Extreme Light Sensitivity After Cataract Surgery.
Posted , 19 users are following.
Right after having cataract surgery about six months ago everything was super bright - Artificial lighting in stores almost seems like it's burning and sometimes makes me dizzy. It's almost like I can't think, it's messing with my brain. At times it is intolerable. By the end of the day the collective eyestrain has my eyes mostly shut and I've learned to live in as dark of an environment as possible. Even sunlight coming through a window can be problematic. I also get the flickering at times that other people and myself have posted about.
I had a concussion from a blow above my eye about three years ago. I'm 'only' 58 and that is what started the cataracts, but Dr. May, a neuro-opthamologist, did not think there was link to my current issues.
I've seen lots of specialists, including Dr Randall Olsen at the John Moran Eye clinic in Salt Lake City. I can't recommend Dr Olsen highly enough, I don't think anyone is more qualified. He said my brain is working about 10 times harder than normal trying to adjust to the new light coming in and that out of the 3 million plus cataract surgeries done last year, there would only be 10 to 20 people, if that, with this condition. No doctor has more than a patients like this, so no study has been done. That diagnosis has since been confirmed by two really good specialists.
Dr Olsen is the only one who has given a good scientific explanation of what is causing the flickering, dizzyness and eyestrain. I should have had a tape recorder on, most of it went over my head and it was much better info than I could find on the internet, despite a ton of research.
The cure is exposure, hiding in the dark prevents recovery. The time frame for improvement may be 2-3 years. I gather those who did not expose themselves to more light did not recover. So, I've got the lights on 😃
There is no name for this that I know of, but that doesn't make it any less real.
I am wondering about the recovery time frames of any other similarly afflicted victims that may have also come to this forum?
1 like, 41 replies
tamarinda MikeMess
Posted
What a bothersome effect you are living with. Also, what a good attitude you have towards the challenge: take it on, do what you need to do, and be patient. Thanks for modelling that approach!
The first thing I wondered was if acupuncture or some modality that is focused on the body's energy might help with the adaptation process?
MikeMess tamarinda
Posted
Acupuncture? Hadn't thought of that yet. I'm open to anything.
I'm not sure I have that good of an attitude. It's just a matter of desperation and minimal options. I can definitely so though that I just hate the light.
ara21947 MikeMess
Posted
Mike, only because you said you were open to anything:
People adapt to darkness at different rates. At first nothing is perceived, after awhile objects can be made out. Its retinal stimulation, and fatigue, and length of time. Those exposed to extreme light who work outdoors have a retarded response to dark adaptation. Pilots have reduced oxygen tension at some altitude and require increased time for dark adaptation, so they are saying supplemental oxygen is needed for combat pilots etc.
I know this is opposite of you with light adaptation but the point I am getting to -- only because you said "anything," is what about developing a breathing practice where you not only quiet your nervous system by deep breath -- stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, but also increase your lung capacity and increase flow of oxygen. There is that relationship between oxygen and light sensitivity so maybe you can trip yours into responding more preferably? At least until something else comes along to help you.
jacqblue MikeMess
Posted
I know just what you are going through as your symptoms are pretty much the same as mine and its driving me mad to.I had my cataract done three months ago and had my eye checked two days post surgery and another surgeon(not the operation one)said the light sensitivity and relentless flickering was very common and would go away in time,although would not say how long.I had the eye looked at again at day ten(by operation surgeon this time) as I had two foggy blurs going back and forth across eye.I was told they could be floaters or even glare off of the edge of lens(Acrosof) and he said....not much I can do about that......also when I mentioned again that I still had the problem with light and the eye flicker he said he had never heard of it and that I must be mistaking it for my eyelid twitching(it definitely is not as I later got it checked out)......unbelievable.
I'm not sure just yet what I intend to do,wait it out but that might mean it could be to late if I needed a lens exchange but I have learnt enough on here to know not to have yag laser as that would make it more difficult.
I do find dry eye drops give my eye some relief although I dont think they are especially dry but they are worth trying as they are refreshing and I have a pair of plain non precription fashion glasses plus a pair that I have taken the lenses out of as well as they both do help especially when my eyes do feel very tired,not sure why they work can only assume they help to disperse the incoming light.
MikeMess jacqblue
Posted
Nortriptyline may help with the light sensitivity. It was precribed by a prominent nuero-opthamologist and I tried it for a few days, but didn't like the side effects.
My best advice would be to make an appointment with Dr. Randall Olsen at the John Moran Eye Clinic in Salt Lake City. The best of the best. I wish I had a tape recorder on during my appointment with him, I've had to go back through MyChart and ask specific questions again that only he seems to be able to answer. He just comes in on Fridays. It was well worth the trip to see him and the opticians in the same building are also the best I have found. They invented the FL-41 tinted glasses and you might want to have a look at that.
Like you, I have run the gamut of specialists. Dr. Olsen indicated that only a few percent of opthamologists would be familiar with this, so it's more likely you would get a misdiagnosis than the correct one, if you have what I do.
The cure is to pretend like it is not happening and hope for some improvement from nuero-adaptation within 3 years. I've stopped wearing the glacier goggles, but I have to have a cap on in stores to stay even a few minutes. This increased exposure to the harsh light is literally driving me crazy, my next step may be to see a psychologist. It's relentless, there is no break. However, there is no recovery from what I have while hiding in the dark.
It has been made clear that for me that a lens exchange would not help and there is no surgical alternative, so at some point I will get the YAG procedure to take care of the secondary cataracts I developed after the procedure.
Unfortunately, I am the victim of a 1 in 250,000 chance. I hope you aren't also.
jacqblue MikeMess
Posted
I am in the UK I'm afraid so can't follow up on the specialists suggested.It's strange because my own G.P sent me to the local hospital eye department as my dry eye problem had been causing me some pain and as I to had been wondering about wether to hide in the dark always wearing dark glasses indoor and out I decided to ask the specialist there if this was the right thing to do or should I face up to the light and throw away the glasses.I was told that the best way forward was to do whatever made me feel comfortable as an individual and if that happened to be wearing dark glasses,pulling the curtains etc then do that because if I were to be confronted with the constant flickering,bright light,halos,starbursts whatever then neuroadaptation would take longer because all those things would be constantly on my mind and I needed to go forward and try and put these things in the back of my mind and be patient..........Unfortunately she did also say that in some people neuroadaptation will never happen and I will just have to live with the problem.Funny is n't it we have had completely conflicting advise.As I write this however I have decided to give the advise you were given a go and have all the lights on and no sunglasses.
MikeMess jacqblue
Posted
Hi, Jaqblue. Dr. Olsen was careful to level set expectations - His patients with my issue who did not expose themselves to lighting for neuro-adaption did not get better. Period.
I can tell you the process is not pretty. The discomfort never really goes away, I basically need to hold my hands over my closed eyes for that and by the end of the day, my eyes are almost closed to due eyestrain. I'm at the point where I should probably ask for some counseling because it is damn depressing. This could go on for years.
Maybe you could call up the clinic where Dr. Olsen works and ask for a referral to someone in the UK. My diagnosis is one of exclusion.. It's not anything else, so it has to be this. It took awhile to get to that, though and most doctors probably thought I was crazy because on first glance, my eyes look healthy.
Hey, where the UK do you live? We live just north of Seattle, but have taken four family trips there. Unfortunately, I've never seen much of London, we always see the shows and that take up all of the time! We love the Cotswolds and went to Chipping Campden last time, but will probably go north next time.
jacqblue MikeMess
Posted
At the moment because I m only three months in I don't want any doctors to say that I am being impatient and I have n't given things enough time.Outside though is a problem as I really do have to wear good sunglasses all the time even on not particularly bright days because the cataract on the other eye is very slow growing and the more I can protect it from harmful u.v rays the longer I can go before that may need doing but right now I'm not sure how I am going to feel at the thought that I might have to go through all this again and end up in the same boat with the other eye.I feel sorry for people who have had the one eye done had these problems and then have to make a fairly quick decision sometimes just weeks over having the other one done if that has an advanced cataract.
At some point if I don't see any improvement I will have to see a specialist who has some experience of these problems and will have to accept their diagnoses good or bad.
I actually live in a town in Wiltshire and just a very short drive into the country and I am right in the heart of the Cotswolds,a very lovely area.
MikeMess jacqblue
Posted
That is so cool that you live in Wiltshire. We've been to the Cotswolds twice, must be great to live there. I can imagine going again and again. Do you do lots of walking?
I had my second eye done a few weeks after the first as one since the focal points were different after the 1st surgery. You are right, it's nice to wait as long as possible before getting the second eye done, but I think that when people get issues in one eye, they are at risk for having the same thing the other.
I was told by everyone that my issues would go away fairly quickly, it's frustrating when it seems like they weren't taking me seriously.
I have the same issues in both eyes, one thing I notice is that when I cover one eye, the flickering pretty much stops in the other eye. True for you too?
jacqblue MikeMess
Posted
My partner has back and knee problems so he can't do to much walking,we are members of the National Trust and just love visiting historical properties of which there are quite a few in this region.Sometimes its going into old castles or manor houses or just visiting some lovely gardens.
With regards the eye flicker which I find the most annoying problem if I cover the other eye yes the flicker does seem to die down but for some reason it makes the blurry fog(nobody will confirm whether floater or stray light)that darts back and forth across the bad eye worse so wearing an eye patch on the good eye and looking like Sinbad the sailor is never going to work for me ha ha.
MikeMess jacqblue
Posted
From as good of a source as I think there is, here is the explanation of why the flickering occurs, at least for me: "The lens with its high refractive index has backscatter, which means light will hit the back of the lens, bounce to the front of the lens and transmitted back again in a scattered fashion. It move opposite to the direction of your eye. Our eyes are moving all the time so this backscatter can be perceived as a flickering of light."
Also, not sure if this is specific to the flickering, but applies to my case: "if you get to the point where these faint signals can be quite overwhelming, then that is going to stimulate the vagal nerve which can result in people feeling lightheaded, nauseated and a bunch of other symptoms".
So, there it is. Finally, a good explanation for the flickering.
jacqblue MikeMess
Posted
You are lucky that you have been able to see a specialist who can explain these things and tell you in your particular case what is going on.I myself have spent so much time trying to research some of these issues and one thing I did notice in particular over this flickering issue is that a great many people complain of it who have NOT had an iol fitted.....see " Flickering in peripheral vision when moving eyes"on this forum alone under.. Eye Problems.. rather than.. Cataract. The explanations it seems is problems with the vitreous becoming more liquid than gel like with age and pieces pulling away from the retina,I have experienced this and have for some time had the floaters to prove it unfortunately but I never had a flickering in my peripheral vision(blue flashing on outer edge of eye in very dim lighting like a strobe light yes....PVD diagnosed)issue before my iol lens was fitted,my flickering started the moment I removed my eye patch after surgery and although I am definitely pointing the finger at the iol I have looked into how much of a disturbance cataract operations can have on your eye and the vitreous as these operations do result in new floaters appearing so perhaps throwing these issues of vitreous disturbance into the mix does also contribute to the problems and am wondering if this is so in my particular case,more questions I will be asking.
maxwell20002000 MikeMess
Posted
Sent you a private message and would appreciate reply.
I recently had cataract surgery at a leading eye hospital (over 2 months ago). My extreme light sensitivity (photophobia) began a few days after cataract surgery on the second eye that had the worse cataract , grade 3. I am wondering how many other things we both have in common since there is little medical research to guide us. I suspect there are thousand s of people like us, but many are older and do not use the internet or smart phones. And if opthamologists do not report it to the organization for their medical specialty and no research is done, how would they know how many have it? (1) Did you have laser cataract surgery like I did, supposedly allowing the surgeon to correct astigmatism while breaking up and replacing the lens ?? (it cost extra so you would know); (2) do you also have negative dysphotopsia , in which you see on the outside side of your eyes the arc of the lenses??(some people see darkness) (my positive dysphotopsia, some halos and streaks quickly went away); (3) do you have like a quivering flickering of the eyes?? I think you mentioned you have fluttering- perhaps we mean the same thing (it is most noticeable where I see the arcs/edges of lenses on the sides of my eyes) (when walking outside and it is cloudy the photosensitivity and perception of quivering is almost gone ; (4) is it worse when you are looking at phone screen and/or computer screen??; (5) is it worse inside when an overhead light with natural lightbulbs is on; (6) do you know what specific lenses were uses?? one piece acrylic with square edges?? mine were Bausch & Lomb Envista ml60x; (7) I had serious dry eye before the surgeries but it was much improved before i had the surgeries; (7) do you know which drops you used after surgery ?? I was told to use Bromsite (which burned), an antibiotic drop polymycin with additional ingredient, and prednisolone (one is cortizone and one anti-inflammatory). I went to a neuro-opthamologist who immediately assumed the quivering was blethospasm (sp?) and wanted to give me botox but I declined- the head if association for that illness said of the thousands of patients interviewed none got that illness due to cataract surgery. I believe for me the extreme photo sensitivity, seeing the arcs (negative dysphotopsia); and quivering, eye trembling are related. I will contact Dr. Olson although I am on the East Coast. You noted you must not wear sunglasses or will not improve and that it might take 2 to 3 years. Did Dr. Olson give you that info? You mentioned you saw other top doctors who agreed - perhaps you can share who they are.
0871SB maxwell20002000
Posted
I too have similar symptoms of the quivering to side light when inside. I had Panoptix Multifocal lenses (1 toric) implanted in both eyes 4 months ago. I feel like it is a constant pulsating vision that starts from the moment I awake. It gets better when I go outdoors or driving a car during the day but comes back as soon as I walk indoors. It also can be tolerated with wearing clear glasses inside that block out all side light. If I occlude (block) 1 eye the shimmer goes away. I have also taken video of my eyes that looks like the lens is shaking but I have had 2 different doctors confirm it is not loose zonules or phadoconesis. Both think it is PD but as you say it is not a typical symptom since it is more of a constant glimmer and is worse when reading my phone and looking down to write or read on paper or laptop. I have not had YAG and am told to wait for neuroadaptaion before trying any other surgical intervention. My opthomologist also wants me to try Vuity drops to see if constricting the pupil helps. I am not seeing a big improvement. Other symptoms are low contrast sensitivity in dim light, poor distant vision and halos around headlights at night. Are you seeing any improvement of glimmering ? Have you recovered from all your symptoms. If so, how long did it take? Is Dr. Olsen still in practice? Your reply is greatly appreciated, this quivering is maddeneing! Thanks for your help.
RonAKA 0871SB
Posted
I am not sure how YAG would help with your issue. But, regardless do not have YAG done if you are considering to have the lens exchanged for a different one. YAG makes lens exchange very difficult and the choice of replacement lenses may be significantly reduced.