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Struggling with Varifocals - is it worth persevering?

32 replies

Automagical · 15/01/2026 13:54

I've been short sighted since childhood and after struggling to read whilst wearing my glasses I visited the opticians. I now have very minor long sight (age related:+0.25) and I got a pair of varifocals just before Christmas.

I'm still finding I'm taking off my glasses if i want to read anything. Whilst I can see that reading is easier than if i had my old glasses on, it still seems harder than no glasses at all which doesn't seem quite right.

I'm revisiting the opticians on Sunday but just wondered if anyone else has struggled at first but got over it.

OP posts:
TorroFerney · 16/01/2026 11:35

MousePolice · 15/01/2026 14:11

I absolutely love my varifocals but I can no longer read without glasses so it was either varifocals or two pairs of glasses!

Snap. I got used to them very quickly however if I’m on the computer I wear reading ones, the middle bit the person in spec savers talked about does not work for me. But the joy of being in a supermarket and not having to change glasses to read a label is marvellous . I had a fabulous woman in the shop though who trained me how to wear them and she had worn them for ages.

Needlenardlenoo · 16/01/2026 11:41

I gave up (twice). They just gave me imperfect vision all the time and it was triggering migraines.

I have reading, distance and a pair of bifocals that are perfect for situations like choir, drawing and lectures.

Automagical · 15/04/2026 08:31

So the original glasses weren't set up correctly, and they decided i needed a frame with deeper lenses. I picked those up about a week ago and whilst i can see now that if looking down and reading is better I'm still taking my glasses off to read half the time as i want to read looking straight forward if that makes sense. I know some of it is just about looking through the right bit of the lenses but not sure how long it might take to get used to that.

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Freysimo · 15/04/2026 08:37

I had a free trial of varifocals from Specsavers a few years back. Just couldn't get on with them at all, and gave me headaches. DH on the other hand loves his. It's a shame, as I can see they'd be more convenient but my eyesight isn't too bad and I don't wear glasses all the time, just reading and driving.

MamaBobo · 15/04/2026 08:52

I switched to varifocals at the start of the year because I’d reached a point where I was constantly taking my distance glasses off and I also needed reading glasses for anything close. It had just become too much faff. I opted for the most expensive lens option to minimise the distortion at the sides.

The first pair didn’t work at all, I couldn’t see a bloody thing. Turned out that the reading prescription at the bottom was massively too strong and as everything between the distance and the reading is about the difference between the two they were useless. They were reglazed and if I tilted my head way down or way back I could see properly but I couldn’t sit in a natural position to watch tv or drive or read. I was on the point of giving up but I went back to the opticians again and they changed the tilt of the glasses and suddenly it all came together. It’s very much about the measurements and the way you wear your glasses. The dispenser at your optician should be able to work with you to get the glasses sitting in such a way that your eyes can move naturally to the zone they need. Make sure that when they do this you position the glasses where you wear them. I don’t wear my specs pushed right up my nose the way that they put them on you so I always make a point of moving them to where I actually wear them before they start with the measurements. You do have to move your head a little sometimes but you definitely shouldn’t be like a nodding dog!

I tried varifocal contact lenses a few years back but I didn’t really like them. I didn’t feel I had particularly good vision either for distance or up close. No real idea why. I get very dry eyes now so glasses are easier. I like my varifocals so much now I’m going to get sunglasses made.

Johnogroats · 15/04/2026 08:59

I love mine. But I do take them off at night to read my book. And occasionally where there’s tiny writing I take them off to stick my nose into the packet or whatever so I ca read it! But generally they are brilliant. I bought a standard pair of specs (bogof) at the sane time…. Never worn them.

SpiceDad · 15/04/2026 11:20

I tried them for a few days but gave them back. Felt nauseous and disorienting.

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