I have seen a few discussions about this, but I was wondering...of those who saw this subside, how long did it take? Days, weeks, months? I have had surgery on both eyes, but only see the flickering in the left. It's been 4 weeks, and it is slightly better, but only slightly. Just wondering how long I should give myself to adjust? Thanks
Andrew:
Can you give a more detailed description of what you are experiencing?
It becomes less noticeable over time but I still notice it in certain light conditions - particularly, if the light is coming in from the side (refraction off the hard edge of the lens). I was told that the brain will adjust but ......
Was going to ask same question as Derek.
Is it a streak of light that is noticeable only with the eyes open and exposed to light? This is common and usually related to reflections off the implant after cataract surgery. But flashing lights that are seen in the dark or with the eyes closed are a different matter.
Flashing light like a police car behind you can be sign of retina detachment. So take it seriously and see a doctor asap. Retina detachment is a medical emergency.
If it's light hitting the IOL at an angle, it's likely not going to go away unless it's related to healing in some manner. It may be related to your pupil diameter relative to the IOL size. Does this still happen when ambient lighting is low vs high? This is the most noticeable artifact of the IOL to me and I don't think it's decreased much over time, but I've learned to live with it (lower shades, change my head position, move a light, or similar) and it doesn't bother me as it first did.
Knowing that it wasn't a sign of impending retinal problems (in my case, make sure you confirm this with your surgeon) certainly eased my mind and reduced my stress level regarding this. I use this as an example when I discuss a clear lens exchange to people. This is an annoyance but compared to the cataract, it's really trivial. However, had I not had any cataract and only had the surgery done to lessen presbyopia, I'd be pretty upset about it.
Andrew, I should add, that what I' experience isn't really flickering. The light appears to be flickering because my eye or the light source moves a bit. If I concentrate on keeping perfectly still, focus on a single point, don't blink and the light source doesn't move, the weird light spot/glare will no longer appear to flicker or move, it's just sitting there off to the edge of my peripheral vision.
I observe it as a flicker because this is a rare situation in practice and the slightest movement makes the light come, go, and move, hence the description as a flickering.
I had the annoying flickering on the left side of my left eye. Sorry to tell you, but mine did not diminish with time. Wound up having an operation to install a piggyback lens. That almost did away with the flickering, but unfortunately made the halos, rays and starbursts I see at night worse.
Go to your eye doctor and have them check. That’s really the only way
I confess to not knowing much about the piggyback lens except think I read it is done to correct refraction error vs lens exchange. Was this something surgeon suggested? Living with night vision issues seems equally difficult. Was this a recent procedure? I found after cataract surgery the glare and starbursts were strong but diminished over time (6 or 7 months). Hoping they diminish for you too.
Derek I wonder if that has to do with pupil size as well. I don’t experience what you described often but I have a table lamp next to my sofa that I had to move to a different spot when I watched TV. It would cause a peripheral glare (not sure what it was) was exactly but doesn’t happen unless a light is on next to me. Ok if lamp
is behind or in front but it bothers me when right beside me. Had thought maybe it was due to left eye having slightly more astigmatism .50 vs right eye .25
Yes I know exactly what you are saying. It appears like a bad florescent light that is flickering/going bad. I had it for about 7 months post cat surgery. At that time, I had PRK to correct my IOLs that were to strong. I believe the bad refraction/Rx was causing glare and flicker. Once I had PRK done much better. I can go into Home Depot now and not cringe. Soooo.....is your RX correct with your new IOLs?
Sue.An I have the light flash when I turn my head from right to left ,in my right eye,it's now 9 weeks since I had the left eye done.I see it in the dark,I was a little concerned about a retina detachment ,but after geting it checked out by two different optometrists,they told me the retina was fine. As for how long I will see the black shadow/rim and flashing light,the surgeon told me it should go away within 4 months,it's now over 2 months with no change,and I I just had YAG performed on my right eye ,the first couple of days it appeared to be some what clearer,but now at times it's still blurry and I see double vision.Before having both eyes done I could see much better with the cataracts using my reading glasses than what I can see now.
2nd opinion doc suggested it. He thought it more likely to help with the nighttime aberrations than with the flickering. So... it greatly improved the flickering (now not really a problem), but made the nighttime bs worse... go figure. Seems when things go wrong, it becomes more an art form than science.
Had the piggyback done about a year and half after the original surgery, about 2 years ago now. It's been so long now I don't expect anything to change (improve) any more. in fact if anything the vision in that eye has gotten worse..
Had I to do it over would have opted for lens exchange. Now I've had the YAG procedure so lens exchange is too risky.
Given that the vision in the operated eye is (still) not all that good, neither close up nor far away and has all the nighttime problems, have held off getting the 2nd eye (with slowly worsening cataract) done, since I still see better with it than than the operated eye .
Freeman62151 did you have the double vision before the YAG too? I had double vision due to cataracts but it was corrected with the cataract surgery. That light on the peripheral vision occurred only if a light source was a certain angle - left side (never experienced it on right side) but it is rare I notice it anymore (I am 12 months from 1st surgery now.
Good you had the retina checked out to confirm it wasn’t detached.
What type of lenses did they implant? Was it a monofocal with another monofocal overtop?
What type of lens are you leaning towards for the 2nd eye?
I have heard some people describe it as though a fan were above their head rotating around. That is close to what I see. It's definitely coming from the left side of the left lens. It's not flashes of light but rather just a flickering. Almost like looking through a coke bottle for a moment. Interestingly to me, I don't notice it as much if I close my right eye. Also, it is associated with eye movement. If I keep my eye focused on a single point, it goes away completely. It started the first day after my surgery. The left eye is using a Bauch & Lomb Envista MX60E IOL. The right eye was done 2 weeks later, but does not have the same type lens nor does it have that distortion.
I definitely believe it is due to the light striking the edge of the lens. It does not happen with my eyes closed. It happens mainly with light that is coming from the left, but is the most noticeable under fluorescent lighting (in my case, at work).
Thanks for the concern. I have ruled that out I believe.
Some lenses have round edge that do not have that issue with edge glare but you are more prone to get PCO. Square edge IOLs tend to prevent PCO better but have that edge glare.