Symfony lens halos

Same here.  Worst mistake I could of made.  The starbursts are horrible.  Thankfully I only did one eye.  I cancelled the left eye until such time as my right eye 'improves'.  A month in and I've seen zero improvement.  If I had both eyes done I wouldn't be able to drive at night.  

I so agree with you.  Its been 3 months for me too and they are the worst.  Both eyes done sadly and the coast was $3545 each!  I may have them replaced because they also seem to be very irritating to the point I have to rest my eyes several times a day.  

Hello,

Did you ever decide to go with the regular monofocal lens? If so, are you glad that you did? I don’t want to have issues seeing near/intermediate (as I work on a computer all day and use a smart phone often).  I also am nearsighted, so I’m fine if I have to still wear glasses for far away. I’ve been nearsighted as long as I can remember.

I definitely do not want to pay a lot out of pocket for “special” lenses only to regret my decision, nor do I want to get halos and glare (still). 

Thank you for your post. Best wishes to you.

Hi betwixt...have you seen any improvement in your Symfony lenses? Pros and cons from you now that you're 8 months past the last post please. I'm nearsighted and had retinal surgery now have a post surgical cataract in the back of my lens. Doctor wants to insert a monofocal IOL with some distance in that eye then I'll continue to wear my progressive glasses with new prescription. I just read about Symfony lenses this morning so am trying like crazy to get as much info as possible. Seems most people are unhappy. Someone I used to know in college contacted me today saying that she LOVES her Symfony lens (put in 2 years ago when it first became available) and is having the other eye done next month. 

Hi badsoden -seems like you have a few unfortunate issues going on with your eyes.  Sorry to hear s you've been through.

I have 2 Symfony lenses - right eye done a year ago and left almost 11 months ago.  They’ve worked well for me.   I do wonder if your doctor is recommending a monofocal lens due to the other eye issues you've experienced.   Is your plan to wear glasses or contact lenses after surgery?  

 I wish I would have read all these comments prior to my surgery.  Do not put symphony lens in your eyes until they perfect them.  Mine has been for months now and I suffer every day with the concentric circles around lights.  And the worst part I still have to wear glasses and don’t feel that I gained better vision at all.   I wish I would have had this information prior to making my decision.  I would give anything to have my old vision back I could see so much better plus I could drive at night!

Plan to continue wearing glasses. I wear progressive lens and dr says we'll do a new prescription once eye heals from cataract surgery in order to fully correct my vision in that eye and of course continue as I have with the other until I need cataract surgery in that one.

Do you have all the haloing, glare, starbursts that others experience? A woman I went to college with wrote to say she loves the one Symfony lens she has had for 2 years and is having the other eye done with the same next month. So confusing with all the negatives then the few positives. Will I be happy with that lens or will I be one of the ones who hates it...pretty unnerving. Wish there could be a trial period. haha.

Thanks Debbie...sorry they don't work for you, seems like more people than not have this same issue. I know I will continue to wear glasses no matter what lens is inserted and I don't mind that. My goal is not to discard glasses, although I do love those cute readers that don't ever work for me, I just want my vision back after suffering thru a retinal hole and surgery to repair that...now this.

I like my vision with Symfony lenses.  Have both my eyes implanted with them (last summer had the surgeries 6 weeks apart).

The glare and starbursts subsided at 6 weeks and continued that trend for 6 months.  I had a lot of that with my cataracts so this is a huge improvement.  For someone that didn’t have that prior to cataract surgery maybe there is still some.  I have no glare or issues  with these lenses during the day or inside places.   I haven’t worn glasses in a year. I do see the concentric circles around traffic lights or when car in front of me brakes.  See them at 50 yards or so away from light source and as I get nearer to the light source they disappear.  I don’t believe these ever go away as it’s part of Symfony’s design that allows one to see from near to far.  

Will admit had I not gotten the results I had for near to far and had to wear glasses anyways the trade-off with the circles wouldn’t be worth it.

I do drive at night (winter months it’s dark by 4:30pm where I live)  although if I drive at night for a living would not have chosen these lenses.   

There are no perfect lenses in the market at this point so one needs to be aware of the compromises.

For me at 53 working full time still I wanted to be able to function at work with 2 pairs of glasses or progressives.  I had good reading prior to cataract surgery and I guess the thought of losing that worried me more than night vision issues.  Wish you all the best.

Found out today that because of retinal damage and subsequent issues I am not a candidate for the Symfony lens or any type of addaptive lens so this ends this discussion for me. Thanks for comments!

 

In this instance, it is wise to stick to the old adage that "doctors know best."

Hi Sue.An, you are right that there are no perfect IOL lenses in the market at this point.  Most people are aware that the optical quality of Premium IOLs provides sharper vision. Also Premium IOLs contain added magnification in different parts of the lens to expand one's range of vision so one can see objects clearly at all distances, with or without glasses.

I know I'm stuck with my point n' shoot, but that does not stop me from examining the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV or the Nikon D500. 

Yes I figured that would be the case.  And I firmly believe a good result can be obtained from more than one lens type.

Wish you the best.  

At my age wasn’t thinking I would need this surgery for another 15 to 20 years (parents both in their 70s and don’t have cataracts).   There may be better IOLs in the pipeline but not to be for me.  But sure is better than what I thought it would be when I was first diagnosed.   Thought I would walk around half blind.

I am walking around half blind right now. Also I wonder  what happens if there is retina detachment after Symfony lens implant.   Why are the doctors not allowing for multifocals for RD patients?

You didn't mention but can you wear contact lenses? After you've healed, a monofocal IOL (likely set for distance) can be paired with a multifocal contact for reading if this was something you wanted to try.  

Yes, you are correct and I wasn't doubting my dr but wanted to be familiar with all avenues since she was fairly general in saying you don't want a "multi focal lens". My choice seemed to be so cut and dry and I needed more information. Plus getting a 2nd opinion from my old doctor really helped me feel fully understand my limited choices. Now the question will be once she measures my eye for the IOL...is there a good, better or best choice in that mono focal lens.

I don't know if that would work for me. I also have had damage to my retina due to old tears that were repaired as well as a hole recently repaired. I will have distortion so probably glasses are going to be best to finish up making my vision OK for me. I'll have to talk to the doctor about one contact. My eyes tend to be dry at times and that's why I stopped wearing contacts long ago. 

 

If there is damage to the retina, multi focals won't work well. Scarring and all that. I had a retinal hole repaired and this is what I was told.

I recall the weeks leading up to my surgery - very depressing.  Could not enjoy watching TV, movie theatre or live sports, driving - even walking into an unfamiliar store - everything was blurry and double vision made for unpleasant experience. Couldn’t have gone on much longer.

I will need to do some researching.  I get that multifocal lenses would not be a good choice for those with MD or retina detachment, etc.   My guess would be you would have increased contrast sensitivity issues due to the light splitting between 2 focal points (3 with trifocals).  But EDOF lenses like Symfony have an elongated focus and more like a monofocal for contrast sensitivity but doctors often lump them in with multifocals.   It is possible there is another reason - will have to do a bit of reading to find an answer.

Thanks for that.  I am guessing that the sim of a multifocal is to have patients glasses free as much as possible and with any of those issues like scaring the power calculations and reduced contrast sensitivity that come into play with a multifocal likely not going to benefit the patient much.

There are but again there are pros and cons to those choices too.  If you do have astigmatism you may want a toric monofocal.   There are round edge monofocals which are better for preventing edge glare from the IOL vs square edge IOLs that have more edge glare but do better job of preventing PCO than round edge IOLs.

Also some surgeons will have a preference so you might want to find out from your surgeon what his or her go to ones are.  You won’t want one they don’t implant often.

Retina damage/surgery wouldn't necessarily prevent you from wearing contacts. You'd have to ask your surgeon about your specific condition.

If you are able to wear them, then multifocal's may work or they may not work based on your retina issues and many other factors but unlike an IOL, you can simply trial them and if you don't like the results, you just toss them. You might end up with compromised contrast sensitivity and enjoy the ability to read during the day then toss them once the sun goes down and you need the added light at your distance focus point. Same thing with progressive readers - maybe they will be great for you with adequate light but not worth it when light isn't as good. 

Probably, and my goal is just to be able to see out of that eye again...I don't mind continuing with my progressive lens glasses and a new script for them once my eye heals. All sorts of variables to consider and that's why they're the doctors.

Thanks for that info...I hadn't read about the different edges and pros and cons. I've written that all down to ask my doctor about on Thursday...perfect timing with that.

Derek, I'll consider this option after I see what I can see with that bad eye. Sorry to be confusing...I have a good eye, no damage, and that's the one that could possibly manage with a contact lens but I am thinking that I'll need glasses anyway because I won't have all my bad eye vision corrected with the IOL. Thanks!

Hi soks, I was walking half blind into the hospital day OR, expecting the worst and hoping for the best. 'Et voilà' I could not stop smiling the minute I woke up and saw through my eyes.

Remember the lady who just had atLISA lenses implanted, she too had retina tears. Everyone is different, so be sure to find the best eye-surgeon in your area.

I had my symfony iol in my right eye 9 days ago and seeing severe starbursts and so cancelled my surgery in my left eye for the time being.I am able to drive because my left eye is not operated on yet.What have you done about your other eye now.When I was told only 5 % of the patients are not satisfied,I was hoping that I would not fall into that 5%.. My near vision is not so great and the doctor told me he would be able to give me better near vision with symfony in the left eye.

I am also experiencing less contrast vision in the operated eye in bright light.

I would like to know if your starbursts are of reduced intensity now.Thank you in advance.

 I am sorry to say that my vision is not any better.  I just found a doctor in DC that specializes in  replacing lenses.   I can’t express to you how horrific my vision is right now.  I wish I would have canceled my second eye. 

Debbie