Question:
I have a cataract developing in my right eye. I can see very clearly through
it, but it has been becoming more myopic. Otherwise, because it is my one
really good eye I would prefer not to have it operaqted upon until
absolutely necessary.
My question is, does this myopic progression ever stop? How long does it
take?
Answer:
I think it can be quite variable. Although overall my vision got worse,
I think my myopia actually got a bit better. My wife's myopia on the
other hand got significantly worse.
As someone else point out, your myopia can be pretty close to eliminated
when the cataract is removed and an interocular lens is inserted. My
wife has 20/20 vision without glasses and I have something pretty close
to it. My myopia is gone entirely but I still have some astigmatism.
You don't say what is wrong with your other eye. If it just needs a
refractive correction, then that too can be corrected by cataract
surgery. But there is one potential problem. If someone has a
cataract needing removal in one eye and a lot of myopia in the other but
not cataract, it may be necessary to adjust the vision in the cataract
free eye to balance that in the other eye. In that case, the patient
has to wear glasses. The reason for this is that otherwise the image
sizes in the retinas of the two eyes are different sizes. If the size
difference is not too great, then the brain can adjust. When I had had
one eye done and was still using a refractive lens for the other, the
image sizes differed by 30 percent or more. I did more or less adapt to
that but I think it was by relying on one eye. My wife had a similar
experience with differences in image sizes but it was very difficult for
her to adjust. "Myopic shift" due to cataract is usually accompanied by increase in
haze/blur. It can continue for years, and it's worth changing glasses until
opacity develops.
Of course, this sort of myopic shift stops completely when you have cataract
surgery.
