# bifocals- when to "face it"?



## pybyr (Sep 25, 2012)

I've got really bad eyesight and have ever since I was very young- extreme nearsightedness combined with extreme astigmatism.  Glasses are an absolute necessity, I wear them all the time, and I don't mind wearing them. No interest whatsoever in contact lenses, and I have seriously explored laser surgery but been informed that I am not a good candidate for it.

Here's my question- now in my mid 40s, I do find times that it's a bit hard to get my eyes to adjust to certain mid-close distances- with the glasses it is too hard to focus, but without them, the only way I can see anything clearly is 6 inches in front of my nose, at which point I am cross-eyed, plus I can't leave my glasses off and carry out any sort of ordinary activity.

I am making do, but I sense this is the writing on the wall that I am headed towards bifocals, just not sure when I'll have really passed the point of no return...

I try to buy good lenses and frames and keep them a really long time- which I am able to do because my prescription hasn't shifted significantly in years. I'd rather have one instance of sizeable wallet pain and get something that will last and I will be happy with than dealing with things that break or bend (and I end up being rough on my glasses due to lots of activities and a certain inborn klutziness- but really good frames end up less costly over time than flimsy ones).

My 'newest' pair of frames just broke so I pulled an older pair of glasses out of standby/ backup.

I don't want to invest in new frames and lenses with single-prescription lenses only to kick myself in a year if I realize I should have just taken the plunge to bifocals.

At the same time, I have known of a lot of people who seem to have hated bifocals- either inherently or getting used to them - having to tilt their head to unnatural angles, etc.- so I am not eager to make the transition any earlier than I have to.

Separate glasses for distance and reading are not a good option, in terms of either budget or carrying them around with me.

How "do you know" that it is time to face getting bifocals? I prefer to hear/ go by informed user info/ experience than what someone is trying to up-sell me to...

Thanks!


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## velvetfoot (Sep 25, 2012)

I'm in the same boat although my eyes were good til about 40, then reading glasses, now I'm having to face bifocals.  I have trouble looking down, like stairs.  For watching tv and the laptop at the same time, and driving (seeing the road and instruments) I like them.  I keep the bifocals in the car, since that's when I use them most.  For the computer at work, bifocals don't make it for me-extreme head angle.  Somebody at work told me recently that she has bifocal contacts that work great.  I might give them a whirl even though I tried once and failed to get the hang of contacts.


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## velvetfoot (Sep 26, 2012)

PS:  I've taken to carrying both reading and distance glasses with me in my pocket.  They are both 'readers', only one is weaker than the other.  That might not work with your eyes though.


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## save$ (Sep 26, 2012)

Progressive lense,  only the digital enhanced ones.  Then for reading one pair of readers and another pair of readers for the computer.  Progressives are not so good for reading for any length of time.  But if you are driving you can shift your eyes from the road to the dash without bending your head up and down.   Get your Rx and a copy of your fitted frames.  Then go online and buy you replacement glasses, frames etc.for a fraction of what you pay for the same thing at retail outlets.


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## jebatty (Sep 26, 2012)

> How "do you know" that it is time to face getting bifocals?


 
I don't know because I couldn't focus on the screen to read your post!

Get used to the rest of your life wishing like you could see like you used to. Do the best you can with the budget you have. Eye glass lenses and frames have to rank among the highest rip-offs in the pseudo health care system. What a racket.


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## velvetfoot (Sep 26, 2012)

I hear ya.  I didn't know you could get the Rx and then obtain the glasses on line.


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## Eatonpcat (Sep 26, 2012)

I'm in the same boat, broke down and bought a couple of pairs this year, one for driving which I will wear occasionally and the other for reading and looking at the computer that I never use because i can never find the correct place to look through the lense.  Getting old sucks, but at least I haven't had to start taking the little blue pill YET!


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## RichVT (Sep 26, 2012)

My doctor told me its better to get bifocals sooner than later. It's easier to get used to them when you only need a little magnification as there is not as much difference between the two parts of the lense.

Last time I was in the eyeglass store, they had a new technology that allowed you to turn the bifocal part on and off with the touch of a button on the side of the frame.


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## DAKSY (Sep 26, 2012)

I have 3 pairs of glasses. Transition lenses that I wear nearly all the time. BiFocal Safety Glasses for when I'm working in the shops & BiFocal Sunglasses for riding the Ultra. My eyesight is actually pretty good for distances or TV viewing without wearing glasses, but I can't read anything (near to me) AT ALL without them.  I, too, have astigmatism & my prescription generally changes every two years - maybe more often, but my health plan only covers the exam every two...I can grab some of my older frames & read out of one eye or the other clearly, depending on the orientation of the out-of-round condition of the astigmatism is located. Don't wear contacts & not interested in the laser treatment. Glasses are just something I'm gonna live with


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## fossil (Sep 26, 2012)

Glasses since fifth grade.  Tried contacts for a while at about age 34...hated them.  I knew I needed bifocals when I could no longer focus on up-close objects. When that got bad enough, I went & got them.  First bifocals ~age 44, took very little time to get used to them.  Tried the "no line" kind of lenses once...hated them.  Trifocals ~age 55.  I'm 63 now.  Don't really give it much thought...seeing clearly is a heck of a lot more important than how many focal lengths my glasses provide.  I have another pair of bifocals with my near and mid corrections, they're perfect for computer/desktop stuff...wearing them right now.  I think it was BrotherBart who said, "_Getting_ old was a blast...it's _being_ old that sucks."  That may be true, but it's better than the alternative.  Rick


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## heat seeker (Sep 26, 2012)

I've been wearing glasses for about 55 years now, and I've been wearing bifocals for about 20 years. I got the regular kind, not the progressive, and I like them fine. For computer work, I got a pair with the reading prescription all the way up, so I don't have to tilt my head, and that's worked out great. I can still read with the regular bifocals, so I don't carry the readers around. 

I have long had the anti-glare coating on my lenses, and it's definitely worth the money - no glare, no reflections, easier on the eyes while night driving. The only drawback is that the coating is porous, so you have to wash the lenses, since merely wiping them just smears.


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## fossil (Sep 26, 2012)

I have my eyes examined & my visual acuity tested by an Ophthalmologist who has nothing whatever to do with selling me new glasses/frames/lenses.  She (who is also a real babe, BTW ) is a totally thorough professional who I trust completely.  She does a very thorough exam, and describes to me every detail of what she sees/finds.  She has told me that I'm beginning to develop cataracts (no big surprise, anyone who lives long enough will get them), and will monitor them and we'll discuss when we think it's time to take some sort of action in that regard.  Based on her testing, she'll write me scrips for whatever pairs of glasses we think would be useful.  I then take those scrips wherever I want and have glasses ordered.  My Ophthalmologist is not trying to sell me anything.  Oh, here she is now...(this pic hardly does her justice)


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## daveswoodhauler (Sep 26, 2012)

velvetfoot said:


> I hear ya. I didn't know you could get the Rx and then obtain the glasses on line.


 
Have had very good luck with www.glassesshop.com...but know there are others out there too.

I bought three pairs over the summer (Glasses, light sun glasses and dark sun glasses, all RX...paid less than $100 for all three)

If you have a copy of your RX, you should give them a try. (Also, sometimes its hard to judge frames online without trying them on, so you can always go down to your mall/eye shop and try on pairs you like and just write down the make model # of the frames)

I'll never buy my frames/lens as the optomotrist again.


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## fossil (Sep 26, 2012)

When I was still riding motorcycles, I did business with these folks, and was always very pleased.

http://www.sportrx.com/


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## Backwoods Savage (Sep 26, 2012)

I had polio at age 4 and have worn glasses ever since. Still hate them but have only one eye that works, thanks to the polio. But I have to take good care of that one eye. Still, not too many problems over the years except it seemed I was forever buying a stronger pair. Then one day the eye doctor told me I had no choice but to go to bifocals. Although I hated to, I could not see a big problem as I knew many who had them and had no problem. So I ordered a pair.

Wrong!! Terrible thing it was. I did try and used them for almost a week before I went back and told the doctor to make me the best he could but only single lense. Plain and simple, I got sick, like motion sickness all the time. I also seemed to be stumbling a lot. He wanted me to try those kind without a line. Worse yet. Had to look in only one direction. Look a bit to the side I'd have to turn my head as I could not change eyeball position else it got really blurry. So went back to the single lens.

Got along just fine for maybe 4 or 5 more years. Then one day he told me I had not much choice as he just could not get anything close to what I needed and I'd have to go to trifocals! What?! This I really dreaded but was assured that if need be, I could get a 100% refund. So I tried them.

Bingo! The minute I put the trifocals on I loved them. Been wearing them for a long time now and still love them.

Never could figure out why I could not wear bifocals but trifocals work great.


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## heat seeker (Sep 26, 2012)

I wonder if the bifocals were ground incorrectly. I have had several wrong grinds over the years, finally learned what to look for.


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## Backwoods Savage (Sep 26, 2012)

Yes, they were checked and double checked.


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## Dix (Sep 26, 2012)

Glasses since 5th grade here, too. Near sightedness with astigmatism as well ( if you can spell that word, you know what it means ) . Got progressively worse (script changed every 2 years). Tried contacts, hated them.

Fast forward to about 40, sitting in the chair, and the distance gets adjusted to "nice". Then the guy puts a book infront of me and says "read this"... I said read what?  Bifocal time.

Got the unlined, hard time to adjust. eventually went to 3 stage transistions, which are pretty good. Good for distance, computer screen & reading. (I can still take off my glasses to read a book, which is heaven to me).

I do love my distance only sunglasses when driving, they are the bomb. The one thing  I hate is wearing them into the supermarket, then trying to read price tags .... doesn't work at all  Ended up on m knees one day looking at pricing, so embaressing 

I have saved some pairs of glasses for back up. My favs for riding the horses are distance only. I do not reccomend bi/trifocals for a canter/lope at all  Makes ya dizzy.

I wear my trifocals most of the time, unless I an riding. Always keep spare glasses every where.

Good luck


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## begreen (Sep 26, 2012)

After the reading glasses and magnifiers stopped being effective around 45 yrs old I went straight to bifocals. I tried one pair of progressive lens and dropped them after a year and went to bifocals. The bifocals were a magnitude better. Like Daksy I have 3 pairs, Transition bifocals, computer bifocals, and dark tinted polaroid lens, bifocals. They have helped me get the job done for almost 20 years now.


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## Frederic Palay (Sep 27, 2012)

pybyr said:


> I've got really bad eyesight and have ever since I was very young- extreme nearsightedness combined with extreme astigmatism. Glasses are an absolute necessity, I wear them all the time, and I don't mind wearing them. No interest whatsoever in contact lenses, and I have seriously explored laser surgery but been informed that I am not a good candidate for it.
> 
> Here's my question- now in my mid 40s, I do find times that it's a bit hard to get my eyes to adjust to certain mid-close distances- with the glasses it is too hard to focus, but without them, the only way I can see anything clearly is 6 inches in front of my nose, at which point I am cross-eyed, plus I can't leave my glasses off and carry out any sort of ordinary activity.
> 
> ...


Hi, 
I bought a pair of Superfocus a year ago, and had a recurrent problem with the adjustment cursor mechanism. I had my glasses changed twice, so it's the 3rd time that it happens, and Superfocus made it clear that they would not fix the problem for free any more. I think it's a flaw in the design, the mechanism is very crude, and wears off very fast, making the lenses adjustment uneven, which is very uncomfortable and create major headaches.
Well, I am tired of calling them, so I decide to move on. I lost $800, and will try the last progressive technology . I was very enthusiastic about the technology, but knowing the structural flaw in the design, I would not invest in this company. They are doomed.


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## save$ (Sep 27, 2012)

Glasses ever since my parents could first afford them. Went from single vision to bifocals, then to progressives. Hated them, so back to bifocals. Hate bobbing my head up and down. Tried the new digital enhanced progressives. For me they work. But for reading a book, or for general use of a desk top computer, I still think non prescription readers work best. Some days I am on the computer 8 hrs straight. I would be exhausted if I tried to do that with the progressives or bifocal lenses.


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## Thistle (Sep 27, 2012)

Wore glasses because of slowly worsening vision since I was 8 or so.Previous visit to opthamologist in summer 2004 (same one I had all those years,he retired a few months later) I was told "With your family history etc...you'll probably need bifocals in 3-4 yrs.I was not quite 41 at the time.Got sidetracked among other things & didnt go back until summer 2009,his senior partner took over the practice & just like predicted I was fitted for them.

Really makes a difference,though now 3 yrs later I dont notice any further weakness in vision,am going to have them tested again in a few months when the money isnt as tight...

Asked about contacts 20 or so yrs ago,was told ''in your line of work being around various dust,dirt & debris so much,its not a good idea''.I wear clear or dark OSHA approved wraparound safety glasses over regular impact resistant eyeglasses.Faceshield either mesh,clear or dark solid depending on work being done.


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## pybyr (Sep 28, 2012)

Thank you all SO much for the helpful and informative input. 

Asked around on some community online bulletin boards for who has an optometrist who they are truly delighted with, and a resounding chorus came back about one person who doesn't even advertise but is booking appointments a month and a half out. 

Between the input here and the fact that I feel like I will be in really competent thoughtful care I now feel like I can let it unfold

Thanks again


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## Jaugust124 (Sep 28, 2012)

Pybyr, Just wanted to add my story.  Like you, extreme nearsightedness and astigmatism.  Was checked out for eye surgery back when they still used a knife to do it and was told it was a no go.  With all the advances, my regular eye doctor said most likely I still wouldn't be a good candidate for surgery. 
I've been wearing glasses since I was in 1st grade and contacts (completely changed my life - really!) since I was 16 or 17, and not the soft lenses either.  I have to wear the rigid gas permeable ones.  Got the bifocals when I was in my 20s.  With my current contacts and my age (43) I've been having a hard time reading lately with the contacts in.  I am going to ask about the bifocal lenses next visit. 

I wouldn't sweat the bifocals.  Just another part of life and they will make your life that much easier.  Why struggle when there's a solution?

Best of luck!


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## velvetfoot (Sep 28, 2012)

I'd like to know more about the bifocal contacts.  Someone at works said they worked great for her.


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## heat seeker (Sep 28, 2012)

They also make contacts that correct for astigmatism, odd as that sounds.


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## pybyr (Sep 29, 2012)

Thanks for the info/ options about contacts

I know that I shouldn't rely on my prescription glasses for purposes of protecting my eyes from flying stuff, but the reality is that they've protected my eyes in any number of situations where I wouldn't have had any particular reason to have been wearing safety eyewear.

So from that perspective, I wouldn't want to trade my eyeglasses for contacts. 

For myself, I want something I can just habitually put on first thing when I get vertical, and habitually take off last thing when I get horizontal, and that has as little as possible "operating" in between.

I'm so old school I even insist on glass lenses; I insist on something I can wipe grit off of on a shirt tail without quickly being ground into fogginess.  I know (and am irritated) that the FDA "ball-drop test" has all but made them go extinct in the USA (a real example of a stupid overnannyish government regulation if I ever heard of one) but in one of those moments where globalization and the 'net open up good options, I am going to get Zeiss glass lenses made elsewhere and shipped to me.  I've had glass lenses hit with flying pieces of all sorts of things- from reciprocating parts that suddenly let go to bits of flying molten metal- and never once had an issue.


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## heat seeker (Sep 29, 2012)

Good point about the eye protection. I have had three incidents where the glasses saved me from a serious eye injury, during normal everyday activity. I literally owe my eyesight to wearing the glasses. I did try contacts, both hard and soft, and they're not for me.


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## Backwoods Savage (Sep 29, 2012)

Velvet, when my wife was told she needed bifocals, she got them but still wanted contacts if possible. She got them but it turned out they were not bifocals at all. Each eye was different and they performed just like bifocals as she could read and see distance with no problem. Made me wonder why they couldn't do that with regular glass.


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## velvetfoot (Sep 29, 2012)

Dennis, that's similar to a friend of our's experience.  She had those two different contacts as well;  she called it "monovision".  Then, when she go Lasik, she had the same thing done with that - one near and one far.

This other thing with the bifocal contacts I'm given to believe is pretty new and is not the same as "monovision".  The person i know is going to get me the mfr. name and maybe I'll research it and talk to my optomitrist. Not sure if I'll ever be able to get used to contacts though.


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## heat seeker (Sep 29, 2012)

I understand that the bifocal contacts have concentric prescription rings in them, so when you look down, you are actually looking through a different part of the lens, near the edge, which would be the reading 'scrip. The 'scripts are concentric so that it doesn't matter what orientation the lens is in on the eyeball.


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## samhoff2 (Sep 29, 2012)

Here goes nothing...


I logged on to ask an electrical question (GFCI) but this thread sure caught my eye.... since I'm an eye doctor (optometrist).

Interesting to read everyone's experiences.  It is also unfortunate that we optometrists are sometimes portrayed as "up sellers" etc. etc.  However there are a few bad apples in every profession.

As to when to get bifocals, I tell people to put it off as long as possible, because (1) they are expensive and (2) they are tough to get used to.  However, the inability to see up close starts around age 42 and diminishes every year until about age 55 (at which point it levels out), so at some point most people are forced to buy bifocals (lined or no-lined).  This is true whether you wear glasses/bifocals/reading glasses or not.  There is no way to prevent this by "exercise" or "putting it off" (sorry to say).

Please, if you have an eye doctor who tries to sell you junk you don't need, FIND A NEW EYE DOCTOR!  I am a member of a nation-wide organization called "Vision Source," and we do tend to be the most professional optometrists in the country.  We also tend to practice to the highest level, which means that our eye exams WILL cost more than a Wal-Mart or comparable eye exam.  Find a Vision Source eye doctor in your area by looking online ( www.visionsource.com ).  Remember that we are all trying to make a living.  If your doctor charges peanuts for the eye exam, s/he is likely going to try to make it up by selling MORE glasses.  If, however, s/he is getting paid a fair price, then s/he is more likely to be honest with regards to your need for specs.

Buying glasses online is certainly cheaper than buying them in my office, but the quality is much worse.  They won't "hurt" your eyes, but they will not give you as good of vision as the ones I sell will, and they will scratch/break more easily. Often the pupil distance is off (distance between the center of the lenses), which induces eyestrain/headaches.  However, sometimes it is not.

As for bifocal contact lenses, here is the way I describe them to my patients:  If I give you a pair of contacts that makes your distance vision crystal clear (100%), then your up close vision will suffer (let's say it is 20%).  Then, if you put reading glasses on over the contacts, your up close vision will be crystal clear (100%) and your distance vision will suffer (let's say 20%).  With BIFOCAL contact lenses, your distance vision will be about 70% and your up close vision will be about 70% of what you want it to be.  Some people hear this and say, "GREAT!  That's what I want!"  Others hear this and say, "Ugh.  I couldn't stand that."  Your degree of success with bifocal contacts correlates directly to (1) how much you HATE reading glasses and (2) how picky you are with your vision.  Often bifocal (aka multifocal) contact lenses do have one eye "weighted" to see better up close, and the other eye "weighted" to give people better distance vision (here I use the term "weighted" to mean pushed that direction slightly), but we often don't tell people that: in the real world people use both eyes and having one a bit better for distance and the other a bit better for near is helpful.  (If we make one REAL good for distance and the other REAL good for near, that is classical monovision).

Ok, I think that's enough for now, I'll get off my soapbox.  But the main point is to please find an eye doctor that you KNOW and TRUST and go see him or her.  Please no flames folks.  I'm really just trying to help. 

Sam


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## Dix (Sep 29, 2012)

Sam, if you leave this forum, I'm gonna hunt you down


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## Sprinter (Oct 4, 2012)

save$ said:


> Progressive lense, only the digital enhanced ones. Then for reading one pair of readers and another pair of readers for the computer. Progressives are not so good for reading for any length of time. But if you are driving you can shift your eyes from the road to the dash without bending your head up and down. Get your Rx and a copy of your fitted frames. Then go online and buy you replacement glasses, frames etc.for a fraction of what you pay for the same thing at retail outlets.


I'd LOVE to be able to wear progressives. I tried progressives once but despite an honest try, I could not get used to them. My wife has been wearing progressives for years and for her they are perfectly natural and she can go from near to far with no effort at all, no head movement or anything. The optometrists and opticians all say that the failure rate is high unless you get them young. They made me dizzy and were downright dangerous driving with them. Theoretically, though, they are just what I need. I'm jealous. So, what is digital enhanced? Is there something new in progressives?


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## save$ (Oct 4, 2012)

Sprinter said:


> I'd LOVE to be able to wear progressives. I tried progressives once but despite an honest try, I could not get used to them. My wife has been wearing progressives for years and for her they are perfectly natural and she can go from near to far with no effort at all, no head movement or anything. The optometrists and opticians all say that the failure rate is high unless you get them young. They made me dizzy and were downright dangerous driving with them. Theoretically, though, they are just what I need. I'm jealous. So, what is digital enhanced? Is there something new in progressives?


Go to "Lens Crafters" website for progressive lens description.   By the way, I was over 60 when I switched to progressive lenses.   Only the new improved wide range digital lens works for me.  I have to to have another eye exam in a month or so. Unless there is a major change, I'll keep the ones I have.    Too much money,  I have some changes being monitored for some pre macular degeneration thing they keep a close check on.


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## Sprinter (Oct 5, 2012)

save$ said:


> Go to "Lens Crafters" website for progressive lens description. By the way, I was over 60 when I switched to progressive lenses. Only the new improved wide range digital lens works for me. I have to to have another eye exam in a month or so. Unless there is a major change, I'll keep the ones I have. Too much money, I have some changes being monitored for some pre macular degeneration thing they keep a close check on.


Thanks.  I'll look into those.  Most places offer money back guarantees so It may worth another try.  Encouraging that you were able to adjust to them.


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## samhoff2 (Oct 9, 2012)

Digital lenses are a little tricky to describe, so hang in there with me:

Let me start by saying that originally, lenses in glasses were all "spherical."  This means the front and back were always perfect arcs from a sphere.  I.e. if you take a piece of string that is, say, 50 cm long and swing one end through space with the other end tacked down, it traces an arc that is spherical in 3D space.  Put that on the back of a lens, and a similar shape (but with a 40 cm long string) on the front, and you would end up with a "plus" lens (steeper in front than back).  This was the easiest, cleanest way to make lenses of a given power for many years.

However, we discovered it wasn't the most OPTICALLY clean way to do things.  Making the lenses "aspheric," which means "not of a sphere" makes for better optics.  These lenses are somewhat flatter at the edges and rounder at the middle.  They give you clearer vision at the periphery of your glasses and make for thinner glasses.  For prescriptions that are mild, the benefits don't outweigh the extra cost.  For higher Rx's, they are worth the extra money.  Your optician will tell you if your Rx merits it.

Ok, now, describing a regular progressive addition lens ("PAL") vs. a digital is somewhat analogous.  Originally, we eye doctors would use a progressive lens with a certain bulge in the lower FRONT part of the lens in order to make the reading portion work, and by changing the curve of the back side of the lens, we could alter the overall power (for nearsightedness or farsightedness).  (Bear with me as there is some oversimplification here).  So, if you needed a certain Rx for reading, and your Rx was, say, a -7.00, then we would grind the BACK of the lens (spherically) to give you the -7.00, and the FRONT side to give you your reading Rx (say, a +2.00).  Someone who was instead a -4.00 (but had the same need for reading specs, +2.00), would get the SAME FRONT of the lens but we would carve out 3 diopters different in the back (to arrive at the -4.00 rather than the -7.00).

Well, thanks to our new high-powered computers, we discovered that it is less-than-ideal to use the SAME curve on the front of every Rx: a -7.00 would see much better (according to computer models) if we made the curves at the front a little different than we would for a -4.00 or a +5.00.  Turns out, the computer models were dead on.  Not only can we carve the FRONT differently, but we can put PART of the reading Rx on the BACK of the lens.  However, in order to do this, you have to use MUCH more expensive equipment and lens generators: essentially, it's a small toothpick with a point at the end that picks away little pieces of the lens to make the shape precisely what the computer model calls for.  This is the "DIGITAL LENS."  After all the pieces are picked out, the lens is polished to be smooth and clear.  There is literally a different shape to the front and back of the lens for every single Rx imaginable: no more cookie-cutter shapes.

Obviously, digital lenses are superior to non-digital lenses, and they cost significantly more.  People who are used to standard and get premium digital lenses are generally quite pleased... but not always as pleased as they think they will be given the extra investment of money.  Digital lenses feel more natural on the eye, give you wider distance, intermediate, and near vision, and cause less distortion at the periphery.  And, remember, the differences here are at the micron level on the lenses, but for some people they make a large difference (primarily very picky people) (if you are not a "picky person" when it comes to your vision, you may be better served by regular lenses.  If you don't know if you're picky, ask your eye doctor.  Believe me, we know which are which!).

Here I should hasten to add that even in "regular" "non-digital" lenses there is a HUGE difference in the quality you get.  An old lens such as a "Natural" or "Comfort" or "Panamic" can't compete with the newer lenses such as a "Truclear" or a "Physio HD."  Of course, the general public doesn't know all this, so we have to field questions at my office like, "Why do your lenses cost more than Costco's or Wal-Mart's?"  The answer is that, like everything, you get what you pay for. (And I readily admit my bias, since I do sell the high-end stuff).

That's it in a nutshell.  More information than you wanted probably.  And, yes, there are still people who just can't get used to progressives.  Thankfully, almost EVERY eye place will remake your glasses for free into lined bifocals if you try the PAL's and just can't get used to them.  (However, they/we don't refund the difference in price).

Hope this helps,

Sam


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## Sprinter (Oct 9, 2012)

Thanks, Sam. No such thing as too much information. I wasn't aware of these developments in lens design and maybe I'll look into the digital ones now. I think I gave that last progressive pair about two weeks before giving up and I wasn't even starting to get used to them. That was about 4 years ago I guess. I'm sure that I would fall into the "picky" category, but there was nothing subtle about the distortion in those lenses. They were from Costco and not especially expensive. I don't know who made them.  I've found Costco to be fine for me in the past because all I've ever needed is straight-forward singles with moderate correction, but I guess I'll go someplace else to try the progressives again. It's so funny that my wife has absolutely _no _problem with them at all and to me they were intolerable. Oh, well.


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## jebatty (Oct 11, 2012)

Fyi, I got a rx from my opthamologist (use one because I have a special eye issue) for progressive lenses, brought it to my favorite eye glass store, and the fitter said that the rx could not be correct, had never seen a rx like I brought it. He had me visit with the optometrist at the eye glass store, and the optometrist came out with a different rx. Who to trust? The eye glass store guaranteed satisfaction with the rx of their optometrist, and I went that route. End result was perfect. Opthamologist rx would not have been right. The lesson may be no more than doing a double check on the rx to make sure the rx is correct.


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## ironpony (Oct 11, 2012)

I had worn bifocals since 3rd grade, switched to contacts at around 28. lasik at 38
readers now.............50 ugh..........


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## begreen (Oct 12, 2012)

samhoff2 said:


> That's it in a nutshell. More information than you wanted probably. And, yes, there are still people who just can't get used to progressives. Thankfully, almost EVERY eye place will remake your glasses for free into lined bifocals if you try the PAL's and just can't get used to them. (However, they/we don't refund the difference in price).
> 
> Hope this helps,
> 
> Sam


 
Sam, great information. Thanks for posting. I am going to be getting new glasses or at least lenses shortly. The last set of transition bi-focal lenses I got started failing right around 2 years. They fogged up around the edges and now look yellow rather than clear. I still have my older transition lenses and they are perfect, even though they are 6 yrs old. Needless to say I don't want another failed set of lenses. They were not cheap Walmart glasses. Do you know what causes this and what should I be looking for?


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## save$ (Oct 12, 2012)

I don't like any glasses.  I get them dirty, and misplace them.  Even worse when I sit on them.    But,  darn it, I can't read the news paper without them.   The digital progressive lens did offer more freedom and less head jerking trying to find that right spot.   These proved the best for driving, ESP. For backing up.   But as I posted before,  a set of readers is less exhausting when reading books etc.   I have about a dozen pairs of readers placed around the house.  (Easy chair, desk, throne, etc.  )


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## begreen (Oct 22, 2012)

Just came back from the eye doctor. Unfortunately it looks like the digital lens are not made for bifocals, just progressive or singles. That sucks, I'd really like to try them. About 10 yrs ago I tried progressives and they were not for me, especially for reading. I really prefer the nice wide area of view I get for reading with bifocals and the lens quality is much better than I get with readers.


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