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