I wasn't seeing any improvement with halos, starbursts and flares, and ghosting when reading letters and signs in daylight. I decided to have a lens exchange and had both symfony lenses replaced with monofocal Abbot model ZC800 in March 2017. My left eye is good at 20/20 vision, but I have blurry vision in my right eye which seems to be due largely to some residual swelling and light entering and reflecting off the underside of the IOL, according to the surgeon. I am having follow up visits with him, with the possibility of laser touch up. Even so, my night vision is better than with the Symfony lenses.
Another Canadian here...been following your story lloyd82196 because mine is nearly identical. Had Symfonys put in Feb. 2016. Got rid of two prescription eyeglasses...for reading and computer. Unfortunately my distance is less sharp than before...intermediate about the same, and I have all the glare, ghosting, halos etc. that you do. When I discovered the recall of the lenses, I phoned Abbott USA and they were clueless. Told me to call Abbott Canada...also clueless and scoffed that I had found that information 'online'. They did, however, check it out when I mentioned FDA and my serial numbers for my lenses were not in the recall. Prior to surgery I was far-sighted with stage 2 cataracts and one of the two optometrists who work for my surgeon suggested lenses to avoid laser now and surgery in a year or two. Sounded logical. I researched my surgeon and the lenses thoroughly and felt confident. Until finding this site and your story, it seemed I was the only one having problems with my very expensive [same price as you] lenses, so it was comforting to find you. And softwaredev is very knowledgeable...saw him/her on another site...and seems to give good, unbiased opinions. Apart from all the halos, glare, blur, ghosting, spokes from lights, visible concentric rings from certain coloured lights, I also have some jittering/strobing when reading and I can see the outer edge of my left lens...the right cleared up but the left is the same. I should mention that I have rather bothersome, large floaters from vitreous gel detachments in both eyes from several years ago [they have never settled out, as promised]. I suspect that they contribute to the glare and blurring. My eyes are also dry, which may also contribute. Post-surgery, the surgeon has never seen me...patients get sent to his optometrists. This morning I phoned and will be seeing my surgeon shortly. Thanks for your posts...and software dev's...I now feel not so alone. I wish you all the luck in the world lloyd 82196 and look forward to hearing of your progress.
Hi Linda - I too am Canadian East Coast. Scheduled for cataract surgery in 3 weeks with Symfony lenses. This is girst I have read about a recall and yours and Lloyd's situations have me very worried about my choice. I am in my early 50s and thought these lenses would give me good vision all round as I work full time with computer and paperwork. Really wondering if I should now change my mind and go with a monofocal. It would be awful to spend $1800 and find out I couldn't live with Symfony lenses.
Question are all monofocals the same or are some better than others?
I feel for your situations and pray you get answers and solutions from your surgeons.
Hi Sue.An. The recall doesn't scare me as my lenses were not in that batch. At least somebody at Abbott is doing quality control...eventually...even though neither the US nor Canadian reps I spoke with knew anything about it. Softwaredev's suggestion to get a second opinion is a terrific one!!! I wish I had done that...it might allay your fears or even steer you in a different direction. I had my appointment with my eye surgeon yesterday...first time I've seen him or spoken with him since my surgery over 15 months ago. He says my results are excellent and is perplexed with my blurring and glare, calling me one of the few outliers. Apparently nearly everyone loves their Symfony results. He suggested I ramp up my efforts to increase tear production and that many of my problems are due to my dry eyes. He dismisses the possibility of floater interference saying that they will settle in time...that I do not believe!!...have had them for over 7 years. People without huge floaters don't have a clue how problematic they are. He also said he could tweak my eyes with laser to try to lessen the blur but that that might result in me occasionally having to wear glasses...which was the primary reason I went in for surgery in the first place...to get rid of them!! All in all, the appointment was somewhat disappointing. I mentioned to him that if I had had a sneak preview of my post-surgery results with Symfony, I would have declined them. He replied that if I had had a preview of results with monofocals, I would have been even more disappointed...I assume he meant because I would likely be an outlier with them too...I really don't know. In my initial research I did not include monofocals so can't comment on them, other than hearsay from others...who seem to like theirs. A close friend got them about 16 years ago and has loved them ever since!!! Do yourself a favour and get that second opinion and put your mind at rest!! Thanks for your good wishes and the same to you!!! Linda
ps. for what it's worth I can use my computer very well without glasses. I adjust the brightness to lessen the floater effect. I can read OK most of the time but sometimes the ghosting effect is annoying.
Linda,
I have had my Symfony lens since February this year. I have posted all of my surgery informations... the good with my right eye... and the problems we encountered with my left eye, as they occurred here somewhere on this patient site. I am not real familiar with message boards as I should be, so my messages/posts are scattered here and there. But if you look up everything I have posted to this date... you will see what I have gone through to get the good vision that I now have. I have an excellent surgeon that put in the lens, and even though I had a few drawbacks with my left eye... he took me by the hand, did multiple tests, reconfigured, and I was amazed at the progress we made together! He spent hours with me... and I have the photos, looking back... I see that unless the surgeon is willing to take the time to examine, over and over the surgical process, and not rely on first tests... (very important!), as he took three sets of measurements on my left eye, and my eye had changed over the time these were taken etc. We let the eye heal of all swelling and went back to remove the capsule first, and then another time for cornea surgery... to correct a small amount of blur, caused by astigmatism that was small, but showed up on yet a third measurement. All this took a total of three months to completion. I find no fault with my Symfony lens. They are wonderful. I had done my research throughly and have come to the conclusion... by reading the reviews from my surgeons website... (All of his patients are very happy with the end result), that the Symfony lens are about as perfect as you can get to having perfect vision. It was time consuming and the post surgery laser treatments that brought me to this point... it was not the fault of the lens for my setbacks, but the changes in my eye. I am just very thankful that I have a Surgeon that took the time to dig deeper and question his very own every step, along the way. His transparency and continued care for me was amazing.
After having the Symfony lenses I was able to read books, laptop, iPad and iPhone without my normal (non-prescription) readers. However, this did not compensate for the ghosting/3D effects when reading captions on my TV or signs or screens etc. The halos, starbursts, flares of oncoming headlights were a real problem for me with nightime driving. Before the cataracts (which were fairly mild) I had excellent intermediate and long vision. I have had to use readers for over 10 years for close up work. After monitoring the symfony results for about a year and after many consultations and follow-ups with my eye surgeon, I decided to have the symfony lenses removed and replaced with Abbott model ZC800 monofocal lenses in March 2017. I was told that I would need to revert back to my readers for close up vision and this is the case. My left eye has absolutely no problems and indeed have 20/20 vision in both eyes. However, I have this strange sensation of having a slight eyelash presence and slight sheen/translucent effect in my right eye, Daylight/sunlight entering the right eye causes a blurring, and this is reduced when i wear sunglasses. I reported this at a follow up visits with one of the other doctors at the clinic (not my surgeon). He thought it might by light reflecting off the underside of the lens. I am going back for further follow up and testing in August 2017 and see what can be done. My surgeon still keeps saying that my eye is still healing and should improve, but honestly I'm not too confident in this prognosis, as this is what I was told with the Symfony lenses after 12 months. We'll see!
Good morning Sharon 13639,
I'm not familiar with message boards either and can't find any of your previous posts, but that's OK...sounds like you have ended up in a very good place!! Your surgeon is a real angel! You are lucky in that you are in the majority of people who love Symfony lenses. I don't necessarily blame the lenses...or my surgeon...or who knows what? We are all so individual that it might be impossible to ever know who will have great results with the Symfony surgery and who won't. Anhow, I am happy that you are not one of the outliers. Your research and determination have paid off and kudos to your surgeon who did not give up!! Wishing you continued enjoyment of your new eyes!!!
Thanks Linda. Where I live to restart process for second opinion is a long wait time. I do know my surgeon has lots of experience and I went back 2nd time to see if any pre-op tests indicated Inwiuld not be a good candidate for Symfony lenses and all tests indicate my eyes are healthy. of course what's under your natural lens may be a surprise and cause issues but maybe that would affect monofocal lenses too.
Wish I lived in bigger city - more options. St least in Canada the surgeons aren't motivated by profit as they get paid same regardless of lens type I chose. He says I should get good results based on tests done no matter which lens I choose. But each has a compromise that I have to make. That comment was based on the fact I currently have good near vision at 53 with cataracts. I don't wear glasses to read or for my iPhone. So if I opt for monofocal lenses I will lose near or distance. Given I cannot try contacts to see if monovision works he would not recommend darting one for near and one for distance. With Symfony I would have to compromise a little (although negligible) distance and may need cheater glasses for very small print and there good be halos and glare at night.
Of course that is the best outcome - there could be complications due to surgery or some unknown factor that could compromise my vision. There just st is no 100% sure thing in surgery.
Hey lloyd 82196, I hear you. My pre-op eye situation was identical to yours and agree that the trade-off...the surgery for me was just to rid myself of glasses...was not worth all the new problems. In trying to be objective about my situation, I remind myself that I am [unfortunately] a perfectionist and that if I could go back in time, I might find that I am merely 'romanticizing' about how great my eyes used to be, how well I could read street signs, how mild my cataracts were, and how I should have left well enough alone, etc. I apparently now have 20/20 vision too and got re-scanned this week to make sure nothing had changed, as happened to sharon 13639. I casually mentioned to my family doctor that I wondered about getting my Symfonys removed and he replied...and I don't mean to worry you because he is not ophthalmology-savvy...that the outcomes are not always any better. My surgeon seemed to agree, but that is with regard to me and not the masses. As for your phantom eyelash in your right eye, it sounds exactly like mine. Mine is like a blackish curved line that seems to have a bit of 'thickness' to it, if that makes any sense. Depending on the light, it is more or less visible. For instance, if I sit by a window so that light hits my left eye from the outer side [where the 'lash'] is, and if I waggle my finger in the outer perimeter of that eye, I see two fingers...that is why I am certain it is the edge of the lens. My right eye had the same but cleared up in a few months. I don't think the left is going anywhere soon but it doesn't drive me as crazy as all the blurring and halos etc. The perfectly shaped concentric rings from night time house lights are also evidence that there is reflection from the lens itself...these rings are not glowing or spiking or moving...they are perfect. When I mentioned this to my surgeon he told me to 'just look past them'. I refrained from punching him in the nose!!!
Has anyone out there tried light yellow coloured lenses to remove some of these aberations? They have been suggested to me.
I am very interested in your new lenses lloyd 82196 and hope you will keep us all up to date on your progress...at least your have had improvement over the Symfonys!!
Nope...no sure thing in surgery or elsewhere, but you sound confident in your surgeon and that goes a long way to a happy outcome. You are a lot younger than I am. My friend, who got her lenses 16 years ago, was 50 at the time. I would speculate that younger eyes probably have fewer problems. My surgeon did, however, say my eyes are very healthy for my age [70]. I would take issue with your statement that Canadian surgeons are not motivated by money, but that is a topic for another time. Anyhow, best of luck and think positive!!!
Are you still on any of the forums. Would like to know whether you changed your lenses and how it worked out
Yes veepee, just scroll up a few posts in this thread and see how my Symfony lens exchange is going on.
Hi Linda, wrote a long story and deleted. The first thing I tried were the yellow glasses. ( I actually used to wear them when I was in my early 20's to help with glare from oncoming vehicles. It did help me a lot that time) but it did not help an iota. Tried pink, tried brown, tried blue. Tried them all. Does not help with starburst and halos.
Apart from the "eyelash" problem would you say your eyes are much better? I've got this decision to make - do I do it? I really don't mind wearing glasses. That was totally normal vision. Starbursts and halos are preventing me from having any life after dusk
Hi veepee,
I originally bought my yellow lenses to block blue light from tv, pc, tablet etc. This was recommended to combat insomnia. I haven't given them a fair trial for that problem but have tried them for night driving. They don't help and I found information online saying they are actually dangerous for that purpose...they cut out objects in the shadows. It's interesting that you have tried coloured lenses because only this week I discovered Irlen, a condition that prevents the brain from processing or interpreting visuals correctly. Practitioners use coloured filters or lenses which sometimes help the patients. There seems to be only one practitioner in my area and I have emailed her, but so far, no response. Irlen has nothing to do with lens problems but I tried some samples of background colours on my pc and a light blue one was easier on my eyes...the yellow one was not good at all!! It might be worth a try. I will keep you posted if she responds and if I try them. If the line I have in my left eye is the same as lloyd82196's 'eyelash', to me it's no big deal. But everyone's tolerance is different...my surgeon thinks my floaters are no big deal but they drive me insane!! Same goes for my tinnitus...I can cope with mine but a friend of a friend shot himself in the head because he couldn't stand it!!
Linda
I would say the left one is much better. The jury is still out on the right one and I just hope it can be fixed. Light entering that eye is causing the blurriness and eyelash sensation, but that could also be caused by the weepiness that dry eye produces. I put drops into that eye regularly for the dry eye. With the lighter nights, and only having the lens replacements in March, it is too early to say if the night vision is any better, but I think it might be from the small amount of night driving that I've done.
Thanks, hope at long last.
I tried the different colours (non prescription of course) and returned them when they did not work. The new opthamologist I went to suggested it. You know I tried it thinking it would help with the glare etc.
Don't be surprised if I shoot myself too if I can't get my problem fixed. Need to first buy a gun and go for some shooting practise.. Just kidding. Am frustrated as hell but not to that extent - not yet anyway
veepee...if your eyesight is that bad, you will probably miss!!!...haha...sorry, couldn't resist. OK, here is what I am doing since my appointment last week. 2 or more times a day I apply a hot pack to my eyes. I got sick of a dripping wet cloth, which I had tried previously, and ordered a 'mask' online that you nuke for 20 seconds. My surgeon told me I only need to leave it on my eyes for 2 minutes...yay!! At that point my eyes are watery and I massage them according to his instructions...which amounts to digging my fingers above and below the eyeballs and into the eye socket. Twice a day I use Hi Lo...2%...eyedrops...expensive because they are preservative-free. 2 or more times a week I shampoo the base of my upper and lower lashes with baby shampoo. Sounds awful but it doesn't sting. This regime must be helping lubricate my eyes, although I didn't think they were THAT dry. I think dryness causes a bit of abrasion on the corneas, which can cause distortion, from what I have read. Maybe it's a coincidence but the halos at night seem smaller. Have you tried anything like this?
Are you a doctor?