Specs help please

[Shallysally]

I’ve needed varifocals for about 5 years. Really tried to get in with them, I’ve tried top of the range to mid range lens quality.

I went to Asda opticians last month for sight test and needed new specs so got one pair varifocals and one pair distance.

The varifocals were awful, I really persevered with them, put them on as soon as I woke up and continued through the day.

Went back and discussed altering the lenses for bi-focals which I agreed to.
Collected them today and already know that they are worse than varifocal. I don’t feel safe walking outside in them. Struggle with reading as I have to hold a book quite close to my face.

For work I have a pair of office lenses that are great. I asked about this style of lens but with distance and reading but this isn’t a lens that is produced that is safe to drive etc in.

So my question is what the heck do I do now? I’ve looked at multi focal contact lenses but I also have astigmatism and they are quite expensive.

I really need the different strengths on a lens as eyes do get strained without.

Hi 👋 optometrist here. Please note this is advice only, feel free to make your own decision. Many high street opticians offer free contact lens trials, they will order in an appropriate prescription and you can determine if it'll suit you. Different companies use different lens manufacturers, what's top quality at one high street opticians may not be the same quality as the top quality at a different one. It may be worth asking what lens type they use eg Essillor or Zeiss. If varifocals are truly a no go, I advise occupational (office) with single vision distance only as a seperate pair to be used at appropriate distances. If you decide to get a retest, measure where you would hold your reading material as you say you hold books quote close and check how far you can hold from you too. Make sure you're happy with that range.

Hope this helps, OP

Hi @RadDarwazeh thank you! When you say about the office lens, do you mean a dual lens value office lens please?

I did buy a pair of varifocals on line during lockdown and they are Kodak lenses and are the best lenses I have had but I don’t feel they are properly lined up.
Because I bought them online bight street opticians won’t assist, and rightly so.

*high street

It's difficult with online varifocals as they assume where your pupil sits in the frame. Which is why heights of the different prescriptions may be off. An office/occupational lens is usually tailored to cover near (reading), intermediate (computer screen) and that's all. Definitely not for long distance ie driving.

I’ve wear varifocals. When I first pick them up I often have to go back multiple times to have the frames adjusted as my pupil is in the wrong place. The last time they completely remade the lenses and they seem to be good so far. I do pay for one of the more expensive lenses in order to get as little distortion as possible. I also have an astigmatism. It does take an awful lot of manipulating the frames to get them in a perfect position as if they’re slightly off I will struggle. The staff are always happy to do that for me though.

I have a stupidly small face so struggle to find specs, I often have to choose from the kids section. Then I need to find a frame that will be suitable for varifocals.

i do have to be careful which part of the glasses I’m using for which task. Getting the mid range was tricky as whilst I use computers a lot I don’t use them enough for a second pair for just that reason.

could it be that you were treating the vatifocals as single vision, as in you were looking through the wrong part for tasks?

Great info here

@RadDarwazeh ah ok, I thought perhaps that you knew of an office style lens that offers a distance component too.
Thank you for all of the info, really appreciate it 😊

@Shalapoo I think that is part of the problem. Also, in the lower quality lenses where the varifocal part isn’t as wide I get a lot of movement which make me a bit nauseous.
My brain struggles to compute the vari’s too if I’m tired or feeling a bit frazzled!

@ssd there certainly is.

I’m a Dispensing Optician

There is an occupational style lens which offers limited distance - Zeiss Room - it is not safe to drive in, I tend to dispense this lens for patients who need a slight distance correction, and are aware it’s not a full time lens.

As a previous poster said what one opticians best lens is can be another’s mid range or worse. Zeiss and Essilor Varilux do very good quality lenses.

A good suggestion has been to have occupationals for work and single vision for distance.

If your not getting along with your new glasses you do need to go back to your opticians - ask to see the Dispensing Optician. A DO is trained and qualified to dispense which else entails how to resolve when things aren’t right with your glasses

I second going back to the DO, I have complex prescription (astigmatism+ high prescription) and now wear varifocals. I do find I have to be extremely strict with my frame as this makes a massive difference to me but have used Asda for years.

@arapunzel sorry if I haven’t been clear, my current spec wear is a single distance pair plus an office lens pair.
I opted to try a new pair of vari focals at last sight test.
Maybe I need to wear the office lens pair more to reduce eye strain for when I’m doing activities that I need that different strength lens for.

Also, I’ve compared the bi focals with my old varifocals and the difference is big. I feel that I’m going to return the bi focals and start again having researched the Zeiss and Essilor Varilux lenses that you have suggested. Thank you 😊

@Landlubber2019 when you say strict with your frames, what style of frame do you go for please?

Hopefully me and @arapunzel helped

I cannot overstate the importance and expertise of Dispensing Opticians in ensuring measurements are correct and frame choice is suitable. DOs are angels 💕

Where I work if someone has an issue they immediately get booked in to see a DO for a concern log before seeing an optometrist if needed 👏

@Shalapoo just to say, some places do a petite adult womens range for smaller ladies 😊 children's frames are so fashionable nowadays, I agree! Didn't have much choice when I was 5 lol

@RadDarwazeh and @arapunzel yes, you have both been so helpful, thank you!

I spoke with Asda optician yesterday and have decided that as I need a better quality lens that they don’t offer, I’m going to have a refund and start again with a different optician.

I spoke with Vision Express as they offer a wide range of Zeiss lenses so have an appointment at the weekend.

Thanks again 😊

@Landlubber2019 -could you say some more about your frame choice ?

Apologies @amberedover I didn't see your message.

My current frames are jai kudo 49-17 so that is 4.9mm long with 1.7mm top to bottom. These figures are on the inside of the arm . I find even a few mm makes a huge difference to the lens, for example I got a bigger pair as spares, from memory 53 -19 and the lenses are unsightly and I was very unhappy with them. Interestingly Asda said similar to me and I struggled recently to get a good service, luckily I was persistent and there was a do locum who really helped but I too was offered my money back, but I felt that my prescription hadn't changed so didn't understand why suddenly they didn't seem to be able to accommodate me after many years. They are now right but it was stressful and much of the issue was to do with the wrong frame I had chosen!

Would laser eye surgery help?

No need for apologies @Landlubber2019 .Thank you for such detailed info .I'm beginning to think that the size and shape of frame is a great deal more important than I had previously though.

I'm now wondering if a frame with the arms sort of half way down rather than at the top (IYSWIM) would position the lenses in a better place for me .@RadDarwazehand @arapunzel what do you think ?

My current pair from Asda just don't feel as though they are sitting correctly and despite adjustment I'm repeatedly pushing them back up my nose .Which of course means they get smeary !
I too have varifocals ,last pair from Asda were fine but I'm not so happy with these .
But it might be the cataracts I have forming or the recent v large floaters which my brain hasn't adjusted to yet .
Recent check at hospital said eyes were moderately dry so I'm trying eyedrops at the moment but they don't seem to help at all ,if anything I think they make things worse .
No fun getting older (I'm 72 ) 🙁

@Landlubber2019 they are the same frames that I chose for single vision lenses. I think you are right, the vari focals I bought online during the pandemic are very similar and aren’t too bad lens wise.

@Fitbachick I’m seriously considering laser treatment.

@amberedover I’m not impressed with Asda at all. Some of the customer service I’ve had has been terrible.

@Landlubber2019 I've just looked online to see how to deal with the "ears aren't level" problem .The answer given is bend the arms ,bend the hinge ,heat the frame a little etc .I'm going to go to a shop and not do it myself. But I'll bear in mind that the glasses sitting level on a table doesn;t mean they'll sit level on my face .My ears are at different heights and don't provide a level surface like a table .

And I came across a ton of stuff on what to look for to get a good overall fit .
Once I'd read it it seemed obvious -I got this from the rather long

Width of frame should ensure that the arms of glasses/temples should go straight back and only touch the face where they meet the ears .
Apparently the arm should be long enough to touch the mastoid bump.

nose pads /bridge of plastic frames should conform as closely as possible to shape of nose ,nose pads offer slightly more adjustment .

with varifocals the lens should have a minimum of 18mm from centre of pupil to bottom of frame .

My vision is driving me mad at the moment ,maybe one day if I try hard enough I'll get some improvement !

Hi OP, I couldn't get on with varifocals either. I use office glasses for working on computer screen and pretty much all the time at home, apart from watching TV.
I use distance glasses for out and about and watching TV. I usually change to the office ones in the supermarket for reading labels. And I take off my glasses for reading books and phone.
Both glasses have a Zeiss lens.

I’m an optometrist. I think you just need a better quality lens and then fitted by a dispensing optician. Plus potentially a bit longer adaption time.
Whenever, I get new lenses it takes be a month to get used to them, I tend to just wear my old ones and wear the new ones around the house.