I wore progressive for many years and did fine, but the optician was good and as a couple of posters mentioned, she took good measurements while fitting me with my frames and made sure I picked a pair of frames where the lens would be long enough vertically to work well as progressives. The narrow type frames that were trendy a few years ago aren’t really appropriate for progressives and I think that’s why some people get frustrated with them.
That being said, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that I can’t use progressives while working on the computer because of having to tilt my head up and my neck gets sore really quick - I have gotten much more far-sighted and they just don’t work anymore.
So I have three pairs of glasses, one progressive lens that’s good for everyday life not involving a computer, a set of readers for the computer - I got an expensive but not prescription brand of blue light blocking ones and my eyes don’t get so fatigued, and then I have a pair of Maui Jim (love them for their clarity) Rx sunglasses that I wish were progressives (next time they will be so I can see a map, phone, dashboard, etc.).
I am the OP. I am supposed to go back Saturday to discuss this some more with the optician. I actually started tearing up while talking to this poor girl about it because I had such a bad experience with progressives before. When you say it takes a while to get used to them, what does that mean? I couldn’t even wear the ones I had long enough to get used to them because I couldn’t see out of them at any angle except with my face pointed at the ceiling. So frustrating.
What is the process to purchase online at places like Zenni? Can you specify that you want just the reader Rx or just the distance Rx?
This is so new to me. I never needed glasses at all until around age 40 when I started using over-the-counter readers. Now at 59 I am finding that getting old really stinks!
S17 began wearing progressives at age 10. The doctor recommended them for him because she felt that a child his age wearing lined glasses would be teased horribly whereas, at the time, S17 could pull off the Harry Potter look. S17 now wears progressive trifocals with prisms. They told us that it might take him a couple of weeks to adjust at first but within the day, S17 was grinning and SO happy because he could finally see and read. I have always had his glasses made at Costco and have always been very pleased with the price, the product and the service.
There’s something wrong with the way the lens’ were made if you can’t use them for distance vision without tilting your head up. You should be able to comfortably keep your head straight and see things at a distance and then just shift your eyes down without moving your head to see things close up for reading. You need to ask for another pair of lenses that are calibrated correctly.
Now if you’re talking about something mid distance like looking at a computer, then that makes sense since I have the same problem, I have to look up - so I have to have a set of readers just for the computer.
I’m about the same age as you so it just might be that older eyes don’t compensate as well as younger eyes (I’ve heard that young children’s eyes can “compensate” for poor vision for quite a while before they eventually need glasses because of the elasticity of the eye structure or something like that).
Anyway, I’m pretty sure that you can get both Rx’s at Zenni. I would do that, but I have a really small head and practically need kid’s glasses so I doubt I could mail order mine.
You should definitely be able to see out of them without having to point your head at the ceiling!! Something was wrong there-- with the glasses, not you. For example, the lenses may be set in the frame at the wrong angle (google “pantoscopic tilt”). I bought a pair of single vision distance lenses also at first but they were set in the frame at the wrong angle. It was an easy fix and then I saw out of them just fine.
I know some people buy glasses online (my understanding is that they sell both single vision and progressive lenses) but honestly, I would not suggest that for progressives. Especially in your situation! You need an experienced optician to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.
As to time to adapt, it’s not the eyes that need to adapt. We see with our brains…it’s the brain that has to adapt. And older brains adapt more slowly.
@CTmom2018, With the progressives I bought two years ago, I had to tilt my head back to see my computer and close up, which is what I needed the darn things for to start with. I did not go in saying I wanted trifocals, that’s what they told me I needed, and since I was new to this, I said ok.
I have some bifocal sunglasses with no Rx in the top and the OTC reader part at the bottom. They are not the no-line ones. I really like them and it did not take long for me to get used to them. My distance vision is not bad but worse than two years ago.
Thank you all for your help. I think I may try them again, but without all the bells and whistles they are trying to add on. They are really pushing the blue-light coating. Is that worth it?
I found them to be fine, but they took some getting used to initially, since looking through the lower corner areas will look distorted. One issue with either progressive bifocals or lined bifocals is that when walking down stairs or over surfaces with trip/slip/fall risk (e.g. uneven, slippery), your view of what is immediately in front of you will be more blurry unless you tilt your head down.
The lower cost plastic is CR-39. For full UV protection, a UV blocking coating is needed. Most of the more expensive plastics have inherent UV blocking. The more expensive ones have higher index of refraction (i.e. thinner for the same prescription) and/or higher break resistance (polycarbonate and Trivex).
I use my progressives for work and things like shopping or dining out. When I have them on they disappear; I can see at any distance, for any task. It took me about two minutes for my brain to adjust. I recently got polarized progressive sunglasses. Perfection! I can see the road and see the satellite radio. BTW I buy my progressives online at Zenni.
I used to work for an ophthalmology practice. OP, if I were you I would tell the doc when you have your exam that you want to use progressives but you have had trouble getting them to work. The doc and his staff have seen it all before and should be happy to work with you before and after getting your progressives to make sure the prescription and the glasses work for you.
I got UV protection and blue light blocking with my CR-39 lenses this time around. It does add to the price.
OP, you may have been tilting your head up to read out of the reading zone of your glasses because it’s wider than the intermediate zone that you’d normally use at the computer. The intermediate zone in progressives is narrow-- and it gets narrower the higher your “add” (a.k.a. reading prescription). This is why I like having a completely separate pair of glasses for the computer when I’m online for a long time-- so I don’t have to move my head as much.
Basically progressives have a channel of clear vision that is somewhat hourglass in shape-- widest at the top for distance vision, narrowest in the middle, and a bit wider at the bottom for reading (but not as wide as at the top). To the left and right of this clear channel are areas of astigmatism (the term used for the blurring that is built into the lens design because it is mathematically necessary to do so.)
As one adapts to the progressives, the brain doesn’t perceive the areas of blur as much. Effectively the zone of clear vision seems to be wider.
I used to have OTC bifocal sunglasses like what you described-- no prescription at the top and readers in one bifocal area. No adjustment is necessary for that type of glasses because there is no blur area built in as there is in progressives.
My mother had trifocals and loved them; Dad, too. But some people see distracting reflections off the interface of the glass where one segment ends and another begins. I think I’m not ready for that. But maybe trifocals would be good for you.
When I first got my progressives I read Optiboards and learned as much as I could. I find it all very interesting.
Wellspring, where do you go if you need any adjustments to your glasses or frames bought online?
I’ve had progressive lenses for years. When it became clear I was going to have to use readers over my contacts, I just said the hell with it, I’ll give up all vanity and switch to glasses full-time. It took me no time at all to get used to them–really, I just put them on and went about my business. I’m very myopic, with some astigmatism, but I don’t think my correction for close work is very strong, so that may account for my easy transition.
I’ve had progressives for years. They work fine for most things, but they suck for computer work.
My vision isn’t all that bad, and I can manage at the computer by taking my glasses off and just magnifying the stuff on the screen. But my husband, who also wears progressives but needs a much stronger prescription, had to go out and get special glasses specifically for computer work. They’re designed to be used specifically for that intermediate distance and are useless for anything else. But he loves them.
I didn’t really have a problem looking in the different areas to see different distances. After sleeping on it, I think the problem was with the middle vision Rx. I use the reading Rx to see my computer. The middle was useless at any distance. I will talk to the optician again tomorrow.
Interesting discussion … I have lined bifocals, which are fine with me. I wear them to read and for the computer. I also have some distance glasses for driving; they have a small area at the bottom for reading, which works fine for me too.
I tried progressives several years ago but hated them. Someone earlier described them as “looking through a straw” – I think that’s the sensation I was feeling. I hated the blurriness at the sides when reading. To top it off, I have fairly bad motion sickness – I can’t look through binoculars without feeling nauseous and I can’t watch home videos. Earlier this week, I was watching a soccer game on TV and the ref was wearing “ref cam” – could not watch one single second of that!
I think that dooms me for progressives but I don’t really mind the lined glasses. If you don’t mind the lines, what’s the reasoning for getting progressives? Just so you don’t have the lines?
I haven’t had to get adjustments on my online glasses as yet, they’ve been fine right out of the box. If I needed fit adjustments I’d probably take them to a local optician and offer to pay. It would be worth it since the glasses only cost $78. If there were vision problems I guess I’d call customer service and go from there.
I have progressives as well and for the most part have had no problems. I did not wear glasses growing up and initially just had readers, but when i had to wear the readers to read highway signs, realized that I needed glasses. I can look straight ahead at my computer screen and see really well. Initially, the only thing that was weird was looking down at stairs. OP: the initial pair you had was probably incorrect. Have your eye doctor check them. I also have progressive sun glasses which I also love (although the polarization makes taking photos with my phone difficult if the phone is sideways).
I had a problem with one set of lenses in that they were made incorrectly and there was a halo effect. They were then corrected and were better, but not perfect. I have gone to cheaper eye glass places (but not Walmart).
@musicmom1215 I have worn progression lenses (trifocals) since 2009. I went the RX route from day 1. The person doing the ordering, asked me if I spent time on the computer. They can then place the transitions a little differently.
It does take a little time to get use to them but your brain will learn quickly and finding that sweet spot of focus will come second nature.
Since 09, I have had my RX modified only once, and had to go through the adjustment period again. I also changed frames at that time. Just last year, I kept the same RX, but changed frames (and lens shape again - I love frameless) and with just changing lens shapes, there is an adjustment period, because your lines of focus are in different places. But I adjust much faster than with the original pair.
“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”
This. I got mine from Sam’s club using my old frames (which aren’t large) and they work great. They explained how they work and we sort of played with where the line should be for the the distance/close portion. Love them.
I read and am on the computer a lot so they made the close portion a bit larger.
The main thing to get used to is going up and down stairs–going down stairs especially–can make you a bit dizzy at first. After a couple weeks your brain adjusts.
I’ve had them for about 8 years. I like them a lot, but they took a little getting used to. I wear them 100% of my waking hours. I think I’m on my 3rd pair. (And they are from WalMart, btw. . .) When I changed prescriptions they were “weird” for a couple days, but then I adjusted to them. I have to be careful going up and down stairs at first.
You have to know where to focus, and your eyes should naturally adjust to them. Maybe the transitions are not centered correctly in your lenses, or the way you are actually looking out of them isn’t how they measured it in the store.
I do have a little trouble with them on the computer (desktop) because the level of the screen isn’t in the right place for the near vision part of my lenses. Sometimes I just take my glasses off and move a little closer to the screen, or I have to raise my chair/push my glasses up/tip my head back a little to get my eyes looking out of the right part of the lenses. I might do better if I got some cheap reading glasses for computer work. I don’t have any problem with them otherwise–just on this computer.