The Advanced Macular Degeneration I’ve had for more than seventeen years is stable. Vabysmo has enabled me to double the time between injections from four weeks to eight. I am beyond grateful.

My optometrist told me I had cataracts in 2023 and suggested I ask my retina specialist about any concerns. I brought it up with him several times, but returned to the optometrist a few months ago with no answers.

He changed my prescription and said I might not need glasses at all after cataract surgery. I told the retina specialist I was seeing a cataract surgeon. He asked who the surgeon was and then had nothing but great things to say about him. He also told me the surgery was unlikely to make any difference.

The surgeon said my right eye is so far gone, cataract surgery would be malpractice. I was surprised when he asked if I wanted better distance or close-up vision. I opted for distance. I can always use my camera to enlarge stuff I need to read.

I had surgery on my left eye two weeks ago. The world is brighter, my distance vision is much improved, but I coulldn’t see shit up close. My readers and prescription glasses were no help at all.

The closeup problem was temporary. Once the dilation wore off (more than two days later), I could see fine with reading glasses.

A day or two later, I drove to the grocery store. OMG! For the first time in ages, I didn’t wear glasses and driving didn’t scare the hell out of me.

Turns out, both the optometrist and the retina specialist were right. The surgery had no impact on my Macular degeneration. My central vision still sucks. It’s also true, thanks to the corrective lens, I no longer need prescription glasses.

Neither doctor mentioned the benefits of cataract removal. I didn’t realize the haloing keeping me from driving at night for many years was largely due to cataracts. I have no plans to drive at night, but getting rid of them makes a difference in daylight too.

Prior to the surgery, I wore a hoody when I drove and shifted the hood to either side as needed to keep the sun from blinding me. Driving directly into the sun is still daunting, but sunbeams from either side are no longer an issue. Good thing. It’s getting too hot for a hoody.

Unless absolutely necessary, I haven’t driven anywhere for months. Even then, I rarely went more than two miles from my house and only when there wasn’t much traffic. That’s not likely to change much, but I did venture across town the other day to check out a garden center and a pet store.

My vision is definitely much improved. I can see to pull weeds, but also see how damn dirty my house is. I’ll be scrubbing floors and walls for months.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress. As always, thanks for stopping by!