Vari-bloody-focals?

[glasslightly]

have been a lifelong wearer of glasses for distance, and generally like wearing glasses. Am now at that stage in life where I need them also for close work. Got a pair of varifocals and have really struggled to get on with them ?

are others the same ? Should I try again - or just go for two types of glasses ? Everyone I know seems to get on fine with them….

I had terrible trouble with my 2nd set of varifocals. After 2 months I went back to the opticians thinking i might need new glasses. They adjusted them and have had no problems since.
When I purchased my first pair I was advised to buy the top level lenses. Speaking to others, this makes a big difference.

I think varifocals are great for general wearing. I can go shopping, see the shelves, and read the ingredients on packs (I"m coeliac so that's important). Also good for driving as I can see both the road and the dashboard.

With the varifocals, I don't feel that close or distance vision is as sharp as it could be. If I'm working on my laptop or reading documents I have my close vision glasses. If I'm hill walking then my distance glasses are way better.

Varifocal contact lenses are better for vision than the varifocal glasses, but I do find them uncomfortable after a time.

I now find when I go anywhere I carry my prescription sunglasses, varifocals, contact lenses and case, and my close reading glasses. I had perfect vision at 25 - I should have appreciated that more!

Thanks everyone this is really great to hear. I’m embarrassed to say they were top of the range in terms of expense, but I may not have been pushy enough in getting them right.

Folks who use computers, do you find they work for you ? I’m concious that unlike reading I’m not looking down - rather I’m looking through the center of my glasses - the same area I would be if it was also looking in the distance

It really annoys me that the solution for a problem that affects basically everyone over a certain age is so impractical and shit. I need two different prescriptions for reading and using a PC, and none at all for distance. Don’t like the idea of varifocals so I’m currently using one pair for work and another for reading. The constant switching is infuriating, and now having to carry a bag around just moving from one room to another at home.

Your computer vision should be the centre. Top for distance, middle for intermediate (like computer) and bottom for closer work (like reading a book).

To be fair, this is exactly why verifocals exist.

I'm not an optician but work in the industry. Any varifocal will have a narrower intermediate zone (the area around arm's length up to about 1m - so where your computer screen sits) due to the way the power transitions from distance at the top of the lens to near (reading distance) at the bottom of the lens. The higher your prescription, the more you'll notice this. Look for lenses that are personalized for your frame and prescription - they cost more but will minimise the issue.

You can also get office or computer lenses which are designed to give you a much wider intermediate zone at the expense of far distance (so you can see round the room but not to drive for example). I have these and absolutely love them because there's no need to move your head or lower your gaze to 'find' the right focus - you just look straight ahead and it's very natural.

Yes - the middle part of mine are set for "occupational" which is computer distance.

I couldn't get used to mine from a well known high street store, so went back and they adjusted the angle they sat at in my face. This made a huge difference to me but I still used my dedicated reading glasses if reading a book.

I was prescribed varifocals but given them on trial (this was about 10 years ago). They didn't suit me at all. I suffer from a type of vertigo and the constant head adjustment made me feel queasy nearly all the time. I took them back and they gave me bifocals, which took some getting used to but didn't make me feel sick. I'm absolutely used to them now but I do have to use some old reading glasses (a weaker prescription than the ones I have now) for working comfortably on the computer.

I have worn varifocals for years. Usually takes a couple of weeks to acclimatise until I splashed out on the stretched lenses I think they are called. Oh my goodness, game changer, put them on and were perfect straight away

Having said this you do need to take care coming down stairs

I don't wear them for reading, I can see well enough on my tablet

When people say it can take a couple of weeks to adjust they really do meant it.

I wore mine for everything except driving for two weeks. Went to bed vowing I'd go back to the Optometrist the next morning and say that it wasn't working out. Woke up the next morning, put them in a it worked. I don't know what had happened in my sleep but my little old Brian had finally adjusted and now I love them.

I hated them. They made me feel sick. I gave them a good bash, but just couldn’t get used to them. I couldn’t cope with walking in them and kept feeling like I was falling over.

I’ve now got contact lenses for general wear, and then a low prescription pair of reading-type glasses for reading/computer stuff

I've been wearing distance glasses nearly fifty years, and in the last few years had to go to multifocals (the term in Australia for varifocals) a few years ago. I've found it can depend on where you get them, since different optometrists have different lenses. I tried GMHBA when I moved cities, and couldn't adjust to their lenses at all. Went back to SpecSavers (which I'd had most recently) and adjusted far more easily.

My short range vision has deteriorated a lot over the years, which pisses me off mightily. I used to be able to do close up work - fine, tiny sewing, or reading - without glasses. Now I find even the multis aren't great for it, and I have a pair of single-vision specs for it as well.

But they aren't impractical and shit for most people. They are a game changer.

It's unfortunate you can't get on with them. I work at a screen all day and would find having to change glasses all the time a PITA.

Ive only just got used to them after several attempts. I still can’t use them for computer work though, i have to use my readers. Im fine in my phone or kindle though as im looking down on it.
How do others manage if the screen is in eye level?

I found the adjustment to varifocals easy, but the quality of lenses, I believe, makes a huge difference.

I got a quote from an optician, and it was our of my price range. I bought mine from Iolla, which do a really good quality lens as standard at an affordable price.

Having said that, I'm not sure they work for everyone.

love mine. there are different types and I usually go for the top end. this is something which isn't worth skimping on.

how long have you had them?

They fit fine??? I just don't like wearing them and only need them for reading, so it was a bit of a waste of money when I could have just got stronger hobby glasses.

Tbf I haven’t actually tried them because I’ve been put off by posters here saying they haven’t liked them. It’s a lot to shell out for good ones to find they’re no good. And I don’t like the idea of having to move my head every time I look at something different.

But I think glasses in general are a second-rate solution for such a universal problem. Having spent 45 years not needing them I find the restrictiveness very irritating. Obviously there are contact lenses but even so.

I used a computer with a couple of displays when I worked and the optician made a point of adjusting the position of the gradient to suit that.

I've just given up on mine after 4 months and have now got occupational lenses which just have reading and middle distance.

I couldn't get on with the distortion at the edge of the glasses for long sight (I paid for top of the range lenses).
My distance vision is fine so I think that made it feel worse that I couldn't see to the side.

The varifocal lenses didn't work for my laptop or work computer, but these occupational lenses are great.

I've only had them a few days and I'm in the process of weighing up which is more annoying: having to put glasses on and off all the time or actually being able to see properly when they're not on... so annoying that you can't have both!

My husband swears by his and says he doesn't notice the distortion any more, but I think if I'm still noticing it after 4 months, I'm not sure it will ever be better.

I've tried them twice, couldn't get on with them at all and I tried both for a month. It was hard going downstairs, felt like I was in a fishbowl, and hated having to move my head all the time. I had the most expensive option.

I just wear a very old pair or reading glasses all the time - I need to increase print size on kindle, use a monitor for work, and distance is slightly out of focus but it will have to do.

Maybe it's down to how big the difference is between close reading and distance prescription. Mine is 2 points, maybe it's just too big.

I was the same, hated them to start with, took them off or wore my old ones to relax.
but now I’ve got used to them I love them, took a few weeks.
remember to point your nose at what you’re looking at!