Crystalens post-op

seriousperson · 07-01-2005, 02:30 PM

Anyone who has had surgery to have a Crystalens implant, please post here.

I had my first cataract surgery with a Crystalens implant on June 6th. The post-op is a lot more stressful than I imagined.

My other eye is still very nearsighted (20/600 without glasses/contac lens), which makes it very different. And I work full time and drive.

I still am seeing more poorly than before the surgery when I was able to use my glasses, though things are sharper at some distances and brighter in the left eye .
I'm scheduled to have my right eye operated on July 25. I thought my fear would be behind me now that the first surgery was "successful."
But no.

In Hiding · 07-01-2005, 06:00 PM

seriousperson

a friend of my family's had cataract surgery about a month ago and wasn't seeing so clearly at first but she says it is getting clearer as the weeks ago by. i'm pretty sure she had the implants put in, too.

orangecrate · 07-02-2005, 06:58 PM

I think I talked to you awhile back about my Crystalens surgery. I was on the drops for several weeks. Once I finally got off all the drops the veryations in my sight stopped. I only had the one lens in. Have had some problems with the close up vision. It was great at first but then it seemed to weakened. The Dr. told me to read a lot and keep my left eye closed several times a day while reading. It has helped me some. I went back on Thurs. for my 3mo check up and I have 20/20 with just the one eye done and don't need my glasses at all. My left eye has a cataract on it and may be okay for a year or two before I need it fixed too. When in big stores like Lowes or Walmart the lights make it a little harder to read clearly. You just have to keep building your muscles in your eye up. The only restriction I have is I have to have side mirrors on my car. Shouldn't everyone??? So when I look left I have to turn my head a little more to get a crisp image. Otherwise it is a little blurred. I have been waiting for you to post about your surgery. I was away for 3 weeks and did a lot of driving and my eyes were great. Make sure you wear sun glasses when out in the sun. I could not believe all the drops you had to use. The dialating ones were the worse. One I ran out of fast and the last one seemed like it would never end!! Good luck on you other eye. Just give it time. Every day is better and it can take a whole year to reach its peak. Have to go back in Oct. for my next check up and then March will be a year. They really push me to read such tiny words and I get frustrated but it is getting better and normaly you would not read letters that small anyways.

seriousperson · 07-02-2005, 07:49 PM

In Hiding, thanks for the encouragement, even though I am having a bit of trouble staying encouraged. I'm sure you understand how that can be.

Hi OrangeCrate

It sounds like you're doing pretty well. You might try wearing a cap with a visor when in situations where there is a lot of glare.

I'm having my one month check-up with the ophthalmologist on Tuesday. It will be the first time I've seen him since the surgery. He has optometrists in his practice who deal with the earlier follow-up, though he is willing to meet with the patient directly if requested. I think I should have done a lot more requesting. Basically, I was sent on my way and told I could drive with the one eye still dilated for a week and the other seeing 20/550 on account of not being a contac lens wearer, and the disparity in vision being so great between the 2 eyes that the brain cannot compute the 2 different images with one corrective lens inside one eye, and the other corrective lens a distance outside of the other eye, which makes things appear smaller. Actually, wearing glasses with one lens removed wasn't so bad while my other eye was still dilated, because it was so blurry. I still can't believe they told me to drive without a corrective lens and one blurry eye not seeing 20/20!

So, I went back very upset, and they gave me a contac lens for my other eye, which I am just now getting used to.
But, I guess they didn't hear me or believe me when I stated that I had been unable to change my focus from near to far and far to near for 15 years. So with the contac lens in place, I have no near vision up to about a foot away unless I squint, and then the type has to be pretty big.
The chart they gave me says I was supposed to wear "my" reading glasses for the first 2 weeks (what reading glasses?) and then read the chart 2 times each day for 10 minutes. But since I didn't get the chart until week 2, I'm guessing that the reason I can't read any of it is because I didn't have a chance to "memorize" it during the first 2 weeks with the "reading glasses" (which I had asked for but was told I wouldn't get until "later").
I think my vision would be dramatically improved already if I'd had proper optometric care for my type of vision impairment, but as it is, I have been quite visually impaired for a month, while having to work full time, using my eyes, and driving myself. I picked up my daughter one night a few blocks away without the contac lens in my right eye, and had to make a right turn really wide because everything on that side was black.

orangecrate · 07-03-2005, 09:58 PM

My Dr. did the surgery and I have only seen him. He is really good and I am very comfortable with him. I know what you mean about the reading glasses. I was confussed about that too. He said not to wear any and don't do any close up reading for a couple of weeks. I was on the computer a lot and was worried that was going to mess things up. But I could see it from far away and I sat back as far as I could and reach the keys. The lens is not to come forward as it would do to read close for the time you are on the dialating drops. I think that was 10 days. I kept worring that it shifted because things were more blurred then the first few days. I went back twice before my one month check up just to ease my mind and they were very nice about it and didn't make me feel like I was wasting their time. I can tell that reading is making the eye see better. Don't know how that works when you get the other eye done. I tried some reading glasses on at Walmart and couldn't find anything that would work with my eye. So right now I close my left eye and read with my right. He is not sure it will stay strong without the other eye being done. I am his first monovision with Crystalens. But he is real happy with my results. Where do you live? I am in Tennessee. He was honest with me and said he didn't know how it would work for sure. I was worried I would have double vision but it worked out fine. Keep in touch on the next appointment and let me know how things are going. Request the doctor!!!