Trial/use mini-monovision with acute-onset, severe posterior subcapsular cataract in non-dominant eye?

Eye care
1

Hello,

I’m in my early 40s and developed an acute-onset, quite severe posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC) in my left, non-dominant eye (vision is now 20/200+, severe glare/contrast and halo/blurry nighttime issues). I went from 20/20 in that eye to the legal blindness in three months, and have never worn glasses. Right is is still 20/15 and healthy.

My refraction 1 week ago:

OD +0.25 SPH -0.5 CYL Axis x002 ADD +2.25

OS +3.25 SPH -0.25 CYL Axis x177 ADD +2.25 (cataract eye)

I’m EDOF/Multifocal risk averse, and am also concerned about having to wear glasses a lot if my healthy eye also eventually develops a cataract. I know that may not happen for a while, but if it does, my choice of IOL/strength in my current cataract eye matters right now, as I see it, esp. for a monovision setup.

The docs have been saying I can’t trial mini monovision with contacts, due to the cataract, but I’d like to see if mini monovision is a possible eventuality, which means I need to make the right decision in my left eye now.

My questions are:

  1. Can I in fact trial mini monovision with my current vision? If so, what do I need to ask an Optometrist for/how do I express this? Do I need a contact in both eyes? How accurate of a trial would it be due to the cataract? The doctors have seemed dismissive and some even irritated when I ask these questions.
  2. If I can’t trial mini monovision before the surgery, would an LAL in the cataract eye allow me to trial it after surgery, via the adjustments? (I will also be asking a LAL doctor this in three weeks). Would I also need a contact in my right eye to force it to be distance only (make it farsighted as I understand) since it can still accommodate to handle vision at any distance?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I feel somewhat overwhelmed by the choices, and I’ve literally had zero vision issues in my life until now (a blessing, I see, in retrospect), so I have no idea how I “deal” with near vs. far preference, dependence on glasses, and certainly how my brain handles monovision.

Thank you