Confused on how to proceed
Posted , 7 users are following.
Current prescription for glasses R +.50/-1.75, L +1.50/-2.00. Was considering Synfomy but then read about problems at night with halos, starbursts & glare. Am now considering monofocal lens & getting one eye set for near & intermediate & the other for distance & intermediate. Asked my surgeon about Synfomy (Kaiser) & he said I could get that if I wanted. He didn't mention anything about any possible problems with that lens. I can schedule it whenever I want but haven't had any appointment for preoperative measurement as I have read is necessary. Wondering for those who had the surgery did you have appointments prior to the surgery for measurements & with my prescription does monovision sound feasible. Am new to all this, had to google my prescription to find out what OD & OS meant!
1 like, 27 replies
ed72320 wateron
Posted
Measurements are key.
Be sure that your surgeon is obsessive about them and utterly meticulous.
If the measurements aren't exact, then your results may be disappointing.
BTW. I just finished driving about 100 miles in the dark on mountain roads where other drivers often dim their brights too late or not at all. My Symfony toric lenses are much better than my natural lenses were. I love my new lenses.
Sue.An ed72320
Posted
All the best for the new year.
ed72320 Sue.An
Posted
Happy New Year, Sue Ann!!
Trust that you will have a wonderful holiday in Puerto Rico.
Glad to hear that your night vision is improving.
Love to read your posts!
Keep èm comia´!
Cheers,
Ed
Sue.An ed72320
Posted
Wishing you a Happy New Year as well!
ed72320 Sue.An
Posted
BRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
Lots of rum and fun in the sun!
Enjoy the snorkeling too!
Safe & pleasant journey,
Ed
hope4cure wateron
Posted
I wasn't as luck as Ed the post above with toric lenses.
The wrong lense was used the first time then a redo for the toric lense. Then a yag laser to help adjust the lense a Ned months of double vision and after 2 years it finally worked out. I use glasses with special lenses to help with glare and also developed dry eye.
maria63991 hope4cure
Posted
Sue.An hope4cure
Posted
For dry eye try using artificial tears. I personally like Systane Ultra drops. They also make a gel drop for extra lubrication. I know someone that uses those just for overnight and finds they help.
I also take flaxseed oil capsule daily - read that helps.
hope4cure maria63991
Posted
Prescription prism glasses has helped since cataract surgery left my surgical eye worse vision and double . Prism glasses kind of fool the eye.prism bends the light can fool the eyes are working better together. The prism helps align the two images into one. this was to treat double vision. Very annoying. I see much better and less eye strain.
hope4cure Sue.An
Posted
Sue.An hope4cure
Posted
Hi hope4cure - although you are experiencing e crossover eye watering that is one of the signs of dry eye syndrome (a little odd isn’t). For most opthamologists today it is standard of care to treat all corneal refractive surgery patients for dry eye syndrome for at least a few months after surgery until the corneal nerves have had a chance to regenerate.
Here is something on the Systane drops (which personally I find the b st on the market) to treat dry eye: “The newer fortified artificial tears work differently. Systane (Alcon) is a lubricant that contains demulcents and HP-guar, which binds to the hydrophobic tear surface and creates a gel. This can help to prevent pre-mature tear break-up and can give a relief that may last longer than traditional artificial tears.”
Sure hope you experience relief soon.
hope4cure Sue.An
Posted
Thank you great info. 👍 I will give that a try. I also use a paste from a tube a bit oily, apply to eyes at nite.🤓
.
Sue.An wateron
Posted
You didn’t mention what your visual acuity is with cataracts. I am guessing perhaps that your surgeon is suggesting lens replacement as an option to lasik or for you to rid yourself of glasses.
If that is the case please READ other posts of those on these forums who have had clear lens exchange and how sorry they are they did that. This procedure should only be done if you have cataracts and that those impede your vision to at least 20/40. In Canada where I live that is the standard they use to perform cataract surgery / lens replacement. At that vision one could not pass the vision test for their driver’s license.
Most people who have cataracts are well into their 70s and 80s when they have cataract surgery. I was part of the 5% population that had cataracts in their 50s. One thing my surgeon said to me was younger patients are the hardest to please as they must make a compromise when choosing a lens. Older people gain something from this surgery and are usually very pleased with outcome. The younger patients he takes more time with as they will have to compromise and LOSE something.
Perhaps my preamble is not necessary and you do have to have cataract surgery. If that is the case just ignore my previous paragraph.
All that being said - if your surgeon didn’t bring up measurements FIND another surgeon. I went twice for measurements. Have no idea how your surgeon could contemplate doing this surgery without it - no matter which lens is selected.
I am not going to push either monofocal or Symfony. Both are good options. If you have any other eye issues or complications stick with a monofocal lens.
Myself (I am 53) and work full time with a computer and paperwork so I chose Symfony lenses. I could read without glasses prior to cataract surgery so thought of losing intermediate/near vision didn’t settle well given my line of work or thought of having 2 sets of glasses or progressive lenses for mid/near. Perhaps it was more the fear of unknown. Since my surgery I read a number of posts of people who chose monofocaofir intermediate and wear glasses for distance. Not sure why that wasn’t suggested to me but it may have to do with cataract surgery being covered in Canada and distance vision is standard (due to driving test) - not sure.
In any case I was informed of the night vision compromise ahead of time and knew what I was opting for.
Maybe my expectations were that things were going to be worse than they are - again don’t know. But I am totally pleased with the results. I can see again (with cataracts right eye could only see 20/60 and left 20/50). Couldn’t read road signs - enjoy a soccer match. Had to sit few inches from computer- but all that has changed. I don’t need glasses at all during the day. Can see to read from 11 inches out. Have been able to thread a needle and do lots of things - even screwed in the tiny screw which had fallen out from my sunglasses. I got better than expected near vision with Symfony as I was told it reading distance would be 16 inches. Night vision for first 6 weeks was a lot of glare and starbursts- thankfully it was summer so didn’t have to drive much after dark as it was very difficult. After 6 weeks those settled and have almost completely diminished. I drive home after work every day in the dark without a second thought. I do see concentric circles around certain light sources at night - which although I knew about are very odd to see. Those are part of Symfony’s design so won’t go away. If you google there is someone whose son drew them and it is pretty accurate although hard to get context from that. The circles although there are light like a spiderweb and you can see through them. For some this is enough to prevent them from opting for that and monofocals are a better option for them and they don’t mind wearing glasses to complement a focal point.
The decision is very personal and only you can make that decision. Most of the posts you will see here on the forums are those looking for info or those who have a complication or something hasn’t gone right. I am one of those that came here prior to surgery looking for info. I tend (whether rightly or wrongly) that I got a ‘normal’ outcome with Symfony. You will find other posts with not such great results posting after their surgeries as they are not happy. So there is not a good balance of reviews in my opinion.
But back to my opening paragraph if you do not have cataracts please run from this procedure- it is not a cure for glasses. Rather it is a case for greed from surgeons. This procedure has not been perfected and the measurements are taken to get predict power you’ll need in your lens. Also many IOLs come in .50 diopter and they are much thinner than your natural lens so they will shift back and forth a bit till they adhere and settle do you may end up with glasses anyways. Doesn’t sound like your prescription is very strong so if you don’t have cataracts really question this.
Maybe someday when these IOLs can be tweaked once in the eye they will be a viable option to glasses and contact lenses but as it stands today there is no perfect solution.
Best wishes to you as you weigh all your options.
wateron Sue.An
Posted
Hi Sue.An
A little background, went to renew drivers license & couldn't pass the eye exam. Went to kaiser & they gave me a prescription for new glasses which I got both regular & sunglasses. After getting the glasses couldn't see any better, went back to Kaiser & they said Oh, that's because you have cataracts. So why didn't they say the glasses wouldn't do any good before I got them.
I don't know what my visual acuity is & also don't know what my vision is (20/40, 20/60? don't know). Age is 67. Surgeon didn't mention measurements but maybe that is done at a later appointment, will have to ask. My surgeon is the Chief of the Department of Ophthalmology so would assume he knows what he is doing. If I had a guarantee that Symfony would turn out like yours I would do it but there are no guarantees so will have to research more to make my decision. Just wish there were more positive reviews of Symfony anywhere but they are difficult to find. Guess if your happy you don't report. Thanks for your help, you seem to be quite informed!
ed72320 Sue.An
Posted
I learn a lot every time I read your posts.
Cheers,
Ed
Sue.An wateron
Posted
I am sorry to learn you do have cataracts- it isn’t pleasant. I was in total shock when I was told. I guess the negative comment by optometrist about IOL I chose sent me searching for answers.
I do think because Symfony is new in Canada and USA there isn’t much known about them. I found one blog by a surgeon in Philippines very good. He answers patients regularly so you could post a question there. His name is Dr Por Yong Ming. He has been implanting a lot of Symfony lenses for over 2 years. His preamble to the questions is pretty much spot on to what I experienced with Symfony. I was also able to chat with a patient of my surgeon (actually several) one who had Symfony and loved her vision. The other 2 had monofocals and were happy too. The point is a good surgeon is the difference most often to the outcome you get - not just the IOLs. I did not have a strong prescription either prior to surgery: -2.0 and -3.25.
Most people who are unhappy will post trying to find a resolution. People who are happy about outcome rarely post that. So odds are more in your favour that the outcome will be good.
Measurements are absolutely required - perhaps your opthamologist will schedule those once you’ve decided on a lens. They need to be done closer to your surgery date anyways.
Good luck to you.
Sue.An ed72320
Posted
Guess we all need to be thankful this surgery is much better than it used to be. I recall my mother in law had to keep her eyes averted to the ground for 2 weeks after her cataract surgery (about 15 years ago).
Night-Hawk Sue.An
Posted
You needed cataract surgery before your parents have?
I guess that seems to be very common nowadays, my parents got their cataract eye surgeries when they were in their 80s.
My right eye's cataract was first noticed by the eye doctor in my early 50s, but took almost 10 years before it affected the vision enough for surgery. My left eye has only recently been noticed as having an early cataract that doesn't affect its vision - so might be another 7+ years for that one, maybe in my 70s but still much earlier than my parents.
Sue.An Night-Hawk
Posted
I have had bouts of eczema and used cortisone creams to treat it so maybe you that has an impact. Guess I may never know.
hope4cure Sue.An
Posted
So yes there is a connection with skin disease.
wateron Sue.An
Posted
Sue.An wateron
Posted
1. Even if there are no complications your vision will fluctuate as the eye heals. For some people vision is clear next day and for others it will fluctuate for a few weeks.
2. Even though the surgeon targets for distance you may still end up slightly far sighted or near sighted. Also the IOLs usually come in increments of .50 diopters so that too has an impact.
Once first eye heals and your vision is tested surgeon may adjust target for 2nd eye.
3. Lastly you may want to experiment with a contact lens in your unoperated eye to see if you’d prefer a mini monovision. Many people prefer non dominant eye (assuming this is 2nd surgery) to be slightly near sighted to lessen dependence on glasses except for fine print.