Varifocal glasses

[Doggydarling]

Has anyone any advice regarding varifocal glasses? Picked mine up today and am really struggling with them. My distance sight is almost perfect but I use glasses for reading, using phone and my hobby, crocheting. I'm constantly taking glasses off and on because I need them so often, my optician recommended varifocals but on collecting them I struggled to read anything with them, after an adjustment on the frames it was a bit better but still didn't feel right, they recommended I try them for a few days and explained about moving my head to use the different parts of the lens. At home when crocheting I end up having to lift the glasses upwards in order to see adequately and when reading its not in the position I'd normally have my head. Has anyone else had these problems and overcome them, I ordered a pair of prescription sunglasses also which are due to be collected at the end of this week and after spending €1500 I want bloody excellent results (I did pick pricey frames so that drove the cost up but they didn't have many cheaper ones), suppose I'm looking for reassurance that I've not wasted my money.

Sounds like occupational lenses may be better for you. Designed for screens in the upper section and reading in the lower. They don’t have the blurry weirdness, just seems quite a clean invisible divide between the two prescriptions in one lens. I was made a pair of varifocals and immediately rejected them because they almost made things worse! Went elsewhere and got some occultation lenses which I love and were much cheaper too (probably why they weren’t initially suggested!).

I tried varifocals, twice, but did not get on with them at all. They are fine for reading a short blurb, but not for actually reading a book. Friends of mine report similar experiences. I ended up getting dedicated reading glasses.

*occupational - nothing occult about them 😂

Sound like your measurements haven’t been taken correctly. Give it 48 hours and if no improvements, Go back and explain how you struggle, just as you’ve done on here. Better still, take some crochet and show them. It just might be because using varifocals requires you to live your head, not your eyes in order to access the reading vision part - I know that sounds odd, and it’s easier to physically show someone rather than just write it down.

I struggle with varifocals too, but have been persevering because I get awful eye strain if I wear my single vision glasses.

For me, I put them on as I wake and try not to think about them too much.

Different factors affect the efficacy of the lenses. It may be that you need to have the levels of the gradient in the lenses adjusting. It’s worth trying then for a few days and if no improvement then go back to your optician and explain the issues.

Yep I use my varifocals for quick reading, but if reading a book or sewing or crafting I switch to a dedicated pair of reading glasses. If I’m doing prolonged music practice i switch to another dedicated pair of intermediate vision glasses to be able to read the music. It’s just less tiring than continually moving my head and a better stance to play from.

Try and persevere with them. I hated mine for months and I just kept taking them off to read. When I couldn't do that anymore, I had to give them a proper go - weeks of wearing them and not go back to single vision. I don't think about them much now. I have got used to them finally.

Hmm. I have two pairs of varifocals, one with distance the other occupational. I was lucky in that I didn't have any trouble getting used to them, they were perfect immediately.

However, when sewing I prefer close up vision with no glasses at all, or specific reading glasses. My varifocals don't get my vision close enough.

I think you need to go back to your optician and explain what you've said here. It could be that you need separate reading glasses for your hobby as I do.

I so struggle with my varifocals - have had about four sets over past 10-15 years. I think the measurements need to be so precise for them to work taking into account where the frames will sit on your nose, how close the lens is to your eyes - I think there is a real art to getting it right and most high street opticians like Specsavers just don't measure with great enough bespoke precision.

I put up with them slipping down my nose and then me not being able to see the distance clearly. I take them off at home and hold books close to my face and also take my glasses off when reading on the phone.

I sometimes want to throw them in the bin but I just can't cope with two different sets of glasses so I put up with them. They're so expensive too!

@SayYouDontMind The conveyor belt operation in certain opticians isn’t conducive to getting things right - totally agree!
However customers also need to be assertive? honest? - if you tend to wear your glasses halfway done your nose, then don’t allow them to measure you with glasses jammed against your eyeballs. Please take in a book/kindle/a small knitting project/the measurement of how far away your music stand is and the music you are using etc etc so the optician and dispenser can work together to get the best possible outcome for you.
(ex dispenser and multiple glasses owner)

I think I've got some of those, one minute my glass is full, next minute it appears to be empty and I have to pour myself another. It's odd it never seems to vary 'upwards' only 'downwards'.

To be fair I got a pair of these glasses free with a bottle of Prosecco and they are not very good quality. I've already broken one.

When I first got mine it took a couple of weeks to get used to them. It doesn't happen instantaneously. Have you got them on in the right position? Give it a week ( don't put your old ones back on) then go back. I couldn't be without varifocals now but some people can't adjust for some reason.

My optician gives you 3 months in which you can return glasses.