[pct-l] Cataract surgery monovision advice?

[Rōnin]

River,

I have monovision.  While I was stationed at the Pentagon I managed to tear 3 flaps in the retina of my left eye while working out one evening.  Ophthalmologists were able to use a laser to repair the damage and keep the retina from detaching.  The lens in that eye is original and focuses normally at a significant  distance.  At nearly the same time, I developed ocular sclerosis in my right eye that caused me to see 3 images of every light or reflective surface I passed while driving at night (very unsafe).  They replace the lens in my right eye and that eye tends to focus normally at about 18 inches.  The result is that except for reading in a darkened environment or after hours working at a computer, I never have to wear glasses.  So far, I have not noticed any degradation in my depth perception.  One thing I noticed right after my right lens was replaced (cataract surgery even though it wasn't a cataract), was that it took a few days before I could be in a room with natural light and I wore a metal cup over that eye with pinholes in it for the same period because being in a sunlit room (or even a room with bright artificial lights) was very uncomfortable (read that, painful).  On the plus side, I began to see more vibrant blues; something that I found very enjoyable.  I also came to discover that the artificial lens changed its focal point somewhat over time after it was implanted; it didn't end up being quite what the ophthalmologists or I though it would be; the point is, no matter what the doctors try to do, your body may make subtle adjustments.  In my case, I ended up with one eye focusing out near infinity (the natural one) and the other focusing at about 18" and it works for me whether I am driving, working on a computer, reading or doing nearly any other activity.  I will be checking out how well it works on the trail this fall as I am planning to hike the JMT in September.  I had to put off my plans for a thru-hike on the PCT until next year because I had to have knee surgery this past February (managed to tear both menisci in my left knee) and didn't have time to sufficiently recover before I would have had to begin the hike.

I hope this helps.

Bruce "Rōnin" Beebe
47ronin at earthlink.net
805.264.9647


On 15 May, 2014, at 14:59 , Jim Banks <JimLBanks at verizon.net> wrote:

River, I started wearing contact lenses at 16.  Much later when I started to
have trouble reading small print I switched over to mono vision contacts.
It took about 2 weeks to get use to it.  About 14 years ago I had mono
vision Lasik surgery.  It was the best thing I ever did.  It didn't take any
time to get use to it because I had been wearing mono vision contacts so
long.  It is the best of both worlds, I don't need glasses or contacts to
see distance or to read. It has made my hiking life so much better, not
having to mess with contacts out on the trail.  It has had no negative
effect on my depth perception at all.  After 14 years my vision is still
20/20, not bad for a 61 year old.

Some people have a hard time getting use to it, but I think a lot of it has
to do with how determined you are to make it work.  One down side is that a
lot of people who get mono vision Lasik don't have the best night vision
including myself.  It makes sense when you think about it, you are only
using one eye to see distance, so at night when your vision would not be as
good anyway, it does reduce your vision even more.  For me it is not a big
deal, the only time when it is enough to matter is if I am driving at night
or at a movie, and then I wear glasses which correct it back to 20/20
because they convert my "reading eye" back to normal.  I don't even take my
night glasses with me when I am on a hike.  

I am assuming that the lenses they implant during cataract surgery would
have a similar outcome.   Good luck.

I-Beam

-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of River Malcolm
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2014 2:28 PM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] Cataract surgery monovision advice?

Hello Trail Friends

I just finished this year's section (walker pass south to ziggy and the
bear) and am going through the DTs (de-trailification). 

I need cataract surgery in the fall. Don't want the distance lenses because
I'd need to put on glasses every time I look at a map or my iphone GPS apps.
Don't want close-up because I'd need to out on glasses to see the beauty all
around me. Has anyone tried "monovision" or do you know any hikers who have?
My doc says depth perception would suffer and I'd not be safe on trail (but
I suspect that with one eye dominant for close/up right now, and the other
for distance, my depth perception might be not that different). 

I would love love love to hear others experience ( or suggestions of other
forums in which to address this question). 

Thanks and happy trails
River
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