Extreme Eye Sensitivity & headaches after Cataract surgery

[HurtingBlueEyes]

In Jan.2007 at 59 yrs. old I had cataract surgery on both eyes.  I have very light blue eyes and fair skin.  I could never wear contact lens even though I tried for many years unsuccessfully because of dry eye and light sensitivity. I never had headaches in my life before that while wearing glasses since I was 14 yrs. old.   I told the surgeon before my cataract surgery about my eye problems, but he said that I wouldn't have this problem with cataract lens.......well, needless to say, my condition has been horrible.  I have extreme light sensitivity, terrible headaches, can't drive well at night, must wear dark sunglasses always outdoors and even in my home to watch TV.  I had to change all the lighting in my home to low levels, etc.  My work has been terribly affected and I can't work in my art studio except for short periods of time.    I changed doctors early on and they told me the lenses were applied correctly, but they couldn't help me with the eye sensitivity and referred me to a neurologist.  The neurologist presently has me taking Verapaml 240 mg.    It has helped to a degree, but not with the light sensitivity......It has only helped lessen the pain a little.  He now wants me to try Topamax 25 mg.  However, I'm concerned with the side effects that it may cause.   Has anyone tried this medication with success for eye sensitivity and headaches?  

[PuppyPB7]

I had cataract surgery on one eye 12/04/2013, and the other one 12/18/2013.  I have had constant severe headaches since the last one.  Nothing seems to relieve the pain.  I am in the lower end of stage 3 chronic kidney disease and am limited to what medications I can take.  I am scheduled to have my fitting for glasses 01/09/2014; However, what can I do about the pain.  I understand that the light sensitivity is fairly normal considering I have worn glasses since the age of 6 which help protect the eyes.  I am very satisfied with my surgery.  Any help?

[jkmaggie]

Hello HurtingBlueEyes. Have you found more ways of resolving this problem since this was posted? My mum has exactly the same thing - her cataracts were done 12 months ago (both eyes) - she is 69 years old. Since the operation she has suffered extreme sensitivity to light (especially half light) and wears sunglasses watching tv and in certain light conditions. Her eyes bother her all the time except when she sleeps. She has sinus-like symptoms asspciated with it. She has been to several eye specialists and they all say that the cataract operations were 100% successful. The whole thing is very distressing.

[truck1978]

the exact same thing happened to me.   The doc's at the eye center in bloomington IN blew me off after I started getting headaches.   Still doing drops and no relief.  Headaches!@!

[scpck]

My husband had almost identical stories as most of you.  Finally at my insistance after 9 months of slow agony he saw a neuro-ophthalmologist.  3 minutes of exam revealed vision of 23/30 with Benign Essential Blepharospasm of Meige syndrome.  In English it translates to blinking every second or so with facial grimacing and light sensitivity.  He could not keep his eyes open long enough to "see" anything.  Ergo virtual blindness.  

The solution was so simple and yet complicated.  The use of Botox injections into the muscles that blink the eyes, as well as the eyebrow muscles that were struggling to hold his lids open.   Within 8 hours he could read a typewritten page.  Every day he has amazing progress.  He will have to repeat this every 3 months for ever, or until a cure is found.

Ask your doctor if this rare syndrome may be considered in your  cases.

[texas2step]

My heart goes out to all of you as I too am walking in your shoes.  Helena, I am a novice in cataract surgery and thought I was going to a top notch group.  I asked if there was a book on cataract surgery and what to expect but there were none.  I thought I asked enough but apparently not enough. I was led to believe this was an easy surgery...and within a week I would be one happy camper.  WRONG!   Things can happen in any type surgery and every surgeon knows this and in my case...they are not talking and I too had to leave this group for another group.  I am not blonde or blue eyed and have many of the symptoms of all the above ladies. I too wanted the cataract removed and placed with nothing special but another lens like I was born with.  I needed to see to thread a needle and work my Singer Machine as I take care of three grandchildren and sew for them.  Now, I am basically home bound.  One of you mentioned Thera tears Nutrition.  I will have my daughter pick this up for me.  I see a new surgeon in a few days.  I pray he will not close the door on me like the other group.  The other eye will never have surgery.  Now, I have basically mis matched eye sight. I also have headaches. Never had these before.  I am also nauseated.  I am not a happy camper.   The doctors are happy as they were paid.
I wish you all better seeing days ahead.  My thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

You're welcome and as for as the other side of the world, its a small world and getting smaller all the time.

JCH II MD

[HelenaJ]

Many thanks! You have given me hope, and I feel so much better. I am shortly going to consult a different surgeon, and will ask him about Lasik on the operated eye. I will tell you how it goes.
I so appreciate your giving time and expertise to someone whom you will never see, on the other side of the world from you!  

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

1. Generally Lasik will not affect future surgery. You would need to clear with your present Eye MDs.

2. Plano (0.00) for distance and -3.25 for near is going to be very difficult for most people to tolerate and even if you do adjust there is such a big gap for intermediate (shop, computer, dashboard of car, etc) that glasses would likely be necessary most of the time. Glasses would be difficult to adjust to with that big of a difference in the two eyes.

3. No, exercises will not help.

4. I do not have experience with an intra-ocular contact lens worn over a IOL. It would seem more complex, expensive and prone to cause glare.

JCH III MD

[HelenaJ]

Thank you Dr Hagan for your quick reply. Please could you take time to answer the following questions:
1) I have been told that the operated eye could have other problems in the future (concerning thickening of blood vessels on the retina, I'm sorry not to be more precise.) Would LASIK make any future surgery more difficult?
2) I notice that you do not think that operating the other eye to 0.00 and using glasses for close work and computers is an option. Do you think that this would be unsustainable, with -3.25  in this first eye?
3) A third question - which I have to ask, but sounds silly as I write it on such a scientific website - could eye exercises make any difference? Could I gain 0.5 or even one diopter in this way?
4) Finally, I have heard that there is a contact-lens-like implant which can be placed in front of an IOL. Is this a less risky operation than changing my Acrysof IQ?

People on this forum seem to be so knowledgeable, I am ashamed to have gone into cataract surgery with so little prior understanding of the possible outcomes (which by the way, apart from the possibility of infection, were not really explained to me.) I  understand that elsewhere, care is usually taken to explain the pros and cons of the various refractive solutions to the patients. Had I realised that -1.5 would give a good intermediate vision, of course I would never have accepted  the proposed -2.5 !  Thank you so much for your concern.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

As we have discussed before (available via search and archives) picking an IOL power to leave a certain post surgery refractive error is not an exact science with even the best of care. Your options are: have the IOL removed and replaced with a distance RX, have the other eye operated and "set" for intermediate (perhaps -1.25) and wear glasses for distance and when you need your best overall vision or finally have LASIK on the operated eye and change the power to either 0.00 for best distance vision or -1.25 for intermediate.

JCH III MD

[HelenaJ]

I am 60 years old, a teacher in Western France. I am myopic, and had a cataract removed 15 days ago. My idea was to have this right eye corrected for close and intermediate vision,  (reading, computer, walking round the house,) and the left eye corrected for distant vision at a later date. The surgeon told me that -2.5 diopters would be good for me, and I trusted him. Mistake! Now, after the operation, I find that I am at -3.25, certainly can't see the computer, can read but holding the book much closer to my face than I would like.. I am so disappointed, and feel let down. My ophthalmo doesn't know why he made this choice and is sympathetic, but says that of course there is no possibility of changing the lens for such a "small" difference. I had really thought that I would at last be able to function without glasses. What would you recommend? I so regret not having asked for the 2 eyes to be corrected for distance, and then wearing reading glasses. The surgeon was most unhelpful, and evidently frightened that I was going to make a fuss. He couldn't get rid of me fast enough!  Now it looks as if I am going to have to have several sorts of glasses, and never be free of them.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[QueenB68]

I know what you're going through - I had both cataracts removed in Nov., 2007 with absolutely no problems and ready for new glasses. After having 2 defective sets of lenses, the 3rd one gave me perfect vision but always had a problem with glare, halos, etc. inside & outside. I also was wearing sunglasses to watch TV. Someone on this website recommended TheraTears Nutrition distributed by CVS. It is a combination of Omega3 & Flaxseed Oil.  I decided I had nothing to lose but to try it. The instructions say you should improvement within 4 weeks but I saw a marked difference in 3 days. I now have no problems and sometimes even go outside without sunglasses. I hope you find a solution to your problem. I know what it's like.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Topomax can in rare cases cause a specific type of acute angle closure glucoma so the eye pressure should be watched carefully during the first 6-8 weeks on this medication.

Other things: Hat, sunglasses, sun goggles, transition lens that darken automatically.  

Third opinion from an Eye MD

JCH IIIMD

[kg17]

I had the same thing happen to me - but with Visian intraocular lens implant surgery to correct extreme myopia.  I also have very light blue eyes and fair skin.  Part of the surgery entails creating two holes in both eyes (called iridotomies) which allow more light into my eye.  Between both the phakic lenses and the iridotomies, I've experienced significant discomfort with lighting and have worn sunglasses indoors for the past seven months.  I am scheduled for removal of the lenses in two weeks because of this and other eye issues related to the intraocular lenses.  While I know removal of the IOLs would not be an acceptable solution for you, in doing much research into photophobia, I've come across an option that might work for you.  There is a specialized tinting process just patented that has achieved great success in reducing symptoms of photophobia.  If you google Moran Eye Center and find category of photophobia and glasses tinting, you can find this info.  Hopefully this can give you the relief you need without use of medication.