AIBU to think this can't happen to everyone in their mid 40's?! Surely?

[ThisMustBeMyDream]

Went for my regular eye test today. Regretting that already. I've literally just turned 40. Been blind as a bat since age 10. Wearer of contact lenses since age 12. Sight is -6 in both eyes.
Why is it only today that the optician gleefully told me that by 42, mid 40s at the lastest I will need fucking reading glasses. I'll need some sort of varifocal contact lenses and glasses. Apparently. It happens to EVERYONE. ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE!
Give me some hope. Have you made it to 50 without needing reading glasses?! Especially if you were short sighted already.
Also! Why is this news to me now?! Why has this dreadful secret been kept from me?! I can not stand the thought of my sight being affected and having to mess around with my bloody contact lenses prescription (glasses look awful on me. Every single pair. Trust me, I've tried them all). I only asked the guy about laser eye surgery as now I'm older, I can finally afford it. Only to be told it is basically pointless to have unless in your 20s as its a waste of money due to the long sightedness developing in your 40s!
Ugh.

Its true. Was very proud of my eyesight never needed glasses quite smug. Then got to 47 ish and realised I was struggling to see menus...ended up with reading glasses like literally everyone else my age.

This happened to me in my early 40s.

At least the 12 YO optician had the grace to look embarrassed when she told me I now had old lady eyes .

DH has had perfect vision all his life, we called him hawkeye. Now 52 and he has several pairs of reading glasses with various ranges depending on how close up the work is.

I have several pairs of reading glasses, like some in my bag, a spare pair in my pocket, all fiercely +2. My prescription is -7 and -8 although it's been much worse than that, it's definitely going the other way. What I have found though is I don't need reading glasses in countries nearer the equator with stronger sunshine. So all I need now is to emigrate...

I’m almost 62 and don’t need reading glasses. I do wear varifocals though as when I’m at work, I can’t be bothered taking glasses on and off. My distance prescription is -2.25. I can’t watch tv and read at the same time unless I have my glasses. But reading I take them off.

I'm 45 and I just bought my first pairs.
I'm quite shortshighted (-5) and wear my glasses 95% of the time. I find that super easy to deal with it, I just take my glasses off when I need to read small lines.

The issue is for when I wear contact lenses, in that case, I obviously can't take my lenses off, so that's why I need reading glasses.

Recently, I went to a rave party, I wore contact lenses, a crop top, my hair down, a bit of drugs and off I went...until I tried to read a text from my friends and I was totally unable to read it 🙃

I'm 50 and no reading glasses.

True for me. Extremely short sighted since teens, now at 48 need reading glasses. I can’t wear lenses so varifocals it is. I got a pair from Glasses Direct but they weren’t right, even after adjustments, so I’m going to treat myself to a pair from Boots.

48 for me. Never had a problem with my sight at all before. Went quite quickly - I'd say 6 months ish . Need reading glass for all reading and close up screens now. Not TV. My optician said it's everyone too.

It's possible to fully correct one eye and undercorrect the other eye, they call it monovision. I am -2.5 in both eyes and just wear a contact lens in my dominant eye, so the other eye is shortsighted but I can read with it. It works well for me but many people don't tolerate it.

Two weeks after my 40th birthday. I was tres unimpressed!!!

My DH is 70 and no reading glasses. He reads avidly so it’s not that he just hasn’t noticed!

Got reading glasses this year at 45 as did three work mates same sort of age. Most wear contact lenses and have separate reading glasses

My DH had perfect vision up to about 45 and now needs reading glasses. I've always been short sighted and they've been adjusting my contract lens script to train one eye to be better at distance and the other up close so I've fared better than DH. However I still borrow his reading glasses at times, particularly in dimly lit restaurants.

ThisMustBeMyDream
I only asked the guy about laser eye surgery as now I'm older, I can finally afford it. Only to be told it is basically pointless to have unless in your 20s as its a waste of money due to the long sightedness developing in your 40s!

Go to a different optician for a second opinion. (I recommend Moorfields private wing if you live in range of London.) Not everyone's eyesight starts to get longer in their later life.

I had laser surgery in my early sixties after having had to wear spectacles to correct serious short sight since I was ten. I have never regretted that decision for an instant in the decade since, and yes, I need to wear spectacles for close work (knitting, needlepoint) and for reading old books with very small print, which is not a major problem, but not for ordinary reading or for driving or for using the computer. I too look ghastly in specs but was never able to wear contacts so I just had to put up with the things. Now I don't.

(Moorfields dealt at the same time with the cataracts that had started to form, which probably saved me more than two years of progressively worse sight followed by the NHS waiting list, too. I suddenly discovered that flowers I had been seeing in muted colours were in fact vibrant reds, yellows and oranges. My local optician was a lovely bloke who had completely missed the cataracts.)

I'm 40 had contacts since I was 16. Not been told I need reading glasses.

So you take your contacts out to read and out your glasses on?

Dh eyes are perfect he's 42.

I'm my 50s and need to take my glasses off to read now (this has happened since I turned 50) but my close vision is still good, I'd have to get varifocals with no lens in the bottom half so I haven't bothered. My Mum is in her 70s and only just started to struggle with close work in the last 10 years. So being short sighted buys us more time than those who had 'perfect' eyesight when younger and then suddenly need glasses in their 40s.

I’m 50 and this is exactly me too.

I needed varifocals at 45. DH was 49. Sorry x

Yep, I wear contact lenses and my reading classes around my neck or on my head. I can get away with my SS glasses on and taking them off to read. I'm 42. Optician said varifocals at next appointment. Waaaahhhhh

I'm 50 and short sighted, contact lenses are -6.5 so similar to you. I don't have reading glasses yet. Due my next eye test in March and think I may do then.
At my last eye test, March 2023, I mentioned having trouble with small print in dim light. Turned out my reading vision was fine but that's the start of it! It has got a little worse.

Yep 41 and got my varifocals last year.

Yep. I was 45. My younger sister was 44!

Made it to 49 without them then literally happened overnight, couldn't see my phone.

Because if your eyes are being corrected for distance, the lens loses the ability to be flexible-a younger person’s eyes can change the way light refracts instantly. The lens goes very stiff-so if you’re short sighted and wearing contact lenses or ordinary glasses, near things will look blurred as the light isn’t being focused in the right place. Same even if you e had good vision. The stiffening of the lens prevents the light being focused on the back of the eye.

I’m 49 and have worn glasses since I was 15, but still manage fine without reading glasses.