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Symfony lens implant what to expect?
Hello,
Just had a symfony implanted on 4/20/2017. I'm almost 42 years old and had cataracts. The right eye had a young cataract that was impairing my vision. The reason for the development of cataracts was a FOV (floater only correcting). Had this procedure in 2006 in Belgium and had 11 years without floaters.
Now 2 days after cataract surgery I have some floaters again. I'm stuck wondering if they will go away. Only two are bothersome and of this two, one is really bothersome as I keep thanking a fly is buzzing around as its very dark.
My question is without a vitreous, should these floaters go away in a few weeks or get flushed out, settle and stick to the eyes walls, or disentagrate?
Really not thrilled about the floater.
On the symfony lens. I had not read what to expect so I wanted to post my two day experience.
First 16 hours after surgery.
1. Vision very blurry with a bunch of Halos.
2. Eye felt like something was in it. Very scratchy.
3. Some flickering
Morning after surgery
1. Some Halos and some glare.
2. Lots of glare
3. Notice lots of tiny floaters, probably white blood cells, and two pretty dark ones. They are quite annoying
4. Lots of flickering in well lit rooms. This is like a strobe light with the lights on effect.
5. Vision seems good. Can read a phone at about 16-26 inches distance. I seem to vary as sometimes I can read at a comfortable 16-18 and other times I'm at 20-26 to resolve the text.
Distance vision is better than with cataract. I see a shadow like effect on white letters in a TV about 12 feet away.
6. I definitely have some glare.
7. Eye still is a tiny bit scratchy. Not bad probably a very minor annoyance.
Next day.
1. Floaters are annoying as I type this. They kind of rain down as I use the phone.
2. The glare is better, but still here.
3. Shimmering of light is still happening. It seems a tiny bit better.
4. Vision may be a tiny bit better than yesterday.
I'm curious if my vision is locked in or if I can still get more improvement. I'm told shimmering effect will go away.
If the floaters were gone, I would be ecstatic with my choice. Other concern is the halos. Im not sure I could deal with halos in both eyes. So if they do not resolve, I may get a different lenses for other eye. Luckily cataract in other eye is just starting to form and I'm thinking I'm 3-4 months away from that decision. When you have FOV the cataracts form pretty quickly when they start.
So my question again is how long before vision gets to 95 percent of where it will stay and will the floaters go away?
Just had a symfony implanted on 4/20/2017. I'm almost 42 years old and had cataracts. The right eye had a young cataract that was impairing my vision. The reason for the development of cataracts was a FOV (floater only correcting). Had this procedure in 2006 in Belgium and had 11 years without floaters.
Now 2 days after cataract surgery I have some floaters again. I'm stuck wondering if they will go away. Only two are bothersome and of this two, one is really bothersome as I keep thanking a fly is buzzing around as its very dark.
My question is without a vitreous, should these floaters go away in a few weeks or get flushed out, settle and stick to the eyes walls, or disentagrate?
Really not thrilled about the floater.
On the symfony lens. I had not read what to expect so I wanted to post my two day experience.
First 16 hours after surgery.
1. Vision very blurry with a bunch of Halos.
2. Eye felt like something was in it. Very scratchy.
3. Some flickering
Morning after surgery
1. Some Halos and some glare.
2. Lots of glare
3. Notice lots of tiny floaters, probably white blood cells, and two pretty dark ones. They are quite annoying
4. Lots of flickering in well lit rooms. This is like a strobe light with the lights on effect.
5. Vision seems good. Can read a phone at about 16-26 inches distance. I seem to vary as sometimes I can read at a comfortable 16-18 and other times I'm at 20-26 to resolve the text.
Distance vision is better than with cataract. I see a shadow like effect on white letters in a TV about 12 feet away.
6. I definitely have some glare.
7. Eye still is a tiny bit scratchy. Not bad probably a very minor annoyance.
Next day.
1. Floaters are annoying as I type this. They kind of rain down as I use the phone.
2. The glare is better, but still here.
3. Shimmering of light is still happening. It seems a tiny bit better.
4. Vision may be a tiny bit better than yesterday.
I'm curious if my vision is locked in or if I can still get more improvement. I'm told shimmering effect will go away.
If the floaters were gone, I would be ecstatic with my choice. Other concern is the halos. Im not sure I could deal with halos in both eyes. So if they do not resolve, I may get a different lenses for other eye. Luckily cataract in other eye is just starting to form and I'm thinking I'm 3-4 months away from that decision. When you have FOV the cataracts form pretty quickly when they start.
So my question again is how long before vision gets to 95 percent of where it will stay and will the floaters go away?
8 Months later I have had PRK as I was - 0.75 D with 0.78 D astigmatism.
My vision is not great after PRK I'm 0.0 and 0.5 D Astigmatism as they overcorrected and this took away my good near.
I had the left eye done with a standard BL M60 and the left eye after 5 days has much better vision than the right.
So I can honestly say that I would never recommend the Symony lens to anyone. You will see halos and rings. If your lucky and your brain can tune them out, then awesome. If not, your going to hate the symony.
Anyone needing surgery I would recommend the Femto laser and considering normal lenses with mixed vision one far, and one set for intermediate.
My vision is not great after PRK I'm 0.0 and 0.5 D Astigmatism as they overcorrected and this took away my good near.
I had the left eye done with a standard BL M60 and the left eye after 5 days has much better vision than the right.
So I can honestly say that I would never recommend the Symony lens to anyone. You will see halos and rings. If your lucky and your brain can tune them out, then awesome. If not, your going to hate the symony.
Anyone needing surgery I would recommend the Femto laser and considering normal lenses with mixed vision one far, and one set for intermediate.
1 Comments
There are no controlled studies that show any additional benefit for femtosecond laser surgery and some show its is more prone to complication. Most of the physicians pushing femto at meetings are on the payroll of femto manufacturers.
Thank you for the response.
I need another topic lens since my eye is 1.4
In anyone's opinion especially Dr. Hagan
What would be a good choice lens for my other eye?
Aspherical monofocal, Tecnis zkb00, Tecnis monofocal.
I want to look up opinions. I know some people have two different lenses, but it's more uncommon.
I'd like to pick one that would give me the best chance for distance and intermediate.
I need another topic lens since my eye is 1.4
In anyone's opinion especially Dr. Hagan
What would be a good choice lens for my other eye?
Aspherical monofocal, Tecnis zkb00, Tecnis monofocal.
I want to look up opinions. I know some people have two different lenses, but it's more uncommon.
I'd like to pick one that would give me the best chance for distance and intermediate.
2 Comments
I said yesterday I think my wife got a Abbott Medical Optics Tecnis ZA9003 If she had large amount of astigmatism we would have gone with Tecnis toric.
Not what I meant. That is what she got. I don't think I posted those model yesterday.
That's great news about your wife.
I'm debating what to do with second eye. After all the trouble with the right the specialist says the symfony is meant to be paired with a symfony.
Im torn as I'm going through so much that if this surgeon gets it right, it may be worth getting another one as I love close up reading at about 14 inches.
Though a nice aspherical monofocal could work with none of the BS and so what if I need reading glasses.
My gamble us will I have acceptable intermediate vision without needing glasses?
With symfony I know I get better ranges of vision at all distances, but with the potential for a lot of bs refractive errors.
Do I risk it for a lotential better outcome, or do I play it safe?
I'm debating what to do with second eye. After all the trouble with the right the specialist says the symfony is meant to be paired with a symfony.
Im torn as I'm going through so much that if this surgeon gets it right, it may be worth getting another one as I love close up reading at about 14 inches.
Though a nice aspherical monofocal could work with none of the BS and so what if I need reading glasses.
My gamble us will I have acceptable intermediate vision without needing glasses?
With symfony I know I get better ranges of vision at all distances, but with the potential for a lot of bs refractive errors.
Do I risk it for a lotential better outcome, or do I play it safe?
1 Comments
Only you can answer those questions. Get 2nd and 3rd opinions. It is not true that Symfony are necessarily paired.
just checking in. I had 3 tag sessions to get rid of my capsular bag and fragments etc.
Left with large floaters and one that may be hanging on to something. It's acting like a windshield wiper.
Anyway the yag drastically reduced the star bursts. Still left with halos and bad glare.
Left with large floaters and one that may be hanging on to something. It's acting like a windshield wiper.
Anyway the yag drastically reduced the star bursts. Still left with halos and bad glare.
3 Comments
For that you pay extra? My wife had cataract surgery today. Monofocal Tecnis IOL. That was at 8:30 AM. She's watching TV now and reading using that eye. We never considered Symfony, or any multifocial or accommodating IOL.
Wow, excellent results the same day!
Should a monofocal Tecnis toric IOL be expected to give similar great results the same day too?
Should a monofocal Tecnis toric IOL be expected to give similar great results the same day too?
It depends on how much swelling there is at the time of surgery. Her IOL is Abbott Medical Optics Model ZA9003. Her surgeon, one of my colleagues, is fantastic and there is virtually no swelling. My wife has minimal astigmatism (<50D)
Dilation drops will take away the majority of issues. If you have a wrinkle in the bag it will not help.
I'm not happy yet with this lens, but I may be able to get it to a tolerable point without a lens exchange.
The specialist told me that laser correction is often needed to ensure good results.
Apparently the lens is 0.5 mm and the natural lens is 4 mm. The lens can move forward or backward and it is impossible to predict thus requiring a laser tweak.
If I were to go back right now, I would not have gotten this lens. We will see if everything resolves and I change my mind.
Right now, I think not enough is known yet for the majority of doctors to put the lens in and deal with the refractive errors and how to fix them.
Monofocals seem like they carry much less risk.
I'm not happy yet with this lens, but I may be able to get it to a tolerable point without a lens exchange.
The specialist told me that laser correction is often needed to ensure good results.
Apparently the lens is 0.5 mm and the natural lens is 4 mm. The lens can move forward or backward and it is impossible to predict thus requiring a laser tweak.
If I were to go back right now, I would not have gotten this lens. We will see if everything resolves and I change my mind.
Right now, I think not enough is known yet for the majority of doctors to put the lens in and deal with the refractive errors and how to fix them.
Monofocals seem like they carry much less risk.
2 Comments
As a cataract patient who has been considering the Symfony among other IOLs, your direct experience is invaluable.
I've noticed that even the few posters that like their Symfony IOL(s) still notice halos and circles around certain lights at night, just a few just can ignore them it seems. But I have yet to see a Symfony patient post they have no halos or circles at all, which appears to be the norm for most monofocal IOL patients? The manufacturer claimed Symfony IOL patients would not see halos, etc significantly more often than monofocal IOLs, that doesn't seem to be the case at all for its higher cost.
I've noticed that even the few posters that like their Symfony IOL(s) still notice halos and circles around certain lights at night, just a few just can ignore them it seems. But I have yet to see a Symfony patient post they have no halos or circles at all, which appears to be the norm for most monofocal IOL patients? The manufacturer claimed Symfony IOL patients would not see halos, etc significantly more often than monofocal IOLs, that doesn't seem to be the case at all for its higher cost.
I'm curious if any night vision issues (halos, starbursts, etc) are reduced with smaller pupil size?
I've seen some posts in the past that some eye doctors gave a patient with those issues an Rx for an eyedrop that constricts (undilates) the pupil in the eye to help with that.
Perhaps someone with a Symfony IOL could try to reduce their pupil size temporariy by looking at a flashlight and then before the pupil dilates again, check if the night vision issues are reduced?
I've seen some posts in the past that some eye doctors gave a patient with those issues an Rx for an eyedrop that constricts (undilates) the pupil in the eye to help with that.
Perhaps someone with a Symfony IOL could try to reduce their pupil size temporariy by looking at a flashlight and then before the pupil dilates again, check if the night vision issues are reduced?
1 Comments
So it seems to me that spending money for the Symfony IOL then ending up with glare and wearing a contact lens is a bit of a Pyrrhic victory.
Update. After two different opinions on my issues, I think we may have found the problems.
One issue is a wrinkle in the capillary bag that I will have pco to fix.
More interesting and this may help everyone with issues from the symfony lens.
If you have excessive starburst and glare, you may have been left a little nearsighted. I was left -0.5 in my right eye.
Yesterday I was given contacts to try and so far I can say with contacts, a lot of the glare and starburst are much better. They are not gone completely, but they are much better.
So if you are having issues with glare and starburst and wear left lightly nearsighted. There is strong evidence to suggest contacts will help.
In short the symfony lens was designed to use a curve based on achieving 20/20 at far. Like algebra, when the target is not met, the line falls off of the curve. This error can produce refractive errors.
One issue is a wrinkle in the capillary bag that I will have pco to fix.
More interesting and this may help everyone with issues from the symfony lens.
If you have excessive starburst and glare, you may have been left a little nearsighted. I was left -0.5 in my right eye.
Yesterday I was given contacts to try and so far I can say with contacts, a lot of the glare and starburst are much better. They are not gone completely, but they are much better.
So if you are having issues with glare and starburst and wear left lightly nearsighted. There is strong evidence to suggest contacts will help.
In short the symfony lens was designed to use a curve based on achieving 20/20 at far. Like algebra, when the target is not met, the line falls off of the curve. This error can produce refractive errors.
1 Comments
Could that swelling cause a line of light from 10 and 4 o'clock positions?
The drops to shrink my pupil reduce the halos though the light beam does not go away.
My thought would be that a smaller pupil would reduce all errors.
I read an article about placing the IOL slightly towards nasal to reduce these errors. I just wish I knew more on what would cause this new error.
To clarify it is a beam of light on both sides of my eye at 10 and 4 that is visible in day and night. It is present when I use drops to shrink pupil as well.
As of two weeks I'm.-.5 D out and I'm told no astigmatism.
The light is what is driving me nuts. Just curious if there is anything that can be done to fix it or what is causing it.
The drops to shrink my pupil reduce the halos though the light beam does not go away.
My thought would be that a smaller pupil would reduce all errors.
I read an article about placing the IOL slightly towards nasal to reduce these errors. I just wish I knew more on what would cause this new error.
To clarify it is a beam of light on both sides of my eye at 10 and 4 that is visible in day and night. It is present when I use drops to shrink pupil as well.
As of two weeks I'm.-.5 D out and I'm told no astigmatism.
The light is what is driving me nuts. Just curious if there is anything that can be done to fix it or what is causing it.
1 Comments
Since you don't have a cause you can't work on a fix. Yes if the cornea is swollen it could cause all your symptoms.
Thank you for the response. My doctor looked at it and said it was in perfect. When I was on the table they did several measurements.
The problem I had was my eye pressure went to 50 and then my doctor took it down to 14, then it went back up in 30 minutes and he took it down to 3.
He did say the cornea looks like it needs to heal. I'm so confused on if it's the lens or the cornea.
I welcome a second opinion, but no one will look at it until 3 months are up and I'm out of this doctors care.
The problem I had was my eye pressure went to 50 and then my doctor took it down to 14, then it went back up in 30 minutes and he took it down to 3.
He did say the cornea looks like it needs to heal. I'm so confused on if it's the lens or the cornea.
I welcome a second opinion, but no one will look at it until 3 months are up and I'm out of this doctors care.
1 Comments
If the pressure was up you may still have some cornea swelling (edema) that is a good thing as it should go away completely if pressure returns to normal. Two weeks out most of the swelling should be gone and you should be seeing a daily improvement of your symptoms is corneal swelling is the problem. Ask next visit "Is my cornea clear? If so why am I having symptoms? If not why is it not cleared by now?
Had lens rotated and having a new issue I do not understand. Before rotation, I saw halos. After rotation I see halos and all lights day and night, I see a band of light that extends several feet. It is one band of light that is at about 11:00 and 5:00 and will go away if I cover some of the upper left portion of my eye.
I'm only two weeks after the rotation surgery, but really worried as I cannot tolerate this as it is bright and makes watching TV or doing anything at night troublesome. During the day I have Halo's and it is more mild. I'm hopeful someone will know what it is and if something can be done to fix it.
I'm only two weeks after the rotation surgery, but really worried as I cannot tolerate this as it is bright and makes watching TV or doing anything at night troublesome. During the day I have Halo's and it is more mild. I'm hopeful someone will know what it is and if something can be done to fix it.
1 Comments
Your symptoms would suggest that your toric IOL is still off axis. I suggest an independent 2nd opinion with an experienced refractive surgeon. It seems to me you are well on your way to IOL exchange for aspherical monofocal IOL.
Well my lens is 10 degrees off and doctor said he can rotate it. Anyone know if I'm okay to have it rotated and if that is the right thing to do with this type of lens or is surgery the right thing
1 Comments
You must have had a toric put in? If so that is a common adjustment that needs to be made. Use the search feature there are several discussion threads about toric IOL rotation after first surgery.
Found out lens is off a few degrees and prk may correct it.
1 Comments
good luck
I asked because if I look through a small hole I can see one full ring on top and bottom and two additional rings on the top which leads me to believe I have a lens off center. Plus I asked the eye doctor and he replied it was fairly centered. Day time halos on all lights are still not getting better and vision is about 20/30 in corrected eye with slight astigmatism. Brightness sensitivity has not dissipated at all. Everything's seems like it glows.
Someone told me they had lens implanted and it took a good 6 weeks to get better, but they did confirm their lens was centered properly.
Someone told me they had lens implanted and it took a good 6 weeks to get better, but they did confirm their lens was centered properly.
If it gets treated via lasik what happens if the lens is ever exchanged? At close to 42 I am hopeful that I may live long enough for a super duper lens when they become available even though it may be 5-20 years away.
2 Comments
Fixing astigmatism on the cornea is useful regardless of what lens implant you have now or in the future. Fixing the spherical correction shouldn't be an issue either since either. Unlike the original cataract surgery where they don't know the lens power of the natural lens to know what power to put in, in this case they know the power of the current IOL. So if you ever have a replacement IOL they can use that to determine the power of the IOL to use based on that. It may be the same power if the new IOL is located in the same position, or if they located at a different position for some reason (since the lens power is impacted by how far forward or back its located) they can calculate what they need. If the resulting lens power is off a bit then, then they can always do a laser touchup then. Presumably by the time they get such a super duper lens worth an exchange, laser enhancement will also have been improved. Or perhaps the super duper lens will be able to have its power changed after its inserted like the Light Adjustable Lens (available outside the US) does now, though hopefully in a more convenient fashion. It may be that the super duper lens would be adjusted under computer control to change its lens power to provide the range of accommodation you have when 18 (or even closer), in which case they'd just calibrate it for what lens power it should start at for distance.
The halos are during the day and around all light sources.
I called for a second opinion, but was told after 90 days as the liability if someone else touches the eye gets confusing. I guess it becomes a mess if the second opinion says the lens is off axis.
I have cataract in my left eye and would just love for one eye to be seeing things well. Even if I could get glasses to correct the right eye astigmatism I'd be happy for a bit.
It's difficult to work with two not great eyes. Hard to read things at a comfortable distance with either eye. Talking about computer use mostly.
I called for a second opinion, but was told after 90 days as the liability if someone else touches the eye gets confusing. I guess it becomes a mess if the second opinion says the lens is off axis.
I have cataract in my left eye and would just love for one eye to be seeing things well. Even if I could get glasses to correct the right eye astigmatism I'd be happy for a bit.
It's difficult to work with two not great eyes. Hard to read things at a comfortable distance with either eye. Talking about computer use mostly.
1 Comments
Residual astigmatism can cause issues like halos, this was about an older generation of multifocal IOLs:
http://crstoday.com/articles/2008-sep/crst0908_08-php/
"More than 0.50 D of sphere and 0.50 D of cylinder increase patients' perception of halos at night. "
Unfortunately with a toric lens of any model/brand there is a chance of residual astigmatism, one meta-study suggested about 29% wind up with > 0.5D of astigmatism which is enough those with premium lenses usually would want it treated, e.g. with lasik/prk or some variation.
There are other potential causes of increased halos initially like can dry eyes which can be a temporary side effect of cataract surgery, as can and inflammation.
I've seen some sources suggest even residual myopia/hyperopia can contribute to halos (less so than astigmatism) but hadn't seen data on that and that isn't mentioned as much.
http://crstoday.com/articles/2008-sep/crst0908_08-php/
"More than 0.50 D of sphere and 0.50 D of cylinder increase patients' perception of halos at night. "
Unfortunately with a toric lens of any model/brand there is a chance of residual astigmatism, one meta-study suggested about 29% wind up with > 0.5D of astigmatism which is enough those with premium lenses usually would want it treated, e.g. with lasik/prk or some variation.
There are other potential causes of increased halos initially like can dry eyes which can be a temporary side effect of cataract surgery, as can and inflammation.
I've seen some sources suggest even residual myopia/hyperopia can contribute to halos (less so than astigmatism) but hadn't seen data on that and that isn't mentioned as much.
Most of my halos and issues are during the day. Any light source including the TV has them. At night, I have starburst, but I have not been out a lot. Kinda waiting for the daytime halos to go away.
Well on day 10 and thinking about getting a second opinion. I seem to be left with some astigmatism as letters on the TV screen pull apart and cast a significant shadow. Also if I put my finger lightly at the top of my eye, my distance vision dramatically increases.
Halos are still there and not going away. The shimmering has slowed down a bunch. I guess this is the eye healing.
So is it still to early to know ifthe astigmatism and halos will go away? I'm hopeful to get a second opinion and try and get some answers. My current doctor just said learn to live with some imperfections.
Halos are still there and not going away. The shimmering has slowed down a bunch. I guess this is the eye healing.
So is it still to early to know ifthe astigmatism and halos will go away? I'm hopeful to get a second opinion and try and get some answers. My current doctor just said learn to live with some imperfections.
2 Comments
There isn't likely to be much change if any change in the astigmatism without treatment, although its possible. 10 days is very early on in terms of halos. They could disappear any day now, or take a few weeks, or a few months, etc. There is unfortunately no data out there on how long they take to fade with the Symfony, and even if there were there is no way to predict for any particular person how long it will take since people neuroadapt at different rates. It likely partly depends on how much practice your brain gets at tuning them out, e.g. how much you use your vision at night for the brain to try to figure out how to ignore them.
Thank you for the response. I'm on day 5 and the glare is getting worse. The flickering is getting a little better.
The most troubling thing is white text on a dark background. The letters distort into a shadow like effect. Day 2 after the surgery, this was subtle now it really has a shadow. It seems this goes with the glare getting worse.
I assume I just want to know how it will turn out.
The floaters are predominantly white blood cells and I assume they will be absorbed. I had full FOV and the floaters freaked me out.
I stayed up late reading before the surgery as I could not decide what lens I wanted. Everything I read makes things worse. I had a topic symfony put in, but for 41 years I never wore glasses. I developed floaters had a FOV and was fortunate to have a cataract come on 11 years later. According to what I read is I should have needed glasses.
So thank you for the response.
My question is for anyone with lenses. I can see halos around all led lights, letters on the TV, the TV and all windows. I'm curious how long it was till things got better?
I keep hearing 3 to 6 months, but assume some may have gradually gotten better each day.
For me it seems flickering is slightly better, but no luck with halos, starburst, and glare.
The most troubling thing is white text on a dark background. The letters distort into a shadow like effect. Day 2 after the surgery, this was subtle now it really has a shadow. It seems this goes with the glare getting worse.
I assume I just want to know how it will turn out.
The floaters are predominantly white blood cells and I assume they will be absorbed. I had full FOV and the floaters freaked me out.
I stayed up late reading before the surgery as I could not decide what lens I wanted. Everything I read makes things worse. I had a topic symfony put in, but for 41 years I never wore glasses. I developed floaters had a FOV and was fortunate to have a cataract come on 11 years later. According to what I read is I should have needed glasses.
So thank you for the response.
My question is for anyone with lenses. I can see halos around all led lights, letters on the TV, the TV and all windows. I'm curious how long it was till things got better?
I keep hearing 3 to 6 months, but assume some may have gradually gotten better each day.
For me it seems flickering is slightly better, but no luck with halos, starburst, and glare.
2 Comments
Most people don't feel they have a problem with glare, starbursts or halos with the Symfony, and unfortunately I don't know of any data on how quickly things usually fade among those who do.
In my case I'd never had issues with starburst (which can btw be due to thinks like a wrinkle in the capsular bag which could happen with a monofocal as well). I actually noticed from the start that I had far less disability glare with the Symfony than i can recall in the past, even before my cataract problem. i.e. headlights are less distracting, I can see the scene surrounding the headlight without the headlight blinding me.
Some people see halos gradually fade, with others they go away suddenly. I think many see them subside in the first few weeks, and Most people don't have problematic halos by 3 or 6 months. I haven't seen any data on how quickly they go away with the Symfony before that, and very little data on multifocals which may be a bit different.
I'm in the small minority that has continued to see halos, though they've never been a problem (partly since headlights are less distracting than they used to be, and since they are mild/translucent so I see through/past them). It may be that I just haven't been outside at night as often for my brain to learn to adapt, I've been spending an atypical amount of time postop working at night at home so perhaps it merely took longer. At 2 years postop I suddenly realized that I no longer saw halos around certain lights, while around others they are still there but dimmer.
In my case I'd never had issues with starburst (which can btw be due to thinks like a wrinkle in the capsular bag which could happen with a monofocal as well). I actually noticed from the start that I had far less disability glare with the Symfony than i can recall in the past, even before my cataract problem. i.e. headlights are less distracting, I can see the scene surrounding the headlight without the headlight blinding me.
Some people see halos gradually fade, with others they go away suddenly. I think many see them subside in the first few weeks, and Most people don't have problematic halos by 3 or 6 months. I haven't seen any data on how quickly they go away with the Symfony before that, and very little data on multifocals which may be a bit different.
I'm in the small minority that has continued to see halos, though they've never been a problem (partly since headlights are less distracting than they used to be, and since they are mild/translucent so I see through/past them). It may be that I just haven't been outside at night as often for my brain to learn to adapt, I've been spending an atypical amount of time postop working at night at home so perhaps it merely took longer. At 2 years postop I suddenly realized that I no longer saw halos around certain lights, while around others they are still there but dimmer.
re: "If the floaters were gone, I would be ecstatic with my choice"
The floaters aren't related in any way to the particular choice of IOL model since they are inserted the same way, with only minor variations perhaps in incision size and the instrument used to stick it in. The Symfony is for instance physically the same overall size and shape as the Tecnis monofocal IOL so its inserted the same way. It merely has different optics, just like you might have two people with the same eyeglass frame but different lenses in them.
re: " I seem to vary as sometimes I can read at a comfortable 16-18 and other times I'm at 20-26 to resolve the text. "
As I noted in my posts, my near vision fluctuated for the first couple of days after getting Symfony implants in both eyes, a day apart. Sometimes I could see a computer screen ok, others I needed readers to even see at computer distance. Then by the 3rd day it settled down, and seemed about the same by 1 week when it was tested at 20/25 at best near, and been that ever since. Distance vision was almost at 20/15 at the 1 week postop, now its at least 20/15 (that line is easy and they didn't have a line below). However everyone is different, some people take some weeks or months to get their best near results, the time isn't predictable, and less commonly even the best distance can take some time to come in. Unfortunately neuroadaptation speed varies greatly between people (I tended to wonder if my brain got used to adapting to new optics by having used varied multifocal contacts before cataract surgery) Your brain will continue to neuroadapt for a while, and to learn to tune out initial visual artifacts like halos. Most studies on IOLs don't record their incidence until the 3 or 6 month mark after temporary ones have gone away after the initial healing period, though people who still have halos by then may still see them fade and disappear, but not all. . Most people don't consider halos a problem, a tiny minority do.
re: the flickering. The most likely explanation is that in the initial postop period the lens hasn't yet healed into place and may be jiggling a bit. There are rare other causes, but no reason to consider them unless the issue keeps up, its most likely to resolve so give it a couple of months before worrying, when the initial healing has finished.
You are still in the early healing phase, most people have decent distance vision with any IOL in the first days, but I gather some can take a few days even with a monfocal IOL. In terms of how long
The floaters aren't related in any way to the particular choice of IOL model since they are inserted the same way, with only minor variations perhaps in incision size and the instrument used to stick it in. The Symfony is for instance physically the same overall size and shape as the Tecnis monofocal IOL so its inserted the same way. It merely has different optics, just like you might have two people with the same eyeglass frame but different lenses in them.
re: " I seem to vary as sometimes I can read at a comfortable 16-18 and other times I'm at 20-26 to resolve the text. "
As I noted in my posts, my near vision fluctuated for the first couple of days after getting Symfony implants in both eyes, a day apart. Sometimes I could see a computer screen ok, others I needed readers to even see at computer distance. Then by the 3rd day it settled down, and seemed about the same by 1 week when it was tested at 20/25 at best near, and been that ever since. Distance vision was almost at 20/15 at the 1 week postop, now its at least 20/15 (that line is easy and they didn't have a line below). However everyone is different, some people take some weeks or months to get their best near results, the time isn't predictable, and less commonly even the best distance can take some time to come in. Unfortunately neuroadaptation speed varies greatly between people (I tended to wonder if my brain got used to adapting to new optics by having used varied multifocal contacts before cataract surgery) Your brain will continue to neuroadapt for a while, and to learn to tune out initial visual artifacts like halos. Most studies on IOLs don't record their incidence until the 3 or 6 month mark after temporary ones have gone away after the initial healing period, though people who still have halos by then may still see them fade and disappear, but not all. . Most people don't consider halos a problem, a tiny minority do.
re: the flickering. The most likely explanation is that in the initial postop period the lens hasn't yet healed into place and may be jiggling a bit. There are rare other causes, but no reason to consider them unless the issue keeps up, its most likely to resolve so give it a couple of months before worrying, when the initial healing has finished.
You are still in the early healing phase, most people have decent distance vision with any IOL in the first days, but I gather some can take a few days even with a monfocal IOL. In terms of how long
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There are many helpful posts on post op Symfony IOLs some as recent as yesterday. You can access them using the search feature and by reviewing topics over the last week.
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