I had cataract surgery 9 weeks ago and the letters merge, blur and tilt and disappear!

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate your comment. Let me tell you the problem is that when I look at things with one eye I see sharply, with two not so well and with the problem eye the letters in the words seem to lean to either side and merge depending of my direction. And like you letters or words disappear so in reality my total vision has been decreased because before with macular or no macular receiving Eyelea shots and using contacts I could see well. I am going on Monday to my retina doctor to ask for his advise whether laser will help. The surgeon said he could recommend another doctor for a second opinion but I think all doctors protect each other, and in that case it would be a useless waste of time. I wonder if the toric lens moved or if it should be replaced for a plain one.I will let you know. My friend said to the doctor, I will have the second eye done when this one is fine and that motivated him to do a treatment that worked. I thinks its a shame greed prevails.

elizabeth87

Thank you for your reply elizabeth87,

Good Luck on Monday with your retina doctor... I would be very interested to know whether he recommends laser treatment as a corrective measure, (thats if you don't mind sharing it) ..

I agree with your friend.. I also am not having my other eye done until this eye has been corrected...

jean, i am also having issues and will not do other eye until things resolve. i am having ghosting on brightly lit objects like signs at night. I dont know if it is true double vision because it isn't on regular objects...just like the high contrast writing on tv. i am not happy. My corrected vision was 20/25 before surgery and I should have waited for surgery.

I am sending you a site of the University of Oxford below, they call this Vision Imbalance after cataract surgery and they indicate If you are normally strongly short-sighted or long-sighted, we can dramatically reduce the strength of prescription glasses you will need after your operation. However, as we usually do the operation on one eye at a time, this means that your eyes will be out of balance with each other until after the operation on your second eye. This vision imbalance is called anisometropia. (https://www.ouh.nhs.uk/patient-guide/leaflets/files/090427visionimbalance.pdf

This happens to me and its slowly corecting. Hope this helps I am just guessing they are correct, I am only a patient.

HI elizabeth, yep...that is what is happening...imbalance. i am thinking it will be like this until the other eye is done which may be 18 months or so? who knows. Tonight everything looked good until i was watching tv and the clock on the dvr which is blue LED ghosted up. Nothing else was doubled...so weird. I read another article that discussed aberritions after surgery when the pupil is dilated in lower light...this is when it happens to me. The other possibility could be some uncorrected astigmatism in the surgical eye. So, do you think in time this will self correct? I hope you continue to approve. Thanks for the links.

hudsongrl - ghosting and double vision can be from imbalance but can also be from astigmatism and pupil dilated in lower light. Are you watching TV in low light (or no light)? If you turn on more lights does the ghosting still happen?

Another test you can do is to close one eye then the other. Is vision double only with both eye open?

If it is due to imbalance and it is more than you can live with the surgeons will suggest you have the other eye operated on. But first experiment with a multifocal contact lens. An optometrist will let you experiment to see if that would help. Generally that combination works best.

hi! I know from my optomotrist i have residual astigmatism in my rt. surgical eye...but too small to be corrected with a contact lens. Yes, it is with both eyes open and in low light. It never happens in daylight. i still see 20/20 out of my left eye wearing a toric contact lens, so there is no way I will have surgery on that eye yet. I may have to live with this or hope my brain is able to eventually neuroadapt. What does pupil size have to do with this issue? Can you explain that part ? I see my optho on friday and am writing a list of questions.

Hi Hudsongrl - trying to piece together your story/experience. To keep thread all in one place and to benefit others looking would you start a new thread with your story?

Will try and respond to what I think some of your questions are. How long ago was your surgery and what type of IOL was implanted? I assume you had cataract surgery because that eye's vision couldn't be corrected with glasses or contacts to 20/40 or better. That was my case - eyes were both worse than 20/40 even with glasses and my optometrist codn't correct them and referred me to a surgeon.

All IOLs are 6mm in diameter (few older models were less than that). The younger you are as a patient your eyes dilate more in dim or dark situations. Sometimes the pupil will dilate beyond the IOL causing patient to view an arc around light sources (basically seeing the edge of the IOL). This is different than the halos and glare more people see (especially if implanted with an EDOF lens like Symfony or a multifocal lens). This happens less with a monofocal although it isn't 100% guaranteed.

Double vision may occur when only one eye is open (monocular diplopia) or, more commonly, when both eyes are open (binocular diplopia). Binocular double vision disappears when either eye is closed. This is why I inquired whether your double vision is present when both eyes are open or only one eye.

If you went in for a consult with your surgeon they would (or should) have explained process. I was given a date to see the vision clinic in the hospital and given a sheet of instructions (which included removing contact lenses 1 week for soft or 3 if I wore hard ones). Sheet explained that it could through off power calculation if I didn't. I just had to remove them 2 days prior to start the drops (antibiotic and steriod drops).

I do know depending on the difference in your eyes mow that one is operated on that it causes an imbalance. Some can find a contact lens for u operated eye and it works better than glasses. If that doesn't work often health plans cover the 2nd eye as one just can't go on with their being such an imbalance.

Are all the issues you are experiencing due to the imbalance? When you close the unoperated eye do you see well (at least at 1 distance)?

should clarify for removal of contact lenses prior to eye mapping at vision clinic in hospital (this was done 2 months prior to my surgery). For surgery itself I had to start drops 2 days prior to surgery so was wearing just glasses at that point.

Are you in U.S.? my experience was really not like what you describe. i'll start a new thread.

No I live in Canada. Cataract surgery is completely covered by our medicare system - I wanted Symfony IOLs so paid out of pocket the diffrrence between monofocal lens that would have been covered. It is fantastic surgeries ate covered regardless of the lenses do less overselling by surgeons to line their pockets. Downside is you need optometrist referral and confirmation your eyes cannot be corrected with glasses to 20/40 or better. Takes months to see a surgeon and then I waited another month or so for eye mapping and 2nd exam with surgeon and another wait for surgery. Perhaps in larger cities less wait time but for me it was 8 months from diagnosis to surgery.

in U.S you pay extra for toric or multifocal lens. Once measurements are done you can usually get in for surgery within a couple weeks. 4 weeks later final recheck and then on to whatever optomotrist you select. I had measurements done in December, chose to wait until Feb. 5 th for my surgery. Got my contact lens mid March.

i did start a new thread on my full story. if you have a chance could you look at it on my ghosting issue. yesterday i did not wear a lens in my surgical eye....no ghosting. seems to happen with contact lens in. no clue why?

mjcg elizabeth87

thank you for your reply.. Yes I do agree with your comments, thank you

for them ..

I do hope you can get sorted very soon, I am sorry I can't offer you any advice, I just hope someone else can help and advise you..