IOL Replacement and Recovery

I had the left eye done Jan 17 and the right done Feb 11. Had a hard time in between the surgery's with one great eye and one old bad eye but thats behind me now.

Question for the folks that have had it done, how long afterward did you stay away from the range? My follow up eye doc is out getting a new knee so my post op visit has been delayed, I had planned on badgering him with that question then I thought for sure some of you folks here may have the answer. I'm itching to pop some caps.....

About two weeks.  The biggest delay is figuring out what prescription you need for iron sights.

You didn't say what was done - cataracts?

If it was cataract surgery, this is one of many places offering advice:
https://www.kingedwardvii.co.uk/health-hub/cataract-surgery-tips-to-minimise-recovery-time

If you're getting prescription glasses, it make take four to six weeks before your eye is fully healed and stable.  If you get prescription glasses before that, you may need to go back for another pair if your prescription changes.  (Make sure you have them made from "safety" material.)

Edited for clarity:

The eye is fixed focus after IOL/cataract surgery, so one correction doesn't solve all your requirements.


I use no-correction safety glasses that have a reading bifocal for red dots. (Don't need to switch glasses for adjusting sights, writing notes, loading mags, etc.) I use full lens correction for irons.  I buy them from Amazon; links below. They're cheap enough that you can try a couple and decide what works while you wait for your vision to stabilize. My left eye changed slightly over a month. After 2 months, I'm still satisfied with my Amazon prescription safety glasses glasses.

You can figure out what strengths you need at a local store that sells reading glasses. (You'll need them anyway.) I'm about 1 or 1.5 correction for irons and use the 2.5 bifocals.

https://smile.amazon.com/Elvex-RX-500C-Diopter-Magnifier-Glasses/dp/B00KSJQC8W/ref=pd_ybh_a_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=F4SZNHRPNP6B50XDSBYN

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0160TN2DG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you're suggesting people shoot with "off the shelf" glasses, in the unlikely chance that something went wrong, they're not wearing safety glasses.....      and most of those off-the-shelf glasses I have seen are very small, and they don't surround the eye as they should.

It didn't cause any permanent damage, but I was firing one of my revolvers at my range, and "something" came from the gun, bounced off a large wooden sign post to my right, and got in my eye.  No damage according to the eye doctor who checked me out, and the irritation only lasted a week.  

To me, that was a warning, and now I usually shoot with prescription safety glasses (polycarbonate), with $3 "side protectors" from Amazon.

My suggestion is to try on all the different reading glasses to see what works for the distance to where your front sight would be, and then get a pair of safety glasses for that prescription for your "shooting eye".  The other eye can have any prescription you think would be useful, such as maybe a distance prescription.  Or, get your eyes tested, and they will set you up with a perfect prescription for seeing the front sights, the red dot, or whatever you wish.

The links are to safety glasses.

I'm 10 days after the last eye was done now.
Purchased several pairs of readers (cheap) and also two pair of the Elvex safety glasses like below
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KSJNLO0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
One pair in +.5 and the other +1.0, right now the +1.0 is perfect for sharp front sight and I think that will work for paper target square range stuff.
I got the +.5's for the small amount of "action shooting" I do, training with the church security team.
Guess time will tell, 5-8 weeks to heal enough to get refraction tests and see where I am then maybe invest in better glasses.
I think I'm going to give the last eye another week before shooting, the weather is nasty right now anyways.
This has been a huge adjustment for me, I was very myopic before (-7.0) and now I have what appears to be perfect distance vision.
WOW! this has been expensive! Still getting bills and expect more are on the way. I elected toric lens and femtosecond laser so I knew it was going to be expensive.

Thanks for the reply's

I might have to change my "handle" after this!

If they needed to prescribe 'toxic' lenses for you, that means you used to have astigmatism, but presumably it's all corrected now.  If you shoot with a red dot sight, the dot should be clear and round.   :-)

Yes, I had a little 'cylinder' before. Not too bad but enough to justify the toric lens and the related cost.