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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask how long to get used to varifocals?

49 replies

Seeingadistance · 13/06/2019 13:08

This is my second attempt with them, the last time being about 6 years ago.

I just got them this morning, so only a few hours, but my goodness!

OP posts:

catsmother · 13/06/2019 14:22

@Murinae - x posted!

myhamster · 13/06/2019 15:06

I felt really awkward at first, because the optician said, point your nose at what you are looking at , but I did get used to them really quickly. They said that I could go back any time within a month if I really didn't get on with them, but I was fine by then.

I only find myself pointing my nose now if I am at the theatre or cinema or reading a book.

myhamster · 13/06/2019 15:07

Forgot to say, I did also go for the top lens, ie Platinum as opposed to Bronze standard, but they did me a good deal on that. The better the lens, the better the field of vision.

Phineyj · 13/06/2019 18:16

I had two goes about a year apart and couldn't get on with them. I tried for several weeks each time. If you ask me they are mostly a money making scheme for opticians. I know some people do like them.

MissSmiley · 13/06/2019 18:21

I have multi focal contact lenses! Absolutely amazing invention, completely seamless vision

Jellykat · 13/06/2019 18:25

I've tried on and off for over a year, fine if i'm sitting still, but just cant walk in them, they make me car sick.

NeverPutAWetFootInABirkenstock · 13/06/2019 18:32

Ooh, they sound good, MissSmiley. I wonder how they work.

Amfeelingfline · 13/06/2019 18:34

If you can’t get on with them, it’s worth phoning your optician and see if they have a non tolerance agreement, whereby they would redo your glasses either with a single vision or a bifocal, i’m not an optician but work in the industry and we have this in place in case people don’t get on with varifocals...worth a try 😁

Hearthside · 13/06/2019 18:39

Yeap i have varifocal daily contacts which are really good .But not so long ago got varifocal glasses , not cheap are they and i have be really careful coming down stairs in them look through them wrong and it's whoah.Apart from that i get on well with them .

Bunnylady53 · 13/06/2019 18:59

I can’t remember exactly how long I took but it was a good few weeks until I was completely used to them. And they get so dirty! I don’t handle them any differently to my old ones but I have to clean them soooo often!

Hecateh · 13/06/2019 19:22

Took me a couple of weeks for general use but still occasionally struggle going up or down stairs that I am not used to.

Jakesmumandbump · 13/06/2019 19:23

Took me about a fortnight. I’ve had them about 6 months now and love them.

MissSmiley · 13/06/2019 19:27

@NeverPutAWetFootInABirkenstock the distance prescription is in the middle and the close prescription is round the edge like a ring but blended perfectly, I'm -6.5 distance and +2.5 for near

HermioneWeasley · 13/06/2019 19:29

Took me a week during which I was permanently headachey and nauseous. They’re fine now

LokihasafryingPan · 13/06/2019 19:48

I worked in an opticians until recently (not an optometrist or optician, I was an optical assistant) we said give them 10-14 days to settle, and definitely go back if they didn't. Sometimes it just takes a simple adjustment, sometimes a review of the measurements, sometimes it's just not for that person.
Give it a week and do go back if it doesn't settle, there's lots of options!

federationrep · 13/06/2019 21:17

I had a couple of days where if I moved my head too quickly I felt like the whole world was falling away from me. No problems since then and I just had my prescription renewed with no problems

Original poster

Seeingadistance · 13/06/2019 22:19

Thanks for all your comments. I'm taking a break from the wretched things just now, but will persevere. Encouraged to hear that for some of you things did improve after a week or so.

I had some success this evening using the following my nose method of looking at the world! It's all strangely disorienting and quite tiring.

The optician did say that if I can't get on with them, that they'd replace with single vision and reading glasses, but I really do want them to work this time!

OP posts:

mycatismeowican · 14/06/2019 07:33

My dh tried them and couldn't deal with them at all.

MIdgebabe · 14/06/2019 07:40

My optician said to allow a month to get used to them and only wear for a vert short time and not for anything dangerous like driving or stairs until you get comfortable, I think she’s correct

I also use single focal length for computer work because long days in large screen area and small viewing area in the glasses

MrsMozartMkII · 14/06/2019 07:59

My first pair I was comfortable with straight away. They needed one minor tweak, which was the opposite of what the optician said, something to do with the nose pad, but it worked and they were grand for years.

Got a new pair last week as the others, after years, as couldn't focus on close up and I was getting headaches, and got the best that Boots could provide. They've been a right royal pain. Felt sea sick most of the time. Can drive in them no issue, but walking it seems that I have a tendency to look down quite a lot and that's where it all goes bleugh. I have to concentrate, make myself look up more as I'm walking along, and if I want to look down I imagine a thread pulling the back of my head upwards before I look downwards. It's quite possibly an indication of bad posture in my part.

I'm going back to Boots today for another eye test. The original was done at another I optician but I ended up at Boots as couldn't find a frame I liked at the original place.

I hope they can be sorted so I don't end up with two pairs - the chances of me remembering where they both are at any given time is remote. Paid, what is to me, a huge amount (nearly £800 and the frames were only £150 of that) and they are very thin and lightweight for my prescription and I do love that about them.

Will update!

cricketballs3 · 14/06/2019 08:00

I had the most horrendous headaches for the first couple of days, struggled walking downstairs but my optician did warn me and told me to persevere and whilst I have to be a certain distance and head tilted a certain way to see my screen I'm glad I stuck with it (if I used a different pair to read my screen I wouldn't be able to see little Jonny throwing a pen at the back of the room!)

TulipCat · 14/06/2019 08:08

Mine have been fine from the day I got them a d I've never looked back. One thing my optician said which might help is that your choice of frames can make a difference. Could you try a different shape or larger frame?

Damntheman · 14/06/2019 08:33

Not varifocals but I had bifocals when I was 7 and I remember strongly how disorientating it was! Took me between 1 and 2 weeks to train my eyes how to use them properly.

New glasses in general can take a while. My latest pair took me a full week to adjust to. Stick with it OP, it'll be worth it in the long run.

RottnestFerry · 14/06/2019 10:31

I resisted getting varifocals as I'd heard that they took some getting used to. I tried my sister's on and, although the prescription was slightly off, they were fine. I got a pair of my own and they worked straight out of the box. Zero adjustment time.

However, I do have a pair of safety specs provided by my employer with cheap varifocal lenses. In comparison, they are horrible.

In my experience, the more you pay, the less distortion you get.

As somebody else said, frame choice also makes a difference, the narrow frames that were fashionable until recently don't seem to work well with varifocal lenses. Rounder frames work much better.

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