Motion Sickness after Cataract Surgery

Question: I had cataract surgery on my left eye last Thursday. Since then I have been experiencing nausea, like motion sickness/sea sickness because the balance between my two eyes has been altered. Is this common?  What medication helps?

Answer: If there is now a significant imbalance between the vision or prescription in the operated eye as compared to the unoperated eye it very well could cause the sensation of motion sickness or vertigo. Your brain is trying very hard to adapt to the big difference between eyes and the only way to get rid of this in the immediate short term is to cover the unoperated eye. In virtually all instances the problem goes away as soon as the second eye is operated. You should speak with your cataract surgeon and explain the situation and he or she can counsel you on the timing to operate the second eye. Often it is only about 1-2 weeks if all is healing well.

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