Ok so I got bi-focals...and I hate them!

[leebee]

There was no way I could wear the progressives. The made me SO motion sick all the time; it was just like an endless vertigo attack. I am fine with the single-line, traditional bifocals, though. No adjustment time at all! My DH couldn't wear the progressives, either- his eyes just couldn't adjust. He had them a week and went back for traditional bifocal lenses, as he was constantly misjudging things, couldn't judge depth and distance when driving, etc. He felt he wasn't safe, and didn't want to risk it for however many weeks it would take to adjust.

 

[Nancy]

Oh I got some last week-the doctor called them "progressive glasses". I hate them! I had to tilt my head up to read and forget trying to use the computer. The lady said give them a week. I retuned them the next day! I would rather just have two pairs. Awful and I feel old-I am 45 and had perfect vision until the day I turned 40.

I took mine back too. During the one week I had mine I almost fell down the stairs because my head and eyes weren't in the perfect position and it threw off my balance. Then I almost got in an accident driving because I moved my head the wrong way and totally threw everything off..almost drove off the road on the thruway with that one..car swerved like crazy. I actually took my glasses off and drove the rest of the way home without them.

My vision for reading is not that bad. I don't even really need glasses for it. I started going to a new place for my glasses because the old one just was a bit too snippy over me not wanting the progressive lenses and just wanting my lenses for distance like it's always been. My new optometrist says I don't need glasses for reading and when the time comes I could probably get away with the store bought readers. (if it ever comes)

 

[mamamary]

I hate my progressives too. I just use them for reading. I'd never be able to walk around with them much less drive. I guess I've had them a few months now so its prob. too late to go back to the dr. about it???????? I'm going to think about it - maybe give them a call.

 

[Disney Doll]

FTR, when I got my progressives the MD said that I could go for the rest of my life with just taking my glasses off to do up close work and it wouldn't harm my eyes per se.

I got the progressives because I didn't want to keep putting my glasses on and off or laying them down somewhere and forgetting them .

Ah the joy of being 50!!! You can't see & you can't remember!!!!

 

[dicar123]

This was my experience too. When I first got them I had a problem driving, but adjusted pretty quickly. I take mine off now to read that's when I know it's time to get my eyes checked

LOL! I've only had them a few months- and they're great when I'm at my computer looking from the screen to a calendar on the wall or down at a pad of paper on my desk.

But when I'm reading a book, I have to hold the book further away than what I'm used to and tilt my head up and that just isn't a comfortable position for me to sit in and read for an hour. I tried it for awhile and gave up in frustration!

 

[hsmamato2]

I hated Progressives.`

Me too,I returned them,and found a better eye doc who gave a more thorough exam,then tried bifocals with the line....I can see! (part of my progressives problem was a bad prescrip,I believe) your eye doc should be helping you fit them,up,or down,and measuring how you're seeing, not telling you to just get used to them..... for now I have the lines,since actually seeing is important to me

 

[hsmamato2]

I tried for 2 months.... could NOT see straight no matter what.....

 

[eliza61]

Whow, I love my progressives. Have had not a moments problem with them. Hang in there Op, it's tough not being able to see clearly.

 

[Bonniec]

I'm an eye tech. Everyone adjusts differently to progressives. Some adapt right away and some never do. It helps if you have worn glasses before because you have to hold your head in very specific positions.

Almost everyone from the age of 40-45 will start needing to wear reading glasses or bifocals. I could tell you the number of your add power on your prescription or the power of over the counter readers just based off of your age. If you are near sighted, you can avoid it by just taking off your glasses to read. Some people are lucky enough to naturally be near sighted in only one eye so they can use one eye for reading and one eye for far away. Some people get contacts for this called monovision but it takes a lot of getting used to.

The simple fact is, there is no magic pair of glasses you can put on and make everything perfect. And there is no way to escape old age. I'm 41 and still getting by, okay but I know it won't be much longer. My nearsightedness is too extreme so I won't be able to just take off glasses to read. I am not sure which route I am going to try. I might try progressives but I'm not sure I'll be a great candidate because I'm pretty sensitive. I rarely wear my glasses because I hate losing peripheral vision. I'll probably just continue to wear contacts and throw readers on over the top.


If you do get progressives, don't skimp. The right optician can make all the difference. They have to be measured very carefully and there are a lot of different name brands for lenses that they use. Some are better than others. This is not the time to buy glasses over the internet or go to a cheapy place. It's not so much the price as needing an experienced optician. If they aren't working, have the optician double check the measurements. If they match up, give them a few days. If that doesn't work, go back and see the eye doctor for a recheck. Mistakes DO happen. If that doesn't fix things, you will either have to keep trying or give up and do something else. Just have realistic expectations that getting old sucks, lol.


One last thing...there is a big benefit to progressives (and why I want to at least try to adjust to them). They will let you see at a computer distance because they start out far away and gradually come in close as you look down the lens. Regular reading glasses or lined bifocals won't do that (only other option is trifocals (two lines)). At 40-50 this isn't so much a problem but as you keep getting older, you will lose that intermediate area too. So it's worth trying to adapt to these earlier on.


And OP, there is nothing wrong with sticking to those over the counter readers if they are working for you. They won't hurt your eyes or anything. It's just a pain to have to take glasses on and off all day.

 

[SpecialK]

I've had progressives for the last year, and it took me about two weeks to get used to them. You have to make sure they're seated on your nose properly so you're looking through the right band for near and far. When mine are not right, I'll feel dizzy and nauseated.

I also got straight readers at the same time. If I'm going to be reading for any length of time, I'll wear the readers so I don't have to move my head instead of just my eyes. That drove me nuts.

 

[joyjanet]

I had progressive lenses - essentially bi-focals without the lines.

I brought them back. They were absolutely horrible. I couldn't see a damn thing. I want to be able to put my glasses on and go "ahhhh - I can see".

Same for me. My DH said I did not give them enough time but I did not like them. Walmart took them back and put a reading lenses in the frame I picked. I can see a lot better with them when I read and I don't need to wear glasses all day long.

 

[Disney Ella]

I had extreme motion sickness with progressives and hated only being able to clearly read five words at a time - too much moving my head back and forth. I could only see the top half of my computer monitor clearly if I kept my chin lifted, which aggravated my neck problem. I now have glasses for reading, computer and distance and am much happier. My DH didn't have trouble with progressives, but his prescription is very weak, and I wonder if that might have something to do with it.

 

[disykat]

I have chronic problems with vertigo, but got talked into progressives. I might as well throw them away. I can't see a thing with them and trying to wear them long enough to adjust to them activates my vertigo and pretty much incapacitates me.

Lesson learned. I'd rather swap out glasses constantly than go through that.

 

[powellrj]

I tried progressive for a year and never got use to them. Tried bi-focals for a year and hated them. Tried the one contact which I liked, but was hard with my arthritis, so I have been back to wearing 2 different glasses for the last few years and it works much better for me. I admit I may look silly changing glasses, but I see much better so its worth it for me.

 

[tvguy]

I've been in Progressives for about 15 years, took a week or so to get used to them, especially on stairs. My eye Doctor at the time said since I've been wearing glasses at that point for 30 years, that would be the best option so I never even considered bi-focals.

To me, anyway moving my head a bit to hit the right correction is easier than having to put on and take off reading glasses and keep track of them. I feel sorry for the folks who had RK or Laser correction, especially the ones that went with monovision that helps, but does not overcome the need for reading glasses after a certain point.

 

[MrsPete]

I've been wearing glasses since I was 14, bifocals/progressives since I was about mid-thirties. Every pair of glasses I've owned has required something of a "learning curve". I have never put on a pair and said, "Wonderful!" Back when I wore plain glasses, that learning curve was short: Say, a couple days. My first pair of progressives, however, took me the better part of a year to learn to love -- but learn I did.

Hints:

When I got my first pair, the opthomatrist said, "With these glasses, you can see whatever your nose points towards." I didn't really understand at that point, but I do now. With progressives, you must turn your head to see what you want to look at. You don't get any real "side vision" with progressives. This was very difficult for me, but now it's second nature.

Working at the computer is difficult with progressives. The "reading portion" of the lenses is at the bottom, and you have to tilt your head up at an unnatural angle to read the words on the screen. The answer is to keep a pair of cheap readers at the computer. Do you know what your lens prescription is? Mine's +2. You can get that very same +2 in a reader. I also keep a pair next to my bed because I prefer reading with a pair of readers instead of my prescription glasses (because the prescription glasses have only a little slice of reading-glass at the bottom of the lens). The progressive lenses are best for walking-around all day, but for these circumstances, they're not best.

Oddly enough, stairs have never bothered me, whereas I've heard other people say that was the worst for them.

I have prescription sunglasses that're "distance only" for driving, and I love those things, but when I get another pair I'll add in the progressive lens. I hate not having the ability to read something while wearing them.


In closing, I think everyone has some trouble adjusting to these glasses. When I got my last pair, a man was in the office CHEWING OUT the girl who had sold him a pair of glasses a few weeks before. I know what he was going through, but he didn't have to be nasty to her about it. What he really wanted was to have his young, adjustable eyes that could be "fixed" with a simple prescription. I'd like to have that too, but since it's not going to happen, progressive lenses are the best I'm going to get.

 

[Kathi OD]

Love my progressive lens....been wearing them for at least 10 years, maybe longer. I actually have 3 different prescriptions in the lens. It is imperative that you have them made by someone who really knows what they are doing. The last pair I had made, the lenses were "too short" to accommodate the 3 prescriptions and so they had to be remade (at their cost).

It does take some people a few days to get used to knowing where the line is, and what part of the lens to use for what purpose (close up - the bottom part of the lens, distance - the upper part of the lens).

As Mrs. Pete said, going down stairs were bad for me. Now that I have that third prescription, no problem.

 

[dyna]

Count me in as another who HATED PROGRESSIVE LENSES!! I have no deisre to wear the bifocals with lines. When I got new glasses last summer I got regular glasses to see far away with an take glasses off to read. When I can no longer read without my glasses I will go buy readers.

Funny after wearing my glasses unless sleeping for 40 yrs I rarely ever put them on till I'm ready to go out. When cooking working around the house etc I can see close up well enough not to need my glasses. Usually don't ever wear glasses at home unless I'm watching TV which is very rarely.

 

[disneymarie]

How long will it take to get used to these things? I went from using non prescription readers to these and I just don't think this is gonna work. I was expecting to see better not worse!

As soon as I put mine on I hated them. But, the doc told my point my nose to where I want my toes and his really helped. It was not long until second nature to put them on. Don't aim your eyes downward, move your head down. If you look out the reader part while walking it throws off your perception.
Good luck,

 

[RNMOM]

I have heard some people taking a couple weeks or so to adjust to the progressives. I was lucky, no problem at all. I do always have trouble looking down like when stepping off a curb or stairs. It happens when my rx gets replaced.

The progressives are actually shaped like an hourglass. There is a channel down the middle where the corrective glass is located so when you look out the side of the lens, like when merging onto the freeway, you will see differently. Your brain will eventually adjust.

I always request "wide channel" lenses. I think they might all be that way but back in the early 90's when I got my first pair they had two types.

Do you wear them high enough or low enough on your nose? They are ground with distance at the top and reading at the bottom but the central area is progressing toward these. It is meant for work like computers and mid distance viewing. Try moving them up or down and see if you need to have them reset for you.