I am so sorry I haven't posted. Left eye as you know was done last Tuesday. ALl is well except I can see the lens out of the left corner of my eye. A little disrupting at times. Funny thing is when I cover my right eye I can't see it. Dr. said 98% of the time it subsides but sometimes doesn't. He feels it will when my right eye is done. The eye drops are a pain in the butt but I know very necessary so will be religious in using them. At times I feel like I didn't get it in and am hoping I am not putting 2 in at times. Oh My! Right eye will be done on Thursday. I am looking ofrward to balancing my vision out as it just stinks having a good and a bad, 2 bads. I feel like i haven't seen clearly forever. I am a little anxious about having the right eye done but not because the surgery was bad. I guess just nervous is normal.

Now onto you. How is everything? Now that you have both done is all OK? Please forgive me for making you worry and update me on how you are.

ICC;)

I am so sorry I haven't posted. Left eye as you know was done last Tuesday. ALl is well except I can see the lens out of the left corner of my eye. A little disrupting at times. Funny thing is when I cover my right eye I can't see it. Dr. said 98% of the time it subsides but sometimes doesn't. He feels it will when my right eye is done. The eye drops are a pain in the butt but I know very necessary so will be religious in using them. At times I feel like I didn't get it in and am hoping I am not putting 2 in at times. Oh My! Right eye will be done on Thursday. I am looking ofrward to balancing my vision out as it just stinks having a good and a bad, 2 bads. I feel like i haven't seen clearly forever. I am a little anxious about having the right eye done but not because the surgery was bad. I guess just nervous is normal.

Now onto you. How is everything? Now that you have both done is all OK? Please forgive me for making you worry and update me on how you are.

ICC I am so glad you are ok. When you have your other eye done it will balance out your vision.With only my left eye done I could see everything close up even the fine print but distance was a problem. When my other eye was done it allowed me to see distance also but my near vision wasn't as good but that is what it is supposed to be. With the lens I have you need reading glasses as I was told from the very start.
I am so ready to stop the drops one more week and I am through.
Thanks for updating me I tend to worry about some special people.

ICC;)

Glad all is well with you Lorriem. Aren't the drops a pain? I had to make a chart so I don't get confused as to which eye is getting what. LOL. I figured all would balance out when the other eye is done. It's just so nerve wracking trying to focus. Surgeon told me the same thing. Will probably need reading glasses. I have always been far sighted and am now in the left eye. Can see a mile BUT do need to put a pair of reading glasses on to read small print. Makes no difference to me. It's just so much better than having those nasty cataracts blocking your vision. Keep in touch. You are special also;)


ICC

I could see the edges of the lens in my left eye...it's the crystalens implant, and is a relatively smaller lens. It's been a couple of years now and I only notice it briefly when I first go outside on a dark night and my pupils expand.

Thanks seriousperson......Surgeon said it's usually temporary but sometimes is permanent. FUnny thing is I don't see it when i cover my right eye. Having the right eye done tomorrow so am hoping for as good results as I got with the left.


ICC

New to the board here. Jodie from the other board told me about this one. I have a Crystalens in my left eye, implanted 8/14. I can see my "edge" too. I was starting to think my lens had decentered but sounds like this may be a "normal" occurence. That gives me hope.
I have been having a lot of light issues with my Crystalens so dr. has agreed to postpone my second surgery on the right eye. I have flickering and glare in bright light (especially flourescent lighting). So far I don't feel like I am getting any accomodation out of this lens. I realize it is still early. My distance vision is pretty good, but not as good as with my contact lens in the other eye. My intermediate and near is terrible and I just realized I am seeing a ghost image when I try to read with it.
My doctor wants to do a Restor lens in the right eye so you and I are going to have to do some serious talking Serious Person ;) Would you do it all over again, given the choice? My main misgiving about Restor is night vision problems. I have to say my Crystalens seems pretty good for night driving. Does anyone know someone who has a Crystalens set for near vision? That seems to be another suggested alternative.

Hi Ashley......I had my left done on 8/21 and my right done on 8/30. I'm still a little out of sorts as far as seeing the outer lens in the left eye and still a little flickering in the right eye. I need a pair of 125 reading glasses for small print but other than that can read 2 blocks away and at arms length. I am pleased, glad I had both done so close together and just hope that some of the minor things I am experiencing are temporary. They are more annoying than anything else. Was checked by the surgeon on friday and he said all looks wonderful. Have a slight scratch on my right cornea and a little swelling but he feels the swelling is normal. Forgot to tell him I scratched my right eye pretty bad 3 years ago and saw his partner. Don't know if maybe it's a little scar. Wishing everyone the best.

ICC

Are both your lenses Crystalens?

You know what Ashley? I'm not positive but am 99% sure. I have to call the surgi-center on Tuesday because they gave me a card with the ID # for my right eye when I left on Thursday but never gave me one for my left one. I will get the card when I go downstairs and let you know IF it's even the same lens we're talking about.

ICC

...I have a Crystalens in my left eye, implanted 8/14. I can see my "edge" too. ...Over time the brain filters out the edge view. It helps if you try to ignore it consciously. I only see it now when I walk out into the night. Not sure if it would go away if I took a longer night walk. I'll have to try that.
...I have been having a lot of light issues with my Crystalens so dr. has agreed to postpone my second surgery on the right eye. I have flickering and glare in bright light (especially flourescent lighting)....I'm not sure how much of this I had. I too postponed my second surgery because I wasn't too happy with the first one. But I didn't postpone it too long because my eyes were so different and I can't wear contacts because of dry eye.

...So far I don't feel like I am getting any accommodation out of this lens. I realize it is still early. My distance vision is pretty good, but not as good as with my contact lens in the other eye. My intermediate and near is terrible...My intermediate is very good, but not my close-intermediate (like computer). My near is bad except in the brightest of sunlight, and then it's still not good. My distance is pretty good. When asked, I had told them that good intermediate vision would be best, but I think it was set more towards distance. The optometrist who works in the ophthalmologist's office did the measuring for that eye. I was initially so unhappy with it that the ophthalmologist did the measuring for my right eye. The accommodation is pretty subtle. I don't think I did the exercises enough in the beginning, but I couldn't see the things on the chart that I was supposed to see, so it was pretty impossible.

...and I just realized I am seeing a ghost image when I try to read with it.So, can you read with it without glasses? If so, that's pretty good. I have the ghost effect when reading with my right (Restor) eye without glasses. I have wondered if the ghost effect is because the eyes are different. I can now (2 years later) ignore/not see the ghost when I read without glasses, which I pretty much only do in bed at night -- otherwise I wear reading glasses.

...My doctor wants to do a Restor lens in the right eye so you and I are going to have to do some serious talking Serious Person ;) ...Hey, that would make us implant twins. :jester: Actually, my doctor said he thought the crystalens - Restor combo might become an advised combination. You don't live in the northern suburbs of Chicago, do you?

...Would you do it all over again, given the choice?That's really hard to answer. I'm glad that I had the Restor after the crystalens because the Restor gave me back some of my near vision. I had been extremely nearsighted all my life, and the loss of my near vision with the surgery was emotionally very traumatic for me.
...My main misgiving about Restor is night vision problems. I have to say my Crystalens seems pretty good for night driving....I don't have good night or low-light vision with either lens implant. Fortunately road signs have reflective paint and are easy to see, but I worry about not seeing someone walking on the road without reflective clothing.

...Does anyone know someone who has a Crystalens set for near vision? That seems to be another suggested alternative....Have you ever tried wearing one contact lens for near and one for far? Or are/were you not nearsighted? Some people are comfortable with that combination and others aren't. You should probably trial a contact lens that approximated that effect before permanently having it implanted.

Thank you for your reply Serious Person.
I am relieved to know that the edge view is not an indication of decentering, which I had feared. I'm not sure I trust my surgeon to admit if he made any mistakes.
So far they haven't given me any reading exercises but I do read a lot and so I have tried various combinations. What works best right now is contact lens in right eye and low power (+1.00) reading glasses. I was using +2.50 before the surgery but after surgery they seemed too strong.
In very bright light, I can barely read with the Crystalens. As I said, I can see a ghost image that pretty much blurs everything and makes reading impossible. I would certainly not want to rely on it for the type of accuracy I need at work as an accountant. Ditto for my computer vision with the Crystalens, though I understand implantation of the second lense helps them work together to achieve better vision overall.
I live in Phoenix AZ. I think the doctors that are doing this Crystalens/Restor combo are doing it for patients that are demanding a lot from the lenses as far as needing good vision at all distances. Since the Crystalens is not living up to it's hype for near vision, the Restor takes care of that. You have good distance vision from both and they hope that the Crystalens will give you good intermediate vision. If it doesn't then glasses, I suppose. I will always wonder if I should have saved myself the money for these hi-tech lenses and just gotten monovision like my sister did. She is quite happy with hers but then she doesn't work in an office like I do.
I am very nearsighted. Before the surgery I was -6.25 diopters in one eye and -6.50 in the other. This surgery was done more for that than cataracts. I was not a candidate for lasik due to the extreme nearsightedness. I had never tried monovision and maybe I should before I make up my mind. I can read well at near with my right eye without contact lens so I'm not sure how different it would be. I can tell you that when I have the contact lens out, it really makes my vision wonky. I don't think I would ever get used to that and so I can sympathize with your decision to get the other eye done quickly. I am pressured by a high deductible health insurance plan so I will have to have my second eye done by the end of the year or I won't be able to afford to do it at all.

Hi Ashley......I had my left done on 8/21 and my right done on 8/30. I'm still a little out of sorts as far as seeing the outer lens in the left eye and still a little flickering in the right eye. I need a pair of 125 reading glasses for small print but other than that can read 2 blocks away and at arms length. I am pleased, glad I had both done so close together and just hope that some of the minor things I am experiencing are temporary. They are more annoying than anything else. Was checked by the surgeon on friday and he said all looks wonderful. Have a slight scratch on my right cornea and a little swelling but he feels the swelling is normal. Forgot to tell him I scratched my right eye pretty bad 3 years ago and saw his partner. Don't know if maybe it's a little scar. Wishing everyone the best.

ICC


Hi ICC glad that you are seeing that good. I have the regular lens in my eyes (staar) and I couldn't be happier.Only need drug store glasses to read up close.Mid and distance is great and best of all I stopped all my drops yesterday.Should have done this years ago. Doctor asked me if I took steriods since I developed them at a younger age (no) then most over 10 years ago and I have no family history of cataracts. I guess it is just one of those things.
I am so glad I hopped over to this site today I was wondering about you.

lorriem,
Glad you are doing so well.

Ashley,
It sounds like we really do have twin eyes. My pre-surgery prescription was identical to yours. And I too rely on near vision for my work as a librarian and webmaster, along with my life-long arts and crafts obsession.
I think you could schedule the next eye for the last available date this year, and then take your time until 2 weeks before then to decide what to do.

Good morning all....I never knew this could be so confusing. My Dr. told me I was legally blind because of the cataracts and needed surgery on both eyes. I scheduled it. Never knew there were different lenses and went right into the surgery never researching anything which is not like me. I am pleased as my near and far sight are both wonderful. Looriem as you I need a $1store maybe 125 to read small print. Before the second eye was done i need a 250 and have worn progressive lenses for 12 years since my distance and close vision were both bad. Everyone is talking about different lenses. I think mine is yet a different one but no nothing about them. It's called a AcrySofIQ??? made by Alcon laboratories.Anyone ever hear of it or have the same???

Lorriem you must be thrilled that you are totally done, expecially those %$^&*^ drops> LOL I feel like I live and breath eye drops right now.:cool:

ICC

I am going on a vacation in October to Turkey and Greece. I will schedule the surgery for when I return. My thought process is that I didn't want to have it before and be just a few weeks post-op while traveling. By having the second surgery in late October, I still have time before the end of the year if complications occur. Hard to live life by the health ins. but we are talking big dollars here. I have a $2k deductible.
Serious Person, did you ever think that the reason you weren't getting the full vision out of the Crystalens was because it was slightly decentered? I'm just wondering how we would even know if that was the case. I've read that even if they are 1mm off, it could make a difference in your sight with them. Another reason I am suspicious is that I had better vision the first day post-op than I have since. I started having the flickering and went back and they said some vitreous had detached and my vision has not been the same since though it seems to be improving, especially at distance. Yesterday I was comparing it to the contact lense eye and I could see just as well at distance with either.
Also, did you have cataracts? Since I did not, or only the bare start of them, I have heard that RLE patients are more demanding about their results. Well it makes sense....we are paying these big bucks solely to improve our vision. If we are not getting as good as with contacts or glasses, naturally we will not be happy.

Good morning all....I never knew this could be so confusing. My Dr. told me I was legally blind because of the cataracts and needed surgery on both eyes. I scheduled it. Never knew there were different lenses and went right into the surgery never researching anything which is not like me. I am pleased as my near and far sight are both wonderful. Looriem as you I need a $1store maybe 125 to read small print. Before the second eye was done i need a 250 and have worn progressive lenses for 12 years since my distance and close vision were both bad. Everyone is talking about different lenses. I think mine is yet a different one but no nothing about them. It's called a AcrySofIQ??? made by Alcon laboratories.Anyone ever hear of it or have the same???

Lorriem you must be thrilled that you are totally done, expecially those %$^&*^ drops> LOL I feel like I live and breath eye drops right now.:cool:

ICC

ICC I went with the Mono type lens because my ins does not pay for the corrective lens for near and far. Mine are only distance. After my first surgery I also could read the very fine print but without glasses and I was thrilled not realizing that my other eye was helping in the vision part but I had trouble with the distance. When both eyes were done distance was great and so was mid range but my great fine print vision that I had enjoyed for a few weeks was gone. No big deal since the doctor had told me that the lens would allow me distance not reading from the beginning he also told me to by cheap glasses because after a few weeks your eye sight will be ready for the right lens. It seems your eyes are trying to settle down and work together.It has only been a week since your 2nd surgery right?
I am just so happy to not trip over curbs and am able to see faces even when the sun is glaring across the street. The down side is I can see a smudge on a table and I hate a dirty house. Glass spray is never far away from me and I feel sorry for my dogs when they come in all their paws have to be grass free and dry.lol Hubby just laughs at me.

I just got off the phone with a representative from Dr. Kevin Waltz's office in Indianapolis. He is considered the top doc in the country for this type of surgery. His representative was very knowledgeable and reassuring. She said that it would be highly unlikely that my Crystalens is decentered because of the way they are implanted. She also said that it is normal for the first day post-op near vision to be better than on subsequent visits because of the surgery eye drops. I was truly impressed that they would take the time to reassure someone who is not their own patient.

Oh Lorriem...Do I know what you mean about a smudge. I am finding "smudges" in places I didn't know existed. LOL I am a week today with the second eye. Things are starting to calm down a little but still adjusting. How about you. How long is it now? You should be at around 3 weeks for the second eye since you said you're done the drops???


ICC

ICC it was three weeks last tues. I can't believe that my first surgery was 7/31 and I am all through in such a short period of time. I can drive now without any fear and that was a concern of mine since my hubby had lung cancer 2 years ago and is fine but you never know and last March he couldn't breath and they found a lot of blood clots in both of his lungs he is fine with that also thanks to meds but ya never know when I would be forced again to take hubby to the hospital and then of course visit him. A load has been taken off of me and the worry of not driving if I had to.

...Also, did you have cataracts? Since I did not, or only the bare start of them, I have heard that RLE patients are more demanding about their results. Well it makes sense....we are paying these big bucks solely to improve our vision. If we are not getting as good as with contacts or glasses, naturally we will not be happy.I had cataracts, but not nearly so bad as what lorriem and ICC describe. If I had waited another year or two, my vision would have been so poor that I would have really appreciated the outcome of the surgery. I can't imagine anyone whose cataracts were even less than mine being satisfied with the crystalens, unless, maybe, if their near vision was already gone before the surgery. But let me reassure you that it gets better. For one thing, the brain really does learn to filter out edge glare to a large degree. It's like not noticing my nose when I look at something out of the lower corner of my eye.

lorriem, I too now keep a bottle of windex and a roll of paper towels nearby. Except for me it's sort of the opposite, since I can no longer see the smudges clearly, so I scrub blindly, hoping I'm getting it all.

Serious Person,
I do seem to be noticing less light activity, glare, etc. so hopefully my brain is starting to filter it out. Do you know anything about the eye exercises? Dr. Waltz's representative asked if I was doing them, then said it is a little too early for me. Apparently they are crossword puzzles that get progressively smaller? They have you do them to work your Crystalens for near vision accomodation.

Yes Lorriem...driving was horrible. My surgeon told me two weeks before the first eye that he couldn't allow me to drive as I was legally blind. 24 hours after the first eye was done he gave me the go ahead. You know it's funny . I knew something was wrong but never would have thought I was blind. I am so glad I'm done. They feel good, no discomfort. Going out sat for my first real social occassion in 4 months since having surgery. Dr. said since it's more than a week for both eyes that I can put eye makeup on but I'm still scared. Sometimes I 've had fear of jumping around to much , banging them, rubbing them too hard and God forbid one coming loose. LOL My daughter thinks I'm crazy as I do at times.;)

ICC

Reading this thread, it really drives home to me loud and clear, the wide variance in satisfaction between cararact patients and RLE patients. I think the reason may be 2-fold.
1) RLE patients are more likely to have multifocal or accomodative lenses which require more time to adjust to.
2) RLE patients had good vision to start with, albeit good corrected vision. We just wanted to get rid of the nuisance of wearing glasses/contacts. The implants are not as good as our assisted vision, at least in the beginning, and so we feel we've "lost" something. Hopefully, our vision will eventually be better with the implants than it was with our glasses/contacts.

ICC'
My Doctor told me also awhile ago that I could put eye make up on but I was scared also.Today I put some shadow and eye liner on and my hand was shaking. Tomorrow I will do better. I thought I was the only one afraid to do certain things like even rubbing my eyes that would freak me out.

Seriousperson.
My cataracts was so bad that I had to feel with my hand on top of my white counter if any sugar was on it when making my coffee.I still cannot believe why I waited so very long.

Oh Lorriem...same here. I was definitely blind. Can see ;) that now. I thought I was a nut job the other day. Afraid to lay on my stomach, scratch and ey, rub it, OMG let alone put makeup on them. Then I was thinking how I was getting the makeup off if i had to rub a little with eye makeup remover. OMG, my daughter thinks I'm nuts. She keeps telling me that they're in tight and not going to fall out. LOL I guess that's what I was afraid of.

ICC:)

ICC
I will let you know tomorrow if I can see after taking my eye make up off tonight. Gotta do it right?

Reading this thread, it really drives home to me loud and clear, the wide variance in satisfaction between cararact patients and RLE patients. I think the reason may be 2-fold.
1) RLE patients are more likely to have multifocal or accomodative lenses which require more time to adjust to.
2) RLE patients had good vision to start with, albeit good corrected vision. We just wanted to get rid of the nuisance of wearing glasses/contacts. The implants are not as good as our assisted vision, at least in the beginning, and so we feel we've "lost" something. Hopefully, our vision will eventually be better with the implants than it was with our glasses/contacts.

Ashley, Exactly! Plus, there is a continuum of satisfaction based upon how bad a person's cataracts were before surgery. That is, how bad the corrected vision was. I have encouraged my sister to wait, even though she complains about her quality of vision now, but it is nothing compared to what lorriem describes.

Editing this post to add that I think the degree of satisfaction is also dependent upon lack of nearsightedness before the surgery. But this is owing to the fact that the ophthalmologists insist on correcting for far rather than near. Even though we former myopes could not recognize our mothers across the street without glasses, that does not mean that we ever tried to function that way (without glasses). What we were used to was better than 20/20 uncorrected near vision, which the surgery takes away. In contrast, those who always had good distant vision and had lost their near vision with middle age would be quite satisfied with the surgery.

lorriem & ICC, I remember walking on the beach shortly after my surgeries and being afraid of balls or frisbees accidentally hitting me in the eye and dislodging a lens. I still try not to rub my eyes.

Ashley, Exactly! Plus, there is a continuum of satisfaction based upon how bad a person's cataracts were before surgery. That is, how bad the corrected vision was. I have encouraged my sister to wait, even though she complains about her quality of vision now, but it is nothing compared to what lorriem describes.

lorriem & ICC, I remember walking on the beach shortly after my surgeries and being afraid of balls or frisbees accidentally hitting me in the eye and dislodging a lens. I still try not to rub my eyes.

So I quess we are normal in feeling that way. I keep my sunglasses on whenever I am out so nothing gets into them to irrititate my eyes.That would be all I need not knowing something got into my eye and have

blurry vision. I would be a basket case.lol

ICC took my eye make up off so carefully that when I dried my face I could still see my eyeliner still on so I just went for it like I use to and it came off.

Morning Lorriem.....Same here. Sunglasses on always when I 'm out and even sometimes when I'm cleaning so dust doesn't fly in them:D Did wear the mascara the other night and same here. Rubbed very lightly. I only use Nivea eye makeup remover for years since it's the only one that doesn't burn my eyes. It's very gentle. BUT my eyes were kind of sore the whole next day. Do your eyes get tired easily?? I find by diner time, especially if I don't keep sunglasses on all day that the lights/glare seem to make my eyes heavy and tired.:confused: Going to ask the Dr. about this. I think Iam just scared of my own eyes now that they have something artificial in them . Want to make sure they're tight LOL I finished using the pred forte in my left eye last night so am down to just the Acular in my left and two of them in my right until next week. ALmost there. Then I see the surgeon on the 24th. I guess I'm home free if the eyes get a clean bill of health at that visit.

ICC

Your doctor had you taper off Pred Forte and continue with Acular? Mine was just the opposite. I am still using the Pred Forte once a day and I am a month post-op now.

hi Ashley...I was told to use the Acular in both eyes until the bottle was empty. The pred forte i started the day of surgery and had to use for 3 weeks. The Zymar i used for a week after each surgery. Doing a gradula for 4 xs a day to 3 xs a day to none. Can't wait. From what I was told at the surgi center where I had both eyes done , my Dr. isn't too bad with drops. Some of the Dr.s there have their patients use certain drops for 8-10 weeks and more often that 4 xs a day. I guess it depends on the Dr. and the patient 's needs.


ICC

Hi ICC
I use oil of olay face wipes for my whole face including my eyes it is just easier to use that when I take a bath at night then after the bath my face is moist so I can put on my creams.I always had trouble getting the eyeliner and mascara off with out rubbing my eyes a lot always thought of eye make up remover but I am lazy and always in a rush and that would be one more step. I think I will try the nivea.
No my eyes do not get tired and I do read a lot and watch TV at night.I do like to wear my sun glasses though because everything seems so bright.I went with hubby to his doctors yesterday and I had to put my sun glasses on his office it was way to bright.
So you are almost through with those drops congrats. I am sure your surgeon will give you a clean bill of health.Didn't this whole process go Fast? I still can't believe I waited so long to have this done (years). I like you worry though that down the road something will happen to the lens but then I think of my husband who has had the lenses for over 10 years and no problems and he even when he had his first eye done and to this day sees like a starburst but he is so use to it he says his brain filters it out. They did try laser treatment on it but it didn't help. The only time he see's it now is if he looks for it and that is not his dominate eye.He does not worry like I do but I do the worrying for him.lol

Hi Lorriem.....I am also glad I had both eyes done. In my case they came on suddenly and both eyes were done within a couple of week.s Dr. told me I was way too young to have them without a reason. We've talked about the steroid injections and the fact that I am a diet controlled diabetic. The only time my glucose is off the charts is after an injection so I think we have our answer. Lorriem, the reaon I like the Nivea remover is because it melts it and doesn't burn your eyes. No rubbing needed. Wiping of course or just washing your face will remove the residue. Very gentle. I have noticed if I keep my sunglasses on in the house on and off myeyes don't feel as tired. It's probably still the glare and brightness that maybe is making me squint. I should have somemore great wrinkles when this is all over. Can still see the outer rim of the lens in my left eye but I've heard people say sometimes it takes the brain awhile to re-adjust to it. Glad we're doing good.:)

ICC

Well SP, it's official. On October 30th we will become implant twins! My surgeon is going to do a Restor in my right eye. He is also (at some point) going to do some relaxing limbal incisions in my left eye as apparently I still have a little astigmatism. He showed me with a lens what the difference would be like for computer range vision and it was amazing. He said he could do them in his office and no charge but wants to wait until the eye is completely healed and stable. Will probably wait to have that until after the right eye heals. Sometimes it feels like I'm going to spend the rest of my life at the eye dr.

The main reason I wear glasses for driving is because of astigmatism. My doctor never discussed a surgical solution. I just read an article on the Internet describing relaxing limbal incisions in great detail. Very interesting.

It will be nice to be able to compare notes with someone else who has the crystalens/ReStor combination.

The main reason I wear glasses for driving is because of astigmatism. My doctor never discussed a surgical solution. I just read an article on the Internet describing relaxing limbal incisions in great detail. Very interesting.

It will be nice to be able to compare notes with someone else who has the crystalens/ReStor combination.

Seriousperson, from everything I've read correcting even minor astigmatism can make a huge difference in your vision with "premium" lenses, especially with ReStor. My astigmatism was corrected with limbal relaxing incisions at the time of my cataract surgery, although I've was told that LASIK/PRK is the most reliable way to completely eliminate astigmatism. I think you should check into it; it might be the difference between having acceptable vision and having excellent vision. BTW. I think we're practically neighbors; I'm from Chicago, too.

SP,
There is an article in this month's American Journal of Opthamology. I didn't buy it but here is the synopsis....interesting indeed.

Purpose
To compare the visual performance of patients with bilateral vs combination Crystalens, ReZoom, and ReSTOR intraocular lens (IOLs) implants.

Design
Prospective, nonrandomized study.

Methods
Forty-nine patients were implanted with bilateral Crystalens (Eyeonics, Aliso Viejo, California, USA), ReSTOR (Alcon Laboratories, Fort Worth, Texas, USA), and ReZoom (American Medical Optics, Santa Clara, California, USA) or combined Crystalens and ReSTOR or Crystalens and ReZoom IOLs after phacoemulsification. Monocular and binocular testing four to six months after surgery included uncorrected and best-spectacle corrected visual acuity at distance, intermediate, and near vision; mesopic contrast sensitivity function with and without glare; and quality-of-life and vision surveys six months after surgery.

Results
Monocular testing showed that eyes with Crystalens accommodating IOL had statistically better best-spectacle corrected distance, uncorrected and distance-corrected intermediate, and best-corrected near vision. Eyes with the ReSTOR multifocal IOL had better uncorrected near vision, required the lowest reading add, and had the lowest uncorrected and distance-corrected intermediate vision. Monocular mesopic contrast sensitivity with and without glare was better with the Crystalens IOL vs either multifocal IOL at specific spatial frequencies. The binocular subjective quality of vision and quality of life questionnaires were favorable for the bilateral Crystalens group.

Conclusions
Any combination of Crystalens in one or both eyes was better for intermediate vision. Any combination of ReSTOR in one or both eyes was better for near vision. The Crystalens and ReSTOR combination had better mean intermediate and near vision overall. A multifocal IOL in one or both eyes was associated with lower contrast sensitivity and more subjective reports of photic phenomena. The accommodating and multifocal IOL combinations elicited less night glare symptoms than in patients with either bilateral multifocal IOL, but more than with bilateral Crystalens implantation.

Jodie, I don't think my insurance would cover surgery for astigmatism.

Ashley, that article seems to confirm my observations/experience, except that I have much worse night glare with the crystalens than the ReStor. This is 2+ years post-op. My brain has really filtered out a lot of the ReStor glare, but I still see the edges of my crystalens. Although it would be nice to have two eyes the same that focused in the same way, I'm glad I have the intermediate vision with the crystalens and the near with the ReStor (and the distance with both). I guess it's mainly because of the astigmatism that I always wear glasses. Otherwise I'd probably only use them for reading and computer.

SP,
Usually these relaxing limbal incisions are done during the cataract surgery. I think that is why my dr. is offering to do them no charge. I realize you're a long time post-op but you still might question him about it. Also, I don't know how bad your astigmatism is. My understanding is it is only suitable for slight astigmatism.

My surgeon also didn't charge for my limbal relaxing incisions, which were done at the time of my surgery with monofocal implants. On average, limbal relaxing incisions reduce astigmatism by about 50%. (Mine was reduced for 1.75D/1.50D to .75D/.50D). But laser vision correction (either LASIK or PRK) post cataract surgery is supposed to be the most reliable way to eliminate astigmatism.

SP, even if your insurance won't pay for it, I think you should still look into astigmatism correction. It may well mean a significant improvement in your vision, especially in your ReStor eye, because the ReStor lens is especially sensitive to even minor astigmatism. Since you've already invested in "premium" IOLs, it's a shame to have to cover them with glasses. My cataract surgeon was Dr. Bertram Kraft, who has offices in Chicago and Buffalo Grove, if you'd like to get a second opinion. He does a lot of refractive surgery, charges reasonable rates, and impressed me as being very competent.

I agree with Jodie. Apparently I have very minor astigmatism and I couldn't believe the difference in what the surgeon showed me would likely be my vision after the incisions. It was dramatic. The incisions can be done in the surgeon's office, they don't even require an out-patient surgical center.

Thank you both for the information and advice. I will look into it.

SP,
I am now your implant twin! I had a ReStor put in my right (non-dominant) eye Tuesday. I am delighted! At my post-op they said I am 20/20 for distance and J1 for near. Now truthfully, I am still more comfortable doing close reading and my accounting work with readers but I'm hoping that will improve with time. My Crystalens is still not accomodating although I'm getting intermediate vision out of it. The surgeon still wants to do the relaxing limbal incisions to try to correct my astigmatism of 1.25D in the Crystalens eye. Maybe that will make a difference. I do see some halos at night but they do not bother me so they must not be as bad as other ReStor patients have had. My distance vision is spectacular. I can still see the edge sometimes in my Crystalens eye and sometimes glare or flickering but it has either gotten less or I have learned to live with it. I find myself unconsciously shifting position if sun is shining in a window, for example. I pray it holds as my Crystalens vision was post-op pretty darn good for near and then deteriorated. I still haven't gotten a good explanation for that.

Ashley, Great to hear that you're doing so well with the ReStor. I don't recall my crystalens ever getting worse, but then it was never very good for close focusing. Did you have post-op literature that told you about eye exercises to help the crystalens accommodate? I tried to do them, but couldn't see the things I was supposed to practice reading, at least not very well. Basically, you are supposed to try reading without glasses as much as possible. I'm not a true believer in these exercises, though -- just passing along the info.