I just had lasik on my dominant eye a couple of days ago. I have to say, I've been a bit frustrated when asking questions about what to expect and getting vague or no answers. My right eye was -0.75, -1.00. My left eye is -0.25,
-1.00. I have an astigmatism. There is no plan to do anything to my left eye. My question is how long is an average time to adjust to monovision. I was able to drive and funtion the day after surgery, but my vision is aomewhat blurry in all situations. I'm trying to be patient, but it would help to know what to expect and what my future options are if I don't adjust.
Thank you, Rex

>I just had lasik on my dominant
>eye a couple of days ago.
>I have to say, I've been
>a bit frustrated when asking questions
>about what to expect and getting
>vague or no answers. My right
>eye was -0.75, -1.00. My left
>eye is -0.25, -1.00. I have
>an astigmatism. There is no plan
>to do anything to my left
>eye. My question is how long
>is an average time to adjust
>to monovision and the surgery combined. I was able to drive and funtion the day after
>surgery, but my vision is aomewhat
>blurry in all situations. I'm trying
>to be patient, but it would
>help to know what to expect
>and what my future options are
>if I don't adjust. I need to add that I tried wearing a disposable contact lens in the dominant eye before surgery for three days and while not having discomfort with depth perception etc., my vision was not enough to be satisfied. The optomitrist at the lasik clinic said that that contact did not help my astigmatism which the lasik would. He added that adjustment to monovision can take up to a month or longer. Please, any imput would be greatly appreciated.
>Thank you, Rex

Rex,
You did not state your age. What is your vision
now in your right eye and is there any residual
refractive error? I don't understand how your
Optom could give you a trial with a contact which
didn't give you good vision and then discount the
findings. If you weren't happy with the trial
then it was unsuccesful. Can you read well with
your left eye? One diopter of astigmatism isn/t a
lot but it may be more than you can tolerate in
which case you may have to have the astigmatism
corrected in the left eye and wear reading
glasses. Did you read without your glasses before
surgery? Now for the good news, you might be fine
and adapt so don't panic. Give it a little more
time.
Leonard Friedman MD

Dr. Friedman,
Thanks for your reply. I am 56 years of age.I do not know my current vision in the right eye or if there is any refractive error. I have had two follow-up visits, but I've not been told anything but that the flap looks good and the eye smooth. My next apptmnt. is Fri. the 11th. I will ask those and any other questions you reccommend at that time.
I did not need glasses to read, work on the computer or draw.(I'm a restaurant designer.)
I can read presently with my left eye, but it's somewhat blurry unless I close my right eye. (I'm trying not to do that.) I'm beginning to realize that I need to give it more time, but at my last posting was a little panicky because I was not getting much info. from my clinic. Also, my night vision is pretty poor...starburst and it seems much darker than usual.
Thanks again, your input is a God-send when you're in the blurry dark. Thank God for this site.
Rex

PS
I do not understand the contact test either. The contact was mine from a prescription that was about 5 years old. The Optom said it was close to his readings, but said it didn't correct my astigmatism (which I've since found out isn't true.) I explained that I wasn't experiencing trouble with depth precipt. but couldn't see clearly enough hence his astig. theory. Plus I've since learned that 2 1/2 days isn't long enough for the test. Which brings me to the question: What is a good time range for adapting to monovision? (especially when recovering from Lasik) I've heard 4 days is enough and I've heard it can take months. Rex

You need to wait a few weeks anyway to see how
your right eye settles down so be patient. My
only concern is whether you have enough
nearsightedness in your left eye to let you read
as comfortably as you did before surgery. You may
eventually need some reading glasses for close
work.
Leonard Friedman MD Washington DC//////

Dr. Friedman,
Thank you for your quick reply. Although I am experiencing bluriness at all vision levels, I feel it's improving VERY slowly each day. Sometimes I feel that if my vision in my right eye was clear I might find that I have adjusted to monovision already. I've been more optimistic lately.
How do you feel about nidek vs visx? Are there any other questions I should ask at my next exam Fri. other than the two you mentioned prev.?
Rex

My left eye wasn't done because I had great close-up reading (-1.75). My right eye is basically 20-20, but fluctuates some days--especially when it's dry. I had dry eyes before, so use drops frequently. My close-up reading is very clear & my far-off vision is just about perfect. Maybe I adjusted so well because I really wanted to. I love not needing glasses at all (I'm 56). What is the vision in your right eye? The brain is supposed to train your eyes which one to look out of when you're looking close or far away.

I don't know yet what my eyes are, but intend on finding out with my visit to the clinic this Fri.
How long ago was your surgery? How long did it take you to adjust to monovision? Believe me, I'm determined to adjust as well. I've noticed that my vision gets better as the day goes on. Maybe my brain forgets what it learned when I sleep?? (kidding)

I'm glad your vision seems better. Maybe you just
need a little more time. I use the Visx and
continue to get excellant results. I have no
personal experience with the Nidek.
Leonard Friedman MD Washington DC..........

Dr. Friedman,

They said I was seeing distance 20/20 out of the lasik eye and reading 20/20 out of the untouched eye. Now I stop with the medidated drops and hope that I continue to adjust to monovision. Although together I'm still having some focus and night vision problems, I am optomistic as it's only been 10 days since surgery.

Large pupils can present postoperative issues of night haloes and
glare after LASIK or PRK. There are some laser platforms that can do larger
zone ablations (such as the Autonomous and Nidek). Larger zones mean deeper
ablations and therefore sometimes the full prescription cannot be corrected
if the cornea is not thick enough.
Possible strategies for post lasik pupil related issues include very low
dose topical eye drops of pilocarpine at night (I find 1/8 percent, that is
one-eighth percent, effective), minus prescription (myopic) glasses for
night driving, and antireflective tints in these glasses. Some night haloes
and glare dissipates or goes away with time. I hope this helps.
Vincent de Luise MD FACS

Almost another week has passed and I've not seen any improvement. Therefore, I'm very frustrated,
especially since my job requires such visual prowess (restaurant designer). I would love to hear from anyone who can share any info or experience relating to the adjusting to monovision.

Rex,

I ended up with unintentional monovision. I took me about 6 weeks to get used to it and up to 4 months to really enjoy the benefits of it and REALLY be comfortable with it.

I use my right eye for reading small print and my left eye for reading distant. I can see pretty well with both eyes when driving.

I use a small rx in my glasses for night driving.

Hand in there. Things are still early for you. Lasik in not the 20 minute mircacle we all thought it to be. Sometimes it can take up to 6 months before we get the vision we are happy with!!

Thank you very much for your input. Your the first person I've heard from that took some time to adjust, but the people I talked to had done it with contact lens. The last few days have been encouraging and getting positive feedback is the best medicine I can get! I think I'm going to need a small RX for the computer.

Joyce, if you're still out there, I was curious why you said that you ending w/ monovision by accident.
Today is 4 months, and I'm still not seeing as clearly as I need to. I must say it's hard to be patient, but the fact that I've had a day or two when I felt my site was very good and I thought I was home free that keeps me going. The past week has been pretty bad, but I'm getting over some sort of virus that affected my sinus that I'm thinking may be a factor.

Rex
I was intentionally corrected for monovision. My close vision was good and my distance vision was good. My in between vision (3 to 4 feet) was lousy. I correct that with a soft contact lens in the close vision eye and my overall vision is pretty good. Hope this helps.

Rex:

I had an identical problem as Barb, good close vision and distant but poor in between. I am currently experimenting with a bifocal contact for the left eye (near vision eye) and it seems to be working.