Lasik Monovision

[chevybob20]

I bumped an old thread started by "The Hungarian" on this subject but I am afraid that the aiming section is a path few follow.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=5082534#post5082534

I'm looking for input from poolplayers who had Lasik (or contacts) that used a correction procedure called monovision. This is where one eye is corrected farther out than the other. It greatly reduces the need for reading glasses.

I currently wear progressive bifocals and am near sighted with astigmatism. Without my glasses, I can't read the number on the balls at cue stick length. I know my life will greatly improve outside of pool with this laser correction but I am afraid to lose interest in the second love of my life, pool.

How did monovision affect your game? How long did it take you to adjust?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Mole Eye]

I wear contact lenses, and when my vision got bad enough, I initially tried the monovision lenses-one for farsightedness correction and one for reading. While some like it, I did not. It seemed that nothing was clear, either far or near. After about 2 weeks, I went back and got the best farsighted correction I can get, and wear reading glasses. I can see the pool balls perfectly, as I am not within reading distance when I shoot at the object ball. That's my experience; I am sure others had a different experience.

 

[chevybob20]

I wear contact lenses, and when my vision got bad enough, I initially tried the monovision lenses-one for farsightedness correction and one for reading. While some like it, I did not. It seemed that nothing was clear, either far or near. After about 2 weeks, I went back and got the best farsighted correction I can get, and wear reading glasses. I can see the pool balls perfectly, as I am not within reading distance when I shoot at the object ball. That's my experience; I am sure others had a different experience.

I think this is going to be my experience. I'm planning on getting a set of contacts to try first before lasik.

By the way, how was driving at night?

 

[bflgvs]

I used monovision-contacts for several years until I started to get headaches after a couple of hours. I adjusted to them immediately and really liked them. This was quite a few years ago, probably about 12+ years.

Now my eyes are somewhat 'monovision.' Distance is good in my right eye while close-up vision is pretty good in my left eye. So, my glasses come off when I play.

 

[philly]

Very timely thread as I was at the eye doc last evening. I wear progressive lenses (bifocals with no lines) and have an astigmatism. The doc ordered two pair of contact lenses to be used on a trial basis. I did not know that they have bifocal lenses now and can't imagine how that will work. Would love to get rid of the glasses. Should get them within a week. Let you know how I make out.

 

[tomatoetom]

no good for pool

 

[Mikjary]

I went against the grain and got a contact for closer work in my right dominant eye. I see fine at a distance, so I use no contact in my left eye.

After you get used to the difference, which is a slightly blurred vision in the corrected monovision eye at a distance, night driving isn't a problem. You can see the instrument panel and still focus out ahead of you on the road. It's like wearing reading glasses and looking out over the top of them at something further away. Your eyes adjust quickly.

I thought the corrected eye would help my game, but I found out it actually made it worse. If you're an advanced player, you already know where the cue ball is and can judge where you're hitting it without getting too precise a look. At a distance, the contact didn't do anything except blur the object ball.

I tried using a contact for detail work in my left, non-dominant eye, but my right eye kept trying to do the seeing and it gave me problems. Now, I shoot with no contact at all. As I age, I'll correct both eyes with contacts for distance and use reading glasses for close up work. You don't need to see close up when you shoot pool.

Best,
Mike

 

[chevybob20]

Thanks guys.

Philly, please post updates here. I have an appointment Tuesday with a second Dr. I'm going to ask for contacts on a trial basis.

no good for pool

Tom, did you try it? I'd like to hear about it.

 

[chevybob20]

I went against the grain and got a contact for closer work in my right dominant eye. I see fine at a distance, so I use no contact in my left eye.

After you get used to the difference, which is a slightly blurred vision in the corrected monovision eye at a distance, night driving isn't a problem. You can see the instrument panel and still focus out ahead of you on the road. It's like wearing reading glasses and looking out over the top of them at something further away. Your eyes adjust quickly.

I thought the corrected eye would help my game, but I found out it actually made it worse. If you're an advanced player, you already know where the cue ball is and can judge where you're hitting it without getting too precise a look. At a distance, the contact didn't do anything except blur the object ball.

I tried using a contact for detail work in my left, non-dominant eye, but my right eye kept trying to do the seeing and it gave me problems. Now, I shoot with no contact at all. As I age, I'll correct both eyes with contacts for distance and use reading glasses for close up work. You don't need to see close up when you shoot pool.

Best,
Mike

Nice write up. That's good info to have. I'm actually right eye dominate, right handed but shoot with the cue under my left eye. Monovision could cause problems.

 

[philly]

Thanks guys.

Philly, please post updates here. I have an appointment Tuesday with a second Dr. I'm going to ask for contacts on a trial basis.




Tom, did you try it? I'd like to hear about it.

I will pm you, chevybob. Should be interesting. Why is everything in in life just a test. Hah. Maybe after the contacts are in I'll run a six pack of 9 ball! We could all use a silver bullet now and then.

 

[SJDinPHX]

I'm looking for input from poolplayers who had Lasik (or contacts) that used a correction procedure called monovision. This is where one eye is corrected farther out than the other. It greatly reduces the need for reading glasses.

I currently wear progressive bifocals and am near sighted with astigmatism. Without my glasses, I can't read the number on the balls at cue stick length. I know my life will greatly improve outside of pool with this laser correction but I am afraid to lose interest in the second love of my life, pool.

How did monovision affect your game? How long did it take you to adjust?

Thank you in advance.

ChevyBob, Your post caught my eye, because my recently departed wife, had the exact same lasik surgery you are referring to..She had it about 12-14 yrs. ago, when the procedure was very new. (almost experimental, if I recall)..Not even sure they even called it 'Monovision' at that time..But she did have one eye done for distance, and one eye for upclose.

She had horrible vision, from the time she was a child, and could barely see across a small room !, and needed reading glasses at about 15 or so..The good news for you, is she was ecstatic, when they took the bandages off the next day ! With only a few minor corrections, (about 5 yrs. apart) she enjoyed very good vision the rest of her life !..She even enjoyed a pool league afterwards, whereas she had zero interest in trying it prior.

With the advances made in this field, I'm sure you'll be happy with your procedure...Wishing you the best of luck !

Dick

 

[Tarheel]

My doctor suggested setting up monovision when I had LASIK surgery in 1999, with the understanding I could change one eye and have both the same if I did not like the monovision. Best advice I ever got. No issues playing pool with monovision and I don't wear glasses for reading or for distance. Basically, both eyes work as binoculars.

Only issue I have, which is less than 5% of the time, in a dark area I somethings have a little blurriness due to depth perception but again, 95+% of the time no issues whatsoever - I may borrow someone's reading glasses to read a small print menu in a dimly lighted restaurant. Outside in daylight I can read the fine print on a medicine bottle and can see the edge of a ball the full length on a 9-footer.

I have heard but cannot confirm monovison with contacts will not give you the same vision success as with LASIK. I had severe astigmatism in each eye and wore glasses since I was a kid. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones but in 15+ years my eyesight has hardly changed at all. Personally, I am very happy with monovision and I play pool often. I have heard of varying success rates with LASIK based on the doctor performing the surgery. Be very picky when choosing a doctor.

 

[chevybob20]

Thanks Dick. And, I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

Tarheel. Thank you too. It's good to hear that it works for pool. I'm hoping it does for me too. I was 8 years old when I wore my first pair of glasses. It's getting really old. I do agree with you about choosing doctors wisely. I have three consultations with three different doctors.

 

[Cardigan Kid]

I bumped an old thread started by "The Hungarian" on this subject but I am afraid that the aiming section is a path few follow.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=5082534#post5082534

I'm looking for input from poolplayers who had Lasik (or contacts) that used a correction procedure called monovision. This is where one eye is corrected farther out than the other. It greatly reduces the need for reading glasses.

I currently wear progressive bifocals and am near sighted with astigmatism. Without my glasses, I can't read the number on the balls at cue stick length. I know my life will greatly improve outside of pool with this laser correction but I am afraid to lose interest in the second love of my life, pool.

How did monovision affect your game? How long did it take you to adjust?

Thank you in advance.

I was a contact/glasses wearer for life until seven years ago. I went to a top doctor in the area for a Lasik review. My eyes were right for the procedure. Lots of cornea to work with, healthy, etc.
There was never any talk of mono vision. But my eyes were always two different strengths. My left eye (which I learned was my dominant eye) was always weaker than my right, the left side of my glasses was always thicker than the right.

The procedure corrected my eyes to 20/15 right 20/18 left. Better than perfect vision. It was life changing to say the least. In terms of pool, I now didn't have a head lift problem from always looking up to see through my glasses, and I could see chalk smudges on object balls down table, etc. My game improved greatly, as well as my enjoyment playing.

As for the night time, the halo effect of lights is not any different from when I wore glasses or contact lenses. So it's a wash. Only now I don't have to worry about cleaning and removing lenses, eye infections, and all that jazz that comes with them.

A word of advice is don't bargain shop for the procedure. I read an article recently about the cheaper the procedure, the older the equipment, the higher probability of bad side effects. The accuracy of today's laser machines is unreal but only the top doctors are using them. I was lucky enough to have a group of doctors working with what was a modern machine at the time right in my city. But if I had to travel to find out, I would've. Make sure you do your research (which you obviously are) and vett your eye doctor thoroughly.

After the procedure, you'll wish you did it sooner.

Best of luck

 

[mikemosconi]

I can only speak from personal experience. I wear one day disposable contacts for pool. I have found that if I back off my full strength contact lens prescription slightly, I see the pool balls better from the one foot to nine foot range. That is to say your full strength 20/20 vision prescription contacts are not meant to give you 20/20 vision in the one to nine foot range - but at 20 feet away from an object.
That said, My normal 20/20 full strength contact lens prescription calls for 1.75 power for each eye -- when I play pool, I use 1.25 power lens in each eye and see the one to nine foot distance better than with full power contacts.
Translating this to Lasik, your idea of one eye set at full 20/20 and the other being done at less power should do you just fine for pool playing optics.

 

[Dave]

Hi there,
I have mono vision by default.... I had cataract surgery 2 years ago.
My dominant eye is now corrected to 20/20 and I see the balls clearly without glasses.
A big improvement.
I'm about to have cataract surgery on my other eye and the correction will be for reading.... a vote of confidence for mono vision.


Good luck,
Dave

 

[gogg]

Best gift I have ever given myself!
It was such a success primarily (according to my Dr. ) because the disparity between the two eyes was so great.
At 54 the upclose issues are "focusing muscle" related anyway, so setting the vision with one closer and one farther was awesome.


* wish I had started this crap earlier *

 

[TATE]

I bumped an old thread started by "The Hungarian" on this subject but I am afraid that the aiming section is a path few follow.
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?p=5082534#post5082534

I'm looking for input from poolplayers who had Lasik (or contacts) that used a correction procedure called monovision. This is where one eye is corrected farther out than the other. It greatly reduces the need for reading glasses.

I currently wear progressive bifocals and am near sighted with astigmatism. Without my glasses, I can't read the number on the balls at cue stick length. I know my life will greatly improve outside of pool with this laser correction but I am afraid to lose interest in the second love of my life, pool.

How did monovision affect your game? How long did it take you to adjust?

Thank you in advance.

My eyes ended up that way, not sure if it was by design. I had Lasik done about 15 years ago. One eye is 20/20 and one is 20/50.

I can see great at distance and can usually read without glasses. Believe it or not, once in a great while, for a month or two, I need reading glasses, then boom - they will kick back and I don't need them.

Personally I would rather have 20/20 in each eye and use comfortable reading glasses. In my opinion, this is better to avoid headaches and other issues caused by eye strain (usually from a lot of close up use) particularly with computer screens, which I stare at all day.

Pool doesn't require great vision. Long cut shots are maybe the exception but seeing the shot and making it are two different issues. If you can see the object ball edge in focus, you are all set. This may sound odd, but my view is our eyes see the ball but our brains tell us where it is located.

 

[Cardigan Kid]

One more thought in regards to mono vision.

Look no further for the most successful mono vision professional pool player than Niels Feijen. I understand he is legally blind in his left eye or it's just really bad, and he maximizes the use of his right eye by holding the cue to the right of his chin, like a shot gun for sighting.

He is one of the best players in the world. Current world nine ball champ.

 

[Hal2]

I wear contacts with mono vision correction and have no problem shooting pool. Tate is right you don't need perfect vision to shoot good. Without my contacts my vision is 20/200 ( eye doc told me I am legally blind without the contacts or glasses ) and I can shoot about the same with or without contacts. This is probably due in part with my excellent overhead lighting and I know the diameter of the balls are 2 1/4 inches. Best regards and good luck, Hal