Distance Monofocal IOLs, daily life?
Posted , 12 users are following.
I would really appreciate if people with monofocal IOLs set for distance can comment on WHEN they actually put on glasses during the day and for what. Do you regret getting both eyes at distance or are you happy? (I am not interested in mono vision.)
What I would like to know for instance ( DISTANCE IOLs):
- Can you read the time on your watch without putting on glasses?
- Can you grab your phone at night and see who is calling or even read a message without putting on glasses?
- Can you shave without glasses?
- Can you read a menu in daytime at arm's length?
- Can you play golf or tennis without glasses?
Your answers will be appreciated.
0 likes, 29 replies
john20510 peterfox
Edited
l'm 48 so l still have good near vision l dont even need reading glasses, l need cataract surgery in a year l am wondering whats its like with monofocal set for disatance , do you find some daily tasks without glasses hard like cooking a meal, shaving, read the speedometer on the car dashboard when driving, can you see objects on the ground clearly, do you trip over things, not able to see an what an object in front of you on a table is, can you read a missed call number on a mobile if you stretch out your hand. can you watch TV clearly from 6 feet without glasses. Do you end up weating bi focal or progressive glasses all the time to avoid problems. Do you only need glasses for reading or do you need them for daily activites like making a meal , shaving and so on
brooketastic peterfox
Posted
I have the Eyehance "monofocal" lenses in both eyes, set for distance. I put monofocal in quotes, because the Eyehance acts sort of like an EDOF, in that it has some intermediate range. To answer your questions:
I have an apple watch, and the digital readout for the time set pretty big. Yes, I can read this. I'm not sure I'd be able to read the time on a standard analog watch.
I can see who is calling, but I might not be able to read their texts at night. In the daytime, with my phone text size blown up a little, I could also read the texts.
I'm a woman so can't quite answer the shaving question, but I do put on makeup without glasses. I check my mascara for smudges in a magnifying mirror.
Yes, unless the print is quite small, or the light is quite bad.
Absolutely! And my vision for these kinds of activities is better than ever before. No contacts drying out, no glasses sliding down my nose. If I choose to wear sunglasses, vision is still perfect.
All that considered - if I am outdoors in sunlight, or in really bright indoor light. I don't need glasses at all, for any activity. If I'm in a pinch, my phone flashlight will usually allow me to read things like restaurant menus.
For very tiny print, you'll probably need glasses no matter what.
For anyone considering getting two monofocals set for distance that are NOT the Eyehance: I was the first Eyehance patient that my surgeon did. She interviewed me intensively after the surgery, and told me that had I not gotten Eyehance, but standard monofocals, then I would not be able to read my watch or my computer screen at all. So these answers only apply to Eyehance.
If you don't want to bother with readers at ALL, I'd go for the micro-monovision. The only reason I did not do this is because I have macular blind spots in my non-dominant eye, which is the one I would have set closer for reading. All in all, I do not regret my choice of having both eyes set for distance. But I also don't mind putting readers (or in my case, my trifocals) on from time to time.
BrianCyberEyes brooketastic
Posted
With your Eyhances, can you comfortably work on a computer, or is that distance without putting on glasses only ok in a pinch / short time?
peterfox brooketastic
Posted
Thank you so much for the detailed reply. I think I will go for eyhance as well, as so many people on this forum are happy with the results.
Do you know exactly where your eyes ended up? Almost 0 D both eyes or a little on the negative side?
I think aiming for -0.25D in one eye and -0.5D in the other might just be the sweet spot for eyhance. I realised how important it is to me to keep both eyes almost the same after throwing a tennis ball against the wall and catching it with one eye closed. It is way more difficult compared to having both eyes work together. I am not even 40 yet and love playing ball sports. Hopefully having one eyhance eye at -0.5 D is enough to read the stats on my garmin watch.
soks peterfox
Posted
go -0.5 and -1.5. they will work together and much better near. your loss of near being under 40 will be significant. good luck.
RonAKA peterfox
Edited
My thoughts based on my experience with monovision is that with the Ehyance I would go for -0.25 in the dominant eye, and -1.0 to -1.25 D in the non dominant close eye. And, I am not sure there is any advantage in having an Eyhance in the dominant eye. Just one in the non dominant eye should do the trick. I think -0.5 D in the non dominant eye with Eyhance would fall short of good reading and one would end up having to carry readying glasses with you when going out shopping for example.
peterfox soks
Posted
I agree the loss of near will be devastating to me but I think the loss of perfect "depth perception" will be even more devastating to someone who love ball sports. I can understand that mini mono of 1D difference between the eyes would not at all be an issue with normal daily life, but how good will I be able to judge the distance of a fast approaching ball in tennis with 1D difference? If only I could simulate it like Ron always suggests, but I still have perfect accommodation, thus I don't think the simulation will at all be accurate. Hence my plan of targeting max 0.5D difference, just enough to be able to see my watch and be able to play sports without glasses. Then I'll only use readers for prolonged reading.
Thanks for all the suggestions!
brooketastic peterfox
Posted
Almost 0D on both eyes. I don't think either ended up undercorrected. Even if you don't go for any monovision, you should be able to read the garmin when outside playing tennis. I think you'll LOVE these things for tennis. My depth perception is great.
I'm 33, and losing the near vision was definitely a shock at first. Don't be alarmed if your near/intermediate vision is horrible at first. Mine took quite awhile to come in, and I had nothing for the first 1-2 weeks post surgery.
Even though I've been nearsighted my entire life, now that I'm used to losing the close vision, I don't find that it bothers me at all. I don't know what you'd have to aim for to never need readers. However, if sports are your primary focus, I think your plan is a good idea. Going 1D difference would make me nervous about the depth perception and needing to use glasses while playing tennis.
For what it's worth, I don't think I would go back and under correct either of my eyes, given the choice. I don't mind using the readers indoors.
brooketastic BrianCyberEyes
Posted
I'm a graphic designer, and I can do all photoshop/design work without my glasses. When doing detailed line drawing, I use glasses just for ease. I have a posterior vitreous detachment in my dominant eye that gets in the way sometimes - without this interference, I doubt I'd need the glasses as much. I am also missing parts of my central vision/macula in my non dominant eye. Even with these issues, vision is really great at intermediate. More light makes everything even better.
I DO wear glasses for playing computer games. It's just more comfortable. I have played games without them, but I tend to prefer the glasses on for gaming.
No glasses needed for things like reading web pages or word processing.
I do have a tiny, tiny bit of residual astigmatism (I got Eyehance toric but my prescrition was really significant). I bet I'd be even more independent of the readers if the astigmatism was perfect.
john20510 brooketastic
Posted
L NEED CATARACT surgery this year, l am still trying to decide between Vivity or Eyhance, Vivity will give me more near vision but the Eyhance will give me higher contrast, l dont want monovision but both eyes set for distance
Guest peterfox
Edited
Quick note regarding all the recommendations to "go for -0.25 and -0.75" (or whatever)… when you get your IOL Master scan (biometry) they plug a lens into a formula and it gives you a predicted outcome for each eye for various IOL powers.
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So your left eye with Eyhance might predict that a 16 power would result in +0.04 and a 16.5 would result in -0.38. And the right eye could get predictions like +0.1, -0.21, and -0.73 for a 16.0, 16.5 and 17.0 or whatever.
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The point is the actual targets depend on your biometry and the predictions can be different for each eye. Also as I'm sure others have pointed out, when the eye heals the result can be as much as a half diopter over or under what the formula predicted.
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The approach really is probably to shoot for first minus in the dominant eye first (which might be a target of -.23 or -.37 or whatever depending on your biometery) and then once it has healed you see where you actually landed and what your vision is like and what the predictions are for the second eye take if from there.
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I'm just saying it's not quite as clean and simple (or even possible) as saying "target -0.5 and -1.25" or whatever.
RonAKA Guest
Posted
It is even more complex than that. There are several different formulas used to calculate the power of the lenses and what the outcome will be of each power. The IOLMaster 700 has the capability to uses a number of different formulas and display the outcome of each formula. And, one not only needs to choose which power to use, but which formula to believe as most accurate. And, if you are targeting myopia for monovision some formulas have proven to be more accurate than others. See this article:
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OPTIMIZING OUTCOMES WHEN THE TARGET IS LOW MYOPIA ANDREW M.J. TURNBULL, BM, PGDIPCRS, FRCOPHTH; WARREN E. HILL, MD; AND GRAHAM D. BARRETT, MB BCH SAF, FRACO, FRACS