Pre-cataract glasses: -2 both eyes. Slight astigmatism in the right eye. Just remove glasses for near. +1 actually makes near blurry.
Vision: Cataracts in both eyes. Nuclear and posterior sub capsular. Vision in left eye severely impacted with blurred triple vision @ 20/60 or worse. Right eye had been holding up until now but now it is at 20/30 and creating weird artifacts when light is involved even during daytime. Initially only green colored light were impacted. Night time light source looks like a snow flake with both eyes open. Looks like a comet with the right eye. Looks like a circle of light with the left eye. The circle gets smaller as I get closer to the light. Left eye practically unusable. Earlier I could use it to read by getting close to the monitor.
IOL choice: Symfony (Non-Toric) 16.5D which should leave me myopic around -0.3D.
All evaluations (4): indicate early stage cataracts but unfortunately in the visual axis.
Surgery in left eye: 10/2018
Contemplating surgery in right eye: 11/2018. Bu the eye is usable. Can be corrected to 20/20 but the weird light distortions cannot be correct. Would love to move surgery on this eye to 2020.
Worried about:
a) Symfony night time halos. Currently see every light source at night like a snow flake.
b) PCO/YAG
d) Retina detachment. (Age and Hereditary)
e) Long eye. I have a long eye which can be challenge to calculate the IOL power. Barrett method is recommended for such eyes.
Had my cataract removal on April and October 2016 with IOL insertion Symfoni Lens. I had trouble seeing night driving with red and white light concentric circles. Not seeing well if streets or freeways are not well lit and also doing stuff at home or work at night if light is not well bright. I was not well informed of this artifacts and Abbot not telling about concentric circles. Lots of glares with light when driving sometimes glares is so blinding bright like ambulance or cops light are blinding if you happen to follow them them close. Driving at night is a big challenge and also when raining and foggy are so treacherous to drive. I have to be cautious when driving have no choice but to drive to work need to be alert and attentive all the time.
Well you have to sit down with your surgeon and check your eyes the power of lens you need to have. Have him thorough check your eyes what he wants to do and write down all your questions and concerns.
I know this is weighing heavily on you. You know my story well and it’s been encouraging to see 2 others recently with Symfony lenses be pleased with their results.
Just want to wish you the best. Let us know when your surgery date is and will pray for you and the surgeon that day.
Hey Soks be positive you have done your homework & have the same great highly regarded surgeon as me & I have never seen concentric rings... or had even the slightest problem with my Symfony eagle eye. Sight getting better day by day-driving, no glasses... colors great & saturated... those are just some of the many benefits of replacing a useless cataract eye. Everything turns out right in the end, if it isn't right, it isn't the end!
Hi Soks. I just had left eye on 8-28-18 and right on 9-11-18. And I am right eye dominate. My left eye is now 20-25 and it was 20-40 but my right eye was 20-30 and it is still 20/30 with the IOL. I even paid $450 for each eye for remeasurements with ORA - Optiwave Refractive Analysis. My surgeon has done over 75,000 patients. Now I am told because I am poor that if I got the Lasik it would have been better. Do your research. I did for 6 months of reserach and yes I can see okay without my contacts anymore but now they say they can put me in contacts to better my vision. Go figure. Procedure itself not too bad. Very quick. Best of luck and keep us posted please. Ruby S
I had my eye measured with Ziess IOLMaster 700 with Total Keratometry (TK). It says 16.5D Symfony lens will get me at -0.25 which will make near a little bit better.
Best of luck on your upcoming surgery. I know from the many posts you've written on here that you've certainly done your homework and you're better prepared than 99%+ of cataract patients. Hopefully, you'll get the outcome you are hoping for and the side effects won't seem too bad to you. Reading about the "snowflakes" you're seeing around lighting at night now, leads me to believe that you'll end up pretty satisfied.
Despite the elevated risks of retinal damage due to you age/sex/other, the risk is still really low, so just make sure to contact the doctors ASAP if you notice any flashes or other symptoms after surgery. Chances are it's fine but a call will be reassuring (it helped me).
Since you are going with Symfony, does your surgery come with other ADD cost items like laser or ORA?
Do you get to choose between IV sedation or drops-only or is that not a concern for you?
Yes it will help with glasses or contact lense. I am used to the vision I have now beings the left eye is better than it was with contacts and the right is the same it was with the contacts. Will wait a while to see if I will wear contacts again. I am not a glasses person. (only for reading). I think everything will be okay. My vision is clearer and that is important. You will do well. Thank you. Ruby
Thanks Derek. You are right, post cataract halos hopefully will be bearable than the night time artifacts I am experiencing currently. A doctor friend of mine had told me that most doctors tell to wait on cataract surgery as they want your vision to worsen so that surgery after effects are better than the worsened vision. The righty eye turned for the worse only few days back (4-5). As vision worsens it is a shock. It is depressing then I get used to it until further noticeable worsening and the cycle repeats. I would have loved to wait on better technology lens but the eyes are getting unusable and my life is pretty much getting in hold.
The surgery comes with ORA and femtolaser. I believe they use IV but I think in Dennis' case they decided to just go with the drops. I do not have a preference. I would like to stay awake and be conscious. In fact I am going to ask him if the ORA agree with 16.5 and what aberometer reading is the ORA telling.
I am going to make a visit to the retina surgeon before the surgeon and probably 2 times a year after the surgery.
A colleague who had RD without cataract said it feels like police cars flash lights behind you and a grey curtain over half the vision.
My mother who had RD after YaG, 7 years after. Attract surgery said she would get a red curtain on the vision when she bent down. She left it untreated and lost the vision in that eye.
The colleague got the RD repaired on both eyes with the gas bubble and 30 days of lying face down. He said one eye which as detected early did not restore to 20/20.
Hope all goes well, soks. I won't be far behind you. The cataract in my left eye is pretty bad, and the one in my right eye is not so good either. I have my first appointment with an eye surgeon in a couple of days. I'm planning to go with monofocals because, for me, the limited depth of field advantage of the Symfony isn't worth the increased possibility of night vision issues. It's an individual choice though, and I wish you the best.