starbursts after cataract surgery has anyone been diagnosed with Dysphotopsia?
Posted , 9 users are following.
After 5 long years the 10th doctor said Dysphotopsia is what I have.. and still the doctor decides I need blockers injected in the back of my head. I am so frustrated that I can not get any doctor to listen to help reduce the starbursts . Has anyone found a solution, other then lens replacement. pilocarpine 2% doesn't work well enough anymore for me .
0 likes, 21 replies
soks leonora53150
Posted
u mean it worked well before?
soks leonora53150
Posted
i mean did pilocarpine work well before and now doesn't?
leonora53150 soks
Posted
yes it was working , until a doctor did another Yag procedure. now it doesn't seem to clear up the starbursts like before , feel like I need a stronger drop.
any suggestions
soks leonora53150
Posted
stronger pilocarpine can cause retina detachment. you may want to try alphagan which is brominidine tartrade. i am a bit disappointed that YAG worsened your dysphotopsia.
leonora53150 soks
Posted
yes I thought the Yag was going to work too. As for the alphagan , I started with it 5 years ago , then before a year was up went to 1% pilo . I've been on 2 % pilo for the last 3 years . the last doctor has me trying the Lphagan again . unfortunately 2 weeks now and it doesn't seem to reduce the starbursts enough to drive safely.
tamarinda leonora53150
Posted
Hi Leonora, how frustrating indeed! Many of us have dysphotopsias, which just is a fancy word for seeing things weirdly, so it's not so much a cause as a description.
I have halos and ghost images in one eye from a multifocal lens. The other eye has a monofocal and has some blur because it developed an astigmatism from the operation. That causes lights to smear a little. It also has some haze around stoplights. Both eyes have starbursts with oncoming headlights. What I see around all those light effects is extremely clear, good range far-intermediate-near.
Conversations with a friend who has monofocals revealed that she has starbursts too.
It might help if you tell us more about what type of lens you have, your age, when you had the operation, what the timeline of your starbursts was, and what interventions you have tried.
I'm sorry you feel so frustrated. That's a natural feeling and you're not alone: we have all been there.
leonora53150 tamarinda
Posted
Hi Tamarinda,
Thank you , for your comments, I was 48 when I had the cataract surgery ,I am now 53 .The starburst bagan immediately after surgery. Toric lens was used which is a square edged lens that caused my condition of positive and negative dysphotopsias . Many of my friends also see starbursts , luckily it's not affecting their life to a point that is debilitating at sunset.
Prior to putting a name to my condition and learning what is the cause, I tried all sorts of things that each doctor I've seen suggested, from hard & soft contact lens, glasses, scalarous lens ( very expensive), eyelid wipes, ointments, injections in the back of my head, 2 YAG procedures.
The pilocarpine 2% is the drops that were helping me prior to the last YAG.
Yes, I do believe my frustration has been a very natural feeling. and yes, for 5 years I would always say .. I can't be the only person with this condition , while seeing all these doctors ,until the 10th doctor the only one that told me what it was and why , that I found this forum and now able to read others stories like mine.
I hope I answered your questions, and helps you figure out what your looking for.
Thanks again,
L
Idnw8 leonora53150
Posted
Dear Lenora...,
I have been silent about this for 5 years and about 10 different doctors as well. How I wish I could tell you of a solution. I was 53 and in excellent health. What should have been a routine cataract surgery caused a flickering, strobe-like effect with extreme dysphotopsia. The operating surgeon was horrible when I complained of the symptoms, showing nothing but disdain and aggravation. Others after her were often sympathetic, but not helpful. Tried the pilocarpine and several other drops and concoctions, tried a piggyback lens, contact lenses to block out some of the excess light, and others. I remember how one doc said to stop using drops that another doc had prescribed because it could cause a retinal detachment. So incredibly frustrating. Finally had the lens replaced with a different, larger lens, which thankfully stopped the flickering, but left me with daily eye pain and still the extreme dysphotopsia. Then they tried a YAG, and after that didn't help said there's nothing else they could do. There is nothing else they know of that would help. My life has been stunted in a way I never imagined or thought possible. I wish more opthalmologists read this forum and realized how many of us are having serious problems with their "routine" cataract surgeries, and devoted their time to finding solutions for the problems caused by these surgeries. My username, Idnw8, stands for I Did Nothing Wrong (with glasses--8-) By the way, of all the docs I saw, no one suggested the simple help that I found online of certain sunglasses that you can buy that have a foam rim around the frame that may help to block out some of the excessive light. It is not a solution, but it's something . I wish you the very best of luck.
leonora53150 Idnw8
Posted
Thank you for your response, I'm sorry you've been dealing with this also. I was 48 when I had my surgery, now 53 and yes it is disabling at sunset. I too wish doctors would listen to our complaints and take them seriously and read these blogs to learn what's going on.It's bothersome that my opinion of doctors is so low. I feel that my doctor should have been at least aware of positive and negative dysphotopsia, and if not he should have cared enough to research my symptoms, or have his nurse. The other 8 doctors should have also.. wasn't till the last doctor that knew about it and directed me to an article that explained the square edged lens that was used in both eyes used was the problem. Although I am very thankful I have perfect vision ,I would rather have had a lens exchange and wore glasses.
I will give the foam edge glasses a try , I have several pair from riding my motorcycle, I just haven't rode after sunset for the last 5 years to notice if there was a difference. perhaps with the drops and the foam glasses it may work 😃
Thank you again for taking the time to tell your story.
L
ad12345 leonora53150
Posted
What IOL do you have exactly?
ad12345 Idnw8
Posted
What was your original IOL and your replacement IOL?
leonora53150 ad12345
Posted
I had a Toric lens placed when I had the cataract surgery. I have not had the replacement done... What I have read is that once you have Yag done its not recommended to have the replacement, and I had it done twice a month after surgery and the second time in July which was 5 years later.
honestly my vision is really pretty good and I'm grateful to be able to see in the daytime, even though I am home bound when the sunsets ... I'm scared to have anything surgically done it could come out worse...
ad12345 leonora53150
Posted
But what is the exact brand and model?
soks leonora53150
Posted
hi leonora
why did you have YAG twice?
Idnw8 ad12345
Posted
The original lens was a multi-focal Crystalens. The replacement was single-focus large-diameter Starr lens, but I don't recall more specifics than that. In my case, I have extreme photophobia in the right corner of my eye, and when the Crystalens was removed, at least one of the haptics was so embedded, it could not be removed.