Need advice. Blurry vision since cataract surgery 5 months ago.
Posted , 11 users are following.
I really hope someone can help me because I don't know what to do any more. I am exhausted, frustrated and not getting any cooperation/answers from my doctor/surgeon. I've had blurry vision in my left eye (OS) for five months since my surgery --- it is worse than before the surgery.
My doctor's office never gave me a follow up appointment other than the morning after my surgery. While I was communicating my vision concerns to them via their Health Portal (because nobody answers the phone) that something was wrong and I needed an appointment, the nurse said Dr. So and So said to just keep using the artificial tears. I said I've been doing that 4X/a day and it's not helping. I also have eye pain and burning. I finally got an appointment with the doctor after 5 weeks post op. He looked at my eye and said I needed YAG laser procedure. He didn't dilate my eyes. Just looked at them through his machines. I said will that help my vision? He said yes.
I had the YAG 9-weeks post cataract surgery. It did nothing for my blurry vision in fact made it worse because of the inflammation it caused. The only thing I noticed is that a film was lifted from my eye.
So after that I was in excruciating pain and contacted the office via the portal from you know where. They said to come back in a week. The doctor looked at my eyes (no dilation) and said I had inflammation. Gave me steroid drops. I took those for a month and scheduled an appointment with another doctor at the same clinic because I was not getting anywhere with this guy. My eye was burning, in pain and photophobia, etc. on top of the fact that I couldn't see because of the now even worse blurry vision. This doctor diagnosed me with Iritis. More steroid drops and some dilation drops for burning/pain. I asked him why my vision was still blurry and he said he had no idea since he didn't do my surgery. Then he dismissed me at my last appointment at my one month follow up and said there's nothing more he could do and was referring me to a neuro-opthalmologist.
I didn't really think I'd get an objective opinion from another doctor at the same clinic but I was extremely worried about my eye. After I was dismissed from the last doctor, I thought I could get an objective second opinion yesterday at a totally different clinic/doctor. But no. He said he couldn't do anything because he didn't do my surgery. But he could do laser surgery on my eye if I wanted it. He was totally rude and dismissive.
My suspicion from day one is that my surgeon gave me the wrong prescription for my lens. But I have no idea how to find out. I asked him point blank if that was possible and he said absolutely not. In the meantime, I was never told or given literature on what type of standard monofocal lens he was going to use. He also will not release the reasoning behind why I was approved for cataract surgery. I asked and they (the nurse) emailed me -- it was a combination of your vision/glare testing and one other test I forget the name. My vision in that eye was 20/20. But I had really bad glare/halos when driving during the day and night which made my overall vision numbers worse. I wasn't complaining about having surgery. I just wanted to understand the facts or what did they submit to insurance?
They also won't tell me what formula the doctor used to arrive at my prescription for my IOL. I am convinced that the prescription is wrong because nothing else is wrong with that eye based on all of the tests. So far I have gone to 3 ophthalmologists (including the surgeon) for eye exams. Nothing wrong except inflammation and of course my vision is now approximately 20/80. What is the big secret about determining cataract approval? And why would he not give me information on what formula/method he used to arrive at the lens prescription?
Does anybody know if it's possible to determine if the wrong prescription lens was implanted?
I saw some paperwork AFTER my surgery with the word Lenstar. And, the lens he used is Tecnis Eyhance monofocal. That was on the surgical notes paperwork from the surgery center because it was not in my file with this doctor.
Here's an excerpt from the Tecnis Eyhance literature:
*Prior to surgery, the surgeon must inform prospective patients of the possible risks and benefits associated with the use of this device and provide a copy of the patient information brochure to the patient.
Some autorefractors utilize only the central part of the IOL to calculate the refraction of the eye and that is the region where the TECNIS EyhanceTM deviates from the monofocal design which could result in a wrong estimation of the refraction. Manual refraction with maximum plus technique is strongly recommended."
Okay I'm not a doctor but I've had to learn more in the past 5 months than any person would care to --- especially with one bum, blurry, burning left eye and the other eagerly awaiting its own cataract surgery which sadly won't be any time soon.
Are most patients told which specific lens the doctor is going to use as well as the vision expectations in numbers? I was only told by my surgeon that my distance vision would be corrected and I'd keep using my reading glasses. I was good with that. Well I'm not good now.
Sorry for this long posting. I didn't know how to shorten it without leaving off important facts. If anyone could offer advice I would greatly appreciate it. I really just want to understand what happened. But I'm hitting road blocks all along the way. Which makes me even more suspicious. Thank you!
0 likes, 69 replies
Lynda111 Trix317
Edited
Agree with you, Trix. You have to do your due diligence. And there is really no substitute to making an appointment with a number of cataract surgeons to see what they are like in person. As I have said here before, when you have cataract surgery, you can be pretty certain the cataract will be gone, but how well you will see afterwards is dependent on a number of factors, many of which you have no control over, including just plain luck.
trilemma Lynda111
Posted
Disagree
I do not disagree.
maura04015 Lynda111
Edited
I do believe that for those of us who have the option, seeing another cataract surgeon if the first one for some reason doesn't seem a good fit is the thing to do. For me the surgeon my optometrist recommended gave me the feeling of being bulldozed by someone sure she knew what to do with no real discussion. That was partly my fault because I didn't know enough to ask good questions. Which led me here and to other resources.
.
I still didn't know enough, though, as I had the timing and duration of the need to stop wearing my gas permeable contacts wrong so had to cancel my 10/31 appointment without another surgeon and reschedule for 1/16.
phil09 trilemma
Edited
"> And there is really no substitute to making an appointment with a number of cataract surgeons to see what they are like in person.
Disagree"
Well, don't keep us in suspense, trilemma! What is the substitute??
I am seeing my fourth surgeon tomorrow. I do find the meetings useful in helping me assess competence, which of course includes diligence, patient communication, integrity, etc.
trilemma phil09
Edited
I don't know that an interview would identify skill so well. Maybe I am wrong. But if I were interviewing, I would be asking about how precisely they hit targets. Answers with numbers rather than qualitative words would sound good to me.
And six? Don't you have to pay for the visits, or do you get free pre-sale meetings?
phil09 trilemma
Edited
I agree, to some extent. I'm not qualified to judge medical knowledge, but I can often get a sense of communication skills, attention to detail, honesty - things like that. You can ask about precision, but two of my surgeons have gone out of their way to warn that results might be WAY, WAY off, there are no guarantees, no way to know what will happen - presumably that's what the lawyers tell them to say.
Three of my docs are from my HMO, so the cost is only $20 per consultation. My non-HMO guy charged $300, but it was well worth it to me. If I want to save money, I will economize on something other than my eyes.
Yes, six does seem like a lot. But this stuff is important, and it can be complicated. If that's what you need, that's what you should get.
Trix317 maura04015
Edited
Good on trusting your instincts. I went with a doctor who was highly recommended to me. IMHO the whole process seemed totally rushed --- like a used car salesman. At least when buying a car there's a whole lot more information available to research. We don't even know what we're supposed to be asking the doctor until after the deal is done. And then it's too late. Especially if you have a doctor like mine who doesn't even explain anything except what type of lens do I want. And that I would have clear distance vision and just wear readers. So why would I question that?
For me not only do I want a good surgeon but he and his office had better make sure they respond to my phone calls. Or emails.
Trix317 phil09
Edited
In my opinion, you're doing all the right things Phil09 -- My doctor NEVER warned me that the results might be way off. Then once the surgery was done he disappeared.
I would go to a medical hospital or clinic that specialized in eyes --- or a doctor who had worked at one previously like the one I went to from the Mayo Clinic. They're everywhere if you do enough research. And yes totally agree about all of the characteristics you mentioned.
How many doctor's would stand by their surgery if the results they targeted or you had even imagined were not achieved? Probably not many. But the one I saw last week said he wants his patients to be happy with their vision. And he would do Lasik free of charge if necessary.
jo61855 Trix317
Edited
I can relate to your post surgery eye pain because I experienced it after my second eye went through the 3x per day for its 4 week course of post-op mixed drops. I am allergic to steroid (oral and topical) medication, which caused the irritation and pain. Over the years, I have found that doctors don't fully appreciate the problem of allergic reactions to the drugs they prescribe. Another reason for me to avoid eye laser (YAG) treatment which requires steroid drops.
Trix317 jo61855
Posted
Very interesting and definitely good points Jo61855. They're so hung up on insisting we use preservative free artificial tears (which I would have used anyway) but completely irresponsible when they prescribe steroid drops. I had no idea there were preservatives in steroid drops.
I did have the YAG 5 weeks after my cat surgery and those steroid drops did absolutely nothing for me. I had so much burning and inflammation that the only thing that took the pain albeit temporarily were the prescription long acting dilation drops - cyclopentalate or something in that group. I am certain the inflammation eventually cleared on its own.
Trix317
Posted
Thank you both Ron and Trilemma -- I can't even think anymore because I'm so over the whole mess. I feel like I've been studying for my ophthalmology medical boards for the past 6 months since my surgery all because my surgeon wouldn't tell me anything before or after. I'm so thankful for you both and the rest of the support in this forum.
Also, I haven't been able to get to the optometrist because my cat has been seriously ill -- so I've been driving around with one blurry eye and the other with a cataract. I can see to drive, but it's not great. And the irony is that my Himalayan cat had corneal sequestrum surgery over the summer in one eye. So between us in the car rides to/from the Vet/ER vet/Ophthalmologist Vet, we may have one good eye between us. 😉 I told him I wished he could have done my surgery.