Aa
Symfony CLR
I have a question about clear lens replacement. I am 52 and I have Presbyopia as well as the following prescription. OD Sphere +1.50 add +1.75 OS Sphere +1.25 Cylinder -.25 Axis 175 Add+1.75
I wear bifocal glasses and contacts at times however I hate wearing glasses with a passion. I cannot read computer, cell phone, labels or basically any font without glasses and I wear my glasses or contacts 98% of my day. Distant vision is just ok however not sharp.
I am not a candidate for Lasik correction because of too thin of something I cant remember.
I have been given the option of a clear lens replacement at TLC on London with the new symphony lens with its extended range of vision and I've read people are having pretty good success with it. I understand there is some risks involved which is a bit scary I wont lie however as far as I understand they are very low.
So I am wondering about getting some opinions on here to hopefully help with my decision whether I should go ahead. Its an elective surgery at this point and TLC tells me they have don't several CLR procedures and also to people with even a milder prescription than mine.
I wear bifocal glasses and contacts at times however I hate wearing glasses with a passion. I cannot read computer, cell phone, labels or basically any font without glasses and I wear my glasses or contacts 98% of my day. Distant vision is just ok however not sharp.
I am not a candidate for Lasik correction because of too thin of something I cant remember.
I have been given the option of a clear lens replacement at TLC on London with the new symphony lens with its extended range of vision and I've read people are having pretty good success with it. I understand there is some risks involved which is a bit scary I wont lie however as far as I understand they are very low.
So I am wondering about getting some opinions on here to hopefully help with my decision whether I should go ahead. Its an elective surgery at this point and TLC tells me they have don't several CLR procedures and also to people with even a milder prescription than mine.
I would like to add that any lens replacement (clear or cataract) is not the same as natural vision. You sacrifice any accommodation, and glare and halos could become a
problem. It is also possible that the surgery will induce additional astigmatism. I chose cataract surgery because I was not comfortable driving at night. After cataract surgery, I still had serious night halos and glare which continued to precluded night driving. Additionally, I became very sensitive to light to the point that I wore sunglasses and a visor even when indoors. I ultimately had both IOLs exchanged -- which was complicated and had subsequent retinal issues. My conservative advice is to give it time. At some point, you will likely need cataract surgery; and you will benefit from improved technology. Best wishes.
problem. It is also possible that the surgery will induce additional astigmatism. I chose cataract surgery because I was not comfortable driving at night. After cataract surgery, I still had serious night halos and glare which continued to precluded night driving. Additionally, I became very sensitive to light to the point that I wore sunglasses and a visor even when indoors. I ultimately had both IOLs exchanged -- which was complicated and had subsequent retinal issues. My conservative advice is to give it time. At some point, you will likely need cataract surgery; and you will benefit from improved technology. Best wishes.
Although lens replacement surgery is overall very safe, that doesn't mean it is absolutely safe. Even if problems are rare, *someone* winds up being the statistic, so you need to carefully consider whether the risks are worth the benefit. Posts on the net give a disproportionate view of the problems since most people only post here after surgery only if they have a problem. (though some post beforehand asking for more info and post followups even if things qo well to provide some reassurance that not everyone has problems).
I had a problem cataract and had Symfony lenses implanted in both eyes in December at the age of 52. I had delayed getting surgery for 2.5 years until the cataract in one eye was causing too many problems because I preferred to wait for a better lens to be available. I actually travelled to Europe to get the Symfony since it isn't yet approved in the US but I felt it was a better fit for my needs than the lenses approved here. They are developing new and better lenses all the time, I'd have preferred to not need surgery until a more typical age for cataracts so I could have waited for a better lens that would restore full accommodation, or at least more like say in your thirties.
As far as I can tell, in terms of the lenses that are out there now, for my needs I made the right choice going with the Symfony lens since my visual acuity is great, it was 20/15 early on (probably there by now) for distance and at near its 20/25. I can read the fine print on medicine bottles like the postop eye drops, and I can read the text on my phone for email or web use. My night vision is better than I can remember it being before (I always felt my night vision wasn't that good). I do see halos at night, but they aren't bothersome since I see through/past them and since my vision is so good. If you do get the Symfony, I'd consider shooting for some tiny micro-monovision like -0.5D to -0.75D (check the Symfony website for a chart of outcomes).
That said, I actually have a very rare side effect from the surgery that seems likely related to the eye anatomy and the fact that I was highly myopic (not an issue you have) and likely nothing to do with the lens choice. The point is that I am one of the "statistics", and given the results I would have preferred to not have had cataracts and not needed surgery at my age and have just worn correction. That said, I know that again my problem is rare (and likely stems from having been highly myopic, which put me at risk of many things that you aren't at risk for). Everyone needs to evaluate how much risk they wish to take. I'd never risked LASIK despite being highly myopic, but many people do. (and I might actually risk a laser touchup if my side effect ever goes away to make it worth it).
Hopefully I will neuroadapt and this problem will go away, but they don't know if it'll be any day now or months, or never. The issue is that when I try to read, I have the impression of light flickering (for the first few months the text actually looked like it was jiggling up and down as my eyes moved to read, but that went away). Its like bad fluorescent lighting, but just a few herz, to a degree that isn't merely annoying but is headache inducing. It is so bothersome I can't productively read a hardcopy book (even wearing correction doesn't make that viable), even if I can glance at a page occasionally or my smartphone for a minute. Fortunately it is much less at computer distance so I can do almost all my reading that way (though I still get headaches from it, they are getting better all the time so I'm hopeful they will eventually go away).
In my case due to having been highly myopic, removing the larger myopic lens and replacing it with a smaller one led to the iris losing support and jiggling when the eye moves (like it does when reading especially), iridodonesis they call it. Its not something other people would notice, but capturing it on video it is very noticeable and abnormal. That rarely has visual impacts even when its noticeable, but in those with light colored eyes in rare cases it can (I think the stray light varying as the iris moves, due to darker striations). Though they aren't positive that is the cause, it seems the most likely. Its possible that the lens capsule is also jiggling due to loose zonules but I hadn't tried to narrow it down since the recommendation in either case is to wait and hope I adapt and it goes away (the surgeon had looked at my eyes before when dilated with their standard drops which are cycloplegic, they paralyze the muscles that attempt accommodation and leave the zonules tighter, which may have led jiggling to be less noticeable. I hadn't bothered having them check with a non-cycloplegic or without dilation to try to pin down the cause for sure since its academic if I just need to wait and try to adapt for now).
.
I had a problem cataract and had Symfony lenses implanted in both eyes in December at the age of 52. I had delayed getting surgery for 2.5 years until the cataract in one eye was causing too many problems because I preferred to wait for a better lens to be available. I actually travelled to Europe to get the Symfony since it isn't yet approved in the US but I felt it was a better fit for my needs than the lenses approved here. They are developing new and better lenses all the time, I'd have preferred to not need surgery until a more typical age for cataracts so I could have waited for a better lens that would restore full accommodation, or at least more like say in your thirties.
As far as I can tell, in terms of the lenses that are out there now, for my needs I made the right choice going with the Symfony lens since my visual acuity is great, it was 20/15 early on (probably there by now) for distance and at near its 20/25. I can read the fine print on medicine bottles like the postop eye drops, and I can read the text on my phone for email or web use. My night vision is better than I can remember it being before (I always felt my night vision wasn't that good). I do see halos at night, but they aren't bothersome since I see through/past them and since my vision is so good. If you do get the Symfony, I'd consider shooting for some tiny micro-monovision like -0.5D to -0.75D (check the Symfony website for a chart of outcomes).
That said, I actually have a very rare side effect from the surgery that seems likely related to the eye anatomy and the fact that I was highly myopic (not an issue you have) and likely nothing to do with the lens choice. The point is that I am one of the "statistics", and given the results I would have preferred to not have had cataracts and not needed surgery at my age and have just worn correction. That said, I know that again my problem is rare (and likely stems from having been highly myopic, which put me at risk of many things that you aren't at risk for). Everyone needs to evaluate how much risk they wish to take. I'd never risked LASIK despite being highly myopic, but many people do. (and I might actually risk a laser touchup if my side effect ever goes away to make it worth it).
Hopefully I will neuroadapt and this problem will go away, but they don't know if it'll be any day now or months, or never. The issue is that when I try to read, I have the impression of light flickering (for the first few months the text actually looked like it was jiggling up and down as my eyes moved to read, but that went away). Its like bad fluorescent lighting, but just a few herz, to a degree that isn't merely annoying but is headache inducing. It is so bothersome I can't productively read a hardcopy book (even wearing correction doesn't make that viable), even if I can glance at a page occasionally or my smartphone for a minute. Fortunately it is much less at computer distance so I can do almost all my reading that way (though I still get headaches from it, they are getting better all the time so I'm hopeful they will eventually go away).
In my case due to having been highly myopic, removing the larger myopic lens and replacing it with a smaller one led to the iris losing support and jiggling when the eye moves (like it does when reading especially), iridodonesis they call it. Its not something other people would notice, but capturing it on video it is very noticeable and abnormal. That rarely has visual impacts even when its noticeable, but in those with light colored eyes in rare cases it can (I think the stray light varying as the iris moves, due to darker striations). Though they aren't positive that is the cause, it seems the most likely. Its possible that the lens capsule is also jiggling due to loose zonules but I hadn't tried to narrow it down since the recommendation in either case is to wait and hope I adapt and it goes away (the surgeon had looked at my eyes before when dilated with their standard drops which are cycloplegic, they paralyze the muscles that attempt accommodation and leave the zonules tighter, which may have led jiggling to be less noticeable. I hadn't bothered having them check with a non-cycloplegic or without dilation to try to pin down the cause for sure since its academic if I just need to wait and try to adapt for now).
.
Thanks Guys I guess what I'm struggling with is my eyes are correctable with glasses. I just hate wearing them. I sometimes wear bifocal contacts however I cant read the computer for a long period because its not a clear view. I work in a body shop so I am at times in the office doing estimates etc and at times I am in the back shop working on cars. Tipping my head back constantly to get a good view through my bifocal glasses to view minor imperfections on what I am working on is extremely annoying. I assume as usual this procedure is done in cases where your eyes are not correctable with glasses. So is the risk worth it? I do know its a very common procedure. Does anyone know that stats for complications or where someone could research Stats on lens replacement surgery?
Ive had syphony lenses in both eyes just over three weeks ago
I had poor distance and close wasn't good and that's while wearing glasses I had astigmatism in both eyes - 4.5 and 5.5 I think
My distance is great and I can read the fine print on labels
Im still wearing sunglasses for driving in bright daylight But that is no hardship
The operation lasted an hour and five minutes to do both eyes
no pain or discomfort
The results are immediate
We went for a family day out at the sea side the following morning
and I could see fine With the aid of my sunglasses
Im 53 now I went for laser surgery ten years ago and was deemed not suitable for laser of any type
I wish I had had it done ten years ago
Good luck with what you decide to do
Gary
I had poor distance and close wasn't good and that's while wearing glasses I had astigmatism in both eyes - 4.5 and 5.5 I think
My distance is great and I can read the fine print on labels
Im still wearing sunglasses for driving in bright daylight But that is no hardship
The operation lasted an hour and five minutes to do both eyes
no pain or discomfort
The results are immediate
We went for a family day out at the sea side the following morning
and I could see fine With the aid of my sunglasses
Im 53 now I went for laser surgery ten years ago and was deemed not suitable for laser of any type
I wish I had had it done ten years ago
Good luck with what you decide to do
Gary
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