I had pretty much decided to get the Symfony multifocal. My husband likes his. I have had monovision contacts for almost 20 years and had no trouble adjusting. But it just seems to me if both eyes are working together it’s got to be better. Then the doctor told me in my case it’s a toss-up or maybe 51% in favor of monovision.
What is making me re-think this is that my dad had macular degeneration.
The tech sent me this email-
A family history of ARMD is something we like to take into account. Having family history increases your risk of developing macular degenration (though doesn't guarantee it). In folks that have macular degenration we typically advise against getting the multifocal as the quality will likely be limited. In people who have no sign of macular degenration at the moment (such as yourself), we are certainly ok with people pursuing the multifocal. However, if you wanted to pursue the most conservative approach, pursuing monovision would over the multifocal would likely be a better option if you were to develop macular degenration later in life.
Do I am really having trouble deciding.
I went thru the same thing just recently and I picked mini-monovision monofocal over Symfony. I'm quite happy with my results, mostly based on cost and the desire to be safe from possible complications. I do have to wear glasses which I don't mind.
Good luck whatever you choose.
Getting a Symfony lens and having monovision are not two exclusive options.
I have a Symfony lens set for the best focus for far distance and a monofocal lens set for best focus at about 17 inches. My day vision is good at all distances from about 15 inches to far away. However, I wish that I had better night vision due to the annoying multiple concentric circles which I see around lights at night.
If you would rather not wear glasses at all, I would suggest getting a monofocal lens set for far distance in the dominant eye and a Symfony lens set for the best focus at about 40 inches (corresponding to about -1.0D). That combination should give reasonably good vision down to about 16-18 inches and with hopefully less night vision issues than my combination.
If you don't mind using glasses for reading and would rather not take any chances on seeing the multiple circles around lights at night, then getting 2 monofocal lenses with slight monovision (one plano and the other at -1.0D) will also be a very good choice.
Hello Susan, you might want to consider getting a second opinion, perhaps from a retinal specialist, to help you decide. What your ophthalmologist told you is somewhat surprising to me, as I'm faced with the same problem...my mother had AMD, though she developed it in her early sixties, and I'm now 66 with no sign of it. I consulted a retinal specialist and two ophthalmologists, and mentioned that my mother had AMD, yet none of them said anything about me not choosing Symfony lenses because of it. (The only reason I'd gone to the retinal doc for a consult actually had do with my having had a retinal tear in one eye many decades ago, and I was--and still am--worried about having cataract surgery because it raises your risk of future retinal tears/detachments a bit for everybody, and I'm already at higher risk for another tear due to already having had one.) Like you, I had just about decided on a Symfony lens too, but your comment makes me wonder if that really would be best. Honestly, I always thought my mother's heavy smoking was what had probably caused her AMD, as no one else in the family had/has it that I know of. and smoking can be one of the causes.
Hi Susan 44499
I can relate to your indecision - it isn’t an easy choice. I have 2 Symfony lenses and am happy with them. I seem to recall reading something about what your opthamologist said concernig macular degeneration and multifocal IOLs. But technically the Symfony isn’t a multifocal although most people refer to them as that. But they are in a class by themselves as EDOF (extended depth of focus). You might want to check with the Opthamologist to see if that changes anything.
I went through that same decision process. I'm going to start with a mono-focal set for distance in my cataract affected left eye, and then think about what I want in my other eye as it gets cataract over time. At the moment, I'm okay for near vision in my right eye. I just think mono-focals are a more conservative option. That isn't to say that people don't have great results with the Symfony though too. I guess it's just a matter of preference.
G
I was considering multifocal toric symfony lenses but after seeing all the posts of people seeing halos and or concentric rings, I decided to postpone my surgery as I can still see 20 20 with my glasses with a bit of difficulty in dark situations. Dr said I could wait. So, I may just go with clear lenses with no vision correction and continue to wear glasses. Good luck with whatever you choose.
Hi Edgru2 - my thoughts mimic yours. This isn’t the procedure to do just to be glasses free. Lens aren’t perfect neither is hitting an exact target so although one can be less dependant on glasses no surgeon can fulfill the promise that you are glasses free. If that’s what they are telling patients - be wary of that surgeon. Red flag (or miniumum yellow cautious flag) they are in it for the
money.
Although we aren’t a big sampling of patients - I have noted that those of us who came to the forums looking for info about Symfony lenses and went ahead with it are happy with them. To my knowledge all the negative posts (not discounting their pain and I satisfaction) but they went looking once they had an issue with them.
For me they are great and I am pleased with the result- they do have a compromise of set multiple concentric circles around certain light sources but I was aware of that prior to surgery.
I believe most people are satisfied with cataract surgery results (regardless of lens type) and don’t think to post anything.
Just my 2 cents.
Hi
my dr is contimplating swithching out my symfony toric for monofocal his reasoning is he never had a case where symfony lens had problems especially clarity in intermediate vision which is very fuzzy by me and feels cloudy even when i put on 1.5+ to read. Does any one out there had this problem with symfony toric in intermediate that u need gladses for intermediate also does the vision appear cloudy like a wrapper was left on the iol.
thx orshulim
ps he claims does 50 catarcts aweek total all diff kinds
You are smart to be considering the long-term consequences of this decision. My doctor recommended a monofocal IOL due to a history of retinal tear, but after doing a bit of research I would not have opted for anything but a monofocal. No one has a crystal ball, but If we are fortunate to live a long life, the risk of all types of retinal compromise (from glaucoma, macular degeneration, retinal detachment, etc.) increases. The risks of multi-focal/EDOF lenses are well documented. Even with an ideal outcome and healthy retinas, some artifacts (the concentric circles) seem to be inevitable. For me the most compelling argument for monofocal IOLs is that the greatest “risk” of monofocal IOLs (needing correction for certain distances) is CORRECTABLE, whereas the greatest risk from multi-focals (concentric circles, halos, starbursts, flares, poor night driving vision, etc.) is UNCORRECTABLE. Personally, I wouldn’t be willing to roll the dice, so to speak, just to eliminate glasses or contacts, since the outcome has life-long consequences. With your long-term positive experience using monovision contacts, you seem to be in a particularly good position to consider various combinations with monofocal IOLs. Whether you get symmetrical mono IOLs or some degree of monovision, you can still temporarily alter it with a single contact lens any time you like.
Best of luck.
Bella, everything you've stated is true, except (as SueAn. noted previously), Symfony is an extended depth of field lens, functioning differently than a multi-focal. And as with most of the eye diseases you mentioned, it is well-known that monofocal IOLs don't work well with them either. My mother, with macular degeneration, was not helped at all with her monofocal IOLs, even though her cataracts were removed. So if you don't plan to drive much at night, and would like not like having to wear glasses for most everything AND doubt you could adjust to much mono vision (like me), then Symfony can be a good choice, too. As we get older (I'm already 66) I know that many of us will value having mid-range vision without having to find our glasses, and if I want to get rid of my moderate astigmatism, I'd have to pay for premium lenses, anyway. However, time will tell, and I've definitely got my fingers crossed, but that would be the case with any lens I chose.
I'd like to present still another option with monofocal lens with little or no monovision. Both BellaD and I have -1.25/-1.50 after cataract surgery. In my case, I ended up with that combination "by mistake". I was or actually my surgeon was shooting for -1.75/-1.00 mini-monovision. You could say that my surgeon botched the plan and ended up with little or no monovision of -1.50/-1.25. Well, I actually like the results if you could believe it. As BellaD would put it, she calls it "walk around" vision. Indeed, I could do almost everything without glasses. The intermediate vision is superb. The distance and near are passable, not great but functional. You don't have night vision artifacts to deal with and no monovision to adjust to. And if you really desire great distance and near visions, you can easily obtain them by either glasses or contact lens. Otherwise, I find no problem >90% of the time.
Just one more option to consider...
Yes really do think there is more than one way to get the results one desires. Just have to think about what is most important. For a good two months I kept trying to base my decision on what compromise to make and drove myself a little nuts. Caused anxiety too if I am honest. I like started to tho k about what I wanted more (the positive outcome) and then decided for me it was all round vision for my waking hours. I don’t drive for a living - few months if the year I have to drive home from work in the dark but I spend 8+ hours with computers and spreadsheets. I knew I would be getting the night time artifacts but now that it has been 7 months those aren’t nearly as bad or maybe my expectations were it would be worse than this.
But yes setting monofocals to see intermediate and close is a good alternative. My surgeon didn’t really suggest that option or I may have considered it more. Wearing glasses for reading and computer considering where I spend large chunks of time was not a good solution for me. I had good vision for those prior to cataracts and that seemed hard to deal with.
What is mini monovision and why do you have to wear glasses? I don’t need to with my monovision contacts.
When I said Symfony I meant the multifocal lens.
My dad was a smoker too. The doctor didn’t say he wouldn’t do a multifocal lens, just that in people who already have ARMD he wouldn’t and if I were to develop it later on, i’d Be better off with monovision than multifocal.
I guess I am calling it the wrong thing then but the doctor said he’d use the Symfony if he doesn’t do monovision.
Everyone I know who has them says the haloes are very mild and not bothersome.
I was surprised my doctor wasn’t pushing the Symfony , since he stands to make a bigger profit with those.
I would rather wear glasses for night driving than have to pull out a pair of readers 20 or 30 times a day. Readers for fine print in dim light would be acceptable.