Post cataract surgery/worried

thank you so much for the reply, John. I will read the eyeworld study. The doctor is still doing diagnostics before deciding next steps. he says he may have to take out my toric lens and put in a monofocal lens instead. I found the surgery very traumatic, like ripping and tearing at my eye. is this normal, do you think? I wanted to keep my eye shut for a week after the surgery. Is that normal? I am dreading next steps. We are not even discussing the second eye til we get this one straightened out. Again, thank you for your kind message. It is so appreciated.

@bmy I had originally discussed getting a toric lens for my right eye which was the second one done due to having an astigmatism in both eyes but worse in the right eye. The surgeon said he thought the intraocular lens (IOL) would be the best and I think that was based on my telling him I'm more concerned with seeing at a distance vs closer up for driving. I ended up having the same IOL lens in both eyes and I'm happy with them. I do need reading glasses but I no longer need them to drive. After both my cataract surgeries I had 3 different eye drops (prednisolone, ofloxacin, ketorolac) that I had to use on a specific schedule for each week for 4 weeks. For me the eye drops were a pain but they made it easy by giving me a printout of the 4 week schedule to take home with me.

I had to keep an eye patch on the first day and wear it at night for the first week but I didn't have any pain. I did have a few instances when I felt like I had a small obstruction in my eye which the surgeon told me this is normal. I don't think what you are describing sounds normal to me but I'm hoping other members will pop into the discussion and share their experience with you. Here's some information you may find helpful and maybe even for your follow up surgery.

Cataract surgery recovery: 8 tips to minimize recovery time: https://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/cataract-surgery-recovery.htm

Can you give us an update after you talk to your doctor again?

New Topic Under Cataracts. After cataract surgery has anyone had to have his/her new lens polished? How soon after your surgery did you have to have it done? I got the regular lens, not the enhanced ones. My ophthalmologist said I may have to have them polished to reduce cloudiness at some point, and I wondered how it went. He can do it in his office which is nice. I guess I've been pretty lucky, because everything went well with cataract removal from both eyes a few weeks apart. I did experience a tremendous cascade of floaters in one eye right after the surgery while I was still in the operating room. I told the ophthalmologist, and he asked me if I saw flashing lights. Since I didn't, he wasn't concerned. Thanks for your input if you've had this done. A visit to the ophthalmologist is on my list of things to do this spring, although the goal post seems to be getting pushed back from the slow Covid vaccination pace and new aggressive strain. I'm not seeing as clearly as I have been and have decided to dramatically reduce my screen time to rest my eyes and see if that helps. Nancy

Polished? I have never heard of having lens polished after cataract surgery, Nancy. I have had cataract surgery on both of my eyes and my doctor never mentioned polishing the lens. I did experience increasing blurriness after both surgeries which was caused by "secondary cataracts", and both were easily and quickly removed in-office with laser/YAG procedures.

@nla4625, like @cherriann I have not heard of having a lens polished after cataract surgery. I just had cataract surgery on both my eyes a little over a month ago. I did find some information explaining it a little. I think it's called a posterior capsulotomy.

What Is a Posterior Capsulotomy?: https://www.aao.org/eye-health/treatments/what-is-posterior-capsulotomy

@cherriann and @johnbishop. Thanks for this information. It doesn't sound too awful if everything goes well when he corrects it. I hope tired eyes from too much screen time or this posterior capsulotomy is all this periodic blurriness is. I've been checking the grid chart for macular degeneration, which the ophthalmologist said I'm in the early stages of, regularly; and the lines are still straight. I guess I'd better start learning about that during my allotted screen time. Thanks again and thank goodness for 2 sunny days in western PA. Nancy

Hi im marianne, and i had posted months ago re: my husbands cataract surgery, this past summer June 29. He has been so bad ever since. It started with light sensitiviy prior to the surgery, but when he finally went to get an eye exam, they found the nuclear cataract in right eye. The photo phobia had gone away, and the doctor told him about a new high performance iol lense, called PAN OPTIC, TRI FOCAL. well, he decided to do it , since then he has never
been able to go in the light, fish like he used to, surfing. He is an outdoorsman, a young 66 yr old healthy!.The surgery went fine, the doctor keeps telling him
he has 20/20 site, but cannot explain why he is so sensitive to light. All the tv' s in our house are turned to black and white !!. All the doc said was, keep
putting in drops, well 7 months have passed now !! he has pain behind the right eye, he has been to 5 opthamologists, and they all seem to not want to
get involved in his first surgery issues ! really ? He is beside himself, we DO NOT KNOW WHERE TO TURN, some days he is better than other. OH he
also stopped all the drops after 6 months ! the doc said he wouldnt need anything anymore. ANY ONE OUT THERE WITH PHOTO PHOBIA ? He has
tried all the sun glasses he can think of, nothing works. Once in a while he gets mild headaches, but not migranes.
Any info would help me, i have researched everything on the net, and fell like I am burned out!!

@surfing there is another discussion you might find helpful -

Extreme light sensitivity. What can be done?
— https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/dry-eyes-or-what/

Hello @cherriann and @nla4625,

I'm glad that John, @johnbishop, posted about the posterior capsulotomy. I've had cataract surgery on both eyes (the surgeries were a few years apart). After the first surgery. I did have the laser treatment describe in the post that John provided. I don't recall any discomfort and as I recall it was a very quick, simple procedure. It did help my post-surgery vision problems.

@surfing Welcome back to Mayo Clinic Connect, a place to give and get support. Since your husband's cataract surgery he has experienced extreme light sensitivity and he has seen 5 providers and he has still not found a resolution to the issue.

Above, @johnbishop linked a previous discussion you may find helpful related to extreme light sensitivity.

Everyone has different situations and/or resources available. Have you traveled for care? Below I have linked what has been named the best hospital systems for Ophthalmology.
- Best Hospitals for Ophthalmology https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/ophthalmology

I'm wondering if you and your husband have considered seeking out a particular provider that specializes in his issue?