Monovision

[Kevy Baby]

OK - I've accepted that I am getting older (42 as of last November) and I get to deal with changes to my body. On Saturday, I visited the eye doctor and one of he things we discussed was the fact that reading isn't as easy as it used to be (I've purchased the drug-store readers for use at home).

Since I already wear contacts, the doctor suggested trying monovision. This is basically where you set your dominant eye to to the prescription for distance and the other eye to the prescription for reading (close). From one web site I found:

Monovision addresses the problem of presbyopia that most people start to encounter at the age of 40-45 when they begin to need reading glasses or bifocals for close vision. With monovision, the dominant eye (the eye you would use to focus a camera) is focused for distance vision, and the non-dominant eye is focused for near to intermediate vision. This can be done with contact lenses, refractive surgery or intraocular lenses.

Monovision certainly isn’t appropriate for everyone. However, when paired with the right person, it can be a great fit. Monovision is a blend of near and distance vision, and is ideal for people with an active lifestyle. However, there is a caveat to consider: since it is a compromise, most people’s vision isn’t perfectly crisp up close or far away. Instead, it offers the best of both worlds.

Since my distance prescription is -5.5 and my reading prescription is +1.5, I am currently wearing a -5.5 contact in my left eye (my dominant eye) and a -4.0 contact in my right eye.

And it is quite odd.

I am slowly getting used to it (my doctor gave me a pair of -5.5 contacts in case monovision didn't work for me). They also have a pair of bifocal contacts on order to try that as well. Basically, the goal of both of these options is to help avoid having to wear glasses. Not something I asked for and the doctor didn't say it, but that is what this the goal is. I really don't care, but I figured that I would at least give it a try (from a convenience perspective - I don't give a rip about vanity).

But my initial feedback is that I am not a big fan of monovision. I still haven't got used to it for driving. It doesn't help while I am on the computer (the distance to my screen is about 24" at work and about 18" at home). Reading is the only place it might make a difference, so we will see.

Anybody else play with this?