Repeat to yourself. My best vision after this operation will come with progressive bifocals and that is the only way to use my two eyes together.
Now having said and accepted that. If your operated eye is -2.25 and you go for 0.00 or -0.25 that is "full mono-vision" and many people have trouble adjusting to it. You could go for "mini-monofocal" and put the second eye at -1.00. Without glasses you should have reasonable near and intermediate vision. Distance will be blurry but those of us that are myopic are use to that.
best to error on the myopic side as post cataract surgery lasik can be done to make the eye less myopic but if you end up farsighted (for example +1.00) that's much harder to fix and no distance is clear without glasses.
That's really all I can say.
JCHMD
Your article made things mush clearer. Thanks. My surgeon dislikes having to take the time to explain things to patients who are incapable of understanding what he is telling them and then having to take the extra time to convince them to make the choices he wants to make for them.
Vision in my right eye pre-surgery was -10 diopters. So the 1 diopter margin for error makes sense. My left eye, if I read my last prescription correctly, is currently -2.26 diopters. What is the prudent margin of error in such a case and does it make sense to aim for better distance in the other eye? Keep in mind that I use the computer a lot. I would ask my surgeon but he makes it difficult to get the full picture.
Actually the -25 suggestion came from a second surgeon at the same office.
Yes you are wrong to be disappointed. The IOL is a monofocal IOL which means it can only give good vision without glasses at one distance. with a proper progressive bifocal lens over that eye you should have good vision at all distances. You have good near vision when you have the second eye done you can have it set for distance. Your best vision for all distances will come with progressive bifocals.
Your situation is explained in the article I wrote which every patient should study before surgery.
http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/841991/Consider-ALL-the-Options-Before-Your-Cataract-Surgery-Working-Through-Whats-Best-For-You
JCH MD
How is your vision up to the 1 foot point? Say from 8 inches to the 1 foot mark?
It sounds like the surgeon is trying to give you mini monovision which gives you intermediate and distance (hence the .25 lens suggestion)