Lasik and computer vision

March 14, 2022 4:01 PM

If I, nearing age 50, get LASIK, will I be able to use a computer without glasses?

I'm nearsighted enough that when I sit at my desk I need glasses to view my screens at a distance of about 3ft or so. However, I can read books just fine without glasses, and frequently stay up late reading my Kindle in bed.

I had a consult for LASIK / SMILE procedure recently, and the doctor cautioned that, at my age, in order to fix my distance vision I'd likely lose my close-up vision. That would be a bummer, but then again I'm likely to need reading glasses sometime in the not too distant future anyway so it's kind of a wash. (Plus I can always increase the font size on the Kindle!)

What I am wondering about though is this middle distance of using computers. It would be amazing if I could avoid wearing glasses when at work. The doctor, however, couldn't really put a likelihood on how the surgery would impact that case.

If you've had LASIK in your later years, how did it affect your computer work?

posted by rouftop to Health & Fitness (3 answers total)

I had LASIK last year (when I was 45). I opted for monovision, where they correct one eye for near and the other for far. My brain adjusted almost immediately and now I can read pretty much everything without glasses.

I can't know what my vision will be like in a decade, but I'm really enjoying the super power of monovision. Maybe ask the doc if that's an option for you?
posted by kinsey at 5:34 PM on March 14, 2022

I had LASIK when I was 43, before I started to lose near vision accommodation. I wasn't sure from your description if that's where you are now, as well? That is, are you taking your glasses off to read books just because you don't need them, or are you doing it as a substitute for reading glasses?

If it's the former (just don't need them), you won't lose anything immediately after LASIK. You'll be able to use the computer without glasses, and you'll still be able to read books. However, you'll be in the same position as a person who always had 20/20 vision and will eventually need reading glasses for the books and need something for the computer.

If you do need to take your glasses off to read, yeah, you'll lose that, and you might consider monovision. It would be a good idea to try that out with contacts first, if that's possible for your prescription.
posted by LadyOscar at 8:05 PM on March 14, 2022

I had LASIK in my 40s and was corrected to near 20/20. I had both eyes corrected for long vision. I did use 1.75 reading glasses for the computer after that. I bought a bunch of drugstore reading glasses to keep near every computer.

The one thing that was hard to get used to was not being able to see really close up, like reading ingredients or pill labels without a pair of stronger readers, so I carried a pair of 2.0 for close reading.

Now, over 20 years later, my long vision has decreased just a little and I feel more confident wearing a pair of prescription glasses to drive, BUT I don't have to wear any readers using the computer anymore. I still use reading glasses for fine print.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 6:25 AM on March 15, 2022