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LED headlights
My issue is driving a long distance at night--not a mile or two but for an hour and a half or more. The problem is NOT visual acuity, blurry vision or halos/glare or whatever you call it. It's the piercing brightness of LED headlights hitting my eyes for an hour and a half. I wear yellow tinted night driving glasses but they only help minimally.
I went to the eye doctor and he said I have cataracts and that removal would help my issue. However, everything I'm reading on this forum says that night driving doesn't improve after cataract surgery and might even worsen. Not to mention that I don't like the other issues I'm reading about people who've had cataract surgery. I'm in my late 60s, extremely myopic, and would want to preserve my near vision since I do a lot of very close sewing as well as being an avid reader.
It doesn't make any logical sense that removing cataracts will change or eliminate the piercing nature of the LED headlights. The headlights will be just as bright after surgery. What am I missing here?
My eye doctor is not a surgeon so he couldn't comment on whether my extreme myopia would present any problems in cataract removal and he refrained from giving any firm recommendation either way. He just said that it's up to me to determine if my lifestyle is being adversely affected enough to have cataract removal. He himself is in my age range and has the same issue with the LED headlights and hasn't had cataract surgery. I find that very telling. I think too many people are herded to cataract surgery for profits when it might not be necessary. The doctor said his wife has gotten headaches from the lights while driving but he believes it's tension from the stress of driving.
I'm concerned about why doctors are recommending cataract surgery when it's clearly noted by patients and on websites that cataract surgery won't necessarily improve night driving. I read at least a dozen articles that stated this. So why did I receive erroneous information?
What am I missing here? Does anyone understand what I'm saying about LED headlights being too bright and that it's not a true "night vision"/acuity or glare issue?
I can say that I'm 100% opposed to cataract surgery, at least right now. So that's off the table. I already use the yellow tinted glasses so I'll continue doing that. My long nighttime trips are not frequent, perhaps 6 or 8 a year (every 2 months or so).
Any comments or ideas what else I can do?
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I had the cataract surgery on both eyes and it did help with my night driving although my eyes are still sensitive to the bright light during the day and the brighter LED lights at night. I actually use the sun visor in the car during the day and the night. It helps some.
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1 Reaction@followheart87 I had cataracts in both eyes. Removal of the cataracts and lens implants greatly improved my night driving. It's very possible that there is variation in how much cataract removal will improve one's vision in night driving.
I often drive on 2-lane roads and yes, the brighter LED lights do bother me. My vision and sensitivity is still far better than before cataract surgery when I couldn't manage those LED lights at all.
You mentioned that eye doctor is not a surgeon. Have you asked for a referral to an opthalmologist who has done many of these surgeries?
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2 ReactionsNo, I haven't asked for a referral. I don't want surgery at this time. Basically it's risks versus benefits for me and I don't think the small benefit is worth the risk. My lifestyle doesn't warrant it.
It's just interesting to me that 2 people posted a positive outcome on here but I read countless negative comments from others as well as on multiple websites. I'm glad it worked out for these 2 people but the variable outcomes still bothers me.
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1 ReactionBacking up on this, my eye doctor didn't actually RECOMMEND cataract surgery. He refused to do that. He refused to state his position on whether or not I should have it done. He only said that I do have cataracts and that cataract surgery "might" help my night driving. However, the fact is that he himself has the same issue as me and hasn't had cataract surgery. That tells me a lot. So I'm skeptical. Something isn't adding up here for me. There are too many negative outcomes; there's my own doctor saying he has the same issue as me with headlights but he himself didn't have surgery; there's his reticence to recommend it; and there are too many adverse complications of the surgery that I'm reading about.
I think it's odd that an eye doctor doesn't recommend surgery with gusto if that is the real solution here. Maybe because he KNOWS it's an iffy outcome? For me, I'm not willing to live with "iffy". There has to be a guarantee and there has to be no adverse effect on my close vision. Based on all of this, I'm not willing to take the risk.
always have an examination by an ophthalmologist before deciding sugery
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1 Reaction@followheart87 You don't have to agree to surgery to get an evaluation for cataracts. I went to a local opthalmologist for an evaluation - did she think I could benefit from cataract surgery? I was suggesting the referral as an opportunity for you to get a second opinion and more information. It was more than a year later when I went to a different opthalmologist for a second opinion and at that time decided I wanted the surgery.
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1 ReactionTrue, I see what you're saying, and I will definitely seek an evaluation if my vision worsens but right now I have no vision problems. It's only the bright headlights that are the problem. I would never undergo surgery for something that doesn't impact my daily life. My long distance night driving is not often.
I think I've gotten some good information on here regarding people's experiences with night driving after the surgery though, so I appreciate the responses.
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1 ReactionNot to influence you either way but it sounds like your main concern is close up vision. If that is the case I assume you do realize that you can have a close up lens used to replace your natural lens after the cataract removal.
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