Lasik/Lasek Surgery Didn't Help

Usually people's distance prescriptions do stabilize when they are adults. However cataracts can sometimes shift people's prescriptions and require more frequent glass updates, sometimes more than once a year. Sometimes cataracts take many years to develop, though sometimes early cataracts can develop more rapidly. I had a rather atypical case of an early cataract that showed at age 49 and changed vision in that eye rapidly and far larger than typical. Over 3.5 months it added a few diopters of astigmatism, then that astigmatism faded and instead it made the eye much more myopic, over 2.5 years  it went from about -9.5D to -19D before I finally got surgery. A shift of a diopter or few over several years is more common, a change that large and fast is rare. Usually cataracts take many years to develop, and the average surgery patient (in the US at least, last I checked) in in their mid 70s.   

Regular lasik/lasek has nothing to do with the need for reading glasses, which happens to everyone as they age due to a reduction in the eye's ability to accommodate (its ability to change focus to see nearer) which is called  presbyopia. As people lose more accommodation as they age they need stronger reading glasses to be able to see near (or a stronger reading add in bifocal or progressive glasses).

 

There are new experimental laser treatments for dealing with presbyopia using a multifocal or other approach, or some people use laser adjustments to set their eyes for "monovision" where one eye is focused to see well at distance, and the other eye is set to see well a bit nearer in to improve reading vision.

However if you are going to need cataract surgery relatively soon, its likely best to wait for cataract surgery which can deal with the issue of getting more near vision at the same time.  Cataract surgery replaces the eye's natural lens with an artificial lens, and those lenses can be set for monovision (one eye focused at distance, and the other closer in) or premium lenses can used which provide good vision at distance and near (with some risk of potential side effects in a minority of patients, like halos).  

Some people get cataract surgery even before their cataracts are too bad in order to improve their vision and perhaps get rid of the need for readers. Some people get essentially the same surgery even if they don't have cataracts, when its called "clear lens exchange" or "refractive lens exchange". However artificial lenses get better all the time, so others prefer to wait until their cataract is bothering them so they can get a newer generation of lens. Others prefer not to wait and to get something now that is an improvement. Its sort of like the issue of upgrading cell phones, computers or TVs. The longer you wait, the better option you will be able to buy, but you need to then live with a lower quality choice until you buy something.

Usually lens replacement surgery gets the power of the replacement lens right, but there is a slight chance it'll be off a bit and a laser tweak might be useful after sugery to give you good distance vision. Actually those who have had prior laser surgery are slightly more at risk for the lens power being off.  Since you may need a slight laser tweak after cataract surgery, its likely best to not get another one now while you are waiting. There is always risk involved in any surgery so its likley best ot minimize how many times you get laser surgery. 

After lens replacement surgery, your vision should be relatively stable the rest of your life, although there is a slight shift of astigmatism as people age, which usually takes years to make a noticeable difference. If it ever gets enough to be a problem, it can be corrected using a small laser or blade incision which causes the eye to reshape itself.