Clear lense exchange
Posted , 13 users are following.
Hello. I am 35 years old and had the cataract surgery done as an elective. I’ve had terrible sight my whole life and was convinced this would help me see and be rid of glasses. My vision was a -16. I was pretty near sighted. I had both eyes done. It’s been 6 weeks for one eye and 5 for the other. This is by far the worst decision I have ever made. Maybe time will tell. But these last 5 weeks have been nothing but miserable. I am unable to see distance. My vision is currently 20/60. I need readers for anything arms length. My eyes are very goopy and blurry. I did 2 weeks of the drops as directed. Now I’m on newer more expensive drops. I’m scheduled to have my lenses cleaned in 2 weeks due to buildup. How can I have buildup only after a month?! I’m already $7000 into this and will have to pay lore for this procedure. Anyone else experience this? If I could go back and take them out I would. There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to see a road sign or my child on the baseball field.
0 likes, 18 replies
Guest jessica1023
Posted
jessica1023 Guest
Posted
derek40125 jessica1023
Posted
Can you tell us a little more about what they did? What type of IOL is pretty important?
What were the targets for each eye?
Before surgery could you be corrected to 20/20 distance (with glasses or contacts)?
You'll find that most people on this forum are opposed to clear lens exchanges and question the motives of surgeons who perform them. However, that said, you should expect to get clear vision from the surgery (just with tradeoffs), It sounds like maybe you have some complications from the surgery itself.
When you are at the surgeon's can they correct your vision to a reasonable degree during testing (in the "chair"
?
jessica1023 derek40125
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Night-Hawk jessica1023
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The pinhole test indicates your vision should be correctable with glasses, so you need to get an updated eyeglasses Rx at an optometrist to see where your eyes are at.
Sounds like possibly you were left with too much residual astigmatism plus a little nearsightedness.
Cataract surgery has many variables including how each person's eye heals after the surgery, so getting a glasses free outcome is not guaranteed.
Also its recommended you wait a month or more after the first eye surgery until that outcome is stable before doing the other eye. Sounds like your surgeon only waited one week between them, way too soon!
jantje32476 jessica1023
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You could be a slow healer, like me. Take care.
soks jessica1023
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If not and you can see arms length could mean they made your near vision a little better but compromised the distance to make the near better. Are both eyes the same or are they different?
derek40125 soks
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LIt really sounds like an AcrySof monofocal given the description and lower end of the cost range you listed (rather than a multifocal). It's a very good monofocal lens at least.
I thought that (barring another optical issue), clear lens exchanges were mostly done to combat presbyopia? I'm actually pretty shocked that surgeons are doing this surgery on someone so young without cataracts and using a monofocal.
That lens will give you only a single, clear focal point and probably a relatively narrow range of vision. At your age, if you had Lasik targeted for distance you'd likely be able to see clearly from close reading all the way to infinity. Now your eyes have no accommodation left so unless they did some form of monovision you'll be limited and still need glasses or contacts.
If you don't know, ask your surgeon what was targeted in terms of best focus point for each eye. In any cases if they are off they'd offer to adjust for you using Lasik but you've already said you weren't a candidate.
Can you see clearly at any distances and is it the same for both eyes?
george05887 jessica1023
Posted
Jessica, hang in there I am six months out now and still have problems. I am a 45-year-old male and had perfect vision in both eyes but had cataracts. Now my world is awful through vision.The doctors promise me that my eyes and brain will adapt to this new vision. I've also had YAG laser is done and both as which now I have floaters. So don't feel alone in your journey best of luck
CaroZim jessica1023
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Hi Jessica1023
Sorry to hear of your bad experience with clear lens exchange. I think the worse your eyesight is before cataract surgery (-16 is VERY bad eyesight) then the less guarantee there is of a perfect outcome and more chance of post-op complications. Research also shows that the younger you are the higher your expectations are post op (especially if you don't yet have age related presbyopia). Very few people get a perfect outcome regardless of where they were starting from but I think most people get a "better than before" outcome in the long run.
I think you will find that in time your eyes will settle and will be better than what you had before at -16 but you probably won't ever get perfect eyesight for all distances. You may still have to wear glasses or contact lenses for some of the time but you will have a much weaker prescription than before (and so your lenses will be much thinner and therefore your glasses will be much cheaper). This should all have been explained to you by your doctor as part of your initial consultations.
I had clear lens exchange done earlier this year and as far as I'm concerned it's the best thing I've ever done - I have no regrets at all. Every day I wake up thankful that I can see without glasses - can't tell you what a difference it's made to my life. I did a HUGE amount of research before I went ahead with the operation because it was elective and therefore not a medical necessity for me - like you, I was fed up with wearing glasses all the time. I was very well aware of the possible problems I might face - I was also very realistic about what to expect in terms of my future vision. The biggest concern for me was not losing my close up vision (before the operation I could just take my glasses off to see close up and I didn't want to have to put glasses ON to see close up) so I chose to go with monovision rather than having perfect distance vision.
I didn't have any problems after the operation and 3 months on I think my eyesight is as close to perfect as it's going to get. As mentioned, I have monovision so one eye was set for distance vision and one eye was set for close up vision which means that nothing is 100% clear but I don't really notice the blurriness anymore as my brain has adjusted to it. I need glasses for intermediate vision (1-2 metres away- computer distance mostly) but other than that I can function glasses free for everything else.
If the buildup problem is due to secondary cataract then it's not unheard of for it to happen soon after the operation - maybe not common, but certainly not unheard of. It's easily fixed although, of course, it will cost you more money. The goopy and blurry problem could be an adjustment/time issue that you just have to work through or it could be an infection - only your doctor can really advise on that.
I hope your problems resolve as I'm sure some of them are to do with your body, brain and eyes still adjusting to what is actually a pretty complicated medical procedure (cataract surgery might be common, but it's still complicated and invasive surgery for the human body to go through).
Sue.An jessica1023
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These companies invest in pricey equipment and want to increase their profits beyond PRK and lasik so they are convincing people (especially those who had prior corrective surgery) who have beginnings of presbyopia to do a clear lens exchange.
You are so young and likely had good near vision. Did they explain their price range related to ability to see a wider focus due to type of lens? Although the most expensive lens (which I have) come with the trade-off of night vision glare / halos. There is no perfect lens.
That being said you likely have a monofocal lens which will give you clear vision at one focal distance and rest will be corrected with glasses or contacts. Your being able to see through pin hole is an indicator you may now have astigmatism. Did you have that prior to cataract surgery in your glasses prescription? If you did I am surprised the company didn’t recommend a toric lens to correct that. If you didn’t have a significant amount of astigmatism, cataract surgery itself can induce it. Given you are not a candidate for lasik this too will need to be corrected with glasses.
Given you are 5 and 7 weeks beyond surgery your surgeon or optometrist should be able to give you your exact prescription. If you could relay that to us here on the forums many will weigh in with suggestions.
I am surprised your drop regiment was 2 weeks. Most of us here started on 2 types of drops 2 days before surgery (antibiotic and steriod). The antibiotic one was for 2 weeks but steriod one I took for 4 weeks. It could be you need more drops if your eyes are goopy. Or you may be experiencing dry eye now (common after cataract surgery). You can purchase over the counter artificial tears. I use Systane but there are other brands available.
So sorry this has been miserable. Hoping things improve to the point you are able to function again. Even for those with cataract surgery - complications can happen. This is more often than not a journey or process than a quick fix. Best wishes to you.
edfru2 jessica1023
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after reading this forum for a few months, I got scared and decided to put it off as long as I can.
derek40125 edfru2
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@edfru2
By "qualify" for cataract surgery, are you saying that you have a cataract and it's now affecting your vision to the point where insurance will now cover the "base" surgery? If so, then you'll need to decide when it (they) is bad enough that you want surgery.
It can be a tough call but I hit a point where I felt my vision had deteriorated to the point where I wasn't as safe a driver anymore and the cataract was affecting me a considerable portion of the time.
If it's just starting to cause a little glare or loss of contrast, I'd suggest waiting. They progress at very different rates in different people. It could take years.
If glasses or especially contacts give you good sight and you're just trying to avoid reading glasses, I'd strongly suggest multifocal contacts or bifocal glasses instead.
Sue.An edfru2
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I agree with Derek’s comments. I too felt my cataract made me a dangerous driver - to myself and others. My optometrist could not correct them better than 20/50 in one eye and 20/60 in other eye. Even with glasses road signs were very difficult to see. Cars in the distance were out of focus and I was seeing road lines double. Night time was worse with reduced contrast and a lot of glare from lights. If I could have bought myself time with glasses I would have.
edfru2 derek40125
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Yes, they are now bad enough to qualify for insurance coverage. That said, I am not yet old enough for Medicare. And, my eyes can be corrected to read about 20 20 with glasses. I do go d it a little harder with night driving on dark roads. My Dr when first telling me also stated that I don't have to do it yet. If I begin to feel that night driving becomes dangerous, I will either have others do the night driving or get the surgery.
derek40125 edfru2
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If you are still able to be corrected to 20/20 you likely won't qualify for the surgery (at least in the US). My insurance company wouldn't cover the surgery until it got worse than 20/40 (with correction). The problem, in my case, was that I might be 20/20 under ideal lighting conditions but lost sight almost completely under other conditions. I could still see reasonably well (maybe up to a few months before surgery) driving at dusk but not during the day. At night I was actually OK except that the glare from oncoming traffic made it unsafe to drive. The way I described my vision to my wife was that I could look at a tree and make out the outline of the tree pretty clearly but I lost all the internal details (the branches, leaves, and similar).
The other reason I ended up finally deciding to do the surgery is that I have a pretty large floater in my "good" eye that tends to center in my vision. This coupled with the cataract in the other eye is the main reason I felt unsafe. I spent time researching treatment for floaters (which is controversial). However, now that the surgery is done, the floater doesn't bother me nearly as much as the right eye fills in the missing details when the floater enters my vision.
edfru2 derek40125
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While I can still be corrected to about 2020, they did a test holding a light near my eye and noticed my vision changed and I was less able to read the chart. I guess that is due to the yellowing of my cornea. It has been professing for many years but this,was the first time he said it had professed to the point where insurance would approve the surgery. Still, without Medicare, I figure my share of the costs for a clear lense replacement would still be around $2000.00 U.S. eith insurance deductibles and co pays. So I'll wait until age 65 if I can.