over 60 vision issues
- Thread starter coltstudd
- Start date
Contacts are the only way to go.
Preferably corrected for pool rather than real life. oh, and get the cataract surgery when needed.
Lou Figueroa
Route 66
I'm 70 now and yeah I have cataracts but the Doc says to wait some more first. About ten years ago I found I couldn't cut the six ball at a little distance. The green edge kept getting lost on the green cloth. I changed to Tournament Blue and that was solved.
Good lighting and cloth color is important for us geezers.
Good lighting and cloth color is important for us geezers.
I have bifocals where the top lens is set to focus at 8 feet and the bottom is set to focus at 4 feet. The top allows crisp views of the balls at the other end of the table, the bottom allows crisp view of the CB at the end of my cue. These things work great--be sure to tell the optometrist that you want the optical center positioned 3mm above the bifocal line.
Get treatment.
The place to start is a complete eye check up with retinal scan by an optometrist or ophthalmologist, medicare may cover it or pay $100 - $150. The check up will look for cataracts, vision issues or diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma or even diabetes.
I had the test done last year and showed no macular - but my wife, who is 11 years younger, did have some small beginnings. It sounds like you may have cataracts, which are readily treatable. As others have mentioned, vision can be corrected, cataracts can be removed and other issues treated. Macular degeneration is a lot more difficult so that's why a retinal scan is the way to go.
Let us know how it goes.
I started a thread about this about a month ago. After all the replies I decided on contacts. I've had them for about 3 weeks. There is a learning curve especially getting them in and out but once in I forget about them. I just got a 20-20 prescription and I can see the balls fine and they're good for normal wear too. They're much better than trying to shoot with glasses. I don't know as it's helped my play much but my vision wasn't real bad anyway.
Lineless bifocals.
I can see near and far, at 67 years old.
I can see near and far, at 67 years old.
I'm 72 and no glasses or contacts to play pool.
I need readers for fine print but thats it.
The long shots are not as clear as they used to be but I can still see good enough to pocket them.
Just lucky so far.
I need readers for fine print but thats it.
The long shots are not as clear as they used to be but I can still see good enough to pocket them.
Just lucky so far.
From No Glasses To Lots of Glasses To No Glasses.....Wow!
For ten years I used glasses and my optometrist took the time to blend my two prescriptions.
I required reading glasses and also glasses for distance that I needed for driving & watching TV.
It was annoying to have two pairs but bifocals never worked for me since movement created blurs.
Pool was annoying as neither reading nor distance glasses covered the table without sacrificing
something. I mentioned this to my eye physician and he came up with the idea of comingi up with
a blend. We went to the conference room at his office and set up objects at distances varying from
2 ft up to 12 ft. He had me wear this headgear contraption that let him experiment with different lenses.
He would switch the left and right lenses by replacing them with other strength lenses that were in
trays on a handcart. He must have spent 20 mins switching lenses all the time asking which lens
combination gave me the clearest sight for up close and far away. We came up with a billiard glasses
prescription which was a weakened version of my reading prescription combined with a stronger
distance prescription. This essentially let me see a frozen ball on the near rail and far rail pretty clear.
I only play on 9’ and 10’ pool tables so if you do as well, this approach works the best. Then I went and
purchased a Ray Ban Aviator frame which looked better than some of the goofy looking billiard glasses
and had prescription lenses made. Periodically over the years, my prescription had to be changed due
to my cataracts getting worse and worse over time. I think it was changed once & on the second occasion,
the difference was so little that I decided to just stay with what I already had.
Then the sky opened up.......heaven sent me a present. I had been hearing for years that my cataracts
weren’t bad enough to warrant surgery. This is more likely some insurance issue more so than anything
else, I.e., cost containment. But last year my optometrist told me it probably time to think about cataract
surgery as my condition had reached the stage where light passage was now severe. Driving at night
became really a challenge and so I avoided it as much as possible other than short distance trips.
So last year I had cataract surgery. My left eye was done last May and the right one done in a June. And
just with the left eye repaired, my vision became wonderful even though I still had a right eye yet to be
done. Three weeks later the right eye was done and I found paradise. My vision was restored so much
so that I no longer need eyeglasses at all. Gone.....eliminated.......almost 20/20......my eye surgeon said
if my eyes ever get tired from reading, just go buy a pair of the weakest strength reading glasses at the
drug store or supermarket.....like 0.5 or something. The bottom line is I no longer need any eyewear.
Apparently when you start developing cataracts, the condition has to reach some stage of severity before
surgery is recommended or even allowed under most health insurance coverage. Maybe if you wanted to
pay for the surgery as an elective procedure and not involve health insurance the surgery might be able
to be scheduled whenever you wanted instead of awaiting this gradual, unavoidable degradation of sight.
Anyway, all I can state with absolute certainty is I did not decide to get the prescription lens implants and
just went with standard lenses. Through my Blue Shield 65+ HMO coverage, which is inexpensive @ $20
mth, my out of pocket for cataract surgery was under a grand. See how much prescription eyewear runs
you over the years? It isn’t cheap but being able to see things clearly, bright and with colors is everything.
Matt B.
For ten years I used glasses and my optometrist took the time to blend my two prescriptions.
I required reading glasses and also glasses for distance that I needed for driving & watching TV.
It was annoying to have two pairs but bifocals never worked for me since movement created blurs.
Pool was annoying as neither reading nor distance glasses covered the table without sacrificing
something. I mentioned this to my eye physician and he came up with the idea of comingi up with
a blend. We went to the conference room at his office and set up objects at distances varying from
2 ft up to 12 ft. He had me wear this headgear contraption that let him experiment with different lenses.
He would switch the left and right lenses by replacing them with other strength lenses that were in
trays on a handcart. He must have spent 20 mins switching lenses all the time asking which lens
combination gave me the clearest sight for up close and far away. We came up with a billiard glasses
prescription which was a weakened version of my reading prescription combined with a stronger
distance prescription. This essentially let me see a frozen ball on the near rail and far rail pretty clear.
I only play on 9’ and 10’ pool tables so if you do as well, this approach works the best. Then I went and
purchased a Ray Ban Aviator frame which looked better than some of the goofy looking billiard glasses
and had prescription lenses made. Periodically over the years, my prescription had to be changed due
to my cataracts getting worse and worse over time. I think it was changed once & on the second occasion,
the difference was so little that I decided to just stay with what I already had.
Then the sky opened up.......heaven sent me a present. I had been hearing for years that my cataracts
weren’t bad enough to warrant surgery. This is more likely some insurance issue more so than anything
else, I.e., cost containment. But last year my optometrist told me it probably time to think about cataract
surgery as my condition had reached the stage where light passage was now severe. Driving at night
became really a challenge and so I avoided it as much as possible other than short distance trips.
So last year I had cataract surgery. My left eye was done last May and the right one done in a June. And
just with the left eye repaired, my vision became wonderful even though I still had a right eye yet to be
done. Three weeks later the right eye was done and I found paradise. My vision was restored so much
so that I no longer need eyeglasses at all. Gone.....eliminated.......almost 20/20......my eye surgeon said
if my eyes ever get tired from reading, just go buy a pair of the weakest strength reading glasses at the
drug store or supermarket.....like 0.5 or something. The bottom line is I no longer need any eyewear.
Apparently when you start developing cataracts, the condition has to reach some stage of severity before
surgery is recommended or even allowed under most health insurance coverage. Maybe if you wanted to
pay for the surgery as an elective procedure and not involve health insurance the surgery might be able
to be scheduled whenever you wanted instead of awaiting this gradual, unavoidable degradation of sight.
Anyway, all I can state with absolute certainty is I did not decide to get the prescription lens implants and
just went with standard lenses. Through my Blue Shield 65+ HMO coverage, which is inexpensive @ $20
mth, my out of pocket for cataract surgery was under a grand. See how much prescription eyewear runs
you over the years? It isn’t cheap but being able to see things clearly, bright and with colors is everything.
Matt B.
At 76, I've got it all. Cataracts, glaucoma, and age related macular degeneration. Uncer the care of both an ophthalmologist and a retina specialist. Treatments at a retina center seem to be slowing the loss, but vision still slowly degrading.
I still play, but it's getting worse and worse. Yeah, it IS like a nightmare.
Thinking strongly of giving it up because of the frustration...
I still play, but it's getting worse and worse. Yeah, it IS like a nightmare.
Thinking strongly of giving it up because of the frustration...
While my reading vision has noticeably deteriorated, surprisingly it has not affected my shotmaking ability once I can focus correctly on the CB. More worried about mental acuity. I continue to make planning/strategical mistakes I know are wrong, but still can’t seem to overcome the risk temptation. Go figure.
Yes, I'm 67 and have cataracts but the eye doctor said they're very slight and haven't gotten any worse over the last couple years. I went with the contacts but still have to wear readers for close work which doesn't bother me as I have worn readers for years.
I used to play with a guy who was legally blind in one eye who could outplay me most of the time. Mostly because his pool knowledge and position play were better than mine.
By the way, I've been playing a few weekly tournaments. One has around 25 people every week. The toughest guy to beat there just had his 83rd birthday. He doesn't wear glasses but I don't know if he's had cataract surgery. I can't imagine anyone that age without some vision issues.
I used to play with a guy who was legally blind in one eye who could outplay me most of the time. Mostly because his pool knowledge and position play were better than mine.
By the way, I've been playing a few weekly tournaments. One has around 25 people every week. The toughest guy to beat there just had his 83rd birthday. He doesn't wear glasses but I don't know if he's had cataract surgery. I can't imagine anyone that age without some vision issues.
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