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Abraham wrote:...I'm sure my experience is the exception, but I would certainly get a second opinion about needing cataract surgery.

As a piece of trivia, TAM, having said what I did in my earlier post, I am currently engaged, very late in my life, in trying to do without wearing glasses all the time, and I think that I am making some progress.

The human nervous system is amazing, and it can do unbelievable things. As but one example, a few years ago I had a Cochlear implant on the left side due to my hearing becoming almost completely gone, at least partially, I am sure, because of gunfire -- little ones and big ones -- with perhaps only a twist of cotton for ear protection, before the days of efficient ear muffs. An unfortunate, but predictable result, about which the surgeon had warned me, was that the surgery caused me to lose most of my sense of taste. The nerve upon which my sense of taste depends is adjacent to one which must be cut when the implant surgery is done, and the chance that the surgeon, regardless of efforts to avoid it, cuts both nerves, is real.

Three years later and the similar nerve on the right side has largely taken over the burden of both, and my sense of taste is almost as before the surgery.

Similarly, there are many cases of one losing a facility, such as vision, seeing other senses improve, tending to counteract the loss of vision.

I have convinced myself (possibly just rationalization) that without a prism for the right eye I might be able to overcome the vertical object displacement, and I am continuing to work hard at it. The down-side at this point is that should I be pulled over by an LEO while not wearing the glasses noted on my driving license as being required, I could have caused myself yet another problem -- which I do not need. :(

Jim

The Annoyed Man wrote: ... So I was wondering for those of you who have had cataract surgery, what sort of choices you've made as far as lenses, and how it affected your shooting ability, particularly with a rifle. The biggest bummer for me so far is how it might affect that.

If all goes well, TAM, everything should be OK. The object of the procedure, of course, is to improve your deteriorating vision. You may expect to have to obtain new glasses even if the operations are entirely successful.

For me the good news is that my optometrist after the surgery had a CHL, and he made me glasses with the right lens which focuses on the front sight of my handguns, for use in competitive bullseye competition, which is the only time I wear them. That is, for self-defense, for obvious reasons I have practiced shooting with my regularly-worn glasses, and without any glasses at all. I am adequately proficient in the latter, as, under the circumstances, I am not concerned with the difference between a "10" and an "X." :)

Since my infrequent shooting with rifles is confined to using open sights (milsurp), after cataract surgery on my right eye my regularly-worn glasses are quite adequate to focus on the front sight. I also have no problem with a scoped rifle when occasionally shooting one belonging to my son, who is a hunter. Usually I do this while trying to teach him the importance of trigger control -- which I have found is not appreciated enough by many rifle shooters. He does well with handguns, but he tends too often to jerk the trigger of a rifle.

For me the bad news is that my right eye, my dominant eye, did not need cataract surgery until more than a year after my left eye. I had moved during the interim, and had a different ophthalmologist for the second surgery. The result was that after the surgery I had a vertical displacement between objects viewed with both eyes open, that is, I saw two of the objects, one atop the other, and I needed a new prescription for the right eye lens which includes a prism, thus correcting the vertical displacement. This is troublesome in general, but it does not affect my shooting, as I am only using the right eye to see the front sight anyway, although I do keep both eyes open, both for marksmanship and self-defense shooting.

You should have no problem, TAM, and I suspect that you will be pleased with the result of having the surgery.

Jim