I had my final pre-op consultation before my surgery on Nov l9th. The optomitrist held a small magnifying glass to one eye to show me what it would look like if I have one eye under corrected. Since it did not bother me he is SURE I would be happy with monovision lasik. Is this a good indicator? I would like to know how many of your patients have been happy after monovision lasik. Especially if they did not have it with contacts. The Dr. said if I did not like it I could have it changed but I don't know if I want to go through that however the idea of not having to wear glasses at all sounds great. I am sooo confused. Thanks for your input.

The best monovision trial involves using contact lenses.
If you are having trouble reading now, your only options are monovision or distance correction with reading glasses for near. "Not wearing glasses at all" would not be an option for you, nor for most people over the age of 40.
If you are still confused, then you should speak with your doc again prior to surgery.
Good Luck, Dean Hu

I"ve read all of these comments. does a monovision correction of 20/30 refer to a "1 diopter less change: my current left eye pres. is -7 and r eye is -6.5. my doctor gave me a few lenses to try. i could not tolerate the left eye at -5.5 lense, but had no problems with a -6.0 lense for the left eye. i'm close to 43 and still have no problems reading upclose.
would a one dioper change monovision surgery be sufficient.

Adrienne - I am 44 years old and opted for monovision (5 months ago) and am very happy with that decision. I was wearing bifocals before my surgery. However, it is IMPERATIVE that you test monovision with contacts before having it done surgically - yes, it can be corrected if you don't like it, but that entails an second surgery you might avoid if you try it first and find it's not for you.

For one thing, there are varying levels of "monovision." Traditionally, I believe, the nondominant (nd) eye is left at about 20/200 - that's pretty blurry for distance and your depth perception and night vision is compromised. I tried two different levels of monovision with contacts - the first, leaving the nd eye at 20/70 was unacceptable to me - too blurry. Then I tried correcting the nd eye to 20/30 and found that to be fine and had my eyes surgically corrected that way - dominant eye 20/20 and nondominant eye 20/30. I can read normal print and work on computers with no problem. I do need reading glasses for fine print and detail work. I have no problems with depth perception or night vision.

I should say that my eyecare place provided me with the contacts at no charge. I had already had the original LASIK surgery - I was awaiting an enhancement when I tried out the monovision concept. I had resisted going for monovision with the first surgery because I didn't want to have to wear reading glasses. But the trial with the contacts changed my mind. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Lisa
Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me of your experience. I feel like I am under the gun in terms of making a decision because I am scheduled for surgery this friday and I do not want to cancel it in order to try out the monovision contacts. I did try them a couple of years ago and hated it but like you the correction was for about 20/70 in my nd eye and it was too contrast for me. The dr. held up an eyepiece and that was about 20 40 and it did not bother me at all but it seems so permanent. (I am not happy about another surgery if I don't like it but based on how it looked last week I do like the idea of seeing both close and far. You are happy though?? I am leaning toward doing the monovision because I think I will be happy. Thanks for all your input

Lisa,
I, too, am faced with the decision of whether or not to have monovision. My doctor gave me contacts to try, but the ones he gave me do not correct for my astigmatism, so they are somewhat blurry. I do think I like it, though. My question is, will I need reading glasses in a few years anyway - even with the monovison. If so, I wonder if it's worth compromising my distance vision. Please let me know how you make out. My LASIK surgery isn't until December 21st. Thanks!
Julie

I'm due for my 3 mo checkup Dec 9 or so. I am very happy with my results. I'm 55 & my close-up vision was great--I didn't want to lose it & was told I would. I almost didn't have it done. Then the doctor put a soft contact in my right (dominant) eye & said to walk around a bit. I walked out of the doctor's office & there was the Pharmacy--& I could actually read the signs! I looked out the door (my eyes were dialated also) & I could see car licenses, the mail box, & all sorts of stuff. Wow! I went back into the office & looked at a magazine (I'm one of those people who can read with dialated eyes) & I could read fine. I looked up at the TV & it had closed-caption print (some very small) & I could read it all. So after about 20 minutes, I scheduled surgery on my right eye that following Saturday. When I first went in, my eyes were 20-200. The day of surgery (I didn't wear my glasses that morning), they were 20-100. At one of my follow-ups, my left eye was 20-70. Don't know if it's trying to catch up--don't think it will get any better. For distance, I see 20-20, but the signs are just a bit blurry far off. But when I'm jogging, WOW. It's like I have my glasses on & I can see way up into the next block. The difference between what I had before & now is amazing. I'm working on computerized mapping & have had no problems with my computer screen, the teeny print on the Thomas Guide map pages, or with depth perception. If I had had both eyes done, I would have lost my reading & computer vision & would be very unhappy. I don't know if I'll get that condition in my left eye that people usually get in their 40's, but so far I haven't. It's one of the best things I ever did for myself. I wish you luck & hope you have good results too!

Julie - I struggled with the monovision decision (hey, that rhymes!) precisely because I didn't understand why I should have it done if my presbyopia would continue to increase and I would still nead glasses after 4 or 5 years. My doctor explained to me that - because of my currently existing presbyopia - I would also need glasses to see things a short ways away (e.g. car dashboard), not just reading, if I didn't go for monovision, but I wouldn't (at least for many more years) if I did. So I did decide to go for this very mild form of monovision and after 5 months of living with it am still very happy. It isn't perfect vision, but neither was my vision pre-LASIK without adjusting my glasses constantly. Most of time I'm unaware of any difference between the two eyes - sometimes when I'm reading, I do notice that my dominant eye's vision is a little blurry. I also have a slight halo/starburst effect with the undercorrected eye - but not enough to make me unhappy with my decision. I'm concerned that your doctor did not give you contacts that adjust for astigmatism - why is that so? It doesn't seem that you can adequately test it unless you are given the correct contacts to wear so you know what to expect. I can't recall if my email address displays on this bb - it's - if you have other questions or want to contact me again as you near your surgery, please feel free to do so.

To Adrienne,

Don't feel "under the gun."
Take your time to figure out exactly what you want.
This in PERMANENT surgery if you've forgotten. Don't rush into something you are unsure about. Cancel your appointment if necessary.

Also, if you opt for distance vision in both eyes, you would only be experiencing exactly what every other "normal" person who never wore glasses would be getting too - reading glasses. Yes, it is an adjustment, but hey, that's just what life deals us all.

So try out the contact lenses. Who knows, you may love monovision, or you may hate it. Either way, just find out, and remember that neither is "perfect."

Good luck, Dean Hu