Help with choice for second cataract surgery

Actually, your desire to be able to be read at the car dashboard etc can be achieved easily by getting your left eye set for the best focus at about 32 - 40 inches (that is, to end up with a prescription of about -1.0D or -1.25D in that eye). You will essentially be using mono-vision or blended vision, which most people adapt easily to. You will be then be able to see well down to about 20 -25 inches, depending on where you end up. You will still need to use reading glasses, but that should be much easier to deal with.

I agree with Robert.  If your vision was "over corrected" and you are far sighted then the doctor should be able to "bring it in a little" with a laser correction.  I had the exact same problem you did where I was not use to everything being "flipped around."  However, my mid range vision was fine as well as distance and yes everything was super clear.  I would go out at night and the moon was a super bright white color. When I covered my right eye, the moon was a hazy yellowish color in my left eye (with a cataract).  After a few weeks, I decided to have the left eye done and my doctor recommended to bring it in about 1/2 diopter from distance  (biased to near).  Maybe I lucked out a bit but now I see well at all ranges.  I did have to "retrain my brain" to hold the phone and books and other things about 12-18 inches away to read them clearly.  I find the "mini mono vision" worked out very well for me because I see better at all ranges when both eyes are working together rather than full mono vision.  But, I would definitely first check to see if your eye is over corrected.

Since you mentioned contacts, I figured I'd bring this up. Have you used contact lenses in the past? If so this will be relatively easy for you to try. Obviously, the first thing would be to make sure that the surgery got very close to the target. If so (and once you are healed), then give multifocal contacts a try. I wrote about this in another post. In my case, the cataract was very severe in my right eye but not yet causing any issues in my left. I wanted to see if I could "simulate" the nighttime halo effects of a multifocal IOL and, although I realized it wasn't perfect, I tried multifocal contacts to see if it would give me any idea of what the halos would look like.

My test failed completely in that regard but what I did discover is that multifocal contacts worked quite well for me (at least for distance + intermediate I didn't try a high ADD). The first two trials didn't work at all - they wrecked my distance vision - but the third one work beautifully (20/13 at distance and the equivalent of 20/20 in the 18" to 36" range). For a totally non-scientific rating, I'd rate the distance clarity at 95% of what I get with a distance-only contact.They work so well, in fact, that I'm probably going to delay the second eye and stay with the multi-focal contact in my left eye, paired with a multifocal IOL in the right eye.

One set up I had considered for surgery was a monofocal IOL set for distance with a multi-focal contact worn over it (with 0D for distance + the ADD for intermediate). You'd have to wait until the surgery fully healed, of course, but this might work for you. Let's say you get 90% of the distance quality and the good intermediate vision with the contact. You wear this most of the time, but if you need perfect distance for a long drive or maybe at night lying in bed watching TV, you take out the contacts and just use the IOL.  

Joe62700

Give yourself a little more time, everyone adjust different and we all heal different.  Stay in touch with your Dr.  It has been a long processing time for me, but I am slowly improving. (not to discourage you but I am going on 8 months come valentine day) Before my cataract surgery I had always used my right eye for close and my left for distance with bi-focal's  for over 30 years.  I wanted my right eye to stay as close, but was told since my right eye was my dominant eye I would have to have it for distance.  I have a great doctor and he has worked with me and also I see a cornea specialist since my dr no longer couldn't figure it all out.  I am improving.  It has been a struggle and can be frustrating.  Just talk and be open with your eye dr.  If need you can always get another opinion.  Good luck and let me know how it goes.  Prayers for you.  Don't give up!  

Charlene

After my first (right) eye was done, I tried some test contacts in my left eye at around -1.5 and -2.0 to test mono vision so that I could see better up close  (fully corrected at that time before surgery was about -3.5).  The problem I found was even with those test contacts at -1.5 and -2.0 which would give me mono vision, I still had a hard time reading my phone (I could do it but it was not easy).  I thought if I did this then as time went on I might have trouble with both up close and distance at some point in the future.  So, my doctor and I decided to set my left eye for distance but just slightly biased to near about -0.5.  I figured I would just have to use reading glasses in the future but I thought it would be better than mono vision. Also, I didn't want to compromise my depth perception. To my surprise, I saw better at ALL ranges (near, mid range and distance) with my left eye post surgery with an IOL set to -0.5 than with a test contact lense at -1.5 and -2.0.  The only explanation I have is that the (toric) contact lens is not a good indicator of how the IOL will be because the cataract makes it harder to see at any range.  Also, maybe something about the IOL just gives better vision.