Monovision
Ξ November 4th, 2007 | → | by carol | General |
Important Note: If you are considering monovision, please try it with contact lenses first!
What is Monovision?
As a person matures somewhere between the ages of 40 to 50 years of age they develop the need for reading glasses. The term that is used to describe this condition is presbyopia. In presbyopia, the lens of the eye—located behind the iris or colored part of the eye—becomes less flexible. When we are young the lens of our eye is “fat” when we are looking at things that are near and becomes “thin” as we look at things in the distance. The term used to describe this process is accommodation. As we age the lens of the eye becomes less flexible so that we have trouble focusing on near objects.
One way of managing the need for reading glasses in a patient who desires LASIK is to use a surgical technique called monovision. In monovision, the surgeon corrects the dominant eye for distance and slightly undercorrects the non-dominant eye so that it is focused at a near distance. Although this causes some mild disparity between the two eyes, the brain easily adapts and automatically makes the adjustment. When the patient looks in the distance, the distance eye is at work. When the patient looks down to read or use a computer, the eye corrected for reading does the work.
Many patients in reading glasses enjoy this option because it allows the patient to have limited need for bifocals. This option does not give infinite levels of vision. A patient may feel more comfortable with a pair of glasses in their glove compartment that corrects the reading eye for distance if traveling on unfamiliar roads at night. A patient may also prefer wearing a pair of readers to thread a needle.
A small percentage of patients do not adjust to monovision and find it disconcerting. In this case, the monovision eye can be enhanced so that both eyes are corrected for distance vision. If this occurs, the patient would then need reading glasses. The best patient for monovision is one who has tried it in a pair of contact lenses. Ask your refractive surgeon to arrange for you to try this in a pair of contact lenses prior to surgery.
More Information about Monovision:
http://www.usaeyes.org/faq/subjects/monovision.htm
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on November 20th, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Hi Carol,
I tried to find the answer in your blog but couln’t find a clear answer. First, Thanks for being so honest and blogging your experience. My question is that I had monovision 1 month ago so that I would not have to wear reading glasses. I have night halos, starburst real bad….the doctor says it will go away in 6 months when the eyes get used to it. What do you think?
Carol’s Response: Thanks for visiting my website and writing to me. I’m sorry to hear you are having problems after lasik. It does take quite a while to get used to monovision. Your brain has to learn to just pick one picture and not try and merge the two together. The halos can be due to your eyes sending two different images to your brain, and your brain just can’t merge them into one clear picture. The halos could also be due to undercorrection, in which case you might need an
enhancement. Unfortunately, the only thing you can do is wait to see how your eyes heal and adjust! Until then, keep up with all your appointments and eye drops.
on November 29th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
I had mono vision about two years ago. The night halos never went away and seems to be getting worst. Even my vision on a whole is not the same. I called the doctors office yesterday and its $100 for eye checkup and $500 each eye for an enhancement. I was very discouraged to hear after spend over $3,500 for the procedure you need to pay another $1,000 for an enhancement.
Carol’s Response: Jennifer, I’m sorry to hear you are having problems two years after your surgery. What a bummer that you have to pay more money for a fix. Let me know what you decide about the enhancement.
on December 14th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
I had Lasik on November 23, 2007. I had monovision done. The halos and the starbursts are extremely bad, I can barely drive at night. I have almost had 3 accidents at night. Will this get better? or is it just cause of the monovision.
on December 30th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
I had Lasik surgury on both eyes with monovision in my non-domonent eye. I was driving the next day and night with some glare, but not prohibitive. My understanding from researching this is that glare and halos are more a factor of the eye healing, than they are of monovision. Anyone contenplating monovision, should try it with disposable contacts first. Some optomologist offer free trial pairs which you can try and refine before lasik.
Carol’s Response - Thanks for your input, Brad. I totally agree on trying it with contact lenses first!!!
on January 27th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
My monovision procedure was completed 8 days ago, and I’m worried that my distance vision won’t get better. It’s not as clear as I had hoped. How much more time will it take for my brain to distinguish which eye to use for distance? Can I expect improvement in the future, or is this just about as good as it’s going to get?
on January 27th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Follow-up question from my previous one: I tried monovision with contact lenses before lasik surgery. I used a lens in my left eye for one week that was undercorrected by 1.0 diopter, as compared to the right eye. I noticed no problems with my distance vision, so I went for the monovision laser surgery. The surgeon recommended that the left eye should be undercorreted by 1.5 diopters instead for better results, so I agreed. Is the less than fully clear distance vision that I am now experiencing (worse than my trial period with the contact lens) related more to the extra half diopter change, or is it that my eyes are still healing from the surgery? Again, it was done 8 days ago. Will this get better with time? I am very anxious that I made the wrong choice in having the lasik surgery done.
on February 8th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I had PRK done 8 days ago and thankfully I haven’t had the starburst or halo problems as badly as the others above. My vision still has some problems but at this point it seems to be progressing in the right direction. I talked to a nurse about the dizzyness being caused by the monovision- she said it would take a couple of weeks for the eyes and the brain to get their act straight. Certainly, I would not advise anyone to drive after this surgery for the first couple of weeks, at least.
Carol’s Response: Laura, Thanks for sharing your story on my website. It definitely takes a while for the brain and eyes to work well together after lasik, especially if monovision was done. Keep my posted on your progress. …Carol
on February 15th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I had lasik surgery for both eyes last August 2007.Immediately I thought I’d made a big mistake as I couldn’t see 20/20. The doctor reassured me that it would get better over time (healing). Now it’s six months later and I’m still not 20/20, but due to the undercorrection I can see close up pretty good and distance pretty good. I wear glasses to drive and thread needles, but I can see the computer without glasses. The doctor said I could get an enhancement now and have monovision if I wanted. They would correct my dominate eye to 20/20 and leave the other alone. But my doctor said my close up and computer vision wouldn’t be as good as it is now and I should decide on an enhancement depending on how often I reach for glasses now. I’ve pretty much decided not to have further surgery and have vision that is best at mid range but I can see fairly well close up and distance. I would love to know more about monovision and if your eyes and brain can really see close up, well, out of one eye and distance, well, out of the other, and what happens to mid range vision?
P.S. I am 56 years old. Would I do this if I could go back in time? Not sure. I thought I’d have 20/20 vision, period. That was an unrealistic expectation that I wasn’t prepared for. Lasik surgery is not full proof!! And you have to live with the results no matter what they are. You may still need glasses for reading and/or distance, even after you heal. Healing takes a long time so be prepared for many vision changes. Ask yourself if you can deal with that. Your vision is changed forever, for good or bad. I would recommend Lasik if you can deal with whatever happens. For me it was terrible until I decided I HAD TO accept my new vision. It’s hard to imagine what ‘halos’ means, but it’s not fun, especially at night when you can’t really see. Halos seem to get better over time. Also, dry eyes are real and not very fun. Count on using moisturizing eye drops, maybe forever. You may have to decide about getting an enhancement or not - another decision that may or may not work out well. In other words, Lasik surgery has not been perfected and there are consequences you may hate. I guess I’m glad I did it as I don’t wear glass ALL THE TIME and can see pretty well. Just don’t ‘count on’ perfect vision after Lasik surgery and decide if you can live with whatever you get.
Thank you
on February 23rd, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Hi. I had monovision Feb. 2007 as a 40th birthday present to myself. Before surgery my eyesight was -4.25 (I couldn’t see the first line on the chart!) Now I read at 20/20, although this is not the case at all most of the time, especially in dim lighting conditions. I do need glasses for night driving (this eliminates the halos) and on cloudy days. Overall I am extremely happy. I am no longer DEPENDANT on glasses, which was my main goal. Now, I CHOOSE to wear them if I need sharp vision. Indoors and at work, I do not need them at all. I am also a bookworm and have no problems at all focusing. No, I do not have perfectly clear-all-the-time 20/20 vision, but I am always thankfull of just how far I’ve come! For me it has been amazing, but I never expected perfection.
on February 26th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I had monovision done last week…about 4 days ago. I wish I would have been fully aware of what the monovision was all about. Now that I have found all the information via the internet, I am not sure I would have went through with it. I was never told by my eye doctor that I could try contact lenses b/4 the surgery to see if I could adjust to it. I know its only been 4 days, but it is driving me crazy. My eyes havent been able to adjust at all and it is hard to stay focused. Do alot of computer work and everything is blurry. I only hope it gets better because if I would of known I would have just opted for the basic lasik surgery to see distance with both eyes.
on March 27th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Lisa, I too just had monovision done in my right eye only 7 days ago, I have had severe problems ever since. I have had really bad headaches everyday and a considerable amount of total blurred vision. The left eye, my dominent eye they decided to leave alone for distance and said my eyes will adjust for each other, that I will see distance through the left and up close through the right. Driving is very hard for me as I have a double vision problem now and of course the totally blurred halo’s and star bursts. I was not given the option of trying monovision contacts first, it wasn’t even discussed. What they had me do was wear a pair of monovision glasses that were pretty wierd looking and they took me to the front windows of the office and had me look as far as I could, I have to admit that I was able to see really good through them and they had me sit at a computer and read, that too was perfect. They told me that is how I will see things after the surgery. But, that is so not how I can see now, I can’t see anything clearly at all, not up close or at a distance. Like I said, I am 7 days post op now and really, really wish I hadn’t gone through this at all. My husband and I are going to Hawaii in May and I am so worried that I won’t be able to enjoy it by not being able to see anything clearly. I am insisting that the doctor see me today to make sure something isn’t wrong.
on March 28th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
I had monovision on March 14th 2008 and i’m not sure if Imade the right choice.The halos and starbursts are terrible. I’m not sure if they will get better on not. Will they. How long does it take for the eyes to heal? Can I have an enhancement to change my close up eye back to a distant eye again or is it hopeless? Any advice you can give me would be appreciated.
Thanks
on April 27th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
I would NOT have the surgery if I had it to do over. I had CK monovision surgery in May 2007. I am 49 years old and for the last two years had been wearing the cheap reading glasses. Prior to that I never wore glasses and at surgery time my distance vision was excellent. Now I wear prescription glasses for reading AND distance. I read your concerns about ‘will it get better’? My vision has good days and bad days. And has it really gotten better since that first week is hard to say. Has it gotten better or have I just gotten use to it? I am so sorry I had the surgery. I was swayed by the promise of not needing reading glasses any longer. I have to admit I was tired of chasing down those glasses every time I needed to read something. But I used to be able to read a street sign three blocks away and now I can’t read the one four doors from my house (without glasses). My question to put out for other bloggers is this - What did your doctors tell you about how long it would take your brain to adjust to the surgery? My doctor told me 3 days to 3 weeks; then up to three months; then after nine months he finally said it probably wasn’t going to adjust. But about three months after my surgery I talked with another eye doctor who I felt gave it to me straight. She said it either works within the first few days or it never works. I wish I would have listened to her instead of hanging on to the false hope my doctor kept dishing up to me for almost a year. I am going to close here because my vision is getting blurry, which is what it now does after about 30 minutes on the computer.
on May 2nd, 2008 at 8:55 am
I have been considering vision correction. I am 52 near-sighted and now need readers with my contacts.I have gone to 4 different doctors to discuss vision correction. 2 have told me they will only do PRK, but the other doctors have told me they felt Lasik would be the best. Only 1 of the doctors offered me contacts to try monovision. The other doctors offered me the funky looking glasses to try monovison. Is there anybody that is happy with the results of vision correction? I would rather live with my vision problems than cause further difficulties!
on May 19th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I (47 yrs old)am scheduled for Lasik this weeks and my regular eye doctor says I should try the monovision lasik. I am nearsighted and now need reading glasses too. I tried the monovision contacts for about a year with mixed results. I adjusted to the feel of it but felt the vision wasn’t as good as with just regular contacts (for far away). Has anyone had monovision for at least 3-6 months with positive results? I’m torn with trying the monovision first and then getting an enhancement if necessary later.
on May 21st, 2008 at 7:04 am
Hi Linda,
Most people I’ve heard from report the same think you experienced with the contacts. That your distance vision won;t be quite as good as with full 20/20 in both eyes. There are people who love monovision - and that’s because they think the tradeoff of not needing reading glasses is worth less perfect vision.
It’s a tough decision, for sure! Good luck! Carol
on May 21st, 2008 at 12:06 pm
thanks for the information. I had my pre-op appt yesterday and the doctor said it’s possible that I might see better with lasik than contacts since they will be correcting my astigmatism. I feel it’s worth the try. I’ll keep you posted on how I do post op.