Increasingly short sighted in middle age?

[MedusaIsHavingaBadHairday]

I've always been shortsighted..worn glasses since I was 6, and contacts all my adult life. My eyes stabilised in my 20s and my prescription (moderate myopia at -4.50) stayed the same for nearly 20 years.

Then early 40's just as I started getting the middle aged presbyopia stuff, needing reading glasses over contacts, my short sight prescription suddenly deteriorated.. and has continued to do so. Today's yearly checkup..and it's deteriorated yet again ..over the last few years my eyes have deteriorated at -0.50 increments yearly..now in the high myopia category .

It's rather annoying as a) expensive b) I can't see anything far OR near any more without an array of glasses or contacts+ glasses!!!

Is this a common thing ? I thought I'd just get the middle aged presbyopia, but the fact my myopia is still worsening, is a bit disconcerting!

Yes, mine was stable for years but I had to go down another 0.5d last year (now -10 in contacts) aged 46 and I am now starting to get a little bit of long sight, sometimes find it hard threading needles or reading ingredient labels. -10 is the limit for my contacts so really hoping things don't get any worse.

Glad it's not just me ! Mine are -7.00 now so not quite at your impressive level, but still a pain. I'm also 46 ...my long sight started about 2 years ago and suddenly I can't read a damn thing close up!!! I have turned into one of those women with a pair of 'ready readers' sat on top of my head. I forgot to take mine to work today, and it was a tad tricky.. I have to give very complicated 'mix this with that' type meds to extremely vulnerable disabled children and had a right 'oh shiiiit!' moment when I realised!

Luckily it's a school full of middle aged women with reading glasses in their bags so I was able to borrow a pair :D

I have one eye under corrected with contact lenses, so it is optimised for closer work, the other fully corrected and best for far work, my optician put me like this when I turned 40 and I reckon it's bought me a few years from needing reading glasses. Has your optician ever suggested this? I did buy some cheap +1s the other day but they are still too strong for reading anything but the smallest print.

On the plus side, once you hit -10 in standard (not contacts) prescription you get free eye tests.