It’s only been a week, but I kind of hate them. Considering old-man bifocals now.
I don’t need long distance correction, but do need reading glasses distance correction. I got bifocals with no correction on top and my reading prescription on the bottom. When I was choosing types of bifocals, I was given a non-perscription demo progressives to try and hated them. I was then informed by the optometrist that there are a whole bunch of different lens styles to choose from besides progressives for bifocals. I chose “Segmented Ds” which look like this:
These do exactly what I want. If I’m in a meeting and have my laptop or notepad (reading distance) close to me, and at the other end of the room a whiteboard or projection screen, I pop out my bifocals and they work perfectly. I can see both the distance (no prescription for me) and the close reading distance without having to lift my glasses off my face each time. I do not give a shit if someone sees that they are bifocals. I’m using them to help me be the best version of myself, not make a damn fashion statement. I have not one time had anyone say anything negative about them, and indeed had a few people ask how to order the same thing for themselves. If I’m doing pure close work, I don’t use the bifocals and just use regular full field reading glasses.
They are super hard to get properly aligned. The absolute vast majority of people that work in eye glass shops have ZERO clue on how to set them up. They will claim until they die that they know how to do it. They don’t have a clue. And they don’t understand that. That’s the real problem. They think they know and they don’t.
And the more sensitive your eyes are to minute changes(tiny changes). The problem gets many times worse.
The best I can say is go to one person have them keep working on it. Do not let anybody else touch them. Keep working the same person. If you realize this person can’t get them right and it could take several visits by the way. Then blacklist that person and go to the next person in the same shop. Repeat this until you’ve gone through everybody in the same shop. Then go to the next shop and start over. Keep doing this until youcan find somebody who has a clue. It’s going to take a while. Trust me. I have exactly one person in Town that he can do it. By the way, my city is about 60,000 people in just this town. 60,000 population that is. And there are quite a few eyeglass places in town.
To those who are reading this, if you work in eyeglass shops, and you’re sitting there thinking, but everybody in my shop is really good. Then you have no what’s going on. And you’re part of the problem. Because if you’re thinking, everybody in your shop can do it that means nobody in your shop can do it.
Think of it this way. Imagine everybody on a baseball team says I am really great and everybody my team is really great. Then your entire team sucks. Because in every team, there are people who are really, really good and people are mediocre and people are bad. So if you honestly believe that, everybody in your team is really really good then you’re clueless.
So I guess the best advice I can give to the original poster is keep trying with different people and try to find somebody’s good. Or go to bifocals.
Sounds costly. And, at what point do you know they are properly aligned or not?
You get free adjustments from where you buy at.
Some places will adjust for free even if you didn’t buy there. Use those. By that time you are probably at next year and then your insurance will cover most if not all of a new pair. Then go to the place that won’t adjust for free unless you bought there.
Repeat until you find a good place.
If you have the money then just keep dropping the cash until they are adjusted correctly.
Hope do you know when they aligned? When you don’t have monster eye strain.
how do you adjust the lenses
It’s a common way of saying adjusting the frames.
Maybe I’m just confused because I have monofocal lenses, know my PD and the reliable width for my frames to be comfortable. I can accept I’ve had different experience than the norm. I’ve never had the frame adjustments for eye strain, just comfort. I also have been seeing and buying glasses from the same eye doc for 25 years, so that helps.
With those types of lenses that you were talking about, there’s only one focal point. So therefore, your glasses , the frames , could be a couple of degrees off before even notice anything. With progressive you have many focal points many fields going up and down the lenses. So if they are off even by a little bit.One eye will be looking through one field and one eye looking through another field.
Which means one eye will be focusing at one distance and one eye will be focusing at another distance. That’s some ugly eye strain.
For some people they can handle that. They just concentrate on the one eye or the other eye. But there’s a lot of people who they can’t do that. And that’s where the real problem is at.
But I do understand your lack of knowledge on the subject as a lot of people don’t understand where the real problem is that.
Apologies, I thought adjustment just related to the frames. Would they be swapping lenses, in this case?
Your first thought was correct. It’s a common way of saying adjusting the frames
Going to call you on the basketball team comparison: They have a simple metric for if they are good (winning). You are right about the rest of it though.
They take a month or 2 to get used to, give it time. Your brain sort of morphs itself to make it seem normal after a while. It’s very strange but true.
I personally went for only 2 zones, one which was mainly the strength to use a computer rather than read a book up close (though I can do that in a pinch, but I keep stronger glasses for reading books), and the other for distance. This feels very natural to me now, I can just see what I need to see but it doesn’t feel weird. I would never go for bifocals.
I found I can’t do bifocals at all. When I’m reading, I need the whole lens. When I’m distance viewing, I need the whole lens.
So, two pairs it is!
So how do you drive?
Why would that be an issue? Just use the distance glasses, and your good. Or do you need to constantly read the vehicle manual to drive?
Being able to see your speedo I find is useful.
Hmm yeah I have to agree that’s a fair point lol
I mean when you’re alone on the road sure but if you’re in traffic just match pace with everyone else….
I’m now going to sound like my father:
if all your friends jumped off a bridge etc etc…
Besides that, are you honestly telling me you would take your glasses off in heavy traffic but put them back on when the roads get quiet?
No not at all, I wear my glasses full time, but devils advocate and all that.
Ha. Fair enough. 👍
Distance lenses. Dashboard isn’t close enough for readers.
That was the problem with the bifocals, I’d look down and the dash was blurry.
Fast and furious!
IMO you don’t need to see every detail close up when driving?
It’s helpful for street signs in urban areas.
Same. I despise them and refuse to wear them.
I bought a pair of reading glasses at the dollar store and just pretend I don’t need to see in the distance.
I bought a pair of reading glasses at the dollar store and just pretend I don’t need to see in the distance.
Shhh don’t let every one know
Just a note for anyone getting older: when you get your cataract surgery, when they insert the new lens into your eye, they can make that lens a prescription lens. And one thing you might consider doing is requesting that one lens be made slightly long-distance and the other slightly near-distance.
You can do that before cataracts. They’re called Implantable Collamer Lenses. I got ICL surgery* done because my astigmatism is so bad I can’t do laser.
Thanks for that.
when you get your cataract surgery
Not everyone gets cataracts
they can make that lens a prescription lens
What would be the point of implanting a “lens” with no optical power?
I think what you’re trying to say is that the implanted lens can be varifocal rather than monofocal.
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Try and return them first; tell them they give you a head ache and you cannot wear them. Refuse to wear them any longer.
If the prescription lens place doesn’t help, dump them along with the glasses, consider your options and shop around.
I had the same experience 7 years ago. I ultimately went back to my old pair and even bought a pair of cheapos from eyebuydirect.com to hold me over until my insurance covered my next prescription.
Correct. Complain until it works. My place tried a less expensive lens and even tried to re-work those on my 2nd complaint.
They finally used Zeiss and my glasses are fine.
Do you mean varifocals? You definitely get used to them and get muscle memory in your eyes for where to look through. You need to wear them 24/7 though
It used to be cheaper (bought some about 20 years ago) to have 2 pairs. One for distance and another for up close. I regretted buying progressives ultimately. Have they become less expensive?
I hated them too. It takes a few weeks, but I still have a second set that’s only the near prescription, set for my monitor distance. The chicken-bob is the worst.
Make sure that you have them set on your head the same way each time. The glasses moving around on your head is a pain since those “zones of vision” move whenever that happens.
Progressive lenses are complete garbage! The fact that you need to wear them for several days for your eyes (and your brain) to adjust to them speaks volumes. Keep in mind you will also see very poorly for the first few days.
I got some progressive lenses for my second ever pair of glasses. My first pair did not have bifocal lenses. I wore the progressive lens glasses for a few minutes in the store. Took them off, drove home, and tried to wear them at home. I hated them so much that I went back the same day and returned them. I have had lined bifocals ever since and have not regretted it one little bit.
So you didn’t give yourself time to adjust and didn’t like them. That tracks…
I like my progressive lenses. Clearer, smoother shift from reading to birding. I just had to adjust for maybe 10 days.
They don’t work in cars because your windshield is already uv treated.
So they’re kinda only useful if you walk a lot with your glasses.
You’re thinking of adaptive lenses (that darken when in sunlight). OP has progressive lenses, which are a kind of bifocal lens without a sharp dividing line between the near and far vision parts.
You aren’t wrong though.
That’s not “progressive” lens.
I only accept leftist lenses 😡
