zz-pd

I could never see at night, use to scare the boys, when they needed a ride, and I would ask them if I was in my lane, they finely quit asking for rides at night. :-D God bless.

Edie

The surgery takes about ten minutes at the most - they put you under for a very short time. You don't know you are going under, you don't realize you have been under and it is so painless you wouldn't believe it! I have "White Coat Syndrome". Really bad. I was petrified. But my whole thing was that if I didn't get it done, my license would be taken away and I wouldn't be able to drive anymore. That was all it took. Actually, the whole procedure was a walk in the park (to coin a phrase, but it was because I was able to see the whole park without the fuzzies). In the amount of time it takes you to go to the grocery store and do a week's grocery shopping, you could be there, have the procedure and back home again. And to top it all off, you get juice, a really good Danish and a good cup of coffee. I did enjoy it enough to make an appointment to have the other eye done three weeks later. No problem. I totally understand how frightening it may be. Been there - done it - honestly, swear to God, it is the most rewarding thing in the world (other than becoming a parent). You can see. You can see little things far away. You can read a highway or street sign before you are right on top of it. Yes, I still wear glasses, but for close sewing work. Actually, they are basically plastic glasses with a bifocal. The top is just plain, but the bifoke is for close work and I can wear the glasses all day, without losing them, which I off and on do! I can't tell you not to be afraid, but I can tell you, it is a very rewarding experience, there is no pain, you do not know anything that is going on and you wake up in ten minutes and can see fantastically. The procedure from when my husband had his cataract surgery changed so much, he couldn't believe it. And that was just ten years. God Bless you. And believe me, He will! God gave man the brains to figure out the least painful, most helpful procedures for any surgery or procedure (I call it a procedure). You do not know you have anything in your eye. Honest. I have to have the tech hold my eyes open for the glaucoma test. They know me! But, I know I can see and once you have the procedure you will have new vision for life. I have 20/20 vision in both eyes. And it will stay that way. I held off having the procedure for two years. I regret the two years I missed - mainly being scared to death I was going to have an accident or not see someone in the road. I am not going to write anything else on this. But, I am telling you, you are going to miss out on an awful lot and you are going to have that same fear that I did all the time, even when it came to cutting stuff up for meals. Or sewing - my God, Lady, you are not going blind. YET! I have a friend with macular degeneration and she had cataract surgery this Spring, just to clear up a little of the fuzziness. It worked to a point, but she already had mac degeneration. You don't. Do it for your family, do it for YOURSELF! Ac tually, it is selfish for you not to have it done. Edie

jitkaau

Astigmatisms cause similar problems and thyroid problems cause trouble with glare, so suggest you have a full check - up to rule out any health problems.

postal packin' mama

Edie, I am APPLAUDING you for your pep talk - that's great information. My mother lost her vision to macular degeneration so (NOT to make light of cataracts, but...) it would've been so much 'better' if she'd "only" had cataracts because cataracts CAN be operated on and usually corrected, whereas macular degeneration cannot.

Be thankful that there IS a procedure available for cataracts. It is definitely much the lesser of evils between fear of the corrective procedure and blindness. My mother was a master at all sewing & needlework and I'm so glad I have some of her masterpieces. She even knitted and cooked after going blind, but even her indomitable courage couldn't bring about the vision improvements that are available to you by having the cataract surgery. Don't delay any longer; take advantage of the blessing of surgery.

joeyoz

Do you wear glasses? If so, you can get anti-reflective coating put on your glasses.

vwquilting

I have thyroid problems and very dry eyes. The more you use Sytrane the better it gets. I cannot use Restasis, But yes some times I have to drive with one eye closed. Other time when the sun is bright and I go by several trees its like a strobe light and it makes me dizzy. Not fun. Light and noise can throw me of as well.

purplefiend

My eye doctor put a non-glare coating on my clear lenses that really helps a lot, especially at night. It seems once you hit age 40+ you have more problems with glare.

Lisanne

Thank you both for sharing your experiences and information. I am nowhere near the point of needing surgery; I just know the day will come. I can only hope there will be some other way out by then...

Barbm

Hubby has a very rare condition called salzman's nodules- growths on the cornea. He also has macular degeneration. He wears glasses with transitions lenses and sunglasses made to clip on (magnets) that really are dark. He said the sun still bothers him. He hates to drive at night too. Lucky for him, I like to drive.

I have poor vision,corrected with contact lenses. I wear a toric lens in my left eye to correct my astigmatism and for up close work and a regular lens in the right corrected so I have distance vision. I can read highway signs about 1/2 mile away, which he loves. I don't like driving at night as I see the "halos" around the lights because of the non-astigmatism correction. But it doesn't stop me if it's needed.

This summer I found "Pug" brand sunglasses. They are an orangy colored lens and awesome for the sun! I can see and not squint. They have the UV 400 coating for driving. Funny thing- you see things differently- today I thought people had orange shirts on- they were red. Just have to lift the glasses to get the real colors.

best bet- head back to the Opthamologist and get a thorough exam. They could have missed something or something could have changed quickly.

Jingle

I wear prescription sunglasses during the day. I've driven a pickup truck for the last 10 yr.s no problems driving at night, other lights don't blind me anymore, since I sit above most. Driving at night in the rain is a problem, when the inside of my windshield needs to be cleaned. I never seem to remember to clean it during the day.