Did anyone here do mini-monovision?

I went for mini-monovision, with my left, non-dominant eye set for intermediate vision and my right eye set for distance. I need reading glasses for near vision inside about 20 to 22 inches, except that I can read lit computer and phone screens closer because of the better contrast.

I'm pretty happy with the results, but being formerly myopic, I sometimes think I should have gone for near and intermediate. While I formerly wore glasses and had them with me all of the time, now I have to seek out my reading glasses whenever I encounter small type, especially in poor lighting. Sometimes I don't have reading glasses with me, but there are credit card magnifiers, folding reading glasses, and other reading aids available that are easy to carry around.

My vision is otherwise seamless. My right eye takes over for distance and my left eye takes over for intermediate (and a degree of near vision). It's not noticeable to me that one eye or the other is predominating unless the predominant eye is blocked. The only time that I've noticed one eye affecting the vision of the other is with near vision. If I close my right (distance) eye, I think I can see just a tiny bit better when reading without my glasses.

Right now I see fine with reading glasses having the same magnification in each lens, but I think it might be better if I had different magnifications in the two lenses to correct each eye for optimal near focus. There are companies that sell customized reading glasses, but the ones I've seen are pricey. I may look to see if I can find two pairs of reading glasses with different magnifications where the lenses can be switched and use those for longer reading sessions.

I was diagnosed with Cataracts in both eyes and Narrow-Angle Glacoma in the LE. The LE was the worst so I opted surgery on the LE first since the RE isn't symptomatic yet. I had the surgery in mid April. I opted for an intermediate lens in the LE so I could see my computer screen and dashboard on my car and driving day and night is fine. The surgeon did a good job and my sight in my LE is better than expected.

So far my near and intermediate vision is good in the LE. I use the RE for distance at 20/40 and it works well. The Glaucoma seems to be gone due to the fact the new lens is much thinner than the cataract and the Narrow Angle is no longer an problem. The only issue I have is Negative Dysphotosia, but the symptoms are going away slowly. If your spouse isn't on the computer all day which might be bothersome, I would recommend looking into mini-monovision as a solution.

My experience with mini monovision is almost identical to what BobDob has written. My right non-dominate eye was done first and was targeted for intermediate vision. The goal was -1.0 and at my last appointment I was told it was -1.25. I love having this mid-range vision as I find it allows me to function well without glasses for almost all of my daily activities. My left dominate eye was targeted for better distance vision and ended up close to plano. This allows me to drive, watch TV, etc., without the need for glasses. I will say my adjustment has not been totally seamless. I frequently have this sense of blur around my left eye, even though the vision is good. I do have lots of floaters in that eye (I had them prior to surgery) which is partially responsible for the blur but I notice it most when I am using my mid-range vision and I wonder if my dominate eye does not automatically allow the other eye to take over. I do miss my near vision but, like BobDob, I see well for close work using a single vision reader from the dollar store. I plan to purchase a pair of prescription progressive glasses which would provide me with perfect vision for all ranges for those times when I don't want to bother with continually putting on and taking off my readers. Overall, I am happy that I didn't target distance for both eyes because I love my mid-range vision. After 50+ years of wearing contacts for extreme myopia (-10), this is a pretty amazing result. (I should add that I did go with a toric lens for both eyes to correct my astigmatism.)

Hi

I did mini monovision kind of with both options .

i had my left eye lens replaced with a toric intermediate lens about 6 years ago. At that stage my right eye was fine and was better for distance. I could see the computer screen and my phone if I squinted but was more comfortable with reading glasses.

About a month ago I had a cataract removed from my right eye and had a near distance toric lens put in.

The day after surgery my measurements were left eye -o.75 and right eye -2.25 . I go back to the dr tomorrow for the last check up.

I have not used reading glasses since the operation. I love not using them.

However in bright light I sometimes find it hard to focus in the distance.

When it settles down I ntend to get prescription distance glasses for seeing plays and concerts but in general hope to be glasses free.

Really helpful comments from everyone; I'm following as I need to make a similar decision.

@WorriedHusband, given your wife has had accommodation all her life and will just have to accept losing that, I offer my experience with that transition (because yes, at first it really sucked: I felt ancient and didn't want to need reading glasses ever). It takes some getting used to, but ends up not being so bad if you work it right.

The real annoyance is when you have to pull out glasses when you're on the go. So, say, in grocery stores to read normal labels (some of those are microscopic so we'll never see those...they require a snapshot with the cell phone and then magnification). Restaurants to read menus (although they are usually dim so a small light like on a cell phone can often fix that). Glancing at your cell phone (although as Viking noted, the contrast is greater so phones are easier, as are computer screens). Someone hands you a business card or something and you can't read it. THAT's annoying.

For longer sessions like working all day at a computer, or, say, sewing something or doing detailed work up close, needing glasses won't have as much annoyance. Some people I know who need reading glasses for everything just buy a whole bunch of them and scatter them around where they are likely to use them: by the computer, by the bed, in the crafts room, etc. Having done one eye and begun to see that there simply will be some compromise, and that I was living with bad vision anyway (and that truly what I can now see is so crystal clear it's stupendous) ... well, I now realize that needing glasses when I'm at the computer for long sessions would be okay. You pack some glasses along with the charging cable and no big deal.

Since the Tecnis ZKB00 that I have is a bit weak in the intermediate range, I am noticing that I lose some clarity in places I had not expected. In museums, I have to lean in towards the labels which is a bit awkward when there are others looking at the piece too. Once I noticed it in the kitchen. The car dashboard might be a tad blurry (but I have only driven a handful of times since the new lens so need to assess that more. In general, dashboard things are a bit larger and you memorize them anyway so if they're a bit blurry you'll still understand them). But again, needing glasses just for driving wouldn't be so bad...because you just keep them in the car...although personally I LOVE the far vision I now have so I wouldn't want to need far glasses.

Another thing to consider, and nobody mentions it, is whether the food on her plate will be blurry, which is kind of an appetite killer. That's happened to me a few times in my life, and I didn't like it.

Hopefully that helps you imagine how the day to day logistics would go...in the end, as I observe the people around me and how they handle presbyopia, the people I admire are those who don't judge themselves for their need to have reading glasses...they just anticipate the need, have the glasses handy, pull them out and put them on their face, and continue on.