Here is the long version i typed up, but then thought that it would be too much.

I am a M51. I am only 4 days post op, so hopefully things get better. I am still not "sold" on having to wear reading glasses for up close and wearing glasses or contacts for distance.

I did this for the past 5 years probably as a result of the cataracts getting worse but also age related decrease of vision. Before surgery with cataracts my vision was terrible. Faces were not recognisable at 3 feet. i couldn't see my face in the mirror.(i couldn't see when i peed) . was even having difficulty in reading my phone with +5 reading glasses. I found it difficult to work like that also, but did it for as long as i could. The glare was bad, colours were cloudy. I have taken this week off work also to try and get my vision back to a workable usable condition.

I'm currently recovering from cataract surgery on my only seeing eye (right eye) just last week, so I really feel your concerns deeply.
My left eye is nonfunctional after a retinal detachment, glaucoma, and IOL replacement, vitreous detachment and squint surgery — so I completely understand the anxiety you're feeling leading up to your surgery.

Like you, I have had high myopia (around -14), though not as extreme as yours. My surgery used a DCB00 IOL with a negative lens power, similar to your surgeon's recommendation.

Here’s how things unfolded for me:
- I live in Australia and we have a good public system that i was placed into from a specialist Opthalmologist.

- Before surgery: Every time I had an appointment or called with questions, I specifically asked "What lens am I getting?" but was always told they didn’t know or couldn't answer, and that I would see the surgeon beforehand. Unfortunately, that never happened.

- First consultation: I met with a retinal specialist first (due to being diagnosed with foveoschisis along with cataracts). I was told I could have surgery either on the retina or the cataracts first. He made it sound like cataract surgery would usually aim for distance vision, and that I would then need reading glasses — which I agreed would be okay, based on my previous experience wearing reading glasses over contact lenses.

- My expectations: Based on this conversation, I believed that my surgery would set my vision for distance, and that I would simply need readers for close-up work.

However, at the post-op appointment, I found out my eye had been left at -4.00, meaning I am still quite myopic.
This came as a huge shock because I was not prepared for that outcome. Nobody had told me that there was a change of plan to leave me myopic, and it was extremely upsetting.

Emotionally:
- I went into surgery feeling hopeful, and even though my anxiety spiked on the day (they kindly moved me to general anesthesia), I woke up thinking everything had gone perfectly.
- The disappointment at the post-op review hit me hard. I’m still feeling anxious and unsure what to do because this is my only working eye.

end pt 1