Right eye cataract surgery on 3/31 and questions

I was not really near sighted, but in the -2.5 D range. I used to be more in the -4.0 range when I was younger but for some reason vision got better as I got older. In any case I got cataract surgery in my right eye first, with a AcrySof IQ monofocal set for distance. At first I removed the right lens from my prescription glasses and wore them that way. It worked, but was somewhat disorienting. It made me feel dizzy. Then my frames broke, so I got new progressive prescription glasses. They corrected the slight residual astigmatism in my operated eye, and gave my normal correction in my left eye. This was a bit better but the effect still kind of made me dizzy. Next I tried contact lenses in my left eye. That was significantly better. There seems to be a difference between correcting at the cornea compared to at the eyeglass plane. When I used a contact that fully corrected my left eye, I then needed reading glasses. Did not like that, so I tried monovision by under correcting my left eye by about -1.25 to -1.5 D. It was not exact as I did not not like the toric contacts which corrected the astigmatism too. This arrangement allowed me to read without glasses for 95% of my needs; printed material 8 point and above, iPhone, computer screen, TV, and distance. Like you I really dislike the need to carry reading glasses everywhere I go.

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I went this way for about a year and a half using a contact to simulate monovision until my second eye cataract was done on February 24th with a Clareon monofocal. The target is about the same as what I was getting with my contact. Overall it is giving me the same quality of vision. I did not opt for the toric version and do seem to have some residual astigmatism which is minor, but I see it. Once I get my final eye refraction test done in a week or so, and if the astigmatism is significant, I may get some touch up Lasik to fix it.

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So, you might want to think about getting your second eye done to leave you myopic. With the Eyhance you would probably want to target -1.0 to -1.25 D to get decent reading, or a -1.50 D with a monofocal. The biggest issue with doing this monofocal thing is getting the power correct. If you are left at -1.0 your reading is going to suffer, and if you end up at -1.75 D then your binocular vision starts to suffer. And, if you have extreme myopic eyes, estimating the power is not all that easy. But, your surgeon should learn from your first eye, and accuracy may not be a big concern. And, there is Lasik as a touch up to fine tune it. Last, depending on where you are the Light Adjustable Lens or LAL may be available. It can be fine tuned for power with a UV light after it is implanted.

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Hope that helps some. I have not worn glasses since my second cataract operation, other than for some +1.25 readers with very difficult fine print. I drive without glasses, and see the dash instruments perfectly. If you are interested in monovision you are lucky that your second eye does not have to be done immediately, like me, and you have time to test drive monovision. It is not for everyone, so better to trial it with a contact, that to jump in cold with an IOL.

Have you thought about getting an Extended depth of focus EDOF lens for you other eye such as the vivity, that will give you a bit better near vision compared to the Eyhance in the other eye, perhaps talk to your surgeon about it.

Thank you both for your replies, I appreciate it! I see my regular eye doctor this week so I will bring up making the left eye set for near distance.

Eyhance is a premium monofocal. The goal of the Eyhance IOL is to give the same performance of a standard monofocal and get just a little bitty extra intermittent and close vision. This IOL has less than 0.5D of EDOF. In no way will it be giving you close vision.

So you have decision time. If you want to get more close vision from your 2nd eye, you will have to up your risk as everything comes with tradeoffs. You can either do monovision with Eyhance or Vivity or choose a diffractive lens.

But make sure you do your own independent research on these various IOLs so you go in knowledgeable.

The surgery was done with Versed and I could feel a lot of tugging and it was painful at times. I thought I was going to be in a twilight sort of sleep but I was totally present.

My experience was very similar, totally present and feeling a lot of tugging and occasional pain. Got some pills and drops before surgery.

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As for distance vs near vision, I was near sighted before the surgery (and still am on the othger eye - can't read anything farther than a phone with my natural lens), but went with distance vision for the IOL (Alcon Clareon Monofocal). My train of thought was that I'd like to be able not to wear glasses at least in some circumstances (like going for a walk) rather than always wear them.

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Once my second eye is done, I expect to be able to watch TV or go outside - without glasses and just put on readers when working on the PC or looking at my phone. The downside is having to carry those readers around and having to put them on.

Seems like the better deal to me than the alternative which would require me to basically always wear glasses (and then expensive, progressive ones).

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If you are fine wearing spectacles all the time, just get progressive glasses - it won't really matter whether you set your eyes for distance or near (as long as you have them on).