Are you tired of carrying around two pairs of glasses, wearing one pair to drive and another to read the menu when you go out to eat? Does the very though of bifocals make you feel old? Are you tired of wearing glasses and contacts altogether? You can ditch the lenses with LASIK!
Presbyopia
Most people begin to develop presbyopia at about 40. Presbyopia is loss of accommodation and develops with age. Accommodation is the ability to focus on object close up. If you are already near sighted, when you develop presbyopia you will need bifocals if you want to be able to read and see far away without switching glasses. If you are starting out with good distance vision, you will still need reading glasses. LASIK offers an option called monovision which can eliminate the need for bifocals or reading glasses.
What is monovision?
You see with both eyes, but one eye is normally dominant. Your brain relies more heavily on the image from the dominant eye. Monovision LASIK surgery corrects your dominant eye for distance vision and your non-dominant eye for focusing up close. Your brain will choose the best image, so you don’t actually see the blurry image coming from the other eye.
Adjusting to monovision
It can take several weeks for your brain to get used to making the adjustment and for your vision to seem natural. For some people it’s an easy transition. You can try contacts that provide monovision for a few months before having the surgery, to see if it is right for you.
Drawbacks
Monovision is a compromise. Most patients are very happy with the results, but it does not give you perfect vision. Monovision can diminish depth perception, so you may still need to wear glasses when driving at night. If your near vision continues to deteriorate with age, you may require additional surgery or reading glasses later on to correct the problem.
Monovision LASIK surgery can improve your life in many ways, giving you freedom from glasses and allowing you to return to your normal activities. If you have LASIK monovision surgery and find that you do not like it, your non-dominant eye can be corrected to match your other eye.
Help answer the question about lasik monovision
Your lasik monovision experiences?
I had lasik monovision 10 days ago. Although I saw quite clearly (but not 20/20) for a couple of days afterward, the following week was very difficult with lots and lots of fluxuation in both eyes, and at work eye strain and irritation. The doctor is encouraging and advises patience, but I’d love a pep talk or advice from anyone who’s had monovision lasik. At this point I’m not sure what’s affecting my vision - adjusting to mono or the healing process. My next follow up with the doc is in two weeks. I’m disappointed that I didn’t see perfectly the very next day - as I’ve lots of friends who had it, and did!
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If you need reading glasses or bifocals, talk to your ophthalmologist about monovision LASIK surgery today
Posted on December 31st, 2009 by Admin
Filed under: lasik surgery
It can take up to six months for your vision to settle down; the cornea needs to heal. After six months, you may need another procedure; it happened to me. Give it some time and be sure to use lots of artificial tears; your eyes can dry up and this definitely affects your vision. Believe me, it is worth it in the end! Good luck!
Number one question…Did you try monovision in contact lenses prior to the procedure? If not, you may never get the quality vision that you desire. Monovision is not for everyone yet some cavalier surgeons do it on anyone over the age of 40. Regardless, give it about 1 month to gage your happiness. By then, your eye should have healed enough to judge the result.