Cataract Surgery Recovery

[billyboy56]

I am a 53 year old male, and I had lens replacement surgery for cataracts in my left eye 5 days ago.  I guess I would be called a nervous patient because I have already been back to see the surgeon with questions 2 days ago, but he said everything looks fine.  After I saw him though, I have noticed that the vision in my operated eye has become somewhat blurry or out of focus at distance compared to the day immediately after the surgery.  My right eye does not have a cataract, and I can easily compare the two eyes.  Immediately after the surgery my operated eye was better than the other eye, but now it is not.
Should I be worried, or is this going to settle down?

[jd3450]

I also had two vitrectomy's and will need cataract surgery soon.  Your comment scares the crap out of me.  What do you mean by "terrible side affects"?.

Also, what type of IOL did you end up having?  I have not clue what to decide upon, other than I know do not go with a multi-focal lense.

[uptownbob]

it take time..believe me as i've had vitrectomy and both eyes done for cataracts and experienced terrible side effects...it will come right and you'll be fine.
you've just a brain operation..relax,mate!

[billyboy56]

Thanks for the words of encouragement Geoff, my surgery was on March 29, so we are about the same stage.  I saw the surgeon yesterday and he said everything looked good and that the side effects should settle down.  I still get halos, shadows, diagonal lines from lights, sensitivity to bright lights, and some fatigue.
My biggest disappointment, I guess, is that for the first day or two after the surgery I had distance vision in my left eye that was more perfect than ever before.  That has changed now, and even though my IOL is for distance, I will likely still need a weak prescription, especially for driving.
As the eye doc pointed out though, I still have better vision than before, and it's certainly better than it was with the cataract!
Good luck with your outcome too!

[GeoffM]

I had cataract surgery 2 weeks ago and I've been told it can take anything from a couple of weeks to several months for your eyesight (and brain interpretation of the signals from the eyes) to completety settle down.

I get flares from lights which manifest themselves like rays from the sun like children draw them. This is apparently normal (unfortunately) but again, may settle down after a while.

If it's a monofocal lens then your vision out of that eye will be out of focus for certain distances. Apparently most are set up for distance vision (eg driving, seeing things far off), so you'd need reading glasses for reading a book, for example. Also, computer glasses for using a computer since that focal distance is further than reading a book, but less than distance vision.

[billyboy56]

Thanks Dr. O
This site has been very helpful.
I am now in my 5th day since surgery and I am still seeing some flickering lights when I move my eyeball, and some diagonal lines from bright lights.  Will this go away too?

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

The vision fluctuates in the post operative period.

Dr. O.