Night driving (and also day driving) with Vivity IOL
Posted , 2 users are following.
I finally have had an opportunity to do A LOT of driving, including night driving, with my Vivity lOLs (targeted for plano, but resulting in a +0.25 and +0.5 refractive surprise right/left respectively), so and I am able to answer the person who asked me about starbursts, glare, etc.
I am delighted to report that while I DO see starburst around bright lights, they are minimal and don't extend much beyond the light source. I did not find them distracting at all and I stopped noticing them within a minute or so of driving.
In fact, rather than noticing the small starbursts, I was captivated by, and enjoying, how well I was able to see and drive at night without glasses. I did use Zenni to get an inexpensive pair of distance glasses to correct the small refractive error and I could see everything even sharper, but the difference was minimal.
Bottom line, I am as confident and comfortable with night driving as I was before developing the cataracts ago. It's no longer a consideration or a concern.
3 likes, 4 replies
laurie30147 RandallG
Edited
I too have Vivity lenses in both eyes, and I second Randall's conclusions. My prescriptions are a little different, because I have mini-monovision with the near-vision eye at about -1.0D. Yes, there are rings around bright point sources of light, but I am used to them. They do not extend far out, there are no streaks, and I can drive at night without glasses in good conditions.
That said, I have no need for driving a lot at night. I also keep a pair of clear distance-only glasses in the car for situations when I need or want maximum clarity. Rain, for example, or being on the highway and encountering nighttime construction with closed lanes, bright construction lights, and careless merging.
RandallG laurie30147
Posted
Thank you for sharing your experience, Laurie.
I too have a pair of glasses in the car for those times when I want the best vision possible. There are days, possibly when my eyes are a bit tired, when I see a noticeable difference between glasses and non-glasses. But on other days (my good-eyes days) I have to look very carefully to notice a difference.
Overall, I am very happy with my choice.
Since you have mini-monovision with the same IOL I have. Can you share with me how it's working for you for reading, eg. using a smartphone?
My refractive "error" is -0.5 and -0.25 and I can use a smartphone in good light at ~18", but it drops dramatically in dimmer light.
laurie30147 RandallG
Edited
I hold my phone or tablet about 12 inches away and it is very clear. Of course, those are lighted sources. Printed material also works well at that distance in good light. I'm talking about fonts like a magazine (Atlantic Monthly). Closer gets progressively blurry.
In dim light, such as reading in bed by a low-level lamp, reading a printed book or magazine is a little trickier, and I find myself juggling the book to get a good focus...or just accepting some blur because I don't want to move to a better position. ☺
RandallG laurie30147
Posted
Thank you, Laurie. It sounds like you have had a great outcome! Congratulations and thank you for sharing.