Myopic since childhood currently -13.5 and -11. Corrected for many years with near and distant monovision gas permeable contact lenses which I am pretty happy with EXCEPT that mid vision for computer work is compromised. Now, at 66 I need cataract surgery. Favourite occupations are reading and walking and I do a lot of computer work. So any advice please on whether to choose near/middle/distant-; sadly I guess I will only get a choice of 2. I have thought about varifocal etc but some of the feedback has been pretty negative. Anyone with my level of myopia and interests made good/bad choices? Thank you.
Had you ever tried or considered the having the near vision lens adjusted slightly to allow for computer use?
Your current configuration is consider to be full monovision. Many people cannot adjust to fully monovision as it is generally too extreme for them. You are in the fortunate category, and this gives you options. The more common configuration is mini monovision where the correction between the two lenses is not as great. Reading glasses may then be required for fine print. As you suggested, some have gone for a combination where one eye is set for distance and the other is fitted with a trifocal or EDOF lens, with mixed results. There are compromises and trade-offs with each choice.
Your existing prescription is not necessarily the same with IOL’s. Prior to surgery my left eye required a stronger prescription than my right eye, but the the IOL’s used were the reverse. It is possible that a slightly adjusted monovision could give you good vision at all distances without glasses. You need to have this discussion with the surgeon as every case is different.
Another option to consider is monovision. One eye is corrected for distance (usually the dominant eye, but the opposite can be done), and then the second eye is undercorrected by -1.0 to -1.5 D. This allows you to read with one eye especially in the intermediate range, and see distance with the other. The best way to get into it providing your eyes are still good enough to get a reasonable correction with contacts is to do the distance eye, then do the under correction in the second eye with contacts as a trial. That will give you a reasonable idea what monovision is like. It is not for everybody, but it is an option. To get very small print reading you would still likely need help from readers.