Anybody have experience with bifocal contacts?

[ready123go]

I'm just starting to need readers with my new prescription and, boy are they annoying. The woman at the optical counter suggested bifocal contacts.

Anybody here try them or wear them?

 

[Pakey]

I did try them. I originally tried the monovision ones where one eye sees distance and the other eye sees up close but I could not adjust to those. I believe most people can wear these so I would suggest trying those first. I then did the expensive custom bifocal contacts. My doctor said that I had better vision than most did with them but I never felt like I could see very good in them. I couldn't read the small print of the reports at work and I also had a hard time reading street signs when I drove. In the sweet spots, I had great vision, but when I got outside of that range, the lessened vision was enough that I was not comfortable driving in unfamiliar areas while wearing them.

Between the cost (I think they were $800 for a year's worth) and the fact that my vision was only good within a certain range, when they were gone, I switched to contacts that just correct my distance and I wear reading glasses. It's annoying but at least I feel confident while driving.

 

[RitaE]

I tried them but I ended up just wearing the reader glasses on a chain around my neck while I'm working. I figure that if I'm going to be an old lady I might as well own it.

Well that I bought about 7 pairs of readers and have them stashed all over the place so if I need them there's likely to be a pair close.

 

[Lynne M]

I've been wearing multifocal lenses for years - like bifocals, but there are more gradations for various distances. I wear Air Optix, and I think they're about $300/year. I change them monthly.

I had no trouble adapting to them. I occasionally wear reading glasses, but not often. Just for really close work like knitting.

 

[CPanther95]

I just started needing reading glasses and also went with the monovision option. Had no problem adjusting at all. They just use a slightly weaker distance prescription in one eye and the full distance prescription in your dominant eye. Your brain automatically makes the appropriate in focus view the primary.

 

[deedeetoo]

I just finished going through this. I have worn contacts since my teens but in the last year or so I stopped and switched to glasses because I couldn't read well and it was too difficult at work. I do have a strong prescription - -8.25 in one eye and -8.75 in the other. I don't know if that makes a difference but think that it might. My eye doctor and I tried multiple things to fix the problem.

We did try the monovision option described by other posters but my brain is apparently too stupid to figure it out and I found that it was the worst of both worlds. I couldn't see close up or far away. It did not work for me at all.

I have tried two different brands of multifocal lens. Both brands have the exact same prescription. With one brand I can see really well close up and mid distance, but the farther distance is not as clear as it should be. It starts worse in the morning and gets better through the day (I think my brain adjusts) but it still isn't perfect by the end of the day. With the other brand, I start the day with perfect distance sight but the close up sight isn't as good as it should be. Its better than with just regular contacts, but I still find that I have trouble reading my phone. So neither really worked for me

My doctor says the best thing for me is just to wear regular contacts that correct for distance and then have reading glasses to use when I read. This really is a pain in the neck because I can't read anything with my regular lenses and I spend all my time at work reading so it doesn't work there at all. I did try this last summer on vacation and it was annoying to pull out the reading glasses every time I needed to check my phone.

So I have switched to wearing glasses most of the time and just wearing the contacts when I run (I hate running in glasses) and days off when I know minimal reading will be needed. Then I will use the reading glasses when I need to. I did buy a pair of nice progressive lens glasses for my everyday use.

 

[CPanther95]

I've been wearing multifocal lenses for years - like bifocals, but there are more gradations for various distances. I wear Air Optix, and I think they're about $300/year. I change them monthly.

I had no trouble adapting to them. I occasionally wear reading glasses, but not often. Just for really close work like knitting.

My wife had no problem adjusting to them either - or the progressive lenses in her glasses. My problem with any bifocal glasses is I generally watch TV on my side and its difficult to get a clear view through only the distance portion.

The key is to find a good optometrist that knows what things to experiment with. I had no idea about monovision, and the various ways they can achieve different things. I have always been very near sighted but this is what he did as the need for reading glasses increased:

Normal
Left: -7.0
Right -8.0 with Astigmatism correction

To eliminate reading glasses (Monovision)
Left: -6.0
Right: -8.0 with Astigmatism correction

When it started getting to the point where I had difficulty at reading distances again
Left: -6.0
Right: -8.0 (WITHOUT any Astigmatism correction)

Not sure why it worked like that, but it is working perfectly. If it gets worse in a few years, I may have to look at bifocal contacts. But for now it has delayed having to carry reading glasses everywhere.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I just started needing reading glasses and also went with the monovision option. Had no problem adjusting at all.

I also went with that after a few years. At first I thought for sure I could never adjust to it, and used the drug store reading glasses. But I finally tried the mono vision and was very pleasantly surprised that there was virtually no adjustment period. I'd figured I'd be walking into walls and stuff when I first heard of it!

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

I wanted to try contacts and went with mono vision. I got them at SAMs club, free few weeks to try them and adapted really well. I forgot I had eye sight issues and felt like a kid again. I can get away with just readers during the days I am not working, but love the convenience to just go about my day without glasses.

Not knowing your age, watch about cataracts. My dh developed his and wore glasses for 57 years. He had cataract surgery this Summer and he had lenses for Distance put in free, and uses readers as needed, just a 1.00. It would have been another $3,000 for the near lenses too, but we are on a tight fixed income.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I wear Alcon Dailies multifocal lenses, and just got them this past August (after wear contacts since I was 13). I was really nervous that I'd be dizzy with the multifocals, and prepared to just correct distance and use reading glasses, but my eye doctor encouraged me to try them, and I was pleasantly surprised. I find them very comfortable.

 

[dollarmite]

I did try them. I originally tried the monovision ones where one eye sees distance and the other eye sees up close but I could not adjust to those.

I tried those about a year ago too, and hated it. It felt/looked as though I had a one very blurry eye most of the time. It wasn't worth it for the small amount of time I needed to look at things up close each day.

I don't wear contacts all that often anymore, but when I do I just use my normal (shortsighted) prescription lenses and use reading glasses if I really need to see something up close. Otherwise I just wear my normal glasses and take them off for up close work.