<p>I have been wearing multifocal contacts for over 5 years and have tried almost every brand out there! While I love the idea of being able to read without reading glasses, my vision is not as clear as I would like. Later in the day my contacts don’t float well and I end up needing my reading glasses over my contact if I am in a darker place, like trying to read a menu in a restaurant.</p>
<p>While at the ophthalmologist last week, the optometrist, who does the contact fittings, suggested I try a monovision len. Because I am nearsighted, I can read without correction so I would only wear one contact, in my dominate eye. Actually, my dominate eye is my left eye, but with correction, I see better out of my right eye so we made that my dominate eye. I don’t think I really see any better with the monovision and the huge issue is I need ready glasses while on the computer! If I have to wear reading glasses for the computer, I am thinking maybe I should just go with traditional 2 lens correction and wear reading glasses for reading. Or, I can try one of the two brands of multifocal lenses I haven’t tried yet and see if maybe I can get a better fit with those.</p>
<p>For those that have tried or wear multifocal lenses, what has been your experience with them?</p>
<p>I had the multi focal lens and now I have the mono focal lens. I had to switch optometrists so that’s the explanation of why I switched. I see alright, nothing great. Low light is bad, the contact lenses are best outside in bright sun. They are great then, inside at night, I put my glasses on.</p>
<p>I think either vision correction is about the same. Nothing is perfect, I just learned to live this way.</p>
<p>My experience is similar to yours, snowball. My eyes get tired at the end of the day, and in the evenings it’s hard to switch a lot between seeing something up close and farther away (like, watching TV while knitting, for example.) But that bugs me less than having to whip out the reading glasses to read labels at the supermarket, or the menu in a restaurant. So it’s a bit like picking the lesser of two evils, like deb922 says.</p>
<p>I am very nearsighted and, being of a certain age, now need reading glasses. I started wearing hard contact lenses at age 17 and wore them for years. I used monovision (for me that meant contacts with different prescriptions for each eye) for a couple of years in my 40’s - my understanding is that monovision works only for so long. Then I wore trifocal contacts for over 15 years, and my vision was perfect - great distance vision, no problem reading small print, good intermediate vision, and I was not conscious of any boundaries between different vision ranges. But a few years ago I developed dry eyes and could not tolerate the hard (gas permeable) lenses any more. Now I wear glasses most of the time and soft, one-day contacts sometimes. The contacts do not correct well for reading, only for distance. The glasses do pretty well for both.</p>
<p>Interesting…I have a horrible astigmatism and wore soft contact lens for 30 years with no problem. When I started needing reading glasses, my optometrist said because of my astigmatism, multi-focal lenses weren’t an option for me. My sister, who doesn’t have an astigmatism wears the mono vision lens and hasn’t reported major problems. </p>
<p>Because of dry eyes - I stopped wearing my contacts every day and switched to progressive glasses. Very convenient - no need to take reading glasses on and off. Honestly, though, my eyes are still very tired at the end of a day working on the computer. </p>
<p>I recently started using Restasis for dry eyes. Too soon to tell but am hoping it will allow me to wear my contacts more than a few hours at a time.</p>
<p>i wouldn’t might trying the mono vision lens - my eyes only took a day to adapt to progressive lenses whereas my husband couldn’t adapt to them at all.</p>
<p>Im very nearsighted and wore contact lenses for 20+ yrs without problem. In my forties had to go to bifocal, tried multifocal lenses and mono vision lenses. Just could not get used to them. As a nurse, drawing up medications, just couldnt get that sweet spot for vision. Now i just wear progressive lenses and single vision lenses with reading glasses for special occasions.</p>
<p>I’m extremely near-sighted, and wore hard gas-permeable lenses for 40 years. A few years ago I switched to monovision lenses. That worked for a while, but I had poor depth perception and it began to get more and more difficult to see well enough at night to drive (not to mention that with menopause, my eyes were getting very dry and the lenses very uncomfortable.) So I finally bit the bullet and started wearing glasses with progressive lenses all the time. I’m thrilled - my eyes feel great, I can see everything from tiny print to far distance clearly, and I’ve even gotten compliments on the glasses.</p>
<p>I have multifocals (Bausch and Lomb) and for me they are just okay. I can get by during the day but by night my eyes are dry and I really need to take them out. I have some astigmatism which isn’t corrected so they are not as clear as my progressive lens glasses. The doctor had told me that depth perception might be a problem with monovision so I haven’t tried them.</p>
<p>By multifocal, you mean the contact lenses that are like progressives and are for both near and far? If so, I have those. But guess what? I still have to use reading glasses too and am right now!</p>
<p>I did try the bifocal contact lenses, and the only result was that my far vision had to suffer in order to allow for correction of near vision, which still wasn’t as good as I could get with readers. It was a completely dissatisfying result.</p>
<p>I now have the progressive glasses and after a little adjustment, can finally enjoy good vision, both far and close up.</p>
<p>I have worn hard or gas permeable contacts for 45 years. I am very near-sighted with strong astigmatism in both eyes. Years ago I asked my ophthalmologist about bifocal contacts and he said I would not be happy with the correction. </p>
<p>Instead, in my stronger eye, I wear a contact corrected for distance vision. In my weaker eye, my contact correction is different and allows me to read a computer screen. If the light is good, I can read a book or supermarket labels wearing my contacts. At night when I am tired and trying to read with my contacts still in, I usually have to use readers. </p>
<p>But, it can take some tweaking by your eye care provider to get the right mix. I didn’t realize for a year or two after a recent prescription change that the difference in the correction between the two lenses was too great and I had problems with depth perception that affected my quality of life. It was my own fault because I asked for better distance vision. To fix it, I had to give up a bit on my distance correction but what I gained in depth perception and the ability to focus close-up was huge. I went from thinking I would have to give up my contacts to now seeing better than ever with them. And, I really haven’t lost any meaningful distance vision. </p>
<p>My provider calls this correction ‘monovision’ but the contacts aren’t special lenses called monovision lenses. I know I will eventually have to give up the contacts due to dry eyes but I have always seen better with them than with glasses so I am happy to postpone it for awhile longer.</p>
<p>Another one here who ended up wearing progressive lens glasses full time after almost a lifetime of contact lenses, first hard, then soft (I was actually in the first experimental group of soft lens wearers pre-FDA approval). I have sensitive eyes (out of vanity, wore hard lenses with constant discomfort and a runny nose through out high school), and my optometrist said I could never be comfortable with the weighted multifocal contacts. I tried reading glasses over contacts for a while, and found the process of putting them on and taking them of so annoying that I abandoned that route quickly. To tell the truth, at my age, I think the glasses disguise or at least divert attention from the circles under my eyes and the crow’s feet, so I’m content with wearing them. Perhaps boys still don’t make passes at girls who wear glasses, but they don’t make passes at 60 year olds anyway!</p>
<p>snowball, I wore multifocal contacts for about 10 years. Much like your experience and I never was satisfied, and we did keep trying many different combos. Went to the monovision lens in one eye last fall. SO
Much Better! I have better distance vision, and I can read computer, menus, labels, etc., without frustration. Took about a day for adjustment.<br>
Maybe you just need some tweaking of the prescription?</p>
<p>I actually have been doing some reading online and I think I might have a solution for myself! I love the clarity for distance that I am getting in my right eye with a regular contact, but hating the no contact left eye. I am going to try and see if I can keep the regular contact for the right and use a multifocal in the left eye. That way I will have a bit extra for distance, and maybe enough correction for reading/computer work. If I have to pull out my reading glasses for restaurants, I can live with that; I just want to be able to read my to do list in the car, read labels and price tags in the stores, and be able to see to sign a receipt I think this might work; if not, I may just go with standard correction and have more pairs of readers around than I already do! </p>
<p>Lately I have been wearing my glasses more when I go out in the evening, but not during the day as I don’t have sunglasses for them. I did not like the progressive lenses in my glasses when I tried them about 4 years ago and switch back to regular lenses. Because I can read fine without any correction, I just lift my glasses up to read if I need to see the menu or read labels and such.</p>
<p>MommaJ- I agree about the glasses covering up the imperfections around the eyes! I happen to really like my glasses so have not minded wearing them. A year ago, you wouldn’t catch me leaving the house in my glasses. I may actually go ahead and get clip on shades for them as I remember this frame company did make them for my frames assuming they are still available; that way I can wear them during the day when out.</p>
<p>For those of you who have stated that you have problems with eye dryness, try taking vitamin E 400iu daily - it really helps!!! (And as a side benefit, your skin will not be so dry in this winter weather!)</p>
<p>I have been wearing contacts since I was 12. Soft lens didn’t even exist then. In recent years I have also needed glasses for reading. I tried 3 different types of multi focal lens and couldn’t wear them. They moved wrong on my eye probably from me having trouble getting them to work for me.</p>
<p>I just used cheap reading glasses from CVS. Have 6 pairs all over. I will have to wait until I am motivated to try again.</p>
<p>They are pricey (especially if you’re like me and lose a pair every summer), but they are high quality, dark enough for even really light blue eyes like mine (there are several color choices) and come on and off without scratching your lenses. Far better than the drugstore variety.</p>
<p>multifocals did not work for me because of astigmatisms. i have monovision soft lens- they said would take a couple of weeks to get used to- it took a couple of months but now it is very comfortable and no problem for 10 years . i do have a cute pair of progressive lens glasses at home for backup for home and work.</p>
<p>For those of you who have worn contacts since you were young - did you make saline solution by dropping a salt tablet into a small plastic container of distilled water?? I wonder who came up with that bright idea. I guess a few people got terrible eye infections and went bad before they stopped allowing that.</p>
I think this might work; if not, I may just go with standard correction and have more pairs of readers around than I already do! </p>