SeaConquest Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 I will be 43 next month. My contacts have been giving me trouble of late, so I am considering Lasik. I don't yet need to wear reading glasses, but my doctor suggested that I do a trial of monovision (one eye for distance, one eye for reading) with contact lenses to see if I could tolerate it. This would avoid the need for reading glasses down the road. I have been doing the trial this morning, and it seems totally fine. Has anyone had monovision Lasik? What was your experience? Any downside to the procedure vs. correcting both eyes for distance? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 My dad did it. He is actually deceased now. He was 71 when he died (he had heart disease for 18 years - long story). He had it for like 20 years and never wore reading glasses to his dying day. He was VERY happy with the results. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 My dad did it. He is actually deceased now. He was 71 when he died (he had heart disease for 18 years - long story). He had it for like 20 years and never wore reading glasses to his dying day. He was VERY happy with the results. I am very sorry for your loss, but I thank you for your feedback. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 My sister (61) had it done a few years ago and she LOVES it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 (edited) I had Severe Myopia, and Astigmatism. I had LASIK surgeries, here in Cali, Colombia, during November of 1997. Next month will be 20 years. The Ophthalmologist who did my surgeries was one of the pioneering scientists for LASIK and at that time she was working on getting FDA approval. At that time, she was #2 in the world for the LASIK procedure. I think #1 was in Bogota. She told me there were 2 ways she could do it. She said that she could remove all of the Astigmatism and that I would need to use Reading glasses. Or, that she could leave some Astigmatism in one eye and I would be able to read.without Reading glasses. I told her that I enjoy Reading and would have no trouble using Reading glasses and to remove all of the Astigmatism. A month or 2 after the surgeries, she gave me a prescription for Reading glasses. I still have those. I am typing this on a Laptop and can read without glasses. I usually only remember to get the Reading glasses out, if I am going to sit down and read a book. ' Good luck with whatever you decide to do! As with any doctors, you should find a Board Certified Ophthalmologist who has an office in an Eye hospital. If you live in a large city there will be one or more eye hospitals. Always select your doctors with care. Again, good luck! For me, the LASIK surgeries were a miracle. ETA: You are in the proper age range for LASIK. Probably not a good idea for those below 25 or above 55. They MUST do tests on you, to see if you are a good candidate for LASIK, BEFORE you schedule LASIK surgery. Edited October 2, 2017 by Lanny 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted October 2, 2017 Author Share Posted October 2, 2017 (edited) Thanks, Lanny. My surgery will be at the Shiley Eye Center at UCSD. They are a teaching hospital with 3 buildings devoted entirely to eyeballs. I already had a 2.5 hour eval with all the bells and whistles, and am a good candidate for surgery. I am definitely going with the best in my area! Thank you for the advice. I think I am going to go with monovision. My brain doesn't seem to be bothered by it, and it will keep me out of reading glasses for a longer period of time. :) Edited October 2, 2017 by SeaConquest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 That sounds excellent. I don't know what you mean by "monovision" but hopefully you fully understand the various options available to you. Before I had my LASIK surgeries, I wore Bifocals. Now, I have a pair of cheap sunglasses I bought on the street for a few dollars, and the Reading glasses I got a month or so after the LASIK surgeries in 1997. Good luck with your LASIK surgeries! I hope you get results like I did! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 (edited) I am near sighted, and could not at ALL tolerate even the thought of having different eyes at different focal lengths. :eek: That would have been hell on earth for me. I had the lasik for both eyes at the same focal length, so it fixed the blurry distance but also removed my extremely close range vision (like 18-24 inches from my face). Fortunately, I still do not need reading glasses (and I am over 50 now, and the lasik was over 10 years ago). I attribute that to having done as the lasik physician said, which is basically not give in to the temptation to go the easy route of reading glasses. From the bag of tricks to delay reading glasses: use lubricating drops to help prevent dry eyes (which don't have elasticity to change focal lengths). Take breaks throughout the day to practice focal length changes by looking near/far/near/far. And blinking/closing my eyes for 30 seconds or so to give my eyes time to adjust to focusing on closer things for reading. Not 100% happy with the lasik, as one eye still is just a squinch different than the other in focal length which is a minor irritation (but not the horror it would be of having one eye set for each focal length, lol) -- but it sure beats glasses/contacts and the troubles I was increasingly having getting anything a prescription that actually worked! BEST of luck for a successful procedure, whatever you decide! Warmest regards, Lori D. Edited October 2, 2017 by Lori D. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted October 3, 2017 Author Share Posted October 3, 2017 I am near sighted, and could not at ALL tolerate even the thought of having different eyes at different focal lengths. :eek: That would have been hell on earth for me. I had the lasik for both eyes at the same focal length, so it fixed the blurry distance but also removed my extremely close range vision (like 18-24 inches from my face). Fortunately, I still do not need reading glasses (and I am over 50 now, and the lasik was over 10 years ago). I attribute that to having done as the lasik physician said, which is basically not give in to the temptation to go the easy route of reading glasses. From the bag of tricks to delay reading glasses: use lubricating drops to help prevent dry eyes (which don't have elasticity to change focal lengths). Take breaks throughout the day to practice focal length changes by looking near/far/near/far. And blinking/closing my eyes for 30 seconds or so to give my eyes time to adjust to focusing on closer things for reading. Not 100% happy with the lasik, as one eye still is just a squinch different than the other in focal length which is a minor irritation (but not the horror it would be of having one eye set for each focal length, lol) -- but it sure beats glasses/contacts and the troubles I was increasingly having getting anything a prescription that actually worked! BEST of luck for a successful procedure, whatever you decide! Warmest regards, Lori D. I thought I wouldn't be able to tolerate it either because I am addicted to seeing so well at a distance with my contacts. But, my brain seems to be completely ignoring the distance vision in my non-dominant eye. If you had asked me beforehand if I would likely tolerate it, I would have said no. But, I am going on 10+ hours of this monovision trial and I can't even tell at all. I am surprised. I thought I would be dizzy or have headaches, but nope. Can't tell. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porque Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 I have been doing monovision with my contacts for years with no problems whatsoever! I had a friend who had monovision lasik surgery and was very happy! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 I have natural monovision. Works well to have one eye for distance and one for up close. My eyes weren't always like that: I was near sighted as a kid, then as I hit 40, had a hard time seeing up close and the near-sightedness got better. No idea how I ended up with one eye of each type! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted October 3, 2017 Share Posted October 3, 2017 I requested monovision when I had cataract surgery done 20 years ago. No regrets...I LOVE it! I can drive and watch movies and still do close work. I went from thick coke-bottle glasses to rarely wearing glasses at all. No trouble tolerating it... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 8, 2018 Author Share Posted January 8, 2018 Having my surgery in a few minutes. See you on the flip! Will post updates in case it helps anyone else considering it. :) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 (edited) Having my surgery in a few minutes. See you on the flip! Will post updates in case it helps anyone else considering it. :) Ooo! Exciting! I had mine done about 18 years ago (not monovision) and I remember it took me a couple of weeks longer than expected to recover—meaning I needed to use eye drops longer than I thought and my vision fluctuated longer than they said it would—by a few weeks, but once it stabilized it was fine. Edited January 8, 2018 by Garga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 I am just over 20 years post LASIK surgeries (November 1997). My surgeon was one of the pioneering scientists. She was #2 in the world at that time for the LASIK procedure. She was involved in getting the FDA approval. She explained to me that there were 2 ways she could do it: The first was to leave a little bit of Astigmatism (?) in one eye, so that I could read without eyeglasses. The other way, which I selected, was to completely eliminate the Asigmatism and would require Reading glasses. I enjoy Reading, so I chose the 2nd option. The truth is that I have the same prescription eyeglasses I bought in late 1997 or early 1998, for Reading. I only use them if I am going to sit down to read a book. I wish the OP similar success with the LASIK surgeries. Always research the surgeon, thoroughly, before scheduling surgery of any type. I had severe Myopia and Astigmatism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 9, 2018 Author Share Posted January 9, 2018 Everything went well. Easy peasy. I've woken from my valium-induced slumber and am pretty sure that I'm already seeing 20/20. Amazing. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Hurrah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laundrycrisis Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Everything went well. Easy peasy. I've woken from my valium-induced slumber and am pretty sure that I'm already seeing 20/20. Amazing. I'm happy for you !!! I am attempting to get back into contacts after several years with progressive glasses. From the two different sets of trial multifocal contacts I've had, I think I'm going to end up with a monovision solution. I'm not sure if I am a candidate for LASIK, but if I am, I will keep your experience in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 10, 2018 Author Share Posted January 10, 2018 Had my post-op appointment today. 20-15 in my distance eye and 20-20 in my near vision eye. Boom! Miracle! :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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