Visual artist and dancer need good vision, what lense to choose?
Posted , 8 users are following.
I’m recently diagnosed with having cataract. I’m only 52, and working full time as information technology professional. I’m also a visual artist, doing a lot of paintings in my spare time, both portrait and scenic painting, and plan to turn into a professional artist at age 55 after early retirement. On top of that, I’m also a dancer in a local performing group(non professional though), and perform on formal stages several times a year. With all these great things going on in my life, I am now facing the cataract surgery. Honestly, I’m pretty depressed after heard it from my eye doctor two weeks ago.
Now I am here to look for help. With strong desire to see clearly in distance, close up for painting and computer work, and be able to dance on stage, what type of lens I should choose? I’m very near sighted, have astigmatism and already need reading glasses for a few years.
I learned that multi-focus lens have big risk of having glare and halo issue post surgery, and wonder if I choose one of the mono kind, will I still be able to dance with the mono lens? And how either choice will affect my painting, with both distance, mid-range and close up vision need? If I have a distance vision, does that mean I can’t put up make up myself anymore? So many unclear questions.
If you have any input which can relate to this, please share. Many thanks!
0 likes, 34 replies
soks Autumn1990
Posted
Get Zeiss LARA in one eye and Zeiss LISA in another eye. Or get Symfony with -0.5 myopia in both eyes or get Zeiss LARA with -0.5 myopia in both eyes. Or get Monofocal with -0.75 myopia in one eye and -1 myopia in another eye.
My near vision was/is J1+. I think visual acuity is different from actual vision. I underestimated how much near I would lose after the surgery at 42. I think there should be test for whether you can see HD video at near distances.
Autumn1990
Posted
hi to all who so kindly responded with your invaluable knowledge and insights : I will read your messages carefully and respond later with additional questions. MANY MANY THANKS!
Guest Autumn1990
Posted
Hi Autumn
You can not post links in this forum, posts will be deleted after a while....
Sue.An2 Guest
Posted
I also lost my original ID - possibly for posting a link - just said I violated a rule when logging in. Oddly enough my original account is unlocked but I have been using this 2nd one for awhile that I will leave it be.
Autumn1990 Guest
Posted
just saw your post after my dance class tonight, thank you! Learning the rules of forum...
Autumn1990
Posted
I spent a lot of time in between my work today to read through all the posts, suggestions and leads provided. I want to thank again to all of you(Danish_Viking, Sue, WorriedHusband, Janus, Soks)for writing long messages to help me, and I’m so grateful to have found the best support here!
I live in US, and actually work for Johnson & Johnson(the Symfony maker). But I look forward to the FDA approval of Alcon Panoptix, which seems to be worth to wait.
Now I’m beginning to think to hold off on surgery and go for new glasses or contacts fitting first(if can still be corrected a little), just as Sue suggested.
Sue.An2 Autumn1990
Posted
Hoping lens you want will soon be approved in US. Also hoping you can correct your vision with glasses and contacts until surgery is necessary. I wish I had had the time to wait here in Canada but that was not an option open for me. Even the 8 month wait due to our healthcare system I noticed further deterioration in my eyesight.
Side note as you mentioned working with Johnson and Johnson makers of the Symfony lenses I have - is there any acknowledgment today from them of the types of halos people see at night with this lens? Specifically the large concentric rings around sources of lights like traffic lights? The lens was so new at that time being just released in USA and Canada and only a couple here on the forums about 2.5 years ago when I was deciding had them implanted. There is a very long thread on the forum entitled " Has anyone else noticed this unusual vision issue with Symfony" started by 201a poster.
There was never any official documentation by Johnson concerning the type of halos so just curious as it has been over 2 years if anything more has been disclosed about the lens. Also curious if Zeiss atLARA has same concentric rings around lights at night.
Thanks Autumn - wish you the best.
Guest Autumn1990
Posted
If glasses helps, waiting is always an option 😃
For me glasses have never helped, my biggest problem was the lack of contrast due to cataracts, and no glasses could add contrast.
If you are interested ind the Panoptix trifocals, there are two youtube videos you should see, even that they are a bit long, but i is worth the time.
It is a guy from Belgium who tells about his experience with this lens, he is very happy with the result, and he also explains a lot about side effects and neuroadaption, and how he felt it.
Search youtube "Testimonial Trifocal IOL lens inplant from day 1 to 11 months after operation" and "Trifocal IOL lens inplant testimonial from month 12 until month 24 (part 10)"
In Denmark no surgeons uses bifocals (known as multifocals in US) any longer, since the Lisa Tri came out 8 years ago.
So if you can wait on the trifocals you should, they are no doubt better than the current multifocals in the US.
The Panoptix have 3 focus points at distance, 24" and 16"
The Zeiss Lisa tri have 3 focal points at distance, 32" and 16"
It is a matter of personal opnion, what is best I think.
And many get a mix and match now, with the edof Lara in one eye, and the Lisa tri in the second eye, to cover all distances.
janus381 Autumn1990
Posted
Even if new glasses don't help (I'm not sure they would generally help with cataracts), you shouldn't have to wait long.
Search for recent article: Newly independent Alcon leans on surgical unit while awaiting key product launches
Alcon expect to get approval for PanOptix in the US by late 2019 or early 2020.
janus381
Posted
Also interesting from full transcripts of the Alcon earnings call (search: Alcon, Inc. (ALC) Q1 2019 Earnings Call Transcript) an analyst asks about competition in Europe and particularly J&J recent launch of an intermediate focused IOL in Europe at a lower price point.
Found the J&J release: Johnson & Johnson Vision Announces Availability in Europe of Tecnis Eyhance IOL J&J described the Eyhance as a "mono-focal" that provides distance and intermediate. (interesting that they don't describe it as a EDOF). Will this replace Symfony, or is it a lower cost alternative to Symfony?
Lower price point probably doesn't matter too much as I think most of us who are considering premium IOLs are not that sensitive to price, but will be interesting to what else is coming.
janus381
Posted
Based on the release I would guess that the Eyhance is an alternative to Symfony, and would guess that Symfony will provide greater range of good vision (as EDOF), and Eyhance will provide reasonable intermediate but with less artifacts (as it is described as a mono-focal and has a lower price point).
mady301 Autumn1990
Posted
I was also nearsighted (-4.5 and -5.0) and decided on the Symfony EDOF lens. I am very pleased with the results. There is no perfect lens that will duplicate the vision of a young person. Each choice has a trade off. In my case, I do have starbursts at night with street lights and head lights, but they are mild and do not interfere with driving. I also do not drive much at night. The trade off in excellent visual acuity is well worth it to me. I rarely need glasses, except to read extremely small print on a package. I read newspapers in good light, and easy read computer, pone and I pads, and have 20/20 distance in each eye. Occasionally some internal lights (newer style LEDs have some glare or trailing lights) particularly in certain restaurants, but I have adapted by learning where to sit to minimize the impact.
I tried monovision with contacts years ago and was never able to adjust, had depth perception issues and blur, due to level of nearsightedness, so didn't think it would work for me with an IOL.
The Symfony EDOF has much less risk of severe glare than other multifocals. Even 5% of monofocal patients have glare at night, so no lens is risk free. I have a cousin with monofocals who cannot drive at night due to extremely high levels of glare.
The US FDA has a great summary of the Symfony lens and monofocal lens clinical trial data, which is how I made my decision. Go to www.fda.gov and type in Symfony lens-and you should be able to find the Patient Brochure. It is very well written.
Hope that is helpful.
Sue.An2 mady301
Posted
Hi Mady301 I appear to have same results as you with Symfony. Cataracts affected my vision to extent with glasses could not read lic plate at a traffic light on car in front of me. K wish I had option of good trifocal at time but ended up going with Symfony. Funny how the newer LED lights affect my night vision. I didn't note concentric circles when indoors but recently returned from England and key card at new hotel was a tap vs insert and the little green light had tiny concentric circles around it which I know were due to Symfony. I really thought I had to be a certain distance from lights like 50 meters for those to appear. And the circles at that distance are really big (red traffic lights) extending to the ground and gradually get smaller as I approach the light. The circles are light and I can still drive at night - first 6 months had more glare with the circles and that wasn't easy to drive with at night.
But I too most days am glasses free only needing them for fine print or if lighting is low.
mady301 Sue.An2
Posted
it has been 5 months for RE, and 1 month for LE. Took me a while to decide to proceed. Night vision in LE is improving slowly, but I don't expect the starbursts or spiderwebs (concentric circles) to ever disappear. That is just the trade off for the lens one has to accept. They do get smaller the closer you they get, and you adjust your driving. I also have large halos around the newer style high fluorescent (or reflective) yellow caution signs. Older ones are fine. Again, you learn to adjust but not using the high beams when there are a lot of them in a row. If I had two monofocals set for distance, I would be wearing glasses almost all of the time because I would have no near and very little intermediate due to my nearsightedness. So the Symfony is a good trade for me. I love them for golf, walking, bike riding, anything outdoors. Great for TV, computers, Ipads, cell phone with larger text. I have worn glasses since age 6, so this is truly a miracle of vision for me!
Sue.An2 mady301
Posted
I feel same way you do. Like you I don't expect the concentric circles to go away. They do seem fainter now. Inner rings were always brighter than outer ones. Perhaps as time passes they are my new normal and I am not looking for them and focusing on them as I drive.
Daytime things are fine and it has been great to do things without glasses. I was 12 when I started wearing glasses.