My experience with cataract removal is just as positive as Breeze's. I was severely myopic from childhood and wore thick heavy glasses for nearly 60 years. The cataracts developed before my diabetes diagnosis, so were due to aging, not diabetes. Last April I had them done about four weeks apart, and I now have 20/30 distance vision. I need reading glasses for close work, but not for computer or driving or any other tasks.
When they remove your cataract, the lens of your eye is replaced with a small "appliance" called an intraocular lens - it is placed in the lens capsule which formerly held your natural lens. If you need a refraction for vision, the implanted lens is made to your prescription, so you no longer need glasses unless it's for reading. Your vision is restored pretty much instantly, but there are weeks of care and as Breeze says, many different drops to administer to your eye to promote healing and prevent infection. It gets a little tedious, but is well worth the trouble.
Choose your surgeon with care and your chances for success improve greatly. Since I live in a rural part of Missouri, I chose to have mine done at the eye clinic affiliated with University of Missouri Physicians Clinics . . . some of the top docs in the state. The doc who did mine does cataract surgery pretty well exclusively, so I know he gets a lot of practice & has encountered every possible complication - just exactly the kind of experience & wisdom I want in someone who's going to cut into my eye. When I had a retinal detachment several months later, the same clinic had a top retinologist who fixed my detachment. So Gene, go to somewhere big enough to have a lot of experienced docs and you'll be fine.
