[OT] Varifocal glasses

[Tim Watts]

I expect there's a few people here with them...

I have been forced (well that or two pairs of glasses) down the progressive lens route.

I'm short sighted (-3.50 dioptre with very minor astigmatism) but at that power, I can no longer read the ingredients on food jars (which is important if your kids have allergies).

My question is:

How long does it take to get used to them? And is it reasonable to wonder if my prescription is actually not correct?

Only had them for 2 days - but they are fine for driving and have relatively little distortion and "swim" effect. The worst I've noticed is my phone goes a bit "parallelogram" at certain angles.

But there is a limit to what can be done with passive optics.

My main concern is that I think she's set the progressive boundary too high - more or less on the horizontal axis. I reckon it should be about

15-20 degrees below before it starts transitioning from far sight power to mid sight and reading. If I drop them to the end on my nose, that actually works quite well.

If I have a laptop on my knees on the train, it's in the near-sight zone whilst being at a mid-sight distance.

Same with the TV - my TV is below horizontal and my sofa tends to lean you back as they do.

Now, it's not a huge problem as the lens manufacturer offers a money back satisfaction guarantee within the first month.

However, the dispensing optician is not raising my confidence levels hugely. She says she can have a go at adjusting the frames in a couple of weeks (to give it a fair chance) but I'm not sure how you could adjust 15 degrees in. her answer to the TV is turn my head down. Well, I do know varifocals need head movement - but I've tried it and I get a crick in my neck because I have to look down so far.

Anyone with experience - am I being impatient? For the cost (not cheap) I'm not really prepared to put up with something highly suboptimal.

Cheers,

Tim

[Tim Streater]

I've never worn anything else, and it didn't take me long at all.

Weren't you asked where you wanted it?

I'd go back and ask that the boundary be moved.

[Tim Watts]

No not really. She did take a lot of car measuring things, but seh seemed to be working to a stock layout rather than spending much time making sure the zones would suit me.

That did make me wonder. I described the work I did and using laptops on trains. But she didn't ask me explicitly how I'd like the zones laid out.

Trouble is there's no way to dry run these things because if I knew them what I know now, I would have told her exactly how I wanted them.

In practice, I'd be happier with a very small reading zone right in teh bottom centre and even far power over the rest of the field. Something like bifocals, but with a soft transition rather than this very wide transition over half the lens.

To be fair, I'll give it the full 2 weeks - but I will certainly insist on that - or take the refund and go and visit some other dispensing opticians until I find one that offers more consultation.

I would have thought they'd have had something a little more scientific to assess these things...

[Andy Burns]

I wonder whether opticians fully appreciate the distances and angles at which people view screens (whether on desks, with or without monitor arms, or actually on laps)?

I was first prescribed varifocals a couple of years ago, I was a bit reluctant, but did get a pair made, I didn't like them and went back to an even older pair for a while (as the ones I was using up to that point had really buggered up coatings) and I quite happily put up occasionally having to take off glasses to read small print on stuff.

The other week, I was doing various jobs that meant I was constantly taking off/putting on glasses and it was too much, so I dug out the varifocals and I have to say I get on with them better now, still a few annoyances, such as glancing at the centre display in the car is noticeably blurry, when turning the head slightly it's fine, and it annoys me not to be able to glance up/down, instead having to nod up and down.

There are some situationsz where you're just looking in the wrong direction (e.g. looking up at something close such as when wiring a ceiling rose where they just don't work at all, or looking down to avoid obstacles on stairs).

[Tim Watts]

Trouble is the lenses are so damn expensive by the time they're made up with the coatings and stuff (guarantee noted but that is by no means universal).

I think they need to be able to mill out a throwaway trial pair of lenses out of soft plastic with no coatings so the user can test the visual areas.

Indeed. One accepts the limitations, but I'd certainly hope my majority use scenarios were catered for.

Driving seems fine and it has not messed up my depth perception (much) but I am finding having all of the ground fuzzy is a bit dodgy.

[John Rumm]

I don't have any answers, but would just comment that this is an interesting thread, being a similar age, I had been having similar over whether it was time to take the plunge with vari or bi focals. I got a pair of prescription reading glasses a while back, which are very good when I use them - but the main limitation is not usually having them when I need them!

[Tim Watts]

On a side note - I notice that you can even buy varifocal lenses online

- I cannot think of anything less suitable to do an online purchase of.

[Tim Watts]

It's probably fair to say I won't say too much more until the 2 weeks is up - better give it a chance...

But then I'll make a decision one way or another. My fallback plan is of course to reglaze with single vision lenses and maybe revisit in a few years.

At the moment I feel bifocals would actually work better - at least the reading portion would be small and well defined and I'd have long distance everywhere else. I'd just totally look like a grandad.

[dennis]

It varies for different people. In my case it was minutes. The wife took a day or so. I know some that have never got used to them.

I went to collect a pair and I couldn't see through them. They had put the cylinder 90 degrees out.

That's the astigmatism.

Varifocals are cheap, you can get two pairs for less than £159 including fitting in a shop without going online. That includes high index lenses if your prescription is high and multi coating.

I hope they told you about the different types of varifocals you can get, the main difference being the width of the reading channel.

[john james]

I'm at -6 and -7, no astig.

but at

I just read stuff like without the glasses.

[dennis]

Every optician I have used will replace the varifocals if you can't use them.

[dennis]

I looked at a few online sites and they are more expensive than using a normal shop. In one case they were double the price and you don't get a fitting either. You need to make measurements yourself or take photos and let them measure the photos.

[dennis]

If its too small I use the camera on the phone, it may as well get some use.

[Dennis Davis]

...

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Looks to be a typing malfunction. You obviously meant to write "mature, urbane and sophisticated".

Can't help you much, although I've been wearing varifocals for several years. Got used to them very quickly, although I usually start wearing new glasses the next day I get them. In the probably misguided belief that it's easier on the eyes to avoid switching prescriptions during the day.

I believe some have trouble adjusting to varifocals. In which case they may be better off with bifocals or separate reading glasses. A friend who holds a HGV licence stated he wasn't allowed to wear varifocals whilst working because of the distortion at the edges.

Got my varifocals from a national high street chain. Had my eyes tested by them last December and thought the optician doing the testing was very capable and professional.

[Tim Watts]

Hmm - that is not encouraging... Been nearly 3 full days and I've not been naughty in going back to my old pair...

Didn't have that with my single focus lenses - worse problem was slight bending of lines at the periphery - just made it a bit harder to choose the one straight bit of wood in B&Q.

I'm in the South East which never helps...

[Tim Watts]

I'm going backwards - was -3.75

It was getting annoying, but I might just go back to that...

[Tim Watts]

Here there's even less debate as the manufacturer has a "non adaption guarantee" so I'm not expecting too much argument, even if it hurts her pride...

[Tim Watts]

That'll be for the pupil distance - I know mine because I hear her say them (there are two, one for near and one for far).

I'd have no problems with online for single focus, because, apart from fitting, there's not much can go wrong with a recent prescription. But as progressives need various other measurements I reckon they just knock out a generic template.

[john james]

Yeah, I have done that with really tiny stuff like the text on a nano sim.

And to take a pic of stuff that I can't get my face close enough to to read without my glasses like the model number plate on a fridge or freezer etc inside the compressor area.

I use it for taking notes of the price of stuff when checking the price of stuff that isn't available online.

And for the odo reading in the car when filling up with petrol for the records etc.

[John Rumm]

I have to do that with every PC I setup - just so I can read the new dinky windows CoAs!