RLE or Lasik

I am 59 and have been wearing glasses or contacts all of my life.  I wear a -1.5 soft contact in left eye when I am using mono-vision and -3.0 in left eye when I want good distance vision in both eyes.  I use a -4.5 lens in right eye, but I have -.75 astigmatism which is not corrected with my current soft contacts.  I used to wear gas permeable lens and had better distant vision with them, but they had become uncomfortable.  I also have a pair of progressive lens glasses and bifocals set of near and intermediate vision that I use for computer.  I work on a computer most of the day and my mono-vision contacts work well for that.  I have considered Lasik for a number of years and finally decided to consult a Lasik surgeon.  The Dr. said that while my lens were clear and I was a candidate for Lasik, I might also consider RLE using a Toric lens in right eye and standard in left eye.  I would have time between the two eye surgeries if I chose RLE to try various contact strengths for left eye and any LASIK tweaking that might be required would be included.   I am nearing retirement and like to snow ski, sail, and travel and would like to get ride of the fear of helplessness I have without glasses or contacts.  Wearing glasses to drive or read would be fine, but I want to keep my intermediate vision and I want to avoid glare, halos, problems with night driving. I would like to have some form of monovision with either procedure I choose.
I had never considered RLE and it seems drastic.  The doctor did not push one over the other, but several staff members I spoke with recommended the RLE when I told them that I wouldn't let cost be the deciding factor.  I am considering just having RLE on the right eye with the toric lens and continuing to wear various strength soft lens in left eye.  Does this sound like an option or would having one eye -3.0 and the other somewhere between 0 and -.5 too unbalanced to ever wear glasses.  My other option would be to continue to wear soft contacts and try a toric version in right eye and wait for cataracts...

[Ray T Oyakawa, MD]

I would also consider a Crystalens in both eyes with LRIs.  Also, if you can wait two years or so there are other accommodating IOLs waiting for approval.  You have already waited this long.

Dr. O.