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miserable with Restor multifocal IOL, now what to do?

Please help me try to make the next better decision, I’m  blaming myself for my stupidity, & trying to keep story short. The bottom line of my sorry predicament is, it is almost one month after cataract surgery with bilateral Restor multifocal IOLs, done in early cataract stage because of the enticing suggestion "why not do the surgery now and benefit from not needing glasses or contact lenses", being told I would be fine before my son’s wedding though I asked if I should wait until after it. When my husband asked about risks , the problem I’m having was not mentioned- very reduced sharpness of all near and extended vision,  in any reduced lighting; & the less light, the worse it gets, only  far distance vision seems to be OK. Any close vision daily tasks and normal functions I previously enjoyed or easily did, even without glasses,  are now vastly uncomfortable, blurry and hindered. I had expressed I did not want to sacrifice my near vision. Did I trade being nearsighted for farsighted, with ghosting and worse? I know I’m not going to be able to function  like this, and if it doesn’t  improve soon, the emotional toll is becoming devastating.  I don’t want to take any chances in experimenting with procedures to “fix” this.  
What would be the most sensible thing to do?   Is explanting before waiting much longer and changing to a different IOL the best  hope to improve my vision? I guess I need a second opinion but how do I find an ophthalmologist  (NY area) experienced in explanting,  what if my current Dr  says he has the necessary experience;  do I  trust him?  He has been attentive and responsive,  seems to have excellent credentials, and was recommended by another doctor , no reason to doubt his surgical skills, but if the possible risks were glossed over, do I blame him for my bad decision, he seems caring, wants to re-check me now. Was I just unlucky or did I not ask the right questions?  
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1731421 tn?1358823371
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I'm sorry for your difficulty. The symptoms you are experiencing are difficult to manage if you still have some residual refractive error. It sounds like you want to just have the ReStor IOLs removed and that's completely reasonable. Probably your surgeon would be fine to do this, but I'd recommend a second opinion. This will help to boost your confidence and it's just more sensible to obtain that 2nd opinion. Removal of the IOL for a High Definition Monofocal IOL will improve your overall vision. You can always have the dominant eye set for distance vision and the non dominant eye set for intermediate distance = Blended Vision or you may just opt for distance vision correction for both eyes and use readers for all intermediate and near tasks. I wish you the best and this will help.
Good luck!

Timothy D. McGarity, M.D.
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Avatar universal
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Avatar universal
A related discussion, restor iol was started.
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I feel your pain on the close vision. I used to be able to read the tiny numbers on electronic components without my glasses before Cataract Surgery. Aw shucks.
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Just a side note. Wearing Glasses after spending real money on your eyes is still the best protection from getting stuck in the eye by accident.
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Avatar universal
Did I panic because I was so used to my nearsighted good close vision? Is it possible I need to give the restore lenses more time until I adapt,and my near vision improves. the Dr felt part of the problem was dry eyes due to medication drops from after surgery which I just stopped using, now I'm using lubricating eye drops and will see him in 2 weeks. he's very calming, reassuring and feels it is all correctable, I'll give it more time and hope it will resolve. I was told the prescription can be tweaked if needed?
I find it  helpful to learn of similar experiences and being able to vent my feelings and fears, so thanks for any information and  the support that is provided here
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Avatar universal
Thanks, just to clarify, I  always wore  glasses and contact lenses until I needed progressive lenses and then  contact lenses were more difficult to get good vision with. Being nearsighted, I was able to do many things I enjoyed without glasses and did not want to lose this. The promise of doing the restor multifocals was I would pretty much have my near and distance vision, I actually did the surgery before it was absolutely  needed as the Dr enticed me with" why wait when you can benefit from not needing glasses  anymore now". I'm actually seeing the Dr today because my near vision is horrible and needs to  be corrected even if that means replacing these implants, when they sounded too good to be true I should have known better, did some research but found this website too late. Now I'll see what he says but most likely will need a 2nd opinion too. If explanting is the answer, how do I decide what to replace them with? I would give up distance to have my near vision back to do the things I was able to do without glasses at home
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Avatar universal
Allow me to share my experience. I wore progressive lens before my Cataracts were removed. I was near-sighted with Astigmatism. I chose the Monofocal Lens for both eyes and now wear Progressive Lens. My Rx gave me very sharp distance and 2.5 mag for reading. I am not wearing my glasses as I type this message on the Computer. No issues with my vision at the 3rd Anniversary of my Surgery. Good luck.
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Avatar universal
Thank you for answering. After this experience I think I would rather wear glasses to drive rather than readers and wish I could have back my nearsighted close vision where I often took off my glasses to comfortably do the things I enjoy and this functions for me better in my daily life. Is there a modified monovision that might give me the best of both, good near and some distance?, I'm seeing the surgeon very soon , so are there any questions I should now ask? any guidance is much appreciated, I am so afraid of making a wrong decision.
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