<p>Thank you all for your responses! This has been very, very helpful. I go tomorrow to pick them out and then need to wait a week, so I’ll post back on my experiences. This optometrist tries to use the best antiglare and progressive lenses and I have insurance, so I’ll go with her small but varied choices of frames and then, following another thread, my husband and I both are going to get cheap spares on line. There is nothing worse than being on a trip and having something happen to your only pair of glasses. Thanks all!</p>
<p>I have progressives and never had a moment’s trouble adjusting to them. I am on my second pair, which, like the first, are rimless. I love rimless glasses: they disappear so much more! This pair is made by RayBan, and the lens quality is such that it refracts better and can be thinner, which I think is a big advantage. I have a non-scratch coating. I was dubious about it last time, because my prior glasses had a coating that went bad and made the entire lens cloudy. But the last pair retired at 5 years old without a single scratch, so I am now a convert. Apparently the coatings have improved.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m just like you, but I still like my progressives.</p>
<p>I take my glasses off to read if I’m going to be reading for a prolonged period of time. It’s more comfortable than reading with my glasses on and no more difficult.</p>
<p>But in situations where I have to switch between distance vision and close-up vision frequently, the progressives are great. I can eat and watch TV at the same time (something that I couldn’t do for years before I gave in and got the progressives). I can function in a business meeting where I need to see the handouts or my notes and also see the speaker or the slides on the screen. I can write a check without taking my glasses off. I can see the road and the speedometer at the same time.</p>
<p>The progressives are not ideal for computer work, though. Some day I will probably give in and get computer glasses.</p>
<p>As for style, I wear whatever looks least awful, provided that the frames are metal. I hate plastic frames. I wore them for years when my kids were little because they were sturdier and less likely to break than metal frames when grabbed by a toddler on my hip. Never again (unless I have grandchildren and spend a lot of time with them).</p>
<p>I get new glasses about every two years - my prescription doesn’t really change that much but eventually the lenses lose their antiglare and also start getting scratches. </p>
<p>I had one old pair coated to become sunglasses and it was so nice to be able to see both road signs and the dashboard! I also keep an old pair in each of my two potential carryon suitcases (the correction is still adequate as noted above). So if I have an accident while traveling, I always have a spare available since I could never get a replacement pair in an hour. And if I need them at home I know just where to find them and don’t have to hunt blindly.</p>
<p>It took me weeks to get comfortable with progressives (I get motion sickness quite easily), but I am happy I persevered. I’m an artist, and this seems to be the only solution for me to have decent vision for far, near AND middle.</p>
<p>Just a suggestion for those who can’t see well enough to tell how the frames look… try taking a picture of yourself with your cell phone. I usually have DD go along as my fashion consultant, but she was far, far away last time I needed new frames.</p>
<p>
Ooh, good idea! Thanks!</p>
<p>momof3 - I thought the same thing - have had progressives for a couple years and always take them off to read or use computer. I recently bought a 3rd pair of glasses (already had progressives with anti-glare and progressive sunglasses) that are for distance only and are ‘transitions’ lenses - they darken outdoors but not if you’re inside a car, so they’re not useful for driving. I use these as my ‘city walking’ glasses. The more you have, the more specific the use. </p>
<p>After using the distance only glasses, I wouldn’t drop the progressives. If I walk into a store, I have to remove the glasses to read labels, and with the progressives I can leave the eyeglasses on to read. Progressives in the car make sense, too, because you don’t have to remove the glasses to read the instrument panel. </p>
<p>I’d wanted to drop the progressives for a while and am glad I at least tried, but I wouldn’t go with the distance only lenses again.</p>
<p>I’ve had progressives for several years, and have no problem with them. Even my sunglasses are progressives.</p>
<p>Sometimes I wear a pair prescribed for intermediate distance when I play the piano, but usually I don’t bother; the progressives work fine for that, also.</p>
<p>I never know what is stylish, but I like my super light-weight rimless, no screws on the eyepieces style because they are almost invisible on my face, and they don’t break if I sit on them.</p>
<p>I wasted a lot of money and aggravation on progressives. Never again. Lined bifocals may not look as stylish but they work.</p>
<p>I love my progressives. I was not aware of any adjustment. I imagine that bifocals would be like wearing readers with my contacts. If I have to do tasks where I am frequently needing to look through then over then through the readers (painting woodwork, for example), I feel kind of seasick! The progressives transition through that in between zone. I did have lenses made for an older pair of glasses for hours of computer work: the middle is set for the distance to my monitor and the distance portion is just at the very top. This means that I don’t need to hold my head back to get a good look at the monitor. I can wear them all day at work if I want to; I leave them at the office. For casual computer use and everything else, my normal progressive glasses are just fine.</p>
<p>I have anti glare and have no issues at night.</p>
<p>I’m on the NEVER AGAIN side. I hated the progressive lenses I had for a year - seemed like I was forever trying to find the right spot to be in focus. I am much, much happier with my bifocals with the hidden line.</p>