Eyeglasses--What is your experience with no-line bifocals AKA progressive lenses?

Parent Cafe
1

Two years ago, I tried the progressive lenses from a Walmart vision center. It was my first time to try glasses other than readers. My distance vision required very little correction, but I have a slight astigmatism so I wanted to try the Rx in lieu of the readers I had been using. I could not see my computer with the progressive lenses unless I tilted my head way back and looked down through the very bottom of the lens. I took them back. They told me I had to give it a week to get used to them. I told them I can’t go a week without being able to see my computer since it was required for my job, so I stuck them in my drawer for a week and then took them back. I could tell by their demeanor that it really hacked them off. Then I had just the near vision lenses put in the same frames and they worked great.

Today, I had my eyes checked again. My distance vision has gotten much worse. My doctor really pushed for the progressive lenses and I tried to tell them I couldn’t see out of them. The eyewear lady told me that she used to work at Walmart vision center and they are inferior quality, etc. I left without purchasing anything. I just don’t want to spend over $500 (using my own frames) for something that I had such a bad experience with before. I have asked a small sampling of friends about them and have not found anyone who liked them.

Did I just have a bad experience before? Do you all love progressive lenses?

2

When I first got them, I had some issues - like I would hold on to the railing when I went down stairs, paid close attn at curbs, and probably noticed an issue like you described when I had to read something.
I just kept them on, almost all the time, and after a week or so they just became “normal.” I think I was even slightly nauseated early on, but that went away too.

3

I love my progressive lenses. They did take some getting used to…but they work very well.

4

I was given progressive trifocals about 10 years ago. Before that, I never wore glasses. I just couldn’t make sense of the lenses and gave up just like you.

A year ago, it became clear my eyesight had deteriorated significantly, and I made the commitment to wear glasses regularly. I shopped at 10 different places until I found the right pair of frames for my face/nose/bridge configuration. The right fit is imperative.

I was told it would take about two weeks to get used to them, but it took me at least six months. I would experience vertigo in stores from looking at displays on my left and right. I had to think about how I would tilt my head for just about every activity.

Other people told me they had no trouble adjusting to progressives, but every single person who said that had been wearing glasses for most of their life. I started wearing glasses in my 60s. I think that’s the key.

I still have trouble looking through the right lens to cut veggies on a cutting board.

5

I’ve worn glasses since age 10 (contacts for a number of years) and switched from bifocals to progressive lenses quite a few years ago - and love them. So I guess I join that sample population. I did take several days to adjust to bifocals when I first got them and the switch to progressive was much easier.

6

I first started using progressive lenses two years ago. I do not need to wear glasses all of the time but the ophthalmologist told me that I would need to commit to wearing the glasses continuously for two weeks to adjust to them. I did that had no issues. The first two days I was a little uncomfortable but after that everything seemed normal. I love my progressive lenses.

7

I have had progressive lenses for probably 15 years. They’re the best; I can’t imagine not having them. It may take a few days to get used to the first pair, and then with a change in prescription it takes me a day or so to get used to the new ones. Two things are really important: first, you have to have a really meticulous optician who takes the time to figure out exactly where they need to make the line to start the prescription change from distance to bifocals. And if the glasses come back and don’t work right, you need an optician/lab who will take them back and try again. Second: you need a frame with enough height from top to bottom to accommodate the gradual change in prescription. The optician should be cognizant of that when you’re choosing the frames, but not every one is.

8

There must have been something wrong with the first ones I tried. I literally could not read anything on my computer looking through any part of it except a very small “slice” at the bottom of the lens, and the bottom of the lens was on my cheek, not anywhere close to eye level. I’m really tempted to get two different pairs of glasses, one for distance to keep in the car, and one for close-up in the office. I still have drugstore readers stashed all over my house and they work just fine in a pinch! lol

9

I too have progressives for wearing around. The distance prescription is very mild and I do not have to wear them when driving. In fact at night there is too much glare and I just take them off. It did take a while to get used to them

The last time I got glasses I thought I’d try biofocal sunglasses, thinking I’d wear the to read outside. Nope, they were awful and I took them back and got progressives.

I also have reading glasses. I like those when I am just reading.

My favorites are are something called convex or complex or something like that. The are a combination of computer and reading. I have computer glasses, but the frames were never quite right and hurt my ears, but mostly I couldn’t read while working at the computer and most of my work involves that, reading something and then typing and checking the screen, and going back and forth at a desk/computer. They really are great for that., but I can’t walk around in them because there is no distance lens, so things are blurry

So I went from wearing no glasses to having a specialty pair for almost every job - progressives, computer, sunglasses, reading glasses, and my favorite combo computer/reading.

10

I have had progressives for about 6 or 7 years. Before that I had glasses that corrected distance vision and astigmatism only. I did not have a hard time adjusting to the progressives. Once, however, somewhere in the middle of those years, I got an incorrect near prescription from the optometrist. The optician was able to recognize this. I’m glad they didn’t just try and convince me to get used to it because I would have hated it. Instead the prescription was corrected, new lenses were ordered and I was happy.

Interesting what you say about progressive sunglasses, @twoinanddone I, on the other hand, am regretting getting distance only sunglasses. While I can also drive without my glasses, when I wear the distance-only sunglasses they weren’t my near vision and I can’t see the GPS! I do love the sunglasses though in general.

11

I started wearing glasses when I turned 40. I was like you, my distance vision is mostly fine, reading is the problem. My first pair was regular bifocals, it took me about a week to get used to them. The following year I went to the progressive lenses.

I love the progressive lenses. I think it does help if you have the right optician. Ironically, my eye doctor is part of Walmart, when I get my glasses from Walmart, if they don’t feel right, I take them to my doctor and he verifies that I have the correct prescription. One time, the lenses were so far off, they had to be redone.

I have been contemplating contact lenses, but haven’t gotten around to asking about them. I might do that this year.

Just remember that it takes a little bit to get used to them. Good luck.!

12

I made a mistake when I purchased sunglasses as well. I though I would just get distance lenses for driving. Wrong- I couldn’t see the dashboard. I didn’t have trouble adjusting to the progressives, but I usually just take them off if I am reading.

13

There are different price ranges and qualities of progressive. H went through this. He had usually ordered from the eye dr. and total cost was ~$800, after insurance he paid $400. He decided to try some from Walmart and from an online store. Much cheaper…and a vast difference in the field of vision of the bifocal part.

I believe Walmart offered two different choices and he was trying the cheaper one, since he already had good ones from the eye dr. and was seeking a most cost effective solution. The cheap Walmart ones were fine…when he was looking straight ahead through the bifocal part. He went back, and they told him the cheaper bifocals were like looking through a straw–good vision when one aims the line of sight directly.

In contrast, the expensive ones he has gotten from the eye dr. are bifocal corrected across the entire width of the lenses. He’s sticking with the more expensive and more expansive view in the future.

My dad went to progressives and hated them. Went back to lined bifocals and is much happier. I do think the progressives look much better when other people are viewing you.

14

I have progressive lenses also. Like other people have said, it takes a while to get used to them.

Also and this is my and my husbands experience, that with progressive lenses, it is very important that they get the measurements right and the placement of the reading part exactly right. It’s not hard but it’s not easy either.

My H is far sighted and he has safety glasses. His company has had different contracts with different places over the years. He and I use the optometrist office (when we lived in another city we went to a boutique that specialized in high index lenses). We find that there is a difference between the more experienced eye places and the discount places. That is not everyone’s experience, it’s ours. It is very important that the measurements are correct. Not right, doesn’t work.

Granted we have hard eyes to fit and are very particular.

15

Progressives are sometimes compared to Swiss Army knives. People who buy Swiss Army knives still buy screwdrivers, scissors, nail files etc. Progressive lenses are good for general use but you may still want separate glasses for specialized use-- in my case, reading or using the computer for extended periods.

Or shoes. Do we only buy one type of shoe? Most people have different kinds of shoes for different uses.

My H has had progressives for as long as I’ve known him, and loves them. His most recent pair, purchased from the opticians associated with our ophthalmologists’ office are Varilux Comfort DRx (which are digitally surfaced) and he loves them even more than his last ones. I don’t know what the last ones were but he got those from BJ’s. He was a bit disgruntled with the BJ’s ones because at the time BJ’s didn’t have frames with enough height to allow for enough zones of focus. Progressives are really multifocal lenses and you have to have enough lens height for the zones, otherwise the transition from one focal length to the next isn’t as smooth.

Me: I wore no glasses until my early 40s and then wore OTC readers, then as time went on and my near vision decreased, I also bought half-strength readers for intermediate-distance focusing (at computer and in kitchen/food prep.)

When at age 58 my distance vision also declined, including new astigmatism, I got progressives (Varilux Comfort, which is supposed to be easy to adapt to). That’s considered very old to begin wearing progressives, with a high failure rate. Lots of folks don’t adapt and get bifocals or trifocals instead. You really have to wear progressives all the time for your brain to adapt, and you have to learn to point your nose at what you want to see, rather than turn your eyes. It took me 5 full months to adapt!! I only coped by buying separate pairs of single vision glasses for reading and for intermediate range, which I found I needed less and less as I got used to the progressives. I wore those progressives for 3 years. They came to feel like part of my face-- very natural. I’d sometimes forget to take them off when getting in the shower! That is how natural they came to feel.

This June I got my second pair of progressives due to changes in my vision. Since my H liked Varilux Comfort DRx I got the same (with Crizal anti-reflective coating and Transitions, as before. This time I added blue light blocking and polarization; not sure I will add those next time.) I still use separate pairs of single-vision glasses for extended periods of reading or use of computer. I don’t have to, but it’s less tiring and I can hold my head in a more natural position.

I think this is just the way I have to roll-- 3 pairs of glasses. I don’t want to switch to trifocals, but may someday, if my “add” (the reading part of the prescription) increases to the point that progressives no longer work as general purpose glasses. My H still uses only progressives and is perfectly happy with that.

OP, there are all sorts of other glasses you can get as a second pair. There are lenses that are intermediate top half (for computer) and near focus lower half (for reading.) Talk to the optician about your options.

One more thing: the lens material. My H uses polycarbonate as it is less breakable/lighter weight; he needs this as he is a machinist. But I get plastic lenses. (I’m one of those people who find that polycarbonate causes distortion-- like cheap sunglasses do.) Plastic has to be set in full frames, though-- no half-frames. And it’s a bit heavier than polycarbonate. But it’s less expensive and has better optical quality than polycarbonate.

16

I have a pair I paid $400 for in my drawer and never use them. I tried for while, took them back to Lens Crafters, they made some adjustments and I tried some more and couldn’t get comfortable. I probably should have taken them back again, but just put them in the drawer and there they stay.

17

Honestly, it takes persistence to adapt when one is older. For months my constant refrain was “I hate my glasses!” But then I adapted and no longer hated them. (Subsequent pairs don’t require so much time to adapt.)

Do I love them? That would be a stretch, but they work for me.

18

When the optician measures the bifocal line, for the prescription, it’s really important to tell him/her how much you use and bend your head down for the computer and reading.

My first set didn’t work because the optician measured my eye level looking directly at her, while sitting up really straight.
I mentioned my difficulty with adjusting to having to raise my screen and books to the ophthalmologist and we went to a second set.

The second optician asked me about my activities including reading, computer work, writing, etc. She took different measurements from different angles and marked those areas to come up with the bifocal line. This second set worked better, and I had minimal adjustments to wearing them.

19

I got my first pair of progressives a little over 5 years ago, yes it took a week or so to adapt but I love them! So much easier than stubborn H, who refuses to move to progressives. Glasses on, glasses off, all the time. Such a pain.

Anyhow, a few months ago I decided to get a new pair and was so excited to see more clearly, since I needed a stronger prescription. When my new glasses came in I gave them over a week but just couldn’t get used to them. I couldn’t find that “sweet spot”, they were making me crazy! So I went back to my eye Dr, he took a peek, and listened to my complaints. Seriously… All he did was bent the frames a bit to adjust the tilt a bit!! And that’s all it took! I was amazed.

So I’d advise, make sure you talk to your eye doctor before giving up on your progressives!!

20

H was recommended to get progressives earlier rather than later because somehow that’s supposed to make the transition easier.

Interestingly, he just went for a new exam and a new pair, but he never got the call to come pick them up. When he called to check on them, he was told they failed the final inspection. I don’t know if they can fix them or if they have to make a new pair. So evidently, they can be screwed up and unless quality control is on top of things, you could get a bad pair.