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Pain in eye after cataract surgery: When does it get better?

Posted by sunny1971 @sunny1971, Apr 28, 2021

Hi friends has anyone had pain behind the eye 9 to 12 months after the cataract surgery? My husband still going down a dark road fighting the pain in his eyes he’s been to so many physicians no one seems to know what it is they all say his eye and cataracts are fine the surgery went well he had a expensive cataract lens put in which is called a panoptic, he feels the doctor did not place it properly or that is too strong for his eye. He’s been on drop after drop five or seven different drops sometimes they help most of the time they don’t.

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mtpeony | @mtpeony | Dec 23, 2023
In reply to @charlief "Sorry for late response. Have not checked this sight in a long time. I live in..." + (show)
@charlief

Sorry for late response. Have not checked this sight in a long time. I live in California & I have only read newspaper & technical articles by dr. Hamrah pulls played a podcast by him which stated the treatment plan noted in my input. Confocal microscopy is a staining of the eye followed by a microscope scan which can detect & measure nerve damage I had it done to prove to my eye doctors that the surgery actually did eye damage & was not something else like my imagination. I never had any blurring, just varying degrees of pain over 6 years. The autologous blood eye drops gave me the most benefit in reducing the pain. I felt no burning. Did you try a 20% vs 50% solution. I also use an eye drop nighttime gel in my eye to avoid a dry eye sensation when I sleep. After 6 years, I still get occasional dry eye & some pain some evenings but much better than the first 2 years. I am continuing with gabapentin, autogolous drops, pain medication & periodically googling for any updated medical info.

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Hello Charlief-- Thanks for your info. Where do you find all the info on Hamrah? Podcasts?
What treatment plan do you refer to? I get the feeling he prescribes the same treatment plan for most of his patients...! That's the feeling I got when I saw him yesterday...Clearly no bedside manner ....pretty dismissive of questions....just HERE is the plan...and he wrote it down and handed it to me.! Have seen many many other opthomologists with all different diagnoses and approaches! Not sure anymore who to believe or trust. I have constant micro blurring in one eye and sometimes pain after cataract surgery a year ago. His plan is difficult and very uncomfortable to follow. I need some encouragement that this will fix the problems in the long run.....Thanks for reading!

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1 reply
dlv | @dlv | Dec 26, 2023

I had a monofocal placed in my R eye with no side effects. Though I did mourn not being able to read. I thought a multifocal in my left eye would help- balance it out. It does help with reading though I still wear readers most of the time. The big problem has been pain and pressure in the multifocal eye since surgery four months ago. I can’t help but think there is something about the multifocal that irritates my eye. If the pain would go away I would be content with my choice. As it is, I wish I had gotten the monofocal in my left eye as well and just dealt with the decreased reading ability. BTW, both are Tecnis. The Tecnis eyhance is the bomb- like looking at high def tv.

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charlief | @charlief | Dec 28, 2023
In reply to @mtpeony "Hello Charlief-- Thanks for your info. Where do you find all the info on Hamrah? Podcasts?..." + (show)
@mtpeony

Hello Charlief-- Thanks for your info. Where do you find all the info on Hamrah? Podcasts?
What treatment plan do you refer to? I get the feeling he prescribes the same treatment plan for most of his patients...! That's the feeling I got when I saw him yesterday...Clearly no bedside manner ....pretty dismissive of questions....just HERE is the plan...and he wrote it down and handed it to me.! Have seen many many other opthomologists with all different diagnoses and approaches! Not sure anymore who to believe or trust. I have constant micro blurring in one eye and sometimes pain after cataract surgery a year ago. His plan is difficult and very uncomfortable to follow. I need some encouragement that this will fix the problems in the long run.....Thanks for reading!

Jump to this post

I originally read an article in the Wall Street Journal in 2018 about problems the cataract surgery & it referenced dr. Hamrah. I then googled his name & read papers he had given at opthomology symposiums. Also found a podcast he gave. I started the autologous blood drop treatment he recommended & had major improvement from severe pain to discomfort with a month. I have continued it on & off since & not sure if it still helps. I had stints put in my eyelids to improve tearing & that seems to help with dry eye symptoms. I tried a Pro Kera treatment about a year ago & it appeared to help with some of my discomfort symptoms. I take a steroid eyedrop if I am having a bad day. I always carry refresh eyedrops if my dry eye conditions act up it has been 6 years & my routine is doable with ok & uncomfortable periods. I monitor the medical papers for any new breakthroughs but nothing beyond what I have done to date has caught my interest. The lead research on this issue appears to be Tufts, Houston university, Utah university, California Davis university.

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1 reply
kavinath | @kavinath | Jul 24 10:36am

Hello -

Hoping to revilize this thread and get some much needed guidance.

8 months ago I had laser guided cataract surgery and physioligical recover in fine and my vison is 2020. Pain in the right eye is life debilitating (and recently with crazy amount of floaters) and with no end in sight.

So 1) is dry eye the right problems doctor are trying to solve? - xiidra, veye and restastic, all used across last 7 month 2) could this be intense eye strain causing the problem - the optometrist suggeste correcting glasse as the replacement lense was mono 3) will seeing a neuro othomologist be of use - mixed opions from doctors here 4) is there any research on such long term pain? 5) are there other medical avenues from pain management.

Will greatly appreciate reponses for guidance,
Thanks in advance

REPLY
2 replies
mtpeony | @mtpeony | Jul 25 7:24am
In reply to @kavinath "Hello - Hoping to revilize this thread and get some much needed guidance. 8 months ago..." + (show)
@kavinath

Hello -

Hoping to revilize this thread and get some much needed guidance.

8 months ago I had laser guided cataract surgery and physioligical recover in fine and my vison is 2020. Pain in the right eye is life debilitating (and recently with crazy amount of floaters) and with no end in sight.

So 1) is dry eye the right problems doctor are trying to solve? - xiidra, veye and restastic, all used across last 7 month 2) could this be intense eye strain causing the problem - the optometrist suggeste correcting glasse as the replacement lense was mono 3) will seeing a neuro othomologist be of use - mixed opions from doctors here 4) is there any research on such long term pain? 5) are there other medical avenues from pain management.

Will greatly appreciate reponses for guidance,
Thanks in advance

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hello-- Had some of the SAME issues after my cataract surgery a year and half ago.
Pain in left eye and also flashing blurring. Told--dry eye, then floaters, then moving lens, then mites, then cornea neuropathy, and moving iris!!!---probably 10 top ophthalmologists!---
they really don't know....But I suggest you do see a neuro ophthalmologist to check out the cornea nerves....where are you located?

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1 reply
kavinath | @kavinath | Jul 25 9:55am
In reply to @mtpeony "hello-- Had some of the SAME issues after my cataract surgery a year and half ago...." + (show)
@mtpeony

hello-- Had some of the SAME issues after my cataract surgery a year and half ago.
Pain in left eye and also flashing blurring. Told--dry eye, then floaters, then moving lens, then mites, then cornea neuropathy, and moving iris!!!---probably 10 top ophthalmologists!---
they really don't know....But I suggest you do see a neuro ophthalmologist to check out the cornea nerves....where are you located?

Jump to this post

Sorry to hear this journey. Hope things are getting resolved. I am in Atlanta, GA so Emory is local and Mayo in Jacksonville is a 6 hour drive.

REPLY
kavinath | @kavinath | Jul 25 11:57am
In reply to @charlief "I originally read an article in the Wall Street Journal in 2018 about problems the cataract..." + (show)
@charlief

I originally read an article in the Wall Street Journal in 2018 about problems the cataract surgery & it referenced dr. Hamrah. I then googled his name & read papers he had given at opthomology symposiums. Also found a podcast he gave. I started the autologous blood drop treatment he recommended & had major improvement from severe pain to discomfort with a month. I have continued it on & off since & not sure if it still helps. I had stints put in my eyelids to improve tearing & that seems to help with dry eye symptoms. I tried a Pro Kera treatment about a year ago & it appeared to help with some of my discomfort symptoms. I take a steroid eyedrop if I am having a bad day. I always carry refresh eyedrops if my dry eye conditions act up it has been 6 years & my routine is doable with ok & uncomfortable periods. I monitor the medical papers for any new breakthroughs but nothing beyond what I have done to date has caught my interest. The lead research on this issue appears to be Tufts, Houston university, Utah university, California Davis university.

Jump to this post

This is very useful information. Would you recommend autoglous blood drops over Prokera or both? Have you found other pain management approach?

REPLY
kavinath | @kavinath | Jul 25 2:47pm
In reply to @kavinath "Hello - Hoping to revilize this thread and get some much needed guidance. 8 months ago..." + (show)
@kavinath

Hello -

Hoping to revilize this thread and get some much needed guidance.

8 months ago I had laser guided cataract surgery and physioligical recover in fine and my vison is 2020. Pain in the right eye is life debilitating (and recently with crazy amount of floaters) and with no end in sight.

So 1) is dry eye the right problems doctor are trying to solve? - xiidra, veye and restastic, all used across last 7 month 2) could this be intense eye strain causing the problem - the optometrist suggeste correcting glasse as the replacement lense was mono 3) will seeing a neuro othomologist be of use - mixed opions from doctors here 4) is there any research on such long term pain? 5) are there other medical avenues from pain management.

Will greatly appreciate reponses for guidance,
Thanks in advance

Jump to this post

Here is a great medical article worth reading.
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-neuropathic-corneal-pain-2

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