Panoptix - YAG decision
Posted , 10 users are following.
I'm a 42 year old male who had a wonderful cataract operation about 2 months ago. Eye is all healed. I'm seeing that eye can be dry most days in the night when I wake up. The doctor has checked this and ruled out dry eye syndrome.
The eye doctor has chosen the right power with very small variation (-.5) in power. I chose PanOptix lens.
My vision was very good right after cataract surgery - I was able to read the last line letters during the eye exam.
Here are my challenges
- I have PCO right in the visual axis in both eyes- assuming glare and cloudiness are directly linked to it. I can't read the last 2-3 lines during the visual exam now. I see a decrease in clarity and eye sight.
- I see Halos - manageable so far
- starburst - manageable so far
- Flickering - I see flicking on my eye under bright lights, especially when the light enters from the side
- I'm seeing that eye can be dry most days in the night when I wake up. Does this mean that my eye is not healed fully?
- Sensitivity to bright lights
My questions
Everything I identified also comes as PCO symptoms but I've been having the symptoms from the day of the cataract surgery. Could this be from PCO Vs Positive Disphotophsia?
What I've heard is Halos and Starburst can get worse with YAG sometimes. How often does this happen?
Flickering may get better and there may be also be floaters from YAG. How often does this happen?
0 likes, 16 replies
Sue.An2 panoptixman
Posted
It is very normal to have sensitivity to light for months. I recall wearing sunglasses even inside the house.
For dry eye you can use artificial tears - they help a lot (i like Systane brand)
Are you sure you have pco - was it confirmed by your doctor? I saw my optometrist a few days ago (yearly exam - i had cataract surgery in July and Aug 2017). i thought i was experiencing pco but turns out I have ERM.
Once you do have a yag it is much more difficult to have a lens exchange and there can be other complications like more floaters and increased glare. You will want to hold off till it is confirmed and bad enough to affect vision.
panoptixman Sue.An2
Edited
Sue - Thank you so much for the reply. My PCO has been confirmed by two different optometrists. One as early as 1 month check up - it was in the visual axis. The 2nd month checkup with another doctor confirmed that PCO has gotten worse and the doctor recommended the YAG procedure 60 days after the original surgery.
Out of a scale of 5, the doctor said it was a between 2 and 3 - right in the visual axis. I can easily feel the deterioration in my eye sight. I feel the haze and cloudiness.
janus381 panoptixman
Posted
panoptixman.
I have a long thread on my experience that's moved to the 4th page of posts. It's titled "Cataract Surgery Completed - Sharing My Experience - PanOptix Tri-focal".
If you read that thread, you will see:
YAG improved vision, but still not as goo as it was immediately afte surgery. Doctor ordered OCT scan and compared scans with earlier scans and diagnosed dry eye.
Dry eye is pretty common post-cataract surgery and will impact vision. how did you doctor rule out dry eye, particularly when you feel eyes are dry when you wake up.
For dry eye, my doctor suggested eye drops. Gave me sample bottle of Hylo (main ingredient is hyaluronic acid), but said it's very expensive and suggested looking for ones with Trehalose instead. So I'm using Trehaloz Duo which contains Trehalose (3%) and Hyaluronic acid (0.15%). I also found that Hydrasense (known more for nasal rinses) seems to have an eye drop with Hyaluronic acid as well that less expensive.
I'll be seeing my eye doctor in 2-3 weeks. I'll update my old thread with results of next exam.
soks janus381
Posted
"YAG improved vision, but still not as goo as it was immediately afte surgery." - that is disappointing
janus381 soks
Posted
Hoping the eye drops for dry eye brings it closer to what it was before just after surgery. Wasn't diagnosed with dry eye until last visit. We will see what next appointment shows.
As far as halo and starburst. The halos were always very mild, and are even more mild now. I think PCO temporarily made starburst a little more noticable, but with YAG, I feel the starbursts are now less than after surgery (and starbursts for me were fairly moderate to start).
Chris53317 panoptixman
Posted
It's been 6 months since my surgery and not quite 3 months since my YAG. My comments on your points and questions;
Only your eye care specialist can determine if it is PCO or PD.
There were no observable differences after YAG for me, but my eyes were measured at 20/20, three weeks later (from 20/25 & 20/30)
I did not see any floater after the YAG.
soks Chris53317
Posted
so u did the YAG even though your vision was not compromised by PCO?
Chris53317 soks
Posted
Yes, but in my case I was not aware of the onset of PCO. My distance vision was blurry from right after surgery, and not something that I noticed as degrading. My optician observed the PCO at the 2 month checkup, and this was confirmed by the surgeon.
soks Chris53317
Posted
well my optician / surgeon confirmed PCO at 5 weeks. they said it was mild. It was 2+ at 10 months but i could see 2020. so the surgeon said as long as your vision is not impacted you don't have to do YAG. 12 months is where the vision got impacted.
panoptixman
Posted
my questions this is my 8 th week after surgery
1 typically how long after cataract surgery did you overcome slightly dry eyethe only time i notice it is when i wake up my eyes are dry
2 i have PCO for sure . but i noticed the symptoms pretty much after surgery. since the sumptoms of pco and positive dysphotopsia are very similar from google. are there any nuances that will help me identify?
W-H panoptixman
Posted
8 weeks is early days.
Dry eyes can clear after 8 weeks, 8 months, 1 year or never.
panoptixman
Posted
my questions this is my 8 th week after surgery
1 typically how long after cataract surgery did you overcome slightly dry eyethe only time i notice it is when i wake up my eyes are dry
2 i have PCO for sure . but i noticed the symptoms pretty much after surgery. since the sumptoms of pco and positive dysphotopsia are very similar from google. are there any nuances that will help me identify?
panoptixman
Edited
my questions this is my 8 th week after surgery
1 typically how long after cataract surgery did you overcome slightly dry eyethe only time i notice it is when i wake up my eyes are dry
2 i have PCO for sure . but i noticed the symptoms pretty much after surgery. since the sumptoms of pco and positive dysphotopsia are very similar from google. are there any nuances that will help me identify?
RonAKA panoptixman
Posted
My understanding is that PCO causes a cloudiness of vision not unlike a cataract. PCO requires cell growth over time and should not happen immediately after the surgery. PCO can be seen visually by the surgeon and diagnosed.
PD tends to be worst right after surgery, and the effect of it seems to decrease over time. Some suggest this is due to PCO cell growth attenuating some of the reflected light. "Positive dysphotopsias produce visual artifacts that appear as areas of bright light, streaks and flashes central in the visual field.", not general cloudiness. PD cannot be observed by the surgeon. They have to depend on the patient telling them what they see. That seems to be one of the reasons it may be under diagnosed. The patient says they are seeing things, and the surgeon says everything is fine.
Nivo14 RonAKA
Edited
You are so right re PD - the surgeon cannot see what you are seeing so rely on your description. Because they cant see it and cant always fix it, you are advised that the brain will adapt over time. No doubt the brain is very powerful and the more you concentrate on an issue, the more troublesome the issue becomes. Its always best to give it time before doing any further procedures as at 8 weeks, things are still settling . From my own experience i have noticed a positive change between week 8 post surgery and now week 10.
Wish you all the best.