Glasses Required? Not Anymore

[Doc]

Interesting problem. I've had the glasses required on my license forever. I just had cataract surgery. I'm 20/20. First time ever! It's neat. I can see. Problem is I have to, and can't wear glasses all at the same time. Anybody heard of having this restriction removed? Let the games begin.

[robertsailor1]

Well I had lasic and had my restriction removed

[Liquid Charlie]

Does that mean we call you popeye now doc --- lmfaooo --

[BEFAN5]

I would think it would be as simple as a trip to your medical examiner. I had lasik, took my little form in saying what i had done etc, and restriction was removed.

[Brantford Beech Boy]

Does that mean we call you popeye now doc --- lmfaooo --

or maybe Bubbles?



BBB

[burhead1]

Just wear safety glasses, they will never know. LOL

[Taiser]

Next medical at the eye test, if you pass then you are good to go. When I went from a Cat 1 to Cat 3 the restriction came off automatically when I got the new medical some years ago. Pretty sad that I had 20/20 and 25/20 vision and was suppose to wear glasses to fly...I thought a monocle would look pretty cool though!

[Rem]

When you have eye surgery you're supposed to tell Transport. They'll send you a questionnaire for you and you optho to fill out, they'll review it then remove the restriction. Not sure how long it takes because when I had Lasik I had to not fky for 6 months after. Not sure what the restriction is now.

Congrats!

[CpnCrunch]

Next medical at the eye test, if you pass then you are good to go. When I went from a Cat 1 to Cat 3 the restriction came off automatically when I got the new medical some years ago. Pretty sad that I had 20/20 and 25/20 vision and was suppose to wear glasses to fly...I thought a monocle would look pretty cool though!

Probably not a good idea to wear your glasses if your vision is fixed as they will only screw it up.

[black hole]

Simple. Wear sun glasses. The hippies used to wear them even at night!!!!?


BH

[Taiser]

Next medical at the eye test, if you pass then you are good to go. When I went from a Cat 1 to Cat 3 the restriction came off automatically when I got the new medical some years ago. Pretty sad that I had 20/20 and 25/20 vision and was suppose to wear glasses to fly...I thought a monocle would look pretty cool though!

Probably not a good idea to wear your glasses if your vision is fixed as they will only screw it up.

I rarely wore them when I had a Cat 1, not with 20/20 and 20/25 vision...that's was just retarded...one of the lenses in my glasses is just glass!! I could see maybe if I was flying a F18 but not a Cessna with a PPL. Never got my vision fixed...standard is just lower with a Cat 3.

[Doc]

When you have eye surgery you're supposed to tell Transport. They'll send you a questionnaire for you and you optho to fill out, they'll review it then remove the restriction. Not sure how long it takes because when I had Lasik I had to not fky for 6 months after. Not sure what the restriction is now.

Congrats!

Typical TC reaction. My daughter had LASIK. Went in 20/60, an hour later she's 20/20. 20/15!! Why would you have to wait at all. Never tell TC anything. If its more modern than Jurassic, they don't trust it.

[Taiser]

A lot of places require you're eyesight to be "consistent" for 1 year after surgery (I know my workplace does), just to make sure the surgery was successful and there are no complications that occur later on. I'm guessing TC has a similar requirement.

My buddy had surgery done on his eyes and he was told by his doctor that in the early days when they began doing this surgery there was a greater chance of problems happening down the road but that now the risk is extremely low of anything going wrong.

[pointyertoes]

When you have eye surgery you're supposed to tell Transport. They'll send you a questionnaire for you and you optho to fill out, they'll review it then remove the restriction. Not sure how long it takes because when I had Lasik I had to not fky for 6 months after. Not sure what the restriction is now.

Congrats!

Typical TC reaction. My daughter had LASIK. Went in 20/60, an hour later she's 20/20. 20/15!! Why would you have to wait at all. Never tell TC anything. If its more modern than Jurassic, they don't trust it.

I had LASIK done just over a month ago. The wait time is now just one month, which is about right, since that's how long it took for my eyes to feel perfectly normal again.
TC was very helpful. I had my new medical back within 2 days of the one month post-operative report. They have no issues with people undergoing this procedure.
I went from about 20/200 to 20/15 by the way!

[ross1]

To those who have had the surgery...how has it affected your reading vision...can you still read a VNC and the CFS etc, or does anyone find that they now need reading glasses. I'm 54 now and really don't want to deal with two sets of bifocals if the surgery works better.

thanks
RB

[Brown Bear]

To those who have had the surgery...how has it affected your reading vision...can you still read a VNC and the CFS etc, or does anyone find that they now need reading glasses. I'm 54 now and really don't want to deal with two sets of bifocals if the surgery works better.

thanks
RB

The LASIK will no affect on your inability to read without reading glasses. You start to lose your ability to focus close up after about age 40. One has nothing to do with other. Close focus is a mussel thing.

[YYZSaabGuy]

The LASIK will no affect on your inability to read without reading glasses. You start to lose your ability to focus close up after about age 40. One has nothing to do with other. Close focus is a mussel thing.

Good news: I've done some casual research into LASIK and I understand there actually is an option to correct so that reading glasses are unnecessary. Below is an excerpt from the website of one of the better-known Toronto practitioners discussing monovision laser surgery. FWIW, I've been using monovision contact lenses for several years now and they work beautifully - I haven't needed reading glasses since having them prescribed. It looks from the comments below as though this might be a solution that's achievable through laser treatment as well, subject to medical advice and (if required) TC approval:

"People in their mid-40s and older who have good distance vision in both eyes will need correction for reading. This is an entirely normal condition called presbyopia and has nothing to do with laser vision correction. After a certain age, everyone who has excellent distance vision will need some kind of correction for reading. From about age 45 onward, the only people who can read without glasses are people who are slightly nearsighted, and they can't see clearly at distance! If you are over 40 and, after discussion with your doctor, would like to have glasses-free vision at both distance and near, laser vision correction can correct one eye for distance vision and the other eye for near vision. This is a technique called monovision. Many people over 40 find monovision highly satisfactory, but it is very important to discuss it carefully in advance with your eye doctor."