I was born with 20/15 vision. But somewhere around age 45 my arms became too short. So about every two or three years I'd buy a couple of sets of glasses. One for general use, one for just computer use, and every few buys one for just fly-fishing use. Usually about $1,500 for the set cause I'd get all the bells and whistles. Eventually near vision was the biggest issue but my distance vision needed some sharpening as well. Finally I was wearing glasses every minute I was awake. Really pissed me off. Other then blurred vision my eyes are in excellent health.

This year was the cycle for new glasses and I told myself I was finally done. No more glasses. Time to get my eyeball's lenses replaced. About four years ago I looked into this and at that time the best replacement lenses at that time were Crystalens. Approved by the FAA and a friend had had them for almost 20 years and was thrilled. I "smokered" down to Austin Texas to visit Austin Eye as they have done tens of thousands of lens replacements over the years.

I learned Crystalens was now old news, the better option was the new Symfony Lens (also FAA approved). Biggest difference is almost no halo around bright lights at night. Anyway I talked with the doc, Shannon Wong, and decided to go for it. They do one eye at a time, with a week between eyes. Told me I'd end up with 20/20 vision but might need low power readers for fine print under low light. I made the appointment for my first eye.

It's done in the office. Starts with numbing drops on the eye. Then into the laser room where they cut a tiny slice to take out the old lens and insert the new one. This step takes about 30 seconds. Painless.

Next to the operating room where the old lens is vacuumed out of the eye and the new lens inserted and placement adjusted, about 20 minutes and also painless.

While this was being done the onsite optician removed a lens from my glasses as it was no longer needed for the eye with the new lens. 24 hours later my new eye was seeing amazingly well, although there were some weird "blurs and shifts" on the periphery that the doc had told me would probably happen but quickly go away as my brain learned what was important and what wasn't. He was right, it did.

A week later the second eye. Some of the numbing drops missed my eyeball and I didn't say anything. Caused the laser part to sting just a little. Second lens installed and out the door I went wearing no glasses at all (other then those cheap dark glasses they give you when they dilate your eyes).

Another week for a followup. 20/20 vision. I catch a smoker back to Alaska. A few more weeks go by. I'm loving my new eyes. Takes time before I quit reaching for a pair of glasses all the time.

Cost, about $6,200 per eye.

Next step was to head to the DMV and get the corrective lenses restriction removed from my driver's license. Yea! Then yesterday I went in for my 3rd Class Medical and got that corrective lenses restriction removed. Double Yea!

This is absolutely the best thing I've ever done for myself. Highly recommend it. Only glasses I'm wearing now are RayBan sunglasses, and a pair of Action Optics I used when I fished professionally and had perfect eyesight. No idea why I hung onto them, awesome to be wearing them again.

One of the strangest feelings was throwing away all the prescription glasses and readers I had collected over the years (and stashed away in various bags so I'd always have a backup).

As an added unexpected bonus my balance has improved significantly. I assumed the loss of balance I experienced as I got older was just aging, but now I think it was because wearing glasses my vision focus was beyond my eye at the glasses, and now the point of focus is inside my eye where it belongs. At least that's my guess. Here is a link to Austin Eye's website for anyone who might be interested. Getting back k to 20/20 vision is a life changing experience.

http://www.austineye.com/intraocular-lenses/

Thanks for the info. Pretty neat what can be done. I've been near sighted most of my life but just got the glasses restriction removed from my Basic Med cert. Was good enough with nothing and 20/15 with my new glasses on.

Thanks for the write up Barnstormer.
I finally went to the eye doc a couple months ago for a check up and she recommended correction. I had lasik about 18 years ago but have noticed that along with not being able to read, I’m having trouble w distance.
May have to look into this.

Phil-

Thanks for the trip report! Definitely something to consider. I've got almost the same issues you had. Interesting comments about balance.... I've experienced something along those lines, in particular distance from objects. The glasses tend to make me mis-judge how far I am from things and occasionally I run into things I didn't when I didn't have to wear glasses. One of the frustrating things!

It would be great to not have t carry around a set of glasses hitched on my t-shirt al the time;)
gunny

Word of warning-- stay away from ladders when you first start wearing bifocals!!
I nearly busted my ass several times climbing down off my 6' hangar ladder,
when the bottom step turned out to NOT be the bottom step.
Embarassing and hazardous!

I second that remark....

Gunny wrote:... Interesting comments about balance.... I've experienced something along those lines, in particular distance from objects. The glasses tend to make me mis-judge how far I am from things...y

Gunny, for me it the biggest balance issue was when I am wading while fly-fishing, both from purely a balance point of view, but also when looking at the bottom where I'm about to step, and misjudging where it is and tipping over. Really annoying. Before I just attributed it to age, and although I haven't been fly-fishing since I had this done there are enough other things where my balance and distance judgement is back that I expect fly-fishing balance to be dramatically improved. Time will tell in a couple of months. ><)))*>

How long before you can fly again?

Cannon wrote:How long before you can fly again?

The answer to your question is here, plus some additional information folks may find of value.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2017/june/08/replacement-lens-praised-by-pilot

Regarding night vision, first off I fly single engine planes so I don't fly at night, nor do I fly IFR. I prefer to be able to select the best forced landing area instead of just hit some random spot on the ground.

What I did notice driving at night was the first few days after the surgery there was a pretty good sized halo around oncoming headlights, street lights, etc. Not dash lights, or signs, or other broad coverage lights, but rather focused/pinpoint forms of light. My doctor told me to expect that but that it would get better over time as my brain learned to ignore it, and that has proven to be the case. Now, at night, the halo is very small, small enough that it isn't bothersome and that it may in fact be the same or near so to the halo my natural lens saw at night.

According to my doc who did my cataract surgery, about 30% of patients have to go back for a quickie revision--we both had to. It takes even less time, about 30 seconds per eye, sitting in front of a laser machine that makes about 9 clicks and you're done. We both developed halos at night after the first surgeries, so much so in my case that I was having trouble driving at night. Now after the revisions, the halos are so insignificant that they're not bothersome at all.

I stood down for about 3 weeks after the initial surgeries, which were a week apart. I didn't stand down at all after the revisions, as it wasn't necessary.

I do fly at night, and IFR, and neither was impacted. I'm not IFR current right now--need an IPC--but I am night current as of last week.

Now, it is surgery. There is no surgery that is 100% guaranteed, but this comes as close as any. It's been about a year, and I'd have to say that it is one of the best surgical results I can imagine--short down time, no pain, etc. It's a little scary the first time--after all, that's my eyes! But it really is so easy, from a patient's standpoint, under the hands of a skilled eye surgeon.

There are choices. I chose to have lenses that are good for distance, so I need readers--but lenses are available that are essentially mini-bifocals. I also chose not to pay the extra to correct my astigmatism, so that's corrected by the glasses I wear. I'm so accustomed to wearing glasses after some 55 years of wearing them, that I couldn't see spending several thousand more for those "benefits". As it was, Medicare paid the entire bill, but it wouldn't have covered those extras.

Cary