Last thread I found about this was 3 years old. Maybe there is new lenses technology…
My vision situation. One quite useless lazy eye. Other eye has been stellar vision but at today’s eye doc visit she said a very slight prescription might be helpful in that eye especially for far sight like driving. I wear readers very frequently. For basically all reading and computer work. I have like a million pair.
She said I could get regular script frames or bifocal or progressive if I want to combine the script with readers. I feel like if I’m doing this I’d prefer progressive over bifocal.
I’d only probably wear them for driving (so the progressive might help if I’m reading the map directions while driving) unless I really feel a difference with them in everyday wearing like during the work day. I don’t think I’d need anything but the readers for around the house wear.
Tell me about progressives. I’m guessing they are the most pricey of the options. Looking for pros/cons. I realize this is an individual decision but thought I’d hear out some opinions before making an appointment for fitting.
I wear progressives with different prescriptions for reading and far sight. Basically the reading magnification is in the lower part of the glass, mid range in middle (Watching TV, etc) and far sight prescription in top portion of the glass.
The good news is I do not have to change out my glasses at all. I also have the darken feature in them so they darken up outside or driving.
Bad news is it takes a good amount of time to get used to them for at least a month. It’s very dangerous when you are looking down stairs, your eye is going into the magnifying reading portion and I had many mishaps. You need to learn to move head accordingly. For example, I put glasses on top of my head going down stairs. I need to remember to drop chin and look through top portion when driving, etc. your head has to adjust to focus on the correct part of the lens for what you are doing.
See the MAIN point of getting these will be for driving (at this point). So that is what I most want ease of use. If the progressives are difficult while driving I know myself enough to know I won’t wear them. I understand having to adjust but if I can only drive with a head tilt or something that might be a no go!
I had no trouble whatsoever adjusting to my progressive lenses. Having said that, I think I need tri-gressive lenses (if only there was such a thing!). I can switch between, say, driving and reading just fine. However, I do a lot of crafting and I still have to take them off and squint when I need to thread a needle or do really close-up work.
I remember being really nervous when I first got them because, yes, they are expensive, and it seems people either had a hard adjustment or at least had some kind of short adjustment period. I had neither. Though I may have just been lucky, I want to give you some hope.
What is your “add”? (That is the reading part of the prescription.) If it’s in the ballpark of +2.50, most people have difficulty adapting to progressives. If that is the case for you, you might want to consider bifocals or even trifocals instead.
I began wearing progressives when my “add” was already +2.25 – about 9 years ago-- and it was tough going. It took me 5 months to adapt, literally. If your “add” is a low number, then you may adapt much more easily.
The reason it’s hard to adapt when the “add” is that high is that the higher the “add”, the narrower the portion of the lens that is in focus. The in-focus corridor in the lens is basically an hourglass shape, but it’s much wider at the top (for distance vision) than at the bottom (for reading.)
Between those areas, at the waist of the hourglass shape, is the prescription for seeing at the intermediate distance, which you’d use for seeing your dashboard ; reading your speed gauge. I also use intermediate section to focus on people’s faces at a social distance, and for reading at my desktop computer and preparing food.
This makes it sound like there are only 3 prescriptions (distance, intermediate and reading)-- but actually progressives are multifocal. There are multiple strengths in each section. So you need frames that are relatively tall from top to bottom, to allow room for all the focal sections.
The out-of-focus sections to the right and left of the in-focus corridor can be quite blurry or less blurry. It depends on the specific design of the progressive lens. Your optician can make recommendations for you based on your lifestyle and what you plan to use the glasses for.
Currently I wear Varilux Series X, which are pricey but allow me to see more without moving my head so much. I only take them off to shower or sleep. I got Transitions, which darken in the sun. They do not darken while driving so if you need sunglasses to drive, you’d need progressive tinted sunglasses also. The cost adds up.
My eyes are pretty similar - one lazy useless one and reading glasses for close up that I wear all the time. Last year I got a prescription where the top is for distance and the bottom for reading. I got them with transitions (darken in the sun). I use them in the car (it is nice to be able to see far and then look down at directions or a phone screen - especially when I am the passenger), at the movies, and when walking around as sunglasses. At home I still use my readers. I didn’t have any problem getting used to them (probably because most of the time I am using them for the distance.) On vacation last year - I wore them all day outside sightseeing and was very happy with them.
I wear progressives and love them. If you are wearing readers and “have a million pair” they are certainly something you should consider.
Stairs are a consideration until you adjust because you are looking through a different portion of the lens as you tilt your head down to navigate stairs. Some of this depends on your particular prescription. You will adjust however. The human brain is amazing at making these adjustments in a short amount of time.
If you cover up your dominant eye, can you read up close? I do the monovision thing with contacts. I wear one contact in my dominant eye that adjusts to see far away. (I’ve been near sighted my whole life. I’m a -2.5) The other eye is for reading. I don’t need another lens for that eye yet, but if it gets worse I will. I think if I used readers contactless, I would get around a 1.5 or so
But the brain learns to merge the two together sort of like bifocals. Most literature says 2-3 weeks to adjust. It took me more like 2 months. I’m a slow learner. But for me, it’s the best option - except when doing a vision test at the dmv and you think they are playing a trick on you because one box appears to be blank. I had to do that today and it was wild. And one bonus is that my contacts are now essentially half price since I only use one.
I’ve been using progressives for at least a decade. I’ve always worn glasses or contact lenses as I am very near sighted. As I aged, I’ve become far sighted as well, which is common with aging.
My adjustment to progressives was quick - just a day or two and agree the biggest adjustment was stairs.
My most recent progressive lens were purchased at Costco at about 1/3 the price of my eye doctor’s office. I actually got a year membership at Costco just to buy a couple pairs of eyeglasses as Costco isn’t super close to me and I don’t do a lot of bulk shopping.
I have worn progressives for several years. I started when it was time for readers. Mine are distance on top computer in the middle and reading at the bottom. I had never worn glasses before and I adjusted quicker than I expected.
My eyes are similar to yours. My best eye is near sighted, probably more than you from what it sounds like. Other eye is mostly useless lazy eye. I wore contacts for a long time that corrected my near sighted eye for distance and I could still read. When I lost the ability to read with my contacts in I switched to progressive glasses. I had no trouble adjusting and haven’t had trouble with stairs. I don’t have to tilt my head to see when driving. Though I mostly need the correction for distance for driving I like that I can see the radio and instrument readings on the dash with my glasses on. I have prescription sunglasses that are not progressive and only correct for distance and I can’t see those things when I wear them. I also like when I go to a restaurant and I can read the menu or see a program in the theater without having to take my glasses off. I take my glasses off if I’m reading a book. I can read with them on but read better for longer time periods without them. Also good in the grocery store where I can read labels and such.
There’s no way I’d get progressives if I only need the prescription for driving. I’d buy a cheap pair of single vision glasses and keep them in the car.
I have worn multi-focal contact lenses for years. Love them. 0 adjustment time. I bought some outrageously expensive progressive glasses to have on hand “just in case”.
I can’t stand the constant tipping/tilting of the head to see anything. I do have cervical neck issues, so that is probably a factor. There is complete peripheral vision with multi-focal contacts. H has big-time issues with them on stairs.
I had no trouble adjusting to progressives but they are very expensive. If you only need them for driving I would just get a regular pair of glasses for that and continue to use your readers.
Ask your eye doctor if there is any return policy if they don’t work. I once bought a pair of wrap around sunglasses, and I hated the way the fogged up in the winter. (Yes, we are blessed with lots of winter sunshine. In NY, I used to misplace my sunglasses "between seasons). There was no problem returning / replacing with another pair. With progressives, it may be too pricey an item for them to do that.
I’ve never had to tilt my head to drive. I only have to sit upright and keep my head level.
The optician will probably ask if you slouch while driving. They will mark the frames accordingly so the intermediate section starts neither too high nor too low for your particular habits.
I don’t have trouble with stairs but I do have to tilt my head down so that I’m looking out of the distance section.
One thing you will want is a non-reflective coating. Reflections reduce the amount of light that reaches your eye, making it harder to see clearly.
The reading section will be annoyingly narrow, because of how high your add is. You can use a separate pair of readers for those times when you want to read for a longer period of time, or in a different body position than sitting upright. I have separate readers and pull them out occasionally.
