Posted by: Caster Eye Center in is lasik for you, laser vision correction candidates, LASIK candidates

Portrait of mature man with big black eye glasses trying to read book but having difficulties seeing text because of vision problems

My distance vision is pretty good and I only use glasses for close-up reading. Can LASIK in Los Angeles help me see and get rid of these reading glasses?

There is nothing that makes you feel and look middle-aged more than reading glasses. And they are a big inconvenience!

Yes, LASIK can help you to see better close-up. But, it will not help everyone like you, and we need to test you to see whether laser eye surgery will work for you in your situation.

Why Our Vision Changes with Age

As we approach middle-age, the lens inside our eye loses its flexibility. This lens must change shape in order to adjust our vision from far to near. Around age 40-50, this lens (like most parts of our body!) starts to lose its flexibility. So we begin to have trouble changing our focus. If our eyes are naturally focused well for distance, we begin to have trouble focusing on close-up objects such as reading material or our cell phones.

We do not have a way of increasing the flexibility of this lens. However, we can blend the vision between the two eyes, by adjusting one eye for up-close vision and leaving the other eye for excellent distance vision. This is called blended vision or monovision, and it is achievable with contact lenses or with LASIK in Los Angeles. Although it seems unnatural, blended vision is an excellent option for many people who need reading glasses.

How do You Know if You are a Good Candidate for Blended Vision?

Simple — we show you the blended vision with glasses, and see how you like it. About half of the people we test are very receptive to this different way of seeing. About half the people we test do not like blended vision, and we will not perform the blended LASIK for them. However, for the half that immediately likes blended vision, it will open up a whole new world of seeing without glasses. It will also make you feel and look younger!

Complete adjustment to blended vision takes about three months. Also, you still may use glasses for distance or near afterward sometimes for particular activities, depending on your lifestyle and interests. I tell my patients to expect it to be a solution that will work at least 90% of the time, though for many people it actually works 100% of the time.

But what if you have LASIK to create blended vision and then you decide that you really don’t like it? We can easily reverse the blended vision by performing a second LASIK treatment. Of course, you can also get blended vision if you want by wearing a contact lens, or by having a more involved surgical treatment that is the same as cataract removal. But the LASIK method is quick, easy and painless — and you will have useful near vision without always putting on the reading glasses.