I was set on being corrected for near vision with cataract surgery as I've been nearsighted my whole life, and I seem to remember reading posts of people who became very frustrated at suddenly experiencing the opposite - not being able to see near and having to put on glasses for every little thing - except I don't mind wearing glasses anyway ... I have heard of mini monovision but I'm thinking more of both eyes for same. Does anyone have any feedback on nearsighed people being corrected for good near vision vs. good distance vision ? Thanks
just to clarify do you have cataracts or are you looking to clear lens exchange to correct near vision? If latter not many of us here on the cataract forums would recommend it. If you don’t mind glasses stick with those.
if you are taking about cataract surgery, I was near sighted all my life. i got a mini mono with my LE fir intermediate and RE fir distance. I don’t need prescription glasses for distance.Only need a cheap pair of readers for close. I can see close if i have enough strong light. The reading glasses are a very low strength of +1.25.
honestly i love being glasses free for distance ! By the way i was talking only about monofocal lenses. i was not a candidate for multifocal lens.
I chose near over the physician’s (strong) recommendation for distance correction. I am very satisfied with the result. I’m typing this on a desktop without my glasses. I read, even fine print, without correction and only put on my glasses when leaving the house for the day. I too don’t mind wearing glasses as I’ve had them since I was 21 (now 67).
Julissa, see this thread, which may be of help: Highly myopic eyes and cataracts - Eye care - Patient Communities
it is cataract surgery…I was pretty firm about monofocal correcting for near and glasses for far.
So I was surprised that a doctor would recommend distance and glasses for near. I’m thinking about it.
I had a near vision lens used for cataract surgery for similar reasons. plus, I only needed the RD eye done, my other eye did not need cataract surgery. For me to get distance vision (how great it would be to not need glasses!), they would have had to do something with the “good” eye so both eyes would work in sync prescription wise. I really wanted to be glasses free, but didn’t want them messing with my good eye. So… here I am, mostly glad all has gone well. Let us know what you decide!
mcjg,
So you mean you had a near vision IOL to match the nearsighted vision presently in your non-RD eye? I think that is what you meant.
Thanks, BW. It was helpful.
Yes, that’s what I meant. After my vitrectomy the IOL was somewhere around 7.25 in my operated eye and 4.50 in the “good” eye. They had to aim for the IOLs to be no more than 2.0 difference (or I’d end up seeing double). After my cataract surgery, the operated eye came in at 4.00 (if I remember correctly; I should check my records and give you more accurate information).
I received three opinions from three different surgeons - each one different. One wanted to do lasik on the good eye to bring it in sync, using a distance lens to replace the cataract. The other wanted to go with multi-focal but would do cataract surgery in both eyes (even though I didn’t need it in both eyes). The surgeon I went with supported the conservative choice of replacing the cataract with a lens that closely matched my “good” eye’s prescription. All surgeons said I’d not likely see a full cataract in the good eye until I was in my 80’s. So… I went with the easiest. One eye only fix.
Hi Julissa,
Ive been near sighted forever. The first surgeon I saw said I would need glasses for reading too. The next one said he advises people like me who have been near sighted to keep that view. I had my first eye done Oct, monovision set to near. I am having the left eye done the same next week (nervous).
Since I “hit target” with the first eye, the surgeon feels doing the 2nd eye the same for me is best. Both with toric lens. My near vision is still good so far although not as near as it was. I am hoping with the 2nd eye working together I will be fine. I use glasses for distance and am waiting for the new ones once both eyes are settled since I wont need glasses for astigmatism as well. Ive never used glasses for reading or any close work and didnt want to flip my vision world for distance. I see the computer great without glasses but now have to move my reading material around to find the sweet near vision location. Still getting used to it. Good luck.
Sounds as if you were going to do monovision but now both eyes will be set for near, is that right?
Yes, it would be hard to switch to seeing clearly for distance and not being able to focus at all in front of me … it’s not as if I were a professional (or any sort of) pilot, right?
the only thing you may want to consider is that for some people they get more range of focus from monofocals even if targeted both for distance. The nearer the target is the harder it is to hit and the range you get is much narrower.
suAn2,
but I would get up in the morning and be pretty fuzzy sighted for just daily life activities like brushing teeth …
hard to figure since I need progressive glasses now for the past several years …but still used to good near vision.
exactly.
Im sorry if I confused you. I went monofocal in my right eye and Monday I will go monofocal in my left. Both set for near with Toric lens as well, to correct for astigmatism. I want near vision to be as close to excellent as it was. Right now, I can read without glasses and see computer without glasses as well as TV (not as well) but Im still using my left cataract eye so IM hoping it will be better with the 2nd eye done. Im nervous waiting for 2nd eye since its still a “helper” eye despite the cloudy part.
Until both eyes done and settled, Im using my old glasses which arent too bad since Im still near sighted. I drive with my glasses but look under them to see dashboard and map etc.
Julissa, the majority choose distance so if you want near stay firm. Its what you are used to. Monofocal means you choose one or the other. I got influenced by everyone and chose far until my surgeon said I would be disappointed having been near sighted forever. He was right.
Sometimes you dont know what you are missing because you never had it. Yes my vision is sharper with the $2000 plus toric lens, but would I have known what I was missing if I didnt do it? I dont know.
So you decided to do near, or far? I’m not sure what you ended up with, although it sounds like toric would correct your astigmatism for distance. (?).
Hi Julissa:)
If your doc recommended distance even after you firmly said you want near, then it’s time to get a 2nd consult (or 3, if needed). Docs do this because “it’s the way it was always done” until now, when there are many more options available. I was extremely nearsighted and chose a monofocal IOL set for best distance in my dominant eye and a Symfony toric EDOF in my non-dominant eye set for slightly less distance, to ensure that I would definitely have great near vision.
This is referred to as micro-monovision, with a small difference in aim between eyes of only about 1/2 diopter. (Although my case is different since I added the variable of mixing lens types.) Micro-monovision is VERY easy for most people to adapt to. In fact many people have such a difference in their “normal” uncorrected vision and don’t even realize it.
I was very fortunate. I ended up with 20/20 vision in both eyes and exceptional near vision in both eyes, as well. This is what SueAn was talking about when she said some people get great near vision even with the monofocal IOL set to distance. But I chose to be sure by getting the EDOF in my non-dominant eye. There is speculation that the exceptional near vision with a monofocal IOL set to distance may be related to having a very long eye related to extreme myopia, but don’t know of any studies on this.
In your case, if you’re certain you want monofocal IOL’s, then you might try micro-monovision with one eye set to best near vision, and the other set to slightly less perfect near. You may end up with more depth of field than expected, and yet still have the option of easily correcting for distance with glasses. They say it’s best to set the dominant eye for the better distance vision of the two.
Wishing you the best possible outcome!
Hi Seeherenow,
I am glad yours turned out so well with the micro -m-v. I don’t believe I have an option to go that route (especially not with an EDOF lens) since I can only do monofocals. I suppose one could do micro m. v. with monofocals, but I am at this point just trying to settle into what is the best ‘target number’ to utilize for my case. I don’t think there will be a problem with the doctor going with a near focus for me even though so many do like ‘distance’ and they often think we want that.
Thanks,
Julissa
im a week out now with both eyes set monofocal to near. They are still settling but I read and do everything close up as before. The astigmatism is gone and sonetimes things seem almost too sharp , oddly. I have good intermediate vision and the same crummy distant vision as previous, although sharper. Im waiting to get new glasses for distance and still using my old ones.Night driving is so much better without cataracts.
What did you decide?