post crystalens/yag night vision problems

I'm 40 yo.  I had cataract surgery in January & had Crystalens implanted.  After surgery, my distance vision was almost perfect, intermediate was so-so, close up was crummy but a very low reading glass helped. since the cataract surgery, my night vision has been terrible, night-time lights are horrible, create shadows, glare, starbursts, halos & bluriness. I was told 2 months after cataract surgery the capsular clouded over but YAG procedure would clear it up, but I had to wait 90 days after surgery to have it done. I have had the YAG done on both eyes. Before YAG vision was almost 20/20 in both eyes for distance, but needed a slight reader for closeup. After YAG the left eye distance vision got significantly worse, but the right eye stayed the same. So now I have distance in one eye & close up in the other eye.

My biggest issue right now is my night vision. The halos, shadows, glare, starbursts, blurriness is horrible! I was terrified the other night when I had to drive, watching TV is pretty bad. Even being around bright lights/florescent lights during the day is annoying & sometimes there’s a flickering. I saw the surgeon yesterday & he’s at a loss. He said from his point everything went perfect. The lenses look perfect. He gave me a prescription for eyeglasses to correct the distance in the left eye & get anti-reflective coating & see if that helps at night.  I’m so disappointed & frustrated & don’t know what to do.  Does this make sense to wear the glasses at night? I’ve spent so much money so far & feel like I just keep tossing it away on stuff that isn’t helping. I called a dr for a 2nd opinion, but they won’t commit to seeing me, so I’m going to have to try somewhere else on Monday. I just don’t know what to do at this point. I don’t know if there’s anything else to do.

thanks.
jen

[Sandy Feldman, MD, MS]

Dear momx2girls,

It sounds as if you have some nearsightedness in one eye which may be contributing to your night vision complaints.  The glasses are likely to assist in the night vision symptoms that you observe.  

Dr. Feldman

Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S.
ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
San Diego, California