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote:

On Mon, 30 Mar 2026 14:50:03 -0000 (UTC), Ted Heise <theise@panix.com>
wrote:

On Sun, 29 Mar 2026 09:21:09 -0700,
Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote:

Congrats. I had cataract surgery in January 2024. The
major improvement in vision was worth the inconvenience.

Thanks! So far it's not a real improvment, but I'm hoping once
the healing is done the vision will be as good as before.
Having worn glasses for all waking moments for more than 60
years, I doubted I could adapt to monovision and just went with
standard IOLs. So I'll still need glasses.

Well, I was a little disappointed by the results. I chose
Intraocular lenses because that's the only type for which
Medicare would pay. Any other lens type cost real money.

Just to be picky, I think they're all called intraocular lenses,
whether standard/basic or advanced.

Sorry, my mistake. I couldn't recall the name of the lens type so I
made a bad guess. List of the various lens types: <https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/best-artificial-lens-implant-iol-cataract-surgery>

Medicare would only pay for monofocal lenses: <https://www.healthpartners.com/blog/does-medicare-cover-cataract-surgery/> "Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans cover a standard
intraocular lens (IOL)..."

The most advanced are really
something these days. My wife got a monovision setup using IOLs
that can have the correction tweaked by laser after the eye has
finished healing and has settled down. They were quite pricey (on
the order of $10k). Like you, I got the standard lenses, and they
were covered by Medicare. For me it was more a matter of
confidence they would work, than it was cost.

If my original prescription, before surgery, had been more complex, I
probably would have chosen one of the premium lenses. However, my
astigmatism was fairly mild and premium lenses were not worth the
expense.

Another decision was whether to have both lenses optimized for
distance vision (the most common choice), or have one lens optimized
for near vision and the other for distance vision. I was told that I
would eventually adjust to the arrangement. I was tempted until I met
someone who mentioned it ruined his depth perception. He had
difficulties using a microscope, 3D viewer (for games), 3D TV,
archery, etc.

Immediately after the surgery and recovery, my eyesight was
excellent. Everything looked almost perfect. Everything
between 2ft to infinity was in focus. For closeup, the cheap
(Dollar Tree $1.50) reading glasses worked perfectly.
However, I have minor astigmatism, which required correct
lenses for near vision, such as seeing the vehicle dashboard
while driving.

However, it didn't last.

Similar to my experience. The first day I was impressed by how
much better *everything* looked (all distances). It was reasy to
compare because only one eye had been treated.

...After surgery, the intraocular pressure inside my
eyeballs was high, mostly from swelling. That caused the
eyeballs to be more spherical and largely eliminated the
effects of astigmatism. However, as the swelling decreased, my
eyeballs returned to their pre-surgery football shape. My
usable field of vision (without glasses) increased to about 4ft
to infinity. That required additional cheap reading glasses
for viewing my computer screen. I'll eventually need to have
another eye exam and replace the cheap reading glasses with
cheap Zenni opical prescription "computer" glasses.

Okay, it makes sense that a reduction in swelling would affect the
eye function.

FWIW, on my one-day postop visit, my doctor noted that one eye had
more swelling than she liked, so she "burped" the implant. This
involved a numbing drop followed by gentle pressure against the
front surface to express a bit of fluid. Weird, but not at all
painful.

Sounds like glaucoma, where fluid build up inside the eye does not
drain properly through the trabecular mesh and increases pressure. I
hadn't heard about this method of clearing the plumbing.

I suggest you not do anything that might...

You put a scare into me with this,

I tend to do that to people.

Thanks for all the additional suggestions.

One more useful hint. I wear bifocals. There's a very sharp dividing
line between the optometrist, who does eye exams, and the optician,
who fits the frames. The problem is the optician does the PD
(pupillary distance) and the adder for the near vision. <https://www.zennioptical.com/how-to-read-my-eye-prescription>
I've found that both numbers need to be perfect or the glasses become worthless. By trial and error, I've been able to establish the
correct numbers. That's another reason I order glasses from Zenni
Optical. I provide the numbers on the online order form and can
therefore experiment without having to obtain better numbers from the optometrist.
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272 AE6KS 831-336-2558

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