how close can i expect to see

I am glad to hear I am not alone. It's been hard to get around with only one surgery done, but not impossible.

So the eye you had done was set for a plano target? Or slightly myopic?

My surgeon was targeting -1.0 for the eye I had done. The day after my surgery he said my vision was 20/30 and -1.25. When I was checked 5 days later, I was told my vision was 20/25 but I don't know what my other reading was. Whatever it is, I am happy with my very functional intermediate vision. Getting around with one corrected eye and one very myopic uncorrected eye has been easier than I thought it would be. It's annoying but I don't find it disabling.

Ah. Let me correct myself then. I will say that I can see more clearly at a VERY far distance, like across the street. It's not crisp, due to the astigmatism. But my vision gets better the further away I look.

I am thinking the same as you, that I want it set to a -.5 to -1.00, to maxmize my indoor vision and intermediate. I have no problem at all with the idea of wearing glasses to drive or for outdoor far range or for close work. I just want the best intermediate.

I don't know if I will do an IOL exchange or corneal surgery to correct the error. Or if I will keep wearing a combo of glasses or contacts. I just wanted some reassurance that intermediate vision is possible with a slightly myopic set IOL.

Oh, one question, just to clarify. Putting on readers. What did you mean by wearing them and reducing your range to that short distance? I mean, if I put on readers, I can only see a short clear range right up close, too. Isn't everyone like that?

0.5D cylinder is very slight and in fact many doctors aim for that, so it shouldn't be a concern unless greater. The farsighted +1D is probably the main problem, most doctors actually target a little nearsighted like -0.25D to help avoid ending up farsighted.

Doctor told me that the angle of the cyl was a bigger issue, because it is diagonal.

The lens didn't rotate from it's target. However, I am very doubtful that the measurements were accurate. But of course I cannot confirm any of that.

I am waiting on a contact lens to come in. Based on how I do with correction to plano vs. making myself slightly myopic, I will either continue with contacts/glasses or get laser surgery. And then there is the other eye to consider after the first is settled.

I would be fine with whatever solution works. I know I have several options. I am hoping correcting the refractive error will bring my vision to within a reasonable clarity. In the office it seems to really, really help, but I did not test intermediate in the office, which was stupid of me. I only tested 12 inches, which was blurry as I expected.

Mary do you mean measurements off due to wrong power calculation from doctor? That can happen - particularly if you have had prior lasik or PRK procedure - more so if surgeon couldn't get a copy of your eye's pre-lasik measurements.

Unless targeted for near I would be very surprised if you had clear vision at 12 inches. Many who choose multifocal or EDOF lenses do not get clear vision at 12 inches.

Hopefully trying the various contact lenses will give you some idea of next steps? And if cataract in the other eye isn't too bad hopefully you can hold off on that surgery till first one is where you want it to be. And if cataract isn't affecting your vision too much you could experiment with mini monovision to see how much difference between the eyes you can tolerate.

Best wishes.

Yes, that is what I meant. I did not have prior surgery, but I think the doctor might have made an error all the same. I am actually switching to a different doctor to handle the rest of this. I am bringing all my measurements to him on Friday. He will be the one to handle any further surgeries, if I decide to go that route.

My plan is to try the contact lenses and pick my favorite option. The other eye is currently clear enough to hold off for a long time, so I can continue to wear a contact in that eye and hopefully everything will balance out.

I also got the Toric Lenses for astigmatism. Before the surgery, I was far sighted but now I have a left eye that works reasonably at a distance, but a right eye that can see close objects well, but at 15 ft it gets blurry; which is not right. The doctor says my right eye is the strong one but now I mostly use the left one to see well. When I read, some letters tend to lean or blur into the next letter or not while I stare. I have noticed that it has to do with contrast because if the letters are written in black or bold, I have no problem but if they are written in italic font it happens. My doctor says its because I have wet macular but I had no problem like that. Why would many photoreceptors die suddenly right after a surgery. Makes no sense. I saw my retina doctor and he says my retina is very healthy. But he does not want to contradict the other doctor so after initially saying the retina was ok, he said it might be the macular because although he says he is not able to see the photoreceptors , all he can do is say it can be a problem. My surgeon says maybe the capsule that contains the lens may be wrinkled and laser treatment may or may not help. The surgeon says he has a hunch it will. I am so confused and flustered. I wish I had not done this.

How long ago did you have your surgery?

I had it January 8, and now I can see reasonably well (a little blurry) objects that are 6 feet away, but anything further away, not so well. Now reading is difficult unless the font and text are bold and the contrast is obvious.I am hoping time will help. The am afraid to try laser... Would like a second opinion...Glad you are better.

Elizabeth, I had left eye surgery 2 years ago. Despite eye exams that say I can read 20/25 or 20/30 near depending on the conditions, I also have the 'letters leaning' or a graffiti effect even without italic print and print appears slightly lighter gray than black. This is extremely disconcerting at times and poorly understood and i completely understand your frustration. I had the Tecnis multifocal 3.25, so was expecting the poor intermediate vision. The distance vision is much better than i had. Night vision is about as bad as expected, but ok with glasses and my compensatory unoperated on right eye. Target was hit perfectly, yet I need +2.50 readers at times to clear things up when reading. Opinion of my surgeon was that 'all was perfect except for a tiny amount of residual cells in center '. I did not have the surgery in the right eye, choosing to keep the small cataract in that eye as long as possible. The right eye compensates for the left eye straightening things out and I can get around fine without glasses. I am no longer hysterical, merely very disappointed. Two second opinions in the beginning found the lens to be centered fine by both. Residual cells not to be my problem at this time. No retina issues. 'Possible capsule cut a little large' was opinion of one.

Thanks for your reply, your condition is similar to mine. You are right, I also have a graffiti effect. And I too have noticed a contrast problem. I can read better when letters are bold and headlines on television are harder to read if there are white on red...After the surgery I cannot see close up although I was far sighted before. I can read headlines in the paper and medium print without glasses The opinion of my retina retina doctor is that the problem may be due to photo receptors diminishing strength; he says he cannot see or measure photo receptors but associates this symptom with what he sees in patients with diminished sight. The surgeon is trying to figure things, before the surgery he assured me I would read well with both eyes, then later he thought the vision is a problem because that eye is the strong eye (?) The opinion of the surgeon now is that the problem is the retina that cannot be corrected unless maybe if the capsule needs to shrink around the lens, he has a hunch the the laser may make it shrink and adjust .. Its very confusing and frustrating....My husband opinion is that unfortunately cataract surgery is a very inexact science...

I agree with your husband, my husband goes further and says they haven't a clue sometimes and thinks they all stick together (and he really is a scientist). My surgeon suggests the YAG procedure when the PCO progresses and that it might help my situation. That may correlate with your md's opinion, if that shrinks the capsule. My first thought was to put it off as long as possible in case I chose to have an exchange to a mono lens. However, I have since decided that since this surgery is an inexact science I don't wish to risk that going badly either. Hopefully by the time my right eye is in desperate need of surgery something better will come along. My brain has adjusted, vision was not corrected but more or less was accepted. I wish you the best . Keep us updated here with what you do.

Note to all:

This forum is so helpful to so many people and has well informed participants who share their expertise and experiences. It has been such a lifesaver to me over the past 2 years because my experience with surgery was not a particularly good one. Thank you.