Posted , 5 users are following.
I have read through all of the information regarding over correction due to
Cataract Surgery. My left eye was done 6 weeks ago and I am not happy at all.
I am now wearing glasses they ordered so the room does not look all fuzzy.
My question is does this happen often? I am afraid to have my other eye done.
Thanks for your input.
0 likes, 8 replies
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at201 laurie89424
Posted
softwaredev laurie89424
Posted
The major question is, does the room look fuzzy with the glasses, or does that fix the issue? Assuming it does fix the issue, do you know the prescription for the glasses for the left eye, how strong it is? Unfortunately there is no exact formula for determining the lens power needed, it is based on statistics of the eye measurements of past patients. For most people the result is fairly accurate, but just by chance it can be off for some people, and there are reasons its less accurate for those who had high prescriptions before surgery. If the lens power is off, it can be corrected via glasses/contacts or after the vision has stabilized they can correct it permantly via laser, or if its way off then via a 2nd piggy back lens or an IOL exchange.
A related question is whether the glasses correct for astigmatism. The question is whether you had astigmatism before surgery and if so whether they addressed it during surgery with a toric lens or an incision (they would have talked about this issue if they did). If they didn't address the astigmatism then your glasses might be needed to correct for that. They can correct astigmatism after surgery either with an incision or laser correction if you don't wish to need to wear correction.
Most people have great results, but out of the > 20 million cataract surgeries a year globally there will be some people with problems. Usually those with problems have minor issues that can be resolved.
agnes90839 laurie89424
Posted
Not sure what correction due to Cataract Surgery means?
My heart goes out to you, first of all I didnt have your symptoms, I think there are so many different types of symptoms that others get after surgery and there just may be someone who has had your symptoms and hopefully be able to advise, but in the first instance, surely the surgeon or the optician should be able to explain whats happening, if they dont know then there is something wrong.
I felt just like you after my first op last June 2016, I had a terrible time, 4 days of extreme pain in my eye, this subsided and I finished my month of drops and my eye was fine so I did get my second eye done
The important thing depends on how bad your sight is, mine was bad in my first eye and not too bad in the secobnd eye but my sight is OK now but I have gritty, heavy and tired feeling all the time but I am happy to live with this and to be able to see
Please let us all know how you are and what you decide
Regards Agnes
bobbi52693 laurie89424
Posted
Hello I just had my one eye done on Tuesday. I was born blind in one eye and now I had surgery on my "good eye" to treat the cataract and honestly my vision seems worse. I never needed readers to read the computer or cell and text and now I cannot see my phone without readers. This is crazy. Does it get any better. How are you now?
softwaredev bobbi52693
Posted
Most people see good vision within a day or so, but others can take a few days or more for good vision, for their brains to adapt to the new lens or their eyes to physically heal from surgery. Is your distance vision worse, or merely your near? If your distance vision isn't good, it may be that the lens power is off (its usually accurate, but its not an exact science, its an estimate based on statistics) or it could be that your have residual astigmatism (which they can correct via glasses/contacts or laser if they think the risk is acceptible in someone with only one working eye).
If you never needed readers, that suggests you aren't old enough to have experienced presbyopia (as people do starting in their early to mid forties usually), so they should have discussed these issues with you. A young natural lens changes focus to see near or far by changing its shape which changes its lens power. That process is called accommodation, and the amount the lens power can change decreases with age. Somewhere in their forties people discover that if their eyes are corrected to have good distance vision, that they can't see as well really close in and need readers. The distance they can see clearly gets further out as they get older, so they eventually need readers for things at computer distance as well.
Cataract surgery replaces the natural lens with an artificial lens, an IOL (intraocular lens), and unlike a natural lens, most IOLs can't change shape, so they can't change focus to see better at near, they can't accommodate. Its like the loss of near vision someone elderly has experienced. Most people get a monofocal IOL during cataract surgery, a lens set to be good at only one distance. Usually its power is chosen to give someone good distance vision. How much nearer in they can see with a lens set for distance varies by person, but many doctors suggest a good guideline is that things start to get blurry from 6 feet inward. A small minority can do some reading held at further out distances, but most people aren't that lucky. A small minority are unlucky and have posted about their vision startingt to blurry at 10-12 feet out.
There are premium IOLs that people pay for out of pocket that can provide some more near vision than a monofocal lens. Unfortunately none of them is yet perfect, there is a small risk of side effects like problematic halos&glare at night. A very tiny % of people find the problems bother them enough that they get another surgery to exchange the lens for a monofocal. The surgery to do that usually gives great results, but every surgery involves risks.
I suspect that since you only have one working eye, that surgeons are more cautious about risking any problems with it. i suspect they wouldn't want to take the risk of giving you a premium IOL, so they probably didn't even mention the option to you. The odds are minuscule that you'd wind up losing vision in that eye from a lens exchange, and the odds are tiny you'd even want a lens exchange, but it is a risk, and many sugeons are conservative.
It is good to keep perspective, that unfortunately you did need the surgery, or would have eventually. If a cataract isn't treated, it would have gotten worse and eventually left you blind in that eye.
bobbi52693 softwaredev
Posted
Thank you so much softwaredev. I appreciate your time and making me feel better about everything! I was checked again today and my eyethat was done, although my vision is "cloudy" I was able to read lines on the eye chart I could never read! I think I am just not used to not being able to read my phone or the computer without readers. My doc says in a few weeks we should be able to get my glasses. I will keep you posted. Thank you again!
bobbi52693
Posted
Sorry I don't know all the terms but I do know I have astigmatism as well still in the eye that had the cataract removed
softwaredev bobbi52693
Posted
The astigmatism can be corrected with glasses you say you are getting (or contacts), though they tend to wait a while after surgery until your vision has stabilized before prescribing them in case the prescription changes (though some people wouldn't mind paying to get them early if its inconvient without them). They can also correct astigmatism using an incision even after cataract surgery, or via LASIK/PRK once vision has stabilized.