OT - reading glasses

[sweetheart]

I teach A level - happy now? But as I said, being good at academic things does not necessarily make you good at being assertive.

[Harry]

Who mentioned assertive? Being a teacher one would expect a minimum level of intelligence, sufficient, one would hope as you're in the process of educating our children, to be able to take an item with which you're disattisfied back to the point of purchase rather than seeking attention in a DIY forum. But that's just on planetharry ;->

[Andy Burns]

OK, so everybody guesses right occasionally :-P

[matthelliwell]

I don't see why people still wear annoying contacts all day when you having you eyes lasered is so comfortable (after a day or two anyway).

Now someone just needs to invent a reliable way to get rid of floaters.

Matt

[Tim Streater]

Mmmmmm'OK. Not sure I could be arsed to go through all that though. Unassisted, my wife can see from zero to about 6 inches, so for her it's coke bottles or contacts anyway. Farting about with all the solutions and stuff when you're knackered is a bore.

[sweetheart]

That's just on planetharry. On planetsweetheart, I find it very hard to return faulty goods. I always have done. I find it difficult to complain. I always have done. maybe that is because as a teacher I often have to take abuse from children and their parents without reacting and without being able to answer back ( such is the state of our education system these days)

Before doing anything I generally like to know if I have a case. In the issue of my glasses, I was not sure since I did not know whether my experience of them was what it is supposed to be and I was demanding too much from them. I generally prefer, here on planet sweetheart to have some idea whether I have any grounds for complaint before I launch any.

[PeterC]

Brush, push, flush!

[John MacLeod]

On discussing this very issue with my optician a couple of years go when getting a new pair of varifocals he explained that there's a practical limit to the difference there can be in varifocals between the distance prescription and the reading prescription. He upped the reading prescription to the maximum possible without distortion in the transition area.

John MacLeod

[Chris J Dixon]

In that case, you might appreciate this:

not genuine, but perhaps it should be ;-)

I have no specialist knowledge, but have worn varifocals for some years now. They are not ideal (I use a dedicated single-focus pair for computer work, and a distance pair for theatre or cinema) but are for me the best way of dealing with ageing eyes.

You didn't respond to my enquiry about what your prescription actually said, which should indicate how great a change has been made for the reading portion of the lens.

Whenever I have had new lenses, the standard terms of the optician have included the ability to return them for replacement lenses if they are not satisfactory.

Chris

[GAP]

So about the time I was having my detached retina fixed my daughter was contemplating getting her eyes lasered (as it turned out she's too short-sighted to have it done) so I asked my opthalmic surgeon what he thought about lasering... There was a sharp intake of breath and much sucking of teeth. So I asked him how many eye surgeons he knew who had their own eyes lasered and he didn't know of any! That was pretty well enough for me, but the clincher was when I asked my optician what she thought, and she told me about a patient who she fitted with contact lenses, whose husband was a laser surgeoon, and he wouldn't do his wife's eyes!

Of course we all get to make our own decisions about these things :-)

Graham

[tony sayer]

Yes don't they.

Yes I spoke to a couple of consultants at Addenbrookes and they aren't, shall we say, that fond of the idea either;!..

Wonder why?..

Yes!,

Nowt wrong with specs, useful for the number one DIY weapon the Angle Grinder:)...

[geoff]

OK for younger people, not so good for old farts whose eyes are changing in the opposite direction

And not always side effect free

[matthelliwell]

I think opticians are somewhat biased against the process, for obvious reasons. One tried to tell me that I wouldn't be able to wear contacts afterwards if I needed them, which is not true depending on the type of operation you have.

My eye surgeon was explaining that there are numerous other eye sugeons who have had their eyes lasered and have deliberately left themselves slightly short sighted to delay the time when they need reading glasses.

Either way, I don't particularly trust the anecdotal evidence and read the literature instead. I couldn't find any evidence of long term problems. The biggest issue seemed to be around the flaps not healing up and coming off. That problem seems to have gone away now the flaps are laser cut. It was certainly difficult enough to get the flaps open again after 6 months for a second op to get rid of some residual astigmatism.

Matt

[matthelliwell]

I had mine done when I was 45. I'll see need reading glasses later but changes as you age are as much about lack of accomodation as changes to your prescription. Either way, I've gone from a prescription of

-7.0 with astigmatism to -0.125 so I'm not complaining.

Matt

[news10paul]

Depends on what you think long term" means. IMO, the technique hasn't been in use long enough to allow any "long term" data at all.

It's not unreasonable to hope I might get another 40-50 years use out of my eyes (assuming I make it over the average lifespan). Is there anyone who had their eyes lasers 40-50 years ago?

I suspect not, given the laser is having its 50th birthday this year.

#Paul

[matthelliwell]

Using lasers, no its hasn't, only 20 years I think. But non-laser based refractive surgery index techniques have been around for quite a while, eg according to Wikipedia (so it must be true), a tool for cutting corneal flaps was developed in the 50s. Obviously you have to develop your own assessment of the risks but there is a reasonably large body of work discussing and assessing the various methods over a significant period of time, certainly enough work and over a long enough period of time so you don't have to rely of anecdotal evidence.

Matt

[Adam Aglionby]

Just got couple of pairs at this place

inconsiderable 75% cheaper than optician who issued prescription, were ready in 3 days, very pleased.

Cheers Adam

[stuart noble]

A quick plug for Specsavers. Wife took her 2 year old glasses in with a bent frame and one lens having fallen out. When asked what had happened, she said she had sat on them. Bloke said he appreciated her honesty and fixed them while she waited for nothing. Took him half an hour, so it wasn't that easy a job either.

[Tim Downie]

I would say to keep pestering your optician. You paid for glasses to improve your vision and if they're not doing that then they've not fulfilled their contract.

That said, I noticed in your first message that you said you'd tried supermarket reading glasses and that none of them had helped. This leads me to suspect that you've got a more complicated visual problem than simple long sightedness as unless there's something pretty odd about your eyes, they should have worked. I presume your optician got you to read from a hand held card at some point in the eye test. Could you do this? If so, you should be able to read with your varifocals unless they've cocked up the lenses *which does happen sometimes*.

Go back to your optician and explain that you can't read with them. They're too darned expensive not to have them just right!

Tim

[Bob Eager]

I am pleased with

- someone here recommended them. My wife just ordered a spare pair of single vision specs - 22 quid!