Crystalens problems....Help!!!!!!!!!

Hi,
I hope I'm not covering old ground with this. I had Cataract surgery done on my left eye approx 4 months ago. I went for the Crystalens implant because the Doctor felt it was the best choice for me being relatively young (55). I was told it would give me multi distance vision, and be the best for glare avoidance for night driving. It cost me $1400 out of pocket.

Since the surgery I have had flashing from the left corner of my eye especially when I'm tired. Initially I thought it was from the eye drops I was given, but it continues long after the drops were stopped.

I can barely drive at night because of terrible halos around street lights and especially car headlights and tail lights. It's hard for me to tell where cars are when I am entering a lane or merging into traffic. I usually have to close my left eye in order to see where the cars really are.

When in a dark room with a single light, I can see a round circle which appears to be a reflection of the lens in my eye.

My vision in the left eye is close to 20/20 for distance, (I was almost blind in that eye before the surgery), but my medium and close vision have not improved much. The Crystalens websites talks about "training" your eyes to use the muscles that focus the lens, but my doctor says it should work by itself. He gave me a perscription for progressive lens with a 2.5 reading in both eyes so I'm thinking he's given up on them working. He did say that there is some "clouding" in the eye that he will take care of on my next visit with a laser procedure. When I asked him about all the above problems, he said he has no idea and maybe time will fix them.

I have not seen the doctor in 2 months. During the pre-surgical exam for the cataract surgery it was found out that I had an Aortic Aneurism (aneurysm) and other heart problems and I am now recuperating from THAT surgery. I am/was a musician before all this and drive a lot late at night.

What I need to know: Could the "clouding" he spoke of be causing the Halos??? Should I let him fix it?? Should I be actively "training" my left eye to read close and medium?? Could night driving "amber" glasses help the glare/halo problem as a short term fix?? Are these problems common???

Like another poster, I only found websites promoting the Crystalens before the surgery. But today I Googled "Crystalens horror" and found this site and others.......  
Any info and/or insights would be welcomed. I'm at my wits end.
Thanx!!!  John P.

[Joan M Pernoud, MD]

1) It is possible that a haze on the back surface of the membrane holding your lens implant could be causing some visual problems. Opening that membrane is worth a try.
2) Some do advocate training the eyes for best near vision but many people don't need it.
Your doctor should be able to tell you about that.
3) I would try the amber glasses.

I would also try using Alphagan drops to see if these drops which may help decrease the pupil size, may help for night driving.

I don't think anyone knows everything about why many patients do well with multifocal lenses and others have a rough time.

[zeliot]

I am having similar problems with a different kind of lens.

Your difficulties may get better with more time.  I have read that obsessing about some of the "special effects" you may notice with cataract surgery and lens implants can cause them to persist. If you relax about them, a process called neuroadaptation may cause them to go away.

Still, four months is a long time.  I suggest you get a second opinion from another opthalmologist, as was suggested for me.  And don't do the "laser procedure" until you do.  What your doctor is recommending sounds like the YAG laser protocol that removes clouding in the lens capsule that remains after surgery.  The problem with doing it is that it makes replacement of your existing lens implant (in the unlikely event that becomes necessary) much more difficult and risky.

So go for that second opinion.  You are not alone, and the Crystalens may still work out for you.

Take care.

Z.

(PS, I have no medical credentials -- just a fellow cataract patient).

[TW101]

I also had the Crystalens for one eye. If I knew then what I know now, there is no way I would have had surgery. While my long distance vision is terrific, everything else stinks! The glare just about drives me crazy and having to wear a contact lens in my other eye is absolute torture. I can only read with reading glasses and within two minutes I get terribly nauseous. I dreadfully regret having the surgery which I could have put off much longer.

[johnnypro]

Just an update:
I called Bausch and Lomb yesterday right before posting and they had a doctor call me back towards the end of the day. She felt that the glare and halos and possibly the flashing were probably caused by the clouding in my eye which makes sense to some degree (glare anyway).  I'm going to call my doctor and see what he thinks. I may or may not put off the laser "fix" on the cloudyness until I can get a second opinion.

Thanx for all the replies!!!!  JP

[johnnypro]

Found out on Monday that I don't Have a Crystalens.....I have a ReZoom. I will make up a new post and tell what the doctor wants to do. JP

[TW101]

UPDATE-  Posted above I said..."If I knew then what I know now, there is no way I would have had surgery." Well, I should have been more patient. In just a few wekks my vision has improved significantly. Also, the contact lens I was wearing was the incorrect size and since I have been 'refitted' I am one happy camper! The glare has disappeared since I stopped the eye drops and I got a different pair of readers (which I need only occasionally) and no more nauseous problem. I'll probably have to have my other eye done sometime in the next year or so and now know what to expect. I could have been better informed by my doc and his staff though.

[2ndsight]

glad you are doing okay. The docs do not tell you that there is a period of adjustment especially when you have only one IOL and sometimes you have to try different reading glasses, or adjust the size and/or strenghth of the contact lens in the unoperated eye as you did. Sometimes you have to get information first and then ask them to help you. In my case I had a slight amount of astigmatism which I had to ASK the optometrist doing the glasses fittings for my surgeon to measure and correct my reading glasses for this.

[ace399]

Did you have to train your right eye (Crystalens) to see close up?  How long did it take?

I have a Crystalens in my right eye and cannot see close up (less than 2 feet) without readers.  I am doing my eye exercises, but it's only been a week.  There is some clouding, which my Dr. will fix.  Otherwise no other problems.  My Dr. recommends implanting a Restor lens in my left eye, so I can see close up.

[ace399]

Have you had any patients who have a Crystalens in one eye and a Restor lens in the other?  What is your opinion of this?