I am a 35 year old female who has a family history of cataracts on both sides of family at a young age. I had cataract surgery in June and July of 2015 on both eyes and had a monofocal lens implanted in both eyes. I never really had the feeling that my vision was better after either of these surgeries. The doctor continued to dismiss my concerns and suggested the laser YAG surgery for my left eye. I delayed this because I as so unhappy and was driving with halos at night after the surgeries. In April of 2016, I moved forward with the YAG surgery hoping this as the answer but this made everything worse. I can no longer drive at night due to starburst and and am left struggling to get home before the sun goes down every night from work
I have been to four other eye doctors in my area and all of their diagnosis disagree. The last Doctor I saw today sent me for a $200 hard contact trial to rule out it being the astigmatism causing the problem but sadly I can't afford this. She also discuss eye drops to constrict my pupil but these all have their own risk. She will not let me move forward without the contact trial first which I have told her that contacts had never work well with me in the past due my constant allergies. So I am left fighting like so many other for answers that seems no likely to come with out divine intervention. So I pray every night for me and so many others out there like me for answers.
I don't know what to tell you about your halo problem. I have had cataract surgery on both eyes and YAG laser on one. Twenty three years ago I had RK surgery on both eyes that basically destroyed my corneas. Short of a cornea transplant the only thing that has saved my sight is hybrid contacts made by Synergeyes.
They are very expensive but work Very well!
The clues to the problem must be somewhere within the 4 different diagnosis that the other ophthalmologists arrived at
That is the problem Doctor 2 says it is the corneas not being smooth and having an asymmetric astigmatism so she referred me to Doctor 3 he disagreed with be diagnosis. He stated that the yag opening needed to be bigger and maybe the pits that were created in the lens by the Yag were the problem. He referred to Doctor 4 who was in his practice and he stated that I needed LASIK surgery. So I decided to seek a final decision with Doctor 5 today and she stated the above which puts me back at square one with no answers because of finally aspect that continues to add up Honestly she is just grasping a straws to rule things out like everyone else.
So sorry to hear about your troubles, I also had cateract surgery with lots of problems, I will be praying for you.
Thank you! I am so
sorry for you. I will keep you in my prayers too😊
Sorry this reply is a bit late. I can understand your allergy concerns making long term contact lens wear not an option, but would you be able to struggle through it for an evening? I haven't dealt with hard contacts, but I'd speculate that any improvement they cause in correcting astigmatism and an irregular surface of your eye would take place as soon as you put them on and so it seems like you should be able to test out your night vision right away. The first step to figuring out how to treat the issue is to be sure of the diagnosis and it seems like testing to see if a hard contact lens will correct the cornea well enough would be a first step, even if it isn't a long term solution for the problem.
There are some surgeons that are known for expertise in dealing with dysphotopsias, so I'm wondering if you were referred to any of those among the different doctors you went to or if you were just trying different doctors that were nearby at random? I don't know what area you are in, if any specialists might be near there or if its a bad enough situation that you might consider expending the time&money to travel elsewhere to a doctor who has more experience with the issues.
I don't know what you use for allergy treatment, but if you just use allergy pills, perhaps you might try out allergy eye drops to see if they might make a contact lens trial more comfortable, either non prescription or prescription.
Also, I don't know how recently you've tried contacts since they do get better all the time so perhaps you'd have better luck with newer ones if you hadn't tried in the last several years (I know many folks try when they become an adult and then often give up if they don't work). I also have constant allergies, though likely not as bad as yours since I was able to wear soft contacts most of the time. With older soft lenses I needed to stop wearing them during the worst of allergy periods, but not with the newest lenses. Although it sounds like in your case you might require a hard contact lens to smooth the cornea (or a hybrid lens), if instead its merely regular astigmatism that needs to be corrected, perhaps a soft contact lens that corrects for astigmatism would work well enough (even if it doesn't correct it quite as well as a hard contact would).
Allergy pills have also improved over the years, if you haven't experimented with newer ones recently (I know I just found what worked and didn't experiment for years, and then when I did discovered fenofexadine worked better, a cheap generic version).
I had my Cataract/Implant surgery 6 weeks ago and have had various problems. I found a lot of answers on this site on various threads in regard to Cataract/Implant surgery. I've had problems with flickering light, a black arc around my peripheral vision on my right eye. Major issues with halos and sunbursts in headlights and any kind of lights, street lights, porch lights, they are massive and spread out worse than when I h ad Cataracts. I've been reading through some of these threads gave me some answers.
The arc is called Negative Dysphotopsia:
Described as an arc-shaped shadow, usually in the temporal field of vision, is a rare condition that can present after in-the-bag posterior chamber IOL implantation.
The glare halos and streaks is called Positive Dysphotopsia:
In the form of halos, glare, and streaks, is more commonly noticed by patients.
I don't know much about all of this but just finding out by reading a lot on the internet. I have a six week check up tomorrow and will be asking the surgeon about these definitions because he seemed very nonchalant about it and didn't provide me with many answers at any of my appointments. Sorry to say that this has been the worst nightmare of my life....our eyes are everything to us, I have been distraught for over a month trying to adjust and find answers. If I find anything out tomorrow I will post it. Prayers for everyone experiencing this unfortunate circumstance.
Thank you. I will keep you in my prayers.
I had my six week check up. He agreed when I asked about the arc that yes the arc that I see in my peripheral vision on my right eye is Negative Dysphotopsia. He said that the circle around circle, around circle that I'm seeing in headlights, street lights etc. is the lens itself. I know nothing about these lens' other than the card that I received with the implant. The card itself says ACRY Sof IQ Restor UV with blue light filter (that tells me nothing). But he said that the circles around circles and halos beyond is the lens itself. This is all associated with my RIGHT eye.
He has also scheduled me for a Retina specialist to check the eye just to be 100% sure there is no tears in the Retina because if you have a tear in your Retina it could also cause those type of flickers. He feels there is not anything wrong in the Retina but just wants to be extra sure.
His advice to me is that I should wait for at least 6 months to see if my eye adjusts to any of this. I do have to admit that as time passes some of these flashings/flickers and blue dots have subsided considerably, however, they are still there. He said that also the brain has to work with all of this and I do know from reading a lot about all of this that it is true that our brain has to create a path (so to speak) back to the eye. To put it in laymen's terms the brain has lost its path and needs to create a new one. I was in agreement with that when we discussed these issues thanks to some of the reading that I have done.
His other suggestion is that after 6 months I could have the implant removed and put a new one in. The implant that I got I paid extra money out of pocket because health care would not pay for it since it was an implant that would enable me to see far, computer/TV distance and close up. So if I do have it removed and replaced that could possibly eliminate the rings around the lights and the arc but he felt I should wait for a while. I agree, I'm not even sure if I want to go through surgery again, it was an unfortunate experience.
When they removed my Cataract on my LEFT eye, my Iris and my Pupil came OUT!! And had to be stitched back in. I had a black eye for a month a very big purple/blue/black eye that extended 2" below my eye, it was a real nightmare. This was supposedly caused because the Cataract was so think and they had a hard time getting it off. And...once again, I paid extra out of my pocket to have it lasered because it was so bad....thank God I did that or who knows what would have happened to my eye.
So all in all everyone, I will continue to be patient and pray and have hope that this can all be resolved without another surgery.
You will ALL be in my prayers....our eyes are EVERYTHING to us.
Thanks Rene,
I, too, have been very discouraged. I also had the multifocal lenses inserted. It was in Sept, so I will just wait a few more months and hope for the best. There is something wrong with my left eye so I am seeing the Retina doc next week. BTW, I visited my optometrist to have glasses made up for my new vision. The glasses are antiglare and coated for computer work. They are also progressive lens. A complete waste of money! I see much better with my $15.00 readers. I like my docs, but no one, no matter how skilled can actually look out of our eyes and know how we are seeing.
Hi Rene,
I have many of the same symptoms you do. I had a multifocul lens placed in my right eye 7 weeks ago. The starburst, halos, circles, glares are huge and blinding at night. I also am unable to see at intermediete or close up levels even though I paid extra for this.
I see your post was several months ago, so I'm wondering if these symptoms have improved for you over time. Can you let us know if you have found a solution?
Thanks!
I had both eyes done 5and 4 weeks ago with expensive out of pocket multi focal.
Pros distance is fantastic, colors and clarity great.
Cons: can't read anything other than large print clearly. Can't see computer as I had expected. Thought it would be as good as monovision contacts before surgery. Doctor said this is disappointing for him as well but is trying restasis drops to see if dry eyes improve and help close up vision. He doesn't think further lasik will make vast difference in my case.
Halos are big problem also but think I can learn to live with that.
Are my expecta
Were my expectations too high? Would regular lenses have been good enough without throwing out 4000.00? What is you opinion?
I paid 3,300 for this lens. The plans were to pay another 3,300 for the lens in the left eye. I too am wondering why I paid extra. I only have clarity at distance when I wear a contact lens to correct the astimatism that was missed. With this contact lens in, I have NO intermediate or close (without the contact lens, I have very limited intermediate - blurry). I'm wondering if we were better off saving our money and getting a mono lens. I don't think your expectations were too high. The reason we chose these lenses is because the company claimed they would allow us to see clearly at all three distances AND starburts, halos, glares were VERY rare.
Thanks for getting back to me. I'm wondering how many people have this experience?
Me too.
re: "were very rare"
Its unfortunate if someone claimed the issues were "very rare" with a multifocal, since although most people don't have such halo&glare problems, they are far from rare (though the % is much reduced from older multifocals, newer low add bifocals, or trifocals, do better). Most people who do have problematic halo&glare issues initially see them fade over the first few months, which is why most studies only report on the incidence at 3 or 6 months since the concern is whether the problem remains long term.
The fact that it isn't rare though doesn't change the evidence that most people don't have problematic halos&glare. Unfortunately even if issues were rare, *someone* winds up being the statistic and tends to assume they aren't unique so the problem must be common... even if it isn't. Those with problems are more likely to post in a place like this than those with good results, so you get a skewed view of the issues. People getting a premium lens should be prepared that there is a small chance they'll have problems requiring a lens exchange, with the benefit being that if it works well you'll have a better range of vision.
There are over 20 million cataract surgeries worldwide, with the most recent data I'd seen indicating 2.4% of them are with presbyopia correcting lenses (though I don't know the breakout of what % are multifocals), which sugggests > 480,000 people getting them each year, so it only takes a tiny % with problems to account for the posts online about them. Since they moderate links, the place i saw the figure can be found by googling:
"According to Market Scope, presbyopia-correcting lenses only account for 2.4% of total IOLs implanted globally in 2014."
Though it doesn't give any more stats in that article. The % is far higher in developed countries of course like the US and the UK, and those most likely to get a premium IOL paid for out of pocket are those who have internet access and may come online when they have troubles.
People are more likely to have problematic halos&glare than with a monofocal (even monofocals can cause problems, there is no IOL yet that doesn't), but usually they are consistent in terms of providing better near (unlike the Crystalens where a noticeable minority are known not to get much better than a monofocal). The overhwelming majority of people are happy with multifocals, and most don't have problematic halo&glare issues, and most who do initially see the issues fade over the first few months.
The lack of vision at intermediate & near when corrected for distance does sound like something unusual, and suggests either some other eye problem interfering with vision, e.g. perhaps still healing from the surgery in some way or some other eye problem the cataract was hiding that they haven't found yet, or otherwise it'd make me wonder if they mistakenly put in a monofocal. The studies I've seen, and the surgeons talking about lenses in the trade literature indicate that a minority have complaints about multifocals in terms of halos&glare, but a total lack of near isn't something I've seen talked about as being a concern, merely less near then hoped for, so it could be that you are just taking longer to adapt.
Each person is different, it isn't clear if you'd have even worse vision with a monofocal or if there is something keeping you from adapting as quickly as most people do with multifocals. Neuroadaptation can sometimes take some months to get the best quality near vision, but usually I get the impression they have at least some near fairly soon. This sounds poorer than should be expected based on anything I'd read (and I read a lot before deciding what to get, though I went with the Symfony rather than a multifocal). Which multifocals?
A multifocal IOL puts images from different focal points on your retina, the physics is well understood, there isn't anything that would prevent the lens from doing that job (assuming there wasn't a mixup and you got the wrong lens). What is less understood is how the brain manages to pick the right image out of the ones its getting. So the issue is if there is some other eye problem interfering with the multifocal image somehow (e.g. an eye problem degrading the quality of vision, which is good enough for the distance image to be made out but not the other focal points), or if you aren't neuroadapting for some reason, your brain isn't picking out the right image, perhaps it will merely take more time.
Well, Hello....to everyone! It's been a while since I've indulged in reading up on any additional information regarding my experience so I'll just give you all an update on my status.
It's been six months and just about everything is the same, my eyesight, the Negative Dysphotopsia and the Positive Dysphotopsia. My surgeon suggested that I could have the right eye done again. This is the eye that has the circle around circle, halo around halo when I look at the headlights or any lights for that matter. He said that this was reflections coming from the lens itself, the lens that I paid an extra ±$3,000 (of the $5,000 extra I paid out of pocket).
I've read so many negative comments about "another surgery" that I've pretty much opted out of another surgery. The reason being is because I "can" see, I don't want to take ANY chances of losing any more than I have right now. I can see computer distance, TV distance but most of the time I need a magnifying glasses to read a recipe on a box etc. I can see, but I can't see like I used to with my trifocal glasses. I tried the reading glasses and they simply do nothing for me except I feel like they make things blurry. So the bottom line is I've decided that I'll live with the Negative Dysphotopsia and the Positive Dysphotopsia, lucky me I get both. My one eye went through so much trauma I just feel like I need to accept where I am and live with it. I will never drive in the night, the lights are so exaggerated that I can't see properly. So here I am six months later kinda in the same boat but adjusting and accepting. I've attached a picture of one of my eyes, I STILL have scaring and browness beneath my eye that I don't think will ever go away. This is one of the reasons I'm opting out of another surgery, it was so painful and so unbelievable. I realize not everyone experiences something like this and I wish this on NOBODY! It's getting better but I figure I shouldn't take any more chances.
Well wishes to all of you who have had so many problems as I have and prayers for everyone's speedy recovery.
Thanks softwaredev for you in-depth response. I think I have made a mistake that I have realize after reading your response. You are indicating that the Symfony is different from a multifocal. I have the Symfony toric lens. Even though it's a toric, I still have astimatism (that we have attempted to correct with a contact lens). With this lens, I was hoping for close, intermediate, and distance without starburst, halos, glows. I only have distance (with the contact lens) and huge starburst, halos, glows. Since you also have the Symfony, did you have any of the same issues I have and if so how long did it take for them to improve? Thank you so much for the time you have spent to respond and I'm sorry I mislabeled my lens.