Having reached the ripe old age where I now require vari focals, but not wanting to go down that investment just yet, I’ve been simply removing my glasses to read menu / phone (to prevent me peering over them like I mocked my parents for!)
Longer term goal is eye surgery for replacement lenses, to be fully glasses free, but need to get it all assessed etc.
In the mean time, I recently purchased my first pair of reading glasses, some cheap £10 amazon ones +1 correction which is what my eye test suggested.
Now I appreciate they are going to be rubbish compared to my high quality lenses, but wasn’t expecting to have such a poor focal length.
To read, I am literally holding a menu 6” from my eyes when wearing the glasses. Given it’s my first pair I’ve no idea if this is ‘normal’, I don’t recall seeing people hold things that close to their eyes.
Was hoping for some ‘arms length’ clarity improvement when wearing them for laptop use etc, but don’t want to throw proper cash at them if that’s all I’m going to get.
Perhaps it’s time to suck up the cost of varifocals & admit a new stage in my age & vision!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hi
I wear variofocals but i tend to read without my glasses be it a menu, paper or book however cheapo reading glasses are not ideal and you should not be holding a menu 6” away.
Go and get a proper eye test and consultation ( you may qualify for a freebie due to age)
I FEEL LIKE I'M DIAGONALLY PARKED IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE
Same here.Originally Posted by mart broad
I'll just say that I am short-sighted too, and have been wearing glasses all my adult life. I have therefore decided that having surgery now is an unnecessary risk. The only downside for me is that as I like quality sunglasses and Maui Jim cannot make corrective lenses to my specs, I need to wear contact lenses on holidays/sunny weather, and thus need to carry reading glasses on that day.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Mart, I did have the proper eye test but didn’t progress with ordering from them at the time. I always get New Wayfarer glasses & don’t need another frame just yet, or another spare pair of sunglasses. Perhaps I just need to bite the bullet.
S-J, I’ve also worn them all my adult life, am on a mixed set of contacts for holidays, have one varifocal lens & one to correct astigmatism, so very much a compromised view, it’s not perfect. When dim lighting happens in restaurants, I can’t really read the menu, and as they are contacts cannot look over the top of them.
This is why I’m thinking about the lens surgery, to free me from ‘acceptable’ or having multiple pairs of expensive glasses lenses made. The risks do concern me, but I just want to be glasses free when I want to be, have the choice of sunglasses, and maybe even wear a false pair of glasses when I want to look intelligent lol.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Last edited by Mj2k; 8th January 2020 at 12:43.
I know the feeling, and I too wince a bit when time comes to renew my varifocals.
I can get away with using normal, single focal contact lenses for the moment but it is indeed a compromise.
A bit left field, but I have found that wearing a hat on sunny days reduced the need I have for sunglasses significantly. What it does to my overall look is debatable of course, I see myself as a younger Indiana Jones and my wife thinks I look like a pillock, but at least I don't squint so much.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
You may have just got a poorly made pair. There are lots of places that sell reading glasses displayed on a shelf or stand so you can try them on to see which work best. I know that have them in Boots & Waitrose & Superdrug used to have them as well.
I suggest you do a lot of research before deciding on where to go for lens replacement procedures. There are a number of considerations including how high your current prescription is & whether or not you can tolerate multifocal lenses. Not everyone gets good results.
I have my Tilley hat too & love it. Even if it was how strangers recognised me at the swim up bar on holiday!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’ve struggled with the quality of the frames with all the ones I’ve tried on so far, strangely the amazon frames were pretty good, nowhere near my daily wears, but I didn’t cringe as I picked them up.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’ve done a lot of research & even chosen my surgeon. Just need them to want me too.
I’m only a low prescription of -2.5 on both eyes with astigmatism slightly different across them. I’m just fed up with compromise with either sunglasses, contacts or day to day glasses.
Equally I don’t want to be the 0.1% or whatever it is that ends up being below an acceptable driving standard of sight.
To be fair, the optician did the ‘legal minimum’ for me to try & it’s pretty scary what people are allowed to drive without being able to see an awful lot in my view.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Are you considering multifocals or monofocal lenses? As you may know professions like pilots are not allowed to have multifocal lenses dues to issues with flares & halos. If you are looking at monofocals it's worth thinking about where you want the sharp vision range to be - my view on this changed from thinking I wanted to be sharp at distance to being sharp form reading to 3m or so.
Are you able to say which surgeon you have chosen?
Well it was going to be Mr Pillai, but AVC have ceased trading, lucky escape who knows.
I wanted distance primarily as my sharp vision, but equally don’t want to limit the short vision. I’d imagine multi is my only solution for getting what I want - hadn’t read much on halos with lens replacement, only with the laser options.
Perhaps I need to do more reading then on the subject. Basically I want the eyes of a 20yr old for close up & distance, regardless of cost but in the safest way possible.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I’m no expert on the subject, but I’ve worn glasses since the age of 23 and I’m now 62. I’ve been on varifocals for around 17 years, I briefly considered surgery but discounted it for a few reasons. As I see it, there’s every chance your eyes will continue to deteriorate after surgery so you could still end up needing glasses, particularly for reading as presbyopia (old sight) sets in. I wore contact lenses for many years, but never on a regular basis because I couldn’t use them in my work environment, I used them for sports/ running plus going out.....until I reached the stage where I couldn’t read menus or count my money correctly! At that stage I gave up with the contacts, I couldn't see the ground clearly enough for running off- road unless I wore one eye deliberately weak. Thankfully, with advancing years, any sense of vanity regarding glasses disappears, I’d advise anyone who needs glasses to come to terms with it and get the best varifocals available as presbyopia sets in (usually mid- late 40s).
Getting varifocals made correctly is crucial, they have to be fitted correctly or they won’t be acceptable. Its worth paying more for the best lenses which cut down peripheral distortion, but the fitting is vital and for this reason I’d never try to save money buying on- line.
There are glasses designed for reading and intermediate distance such as using a computer screen, I have these for my watch repair bench. These are varifocals so there’s a cost involved, but they do the trick and they’re far better than straight reading glasses.
As for sunglasses, I don’t ‘get’ the fashion / designer thing at all, I simply gave a pair of reactolite varifocals in the style if frame I like, no names on the side or anything like that.......I’ve reached the age where I don’t care about that stuff but I never did when I was younger.
For anyone who swims regularly I recommend optical goggles that are close enough to your distance prescription, they’re a godsend and its surprising how folks don’t know they exist! Expect to pay around £30 for a pair.
Definitely do some more research.....and perhaps come to terms with the fact that you’re not a 20 year old! Unless you are very short - sighted (-2.5 isn’t strong, I’m about the same) I wouldn’t go down the surgery route, it may help for a few years but I can’t see how its a permanent fix, it can’t be.
I’ll be honest, I wish I had better eyesight and didn’t need glasses all the time, but I learned to accept it many years ago. I’m thankful they still work OK, albeit with some help from Specsavers!
indeed and may I add I work for 11 ophthalmic Consultants, some who offer laser eye surgery but who ALL wear glasses themselves,
says it all really!!
My aim is for the lenses to be replaced entirely, hence zero need for any glasses, as there is no longer the ability for age related degradation that you have with laser etc.
I forget the last post here, but my ongoing biggest concern is the number of eye specialists and opticians who wear glasses vs having the surgery.
Early 40’s sucks, eyes and hair receding & balding. I’m blessed there is just vanity related issues, could be a lot worse & am thankful for that.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I had laser eye surgery in 2002 at the age of 57 to correct short sight, I had worn glasses since I was about 43 and hated them. It was very successful although my eyes were quite painful for a short while, I guess the procedure has improved since then.
I had perfect long and medium distance vision up until 2016 but needed specs for reading, then it started to deteriorate a little forcing me to wear specs for driving, watching TV etc. In 2018 the specs I had were not working for me so after a routine eye test I was told I had cataracts in both eyes so new specs would not help.
The optician said he could refer me to a private clinic through the NHS for an assessment but doubted they would do anything as he didn’t think the cataracts were bad enough.
September 2018 and a thorough examination at Spa Medica Clinic and subsequent surgery in November 2018 and February 2019 to replace the lenses has left me with perfect vision as good as it was when lasered 18 years ago except for the need for reading glasses.
The surgery in 2002 cost me no more than about 2-3 pairs of quality varifocals so has paid for itself many times over. I was scared stiff of having it done but glad I went ahead with it. The replacement lens surgery took less than 15 minutes per eye and was painless. If I had paid for my cataract surgery privately I could have opted for multifocal lenses but at my age (74) I thought it wasn’t worthwhile.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
