optician says I need them to help with constant headaches. pass me my pipe and slippers…
anyone got one of those supplements for incontinence pads and heated gloves that come in the papers.

anyone one else? advice appreciative

Opticians love em because they are hugely expensive. I’ve got 2 pairs, one vari and one normal. I much prefer the normal but that’s because one half of the varifocals do almost nothing. I know other people who love them. I think it just depends how you get on with them.

It’s worth saying that the first pair I had gave me horrible sore heads until I got them checked and replaced

Contact lenses for distance, reading glasses for close up

or

Distance glasses, taken off for close up

Would need to know you prescription to be truly precise but basically your optician is now saying you need help for both distance and reading.

Varifocal gives you a focal point for both with everything in between as the graduation changes, in time this will become more important as the difference between prescriptions increases, a vari will give you an optimum for computers etc too

another option is a bifocal, but as the name suggests this gives you a near and a far but nothing inbetween (also has that silly looking segment in the lens)

Third option is 2/3 pairs near/intermediate/distance

Varifocal is convenience but it comes with a price……

if you want any more info post here or PM me

or

Distance glasses, taken off for close up

this only applies if you are short sighted, longsighted its additional help needed for reading not less……

I have a pr of reading glasses

When I take ’em off “I’m a little bit wooooh / whaaaayyyyy” for a minute or two. Maybe varifocals sort that out as you can leave ’em on ?

was thinking bout contacts. I wear glasses for distance but she said my eyes are straining to see up close, tv, phone etc.

leffe. normal do yo mean bi focal?

By normal I mean single focus, I just take them off for close stuff but it does depend on your prescription of course.

distance. sph -2.75 cyl +2.75 axis 90
near. -1.75 +2.75 90

its a pain just one pair of glasses. do lot of manual work, joinery, building etc.
so extra pairs not good.

Varifocal gives you a focal point for both with everything in between as the graduation changes

My experience is that you get a focal point for far and near but there isn’t an everything in between – it’s blurred. You get used to it though, usually by moving your head a bit to get to the clear area

You can get very good multifocal contact lenses, which have very short adaptation times.

so extra pairs not good.

Yep, looks like you wouldn’t get off with just taking them off. Varifocals do work, they are just butt clenchingly expensive 🙁

I’ve had varifocals for about three years now. I have different prescriptions in either eye, and need glasses for reading and VDU distance type stuff. They help for distance as they correct a different astigmatism in each eye as well.

They aren’t cheap, but deals like 2 for 1 etc from Specsavers and so on help.

I chose them because I needed reading glasses and then a different pair to see a computer monitor, and was suffering from constant eye strain and headaches.

You have to look through the right part of the glasses depending on how far away what you want to look at is! Sounds daft but for example I have to tilt them to watch the TV from a recliner.

The first time I wore them I drove down to the South of France, and to say that that helped me get used to wearing them would be an understatement. I could actually read the dashboard instruments for a change! The next morning I woke up and the whole room took off. I suffered such incredible vertigo that I vomited about four times. I spent the rest of the day lying down, but since then I haven’t had a twinge. There are other instances of first time varifocal wearers suffering the same motion sickness/vertigo, but the experts are divided over what causes it, or indeed whether the varifocals are the villain.

Just got a pair of varifocals a couple of months ago. I’ve made peace with the fact that, at the tender age of 44, I’m now not getting any younger.

They do take a bit of getting used to because there is a lot going on within a single lens. The distance vision is great. My old prescription was OK for middle/long distance but hopeless for reading/computer work. VF are MUCH better for reading but the “sweet spot” is very narrow and it means adjusting your head position so that you are looking directly at what you want to focus on rather than just moving your eyes around to scan across a page.

Close-up peripheral vision becomes very distorted but I am getting used to it. Specsavers gave me a “3 month no-quibble refund” pledge and at first I thought I’d be using it but now I’m pretty comfortable with them.

My advice would be to speak to a qualified dispensing optician.
Search the GOC register for one near you.
He or she will give sound advice and let you know your options.
BTW, Progressive Addition Lenses (PAL’s) is the term now used for varifocals.
DO NOT BUY ONLINE – THEY WON’T WORK PROPERLY!
You need to be measured and fitted accurately for your frames and lenses by a suitably trained professional and have your visual needs assessed before purchasing.
There are lots of different types off PAL which have different designs and uses – most come with wearer warranties to give you peace of mind.

vomiting sounds better than these headaches. specsavrrs is where I go. they said I could get something toward the cost through family cred . still a lot to pay but wanted to be sure they will work for me

I’d struggle with anything other than VF’s now. My eyes are crap both for distance & reading, I’ve tried contacts but have real issues getting them out cos of dry eyes. Even my riding glasses are VF’s.

Blind As A Bat me.

nice to know I’m not the only one with vf’s. thanks for the input guys. I’ve got a pork pie and glass of sherry with my name on it to tackle.

Contact lenses for distance, reading glasses for close up

or

Distance glasses, taken off for close up
If only life were that simple. I’m short-sighted, I wear glasses, and contacts, and if I’m wearing contacts, (one, actually, my right eye is weaker than my left), I need reading glasses for close up, but with single-vision glasses, especially when driving, I really struggle, because I can’t focus on anything inside the car, particularly my sat-nav. I have multi-point varifocal lenses, with DriveWear photo-reactive as well, so they go dark in the car, and I couldn’t be without them. Expensive, but I can see clearly when driving, and just glance at the satnav or heater or speedo and see them clearly as well. Before I got them, anything in the car was a blur.
It’s only when reading that I don’t need the glasses. The lenses are Shamir ones in a pair of Ray-Ban Lennon frames I got cheap off the interwebz.

Double slipper foot warmer ftw.

Contact lenses for distance, reading glasses for close up

or

Distance glasses, taken off for close up

If only life were that simple. I’m short-sighted, I wear glasses, and contacts, and if I’m wearing contacts, (one, actually, my right eye is weaker than my left), I need reading glasses for close up, but with single-vision glasses, especially when driving, I really struggle, because I can’t focus on anything inside the car, particularly my sat-nav. I have multi-point varifocal lenses, with DriveWear photo-reactive as well, so they go dark in the car, and I couldn’t be without them. Expensive, but I can see clearly when driving, and just glance at the satnav or heater or speedo and see them clearly as well. Before I got them, anything in the car was a blur.
It’s only when reading that I don’t need the glasses. The lenses are Shamir ones in a pair of Ray-Ban Lennon frames I got cheap off the interwebz.

works for me, but then that was my original post so I would say that 😉

I’m 47, short sighted so my normal single vision glasses / contact lenses are fine for driving; as I’m on contacts I get my prescription checked regularly & my glasses/lenses are never out of date for long.

If I’m wearing my glasses & I need/want to read something close (never in the car), I take them off. If I’m wearing my contacts & need to read something close, I put on a pair of +1.0 cheapo reading glasses. Works fine for me.

I don’t have a sat-nav at the moment, don’t really need one – had one in the 9-3 before I got rid, nice tool but not essential for me; current car is a Citroen C4 so the speedo is a gurt big 2in high display in the middle of the dash, far enough away to hit the “distance” thing. other warning lights are in the same part of the dash; rev counter & lights on indicators are on the top of the steering wheel but who really uses a rev counter anyway?

If I’m driving and it’s daylight (rare at this time of year other than weekends) then I also have a pair of single vision prescription sunglasses in the car in case of actually being able to see the sun…

so for me, all bases covered, really

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Varifocals are absolutely flippin’ FANTASTIC and God’s gift to the short-sighted who begin to realise they also need reading glasses. If you get them from a decent optician and (s)he measures you correctly it will only take your brain a few hours to get used to them; once that’s done you simply don’t notice. The top of the lens is better for long distance and the bottom for reading and computer and you don’t notice any change in scale or shape or odd movement in between. They also look like normal specs so nobody can tell. Best thing I ever did was get some Rudy Projects made up as varis and tinted so I can ski and read the piste map and cycle and read the bike computer or the map.

Lenses cost me about £145 last time but my optician gives me a decent discount. For anybody in the Blackburn area I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Zunaid at Ideal Eyecare: http://idealeyecare.co.uk/ he understands negotiation, unlike the big chains, he’s an all-round Good Bloke and he explains everything clearly.

I’ve had them for a few years now. Took the plunge after I got fed up carting two pairs of glases everywhere. They took a few days to get used to and they still sometimes catch me out when walking down stairs. From a vanity point of view they look like normal glasses (unlike bi-focals)which is good.

Varifocals needn’t cost the earth but it can be woorth spending a bit more to get a lens with better quality optics, you’ll always pay a premium for the likes of Zeiss lenses. Be wary of the Specsaverfs 2 for 1 lenses, they’re shite, old designs.

Going into varifocals when you only have a small reading addition helps as there is less progression from your distance to full reading power. You will also need to learn to move your head a bit more to get the optimum position through the lens.

sounds like I’m going to be ok with them. thanks for info guy. I live in accrington so I will look ideal up. cheers globalti

Love my varifocals, much better than having to swap over glasses for distance and reading. Take a little getting used to. Bit of a nodding dog to start with trying to get the focus point right but you soon get the hang of it.

I wore contacts for short sight for 30 years but once into my 50s I needed reading glasses over them. I changed to varifocals and just use contacts for skiing and canoe/kayak. (Left contact is ‘detuned’ to help me read maps etc.) VFs were fine for everything else. 4 years on and I was struggling with computer screen – most of my working day – and now have another set of VFs optimised for that. They are great for everything except driving, and I swap back to the original VFs for that.

My story..
I’ve been wearing glasses ( normal lenses for vdu ) for about 5 years or so. It’ was one of those annoyingly awkward moments in the office when someone asked me to proof read some doc or other that I realised I ought to get my eyes tested again.. I couldn’t read it very well at all.
So I popped over to my optom ( an old Uni mate whose been testing my eyes for years ) and she offered her advice, ” yes you need stronger lenses ” now then, I’m fine for driving, can’t read much properly out of books, so this time I said I’d try varifocals.
What a damn fine investment they are.
I also at the time ordered a pair of normal reading glasses, but I don’t use them at all. I’m finding I’m sticking my vari’s on most of the time when wanting to read stuff or vdu..
Yes they are expensive, you can’t deny that. I paid £1500 for 1 pair of vari’s and 1 pair of normal reading glasses. Now to some that’s an extortionate amount, but I’m a trendy fekker and I chose some decent frames, hey if I’m going to wear glasses I at least want to look good in them.
Thankfully glasses styles are so varied these days that you can choose which style suits best, and steer clear of the ultra slim ( dimensions ) a la ” the Swedish look ” and trends are moving back to larger frames… which is what I’ve chosen. So in the bottom 1/3rd of the lens is the vari and the top 2/3rd the normal focus. They have been the most wonderfully easy glasses to get on with and as I type I’m looking down at the iPad through the vari part of the lens and also looking up at MrsBouy making breakfast.

Go see a decent optom, go see a modern optom.

Best £1500 I’ve spent in a very long time.

If you work with vdu equipment your employer should. pay for an eye test and if you require glasses you should get £40ish towards them

I wore contacts for short sight for 30 years but once into my 50s I needed reading glasses over them

Same here but I now use varifocal contacts. Wearing specs over contacts just seemed draft.

I’m now going to switch my backup specs to varifocal as taking them off every time I need to read something is a pain

£1500!! I’d say that’s above average even with decent frames You could pay significantly less than that and still end up with an excellent pair of spex

I know, but I’m a tart and wanted a couple of trendy frames, but it was the ultra light vari lenses that cost the £’s..

WHAAAT? My varis are in a quality hard plastic lens (optician should help you choose the right grade/refractivity for your prescription so as to get the thinnest edges) and titanium rimless frames and they cost a whopping £280. They are so light that my biggest concern is the ease with which they can get knockled off or blown off by the wind!!!

sounds like I’m going to be ok with them. thanks for info guy. I live in accrington so I will look ideal up. cheers globalti

I live 200 yards down the road from the shop so you’d be welcome to drop in for a brew and a yarn about cycling. PM me.

I tested bifocals but could not do with the “moving letterbox” effect.

I’ve been on bifocal lenses (concentric rings of alternating focus) for ten years, no wobble effect and no steps, just clear vison from page to infinity, effectively, and no problems in the rain.

My eyes have deteriorated and I was struggling with the reading and a bit of loss of definition at distance with the strongest available prescription for my two differing eyes. New tech now allows me to use multifocals (I don’t know how they work). The prescription numbers are the same but I can read a map now and distance is grand.

About 50% dearer than the bifocals but put it in context – I’m sure my pal who lost an eye to disease thirty years ago would think it a small price for good vision in two eyes. Look after what you’ve got.

Lenses cost me about £145 last time but my optician gives me a decent discount.

Paid £80 for mine (in Rudy P inserts) at http://www.lentoid.com/

Had an eye test yesterday & my prescription in the eye I had a cataract op on last year has changed again!

New tech now allows me to use multifocals (I don’t know how they work)

Basically, as I understand it, a machine ‘reads’ your eye movements at various points, figures out the best focal regions for focussing near, middle and far distance, and when the lens is ground, the surface contour alters to give as smooth a transition as possible between the different focal points. Looking at my Shamir lenses at an angle, instead of the curved transition, like a half-moon that you used to get with bi-focals, the surface has a series of ripples across it. Wearing mine, I can’t even notice any real difference when looking from near to far, certainly, if I’m driving, I can see my phone’s screen with the satnav at the same time as I’m looking ahead at the road, I have it set in the center-bottom of the screen, so it’s always visible. Before, using single vision glasses, or my contacts, it was just a blur.

Been wearing them for about 3 years and probably couldn’t live without them now.

I need glasses for distance, but being short sighted I don’t need them for close work. However, I work with computers all day so had that inbetween problem.

However, I got totally fed up of having to take my glasses off to read, plus the distance I naturally held the book was too far away to see smaller text (like cycling magazines). Hugely frustrating.

I also have prism i.e. don’t have perfect stereo vision so can’t cope with the vari-focal contact lenses. I managed for a while having one distance lens and one reading lens. Your brain is quite clever and as long as you get the distance/dominant eye bit right, your brain merges the images so you don’t really notice (I did when I got tired or too drunk).

The only problem I have with them now is when my prescription changes and I get a stiff neck from working on the computer and having to look through the reading part.

They are also not very good it you want to see something close up that is low down or on the floor. You can’t get your head low enough and tilted far enough back to see through the reading part.

So, not perfect but for me the best option.

I can also now read the sat nav when I’m on the motorbike.

half way through my second set of varifocals ( at 50) couple of pointers.. go to a couple of optians for your prescription.. the variance between the three i went to this time was massive on paper ( boots, spec savers and local guy) went for spec savers when i got them they just werent right in one eye.. took em back and straight away the women says yeh the sweet spot aint right.. new lens 100% better.. i ve always plumped for the widest angle clearest glass most expensive options.. if it was any other of the 5 senses you would so why skimp.. BUT i gota say if these are the most expensive the cheap stuff must be like an inch think and painted with emulsion because the sweet spot is very small and it takes a good month to get used to them that said.. without em i cant read full stop and the number plate test is blurry..