cataract surgery - multifocal Vs mono lens

[mumed]

Hi and help!
I need cataract surgery (booked for Monday 24th) but have been agonising whether to get multi focal or get mono lens. Has anyone had multifocal lens and how did they find them? Did you/they still need glasses for reading, computer work or when out in the shops (reading labels and tags)? Cataract in one eye is very dense so need it urgently - it's progressed very quickly (got worse in a couple of months). Surgery booked with NHS on Monday is for mono lens for reading and will need to go private for multi focal. Are multi focals worth it? I want to be free of glasses when reading but worried that I may still need them after. My short sight is not too bad. thanks :)

I'm an optometrist. I'm not a massive fan of the multifocals, some people do get on with them really well and are glasses free, other people hate them and find that even with glasses their vision is not as good afterwards - the problem is, you can't just remove them if they don't work!

If you have a monofocal reading lens put in, your reading will be good for the distance you set it at. You may find that you need glasses for the computer if you do a lot of computer work, for driving at night and you may need them more if/when you develop a cataract in the other eye.

thanks so much, that's really useful! My worry was about getting the multi focals and then still needing glasses as clarity of vision is compromised
I'm getting a monofocal for reading in my left eye and believe that I can get a monofocal for distance in the other when I get it done, and that will help with both

Hope the surgery goes well (It's usually very straightforward).

thanks @underneaththeash :)