Mini-mono quesiton

[flahagan]

I had cataract removed from right eye one week ago, and now have sparkling 20/20 distance vision.  I am THRILLED!  Surgery for left cataract is scheduled for next Tuesday and I told the Dr. I'd like to be able to see the computer comfortably, possibly read a menu in a restaurant, etc., but would be OK wearing glasses for reading a book.  I did have mono-vision with contact lenses until 3 years ago when I switched to glasses.

He said he'd "shoot for"  -1.50 in the left eye which he felt would be comfortable for me.  He said it should give me good intermediate viewing and about 20/40 or so distance vision.  When I found out it's not as exact as I thought, I'm having second thoughts.  Would I be better off just going for true mono-vision (I'm 67 yrs old) or even both eyes for distance instead of taking a chance of ending up with vision that's not good for computer reading OR distance?

He also said most people go for both eyes distance, but that people who have tried mono-vision before do well with it.  His concern was that as I get older, would I be happy with the lack of depth perception produced with strict mono-vision.

Sure hope we're making the right decision with the -1.50 toric lens.  

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

This issue has been discussed at great length and you can read those by using the search feature and archives.

Shooting for -.1.50 is excellent for mini-mono   distance bias.  Glasses will equalize things for exacting visual situations (driving at night, prolonged reading).

JCH MD

[flahagan]

Thanks so much - I DO value your opinion!  I feel better hearing that's what I should be hoping for with this second surgery.  If it goes as well as the first, I'm in like Flynn.

I did have some blurriness and clouding the first day after surgery, and the Dr. said the cornea was a little cloudy and swollen.  I kept putting in all the drops and on the 2nd day post-op it was clearer, by the third day it was perfect!

I'll post, hopefully with more good news, after the left eye is done.  Maybe then I'll be able to see the computer screen and not misspell "QUESTION".

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

I have never been able to spell well and dearly wish MedHelp.com had "spellcheck" feature. Good luck.

JCH MD

[JodieJ]

I also feel that you are making the right decision for your second eye.  With both eyes set for distance, everything within arm's length would be blurry.  I don't think you'd be happy with this at all, especially if you were nearsighted for most of your life.  If you ever have a problem with depth perception (which is probably extremely unlikely), you could always wear weak glasses.

BTW, both Firefox and Google toolbar have spell checkers.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[flahagan]

Yes, I've worn glasses for near-sightedness since I was 11 or 12.  I'm hoping for good results with the mini-monovision.  I was surprised that my Dr. had never heard the term "mini-monovision" - guess he never sees these forums!  But he seemed to understand that I wanted good vision for computer, seeing lables on grocery shelves, etc.

I hope the -1.50 power is appropriate for this!

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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