<p>Puzzled, people who suffer from dry eyes are usually not good candidates for Lasik. My college roommate is miserable after Lasik - and worst of all - she’s still wearing glasses though they are much thinner than they used to be.</p>
<p>Sorry it took me so long to get back to the thread… to answer the question, dragonmom, I had lasik when I was about 40, and didn’t need reading glasses yet. I was SUPER nearsighted. At age 47, I now need reading glasses, but that does not bother me after the years and years of contacts (stuff in my eyes, handling them, appointments, etc.) and glasses (fogging up, hard to play sports, etc.). It is still a vast improvement. Of course, if they come up with the lasik equivalent so I don’t need reading glasses, I would be all over it!</p>
<p>Of course, you should only have it if the surgeon says you are a good candidate. I got recommendations for a surgeon from a couple of sources (one was my eye doctor, and the other was an attorney I knew who did malpractice work with eye surgeons :)).</p>
<p>I’m very nearsighted and recently bought my first pair of progressives. To me, they seem pretty much like regular glasses, maybe because glasses always slide down my face, so I only look out of the top part. The reading part at the bottom only work if I push my glasses up and look down as if I’m looking at my nose. It’s useful for reading menus but for real reading, I prefer my reading glasses. I only get plastic frames so the rim hides the lens, and with top of the line lens, you can’t see them at all. I get the best glasses/lens I can afford, since I wear them every single waking minute.</p>
<p>Same problem here. Now pushing age 60 I have finally found glasses that are decent looking on me. I’ve struggled with this problem for years. You just have to try on everything there and hopefully find something that looks all right. I bought 3 pairs of these at Costco because I’m afraid the frame will go out of style and be unavailable. Styles change and you are often out of luck if an old style is what flatters your face the most.</p>
<p>I’ve found that a small variation can make the difference between a frame looking good, and looking terrible. That is why it’s really a hands on task to find a decent set of glasses. I always thought the rectangular, plastic frames looked terrible on me, and they usually do, but the ones I found sit exactly right on my face. A little thicker on the frames, smaller lenses, different color, different stems, all make a huge difference.</p>
<p>It’s tough for those of us who just don’t look good in glasses. If you can afford to do so, getting a bunch of glasses and wearing them as fun fashion accessories to go with your clothes can really make a difference since they then look like part of the costume rather than of you. You can go wilder and crazier when you do that since you are separating yourself from those glasses. If you can get a basic shape, you can even order those on line very cheaply.</p>
<p>I concur. I have a “wardrobe” of glasses (I just need them for distance, driving, and looking smart in front of clients, LOL). My two favorites are a pair of thicker frames from Coach that are sort of Marian-the-Librarian sexy, and another pair from Prada which are (gulp) rather Sarah Palin-style, with the frameless rims. Don’t like her politics, but she did rock the glasses.</p>
<p>I can’t even * get* glasses at Costco- cause my prescription is too high :(</p>
<p>I also have a fairly wide bridge & most glasses don’t fit me ( and my lens are so heavy that w/wire the nose pads leave dents)-I would be sad if Lasik didn’t work and I had to not only wear glasses all the time- but wouldn’t be able to wear contacts anymore- so I am sticking with my plain old eyes.
at least they are still fairly correctable- even if for driving they aren’t so hot.
I am fairly whingy today- aren’t I.:o
My eyes are practically worse than anyone I know- even my friends alot older- Im thinking of getting little feelers.
or a curb finder.</p>
<p>PackMom, I have those exact glasses. I have a small face, and wanted to try progressives, and those were one of the only ones small enough for my face but large enough for the progressive lens. I tried to get used to the progressives, but they made me dizzy so I took them back and now just have a reading prescription. My distance vision is still pretty good, so I don’t really need glasses for that, but I do need the reading glasses. </p>
<p>As someone who has never worn glasses, I think this is the worst part of getting older. I hate having to search for my glasses whenever I have to read something.</p>
<p>My recommendation is wavefront-guided Lasik (different from regular Lasik). If you happen to live in Orange County, I can recommend a great ophthalmologist.</p>
<p>For anyone who has problems with glasses constantly sliding down your nose–between my insufficient bridge and oily skin this was a big issue for me–I have your solution! Google “Wedgees” (sorry, too tired to figure out how to link, and not sure linking to commercial sites is allowed anyway). These are little doohickeys that slip over the earpiece of your glasses and keep them snug on your head so they don’t slip. Very comfortable and work like a charm. For women, they completely hide in your hair unless you wear it skinned back. Anyway, the website explains all. I’ve tried to interest my optician in carrying them, but they’re convinced they can adjust glasses so they won’t slip (wrong), so they have no interest. BTW, I have no financial or personal stake, just want to share a little thing that made my life better. (I can also recommend an online source for clip-on sunglasses that are cut to precisely match your lenses and attach without scratching–another little life enhancer for the myopic. Just pm me.)</p>
<p>My terribly nearsighted eyes have been the bane of my existence since I was nine. I wore hard contacts for years out of vanity, though I was never comfortable for a single minute with them, then wore soft ones as a guinea pig during the initial FDA approval process and for decades after, but finally gave up when I needed to put reading glasses on over the contacts–I said enough is enough, abandoned all vanity and embraced my progressive lenses. (Always too chicken to consider Lasik).</p>
<p>blankmind, I have a somewhat narrow face (wish I had a narow body instead,lol) too and found the RL style to be a good fit. I originally had a different cheaper pr. of frames with my progressives and I got dizzy with those. Luckily for me, those inexplicably broke. I swear I didn’t do it,just happened. I had them less than a year so LensCrafters had to replace them. They didn’t have any of the cheap ones to fit my face so that’s how I ended up with the RL’s. I have never had any dizziness with the Ralph Lauren frames. Makes me wonder if it’s all trial and error with progressives and the frames hitting your eyes at just the right angle. </p>
<p>The salesperson in LensCrafters did tell me that progressives took some getting used to and that some people couldn’t do it. Her best tip was that with progresssives you need to point yuor nose at whatever you want to see. Cutting your eyes sideways without turning your head causes the the weird dizziness because you are looking thorugh different prescription strengths at odd angles throguh the corners of the glasses.</p>
<p>It’s true that with progressive lenses they do have to take into account the size of the lenses but I have an almost child size face, and have in fact, gotten glasses from the children’s section of LensCrafters. I found that it takes a good two days to get the hang of the different prescriptions all on one lens but it’s worth it. </p>
<p>Thanks for the Wedgee suggestion MommaJ. I have a pair of plastic rimmed sunglasses that I love but stopped wearing because they continually fell down over my nose and no amount of “adjustments” at LensCrafters helped! Here’s the link [Wedgees</a> - Stop Eyeglass Slipping, Eyeglass Retainers Accessories, Get Perfect Fitting Eyewear Forever](<a href=“http://www.wedgees.com/]Wedgees”>http://www.wedgees.com/)</p>
<p>Yeah PackMom, I tried getting used to turning my head instead of just my eyes, but I felt like a robot. It messed me up, lol. I kept misjudging the edges of things, and left the experiment with lots of bruises from bumping into things.</p>
<p>I think the glasses that Tina Fey has are very attractive.</p>
<p>I’m going to try the Wedgee! (Unfortunate name, though.)</p>
<p>When I bought my latest pair of glasses, I tried on what seemed like every pair they had, then narrowed it down to 5 or 6 and had my H take a digital pic of me in each pair. This really helped me see how I looked, since being nearsighted, I can’t see myself in the mirror unless I’m 6 inches away. You can see the whole effect this way – he took front and side photos too. I actually went home and studied them on my computer. Drove the store crazy, but I have to live in these glasses so it was worth the effort.</p>
<p>I am very, very nearsighted, and have worn contacts (hard at first, rigid gas-permeable now) for over 40 years. I almost never wore glasses until recently, when I have had dry eye problems, and wear the glasses a little more. My glasses are over 10 years old and I can’t see well out of them. My contacts are trifocals (Iguess what you are all calling progressives), and I see beautifully out of them, including being able to read small print (and I am 60). </p>
<p>Someone mentioned monovision - I had monovision contacts for a couple of years in my 40’s (I think); I was told at the time that monovision would work for only a year or two; then I had to get trifocals. So I’m not sure that monovision Lasik is a possibility.</p>
<p>I need to get some glasses now that actually correct my vision. My optometrist told me that there is a new kind of lens available now that is much better.</p>
<p>My prescription is around -9.5, and I found the best thing to do if you want small lenses is to go super small. I found some frames that come in from the side of the head to the lense part of the frame and my lenses are about the size of a quarter. Thinnest they have been for as long as I can remember. Of course there isn’t much peripheral vision, but they sure are thin.</p>
<p>Hope that wasn’t too forward for a new member.
Just thought it might help.
Joe</p>
<p>My prescription is around -9.5, and I found the best thing to do if you want small lenses is to go super small.
that would work, unless you need progressives, because they have to be a certain size.
The frame also needs to balance with your face.
I think next time though I am just going to get two pairs of glasses, one for reading and one for distance.</p>
<p>money - Progressive lenses are what you need when you have been nearsighted and then you start getting older eyes. We older adults get presbyopia - when your lenses get less flexible and it is difficult to focus at near point. I am definitely nearsighted and have progressive lenses in my glasses. If I used my regular prescription glasses without progressive lenses, I could not read close up. If I take my glasses off, I can read close up - because I am nearsighted. This is why I chose not to have lasik surgery. The surgery would allow me to see in the distance, but I would actually have more difficulty with near reading, so I would still need glasses for reading.</p>
<p>ETA: Okay, now it looks like I’m talking to myself. I was responding to a post that has since been removed.</p>