Getting old - need varifocals

[Rollintodarkness]

Not sure where best to post this, but I've heard this is common in women as they hit 4o, so thought I'd post in Women's Health.
I've a history of eye problems. I'm a glasses wearer, can't wear contacts due to previous eye issues. I now need varifocals (but my regular prescription has reduced quite dramatically and it is likely that in 6 months time I may need a prescription change again). Due to light sensitivity I also need prescription sunglasses. I'm looking at in the region of £500 for glasses and sunglasses...until someone mentioned Asda, and even at their most expensive, I'll be looking at £180 for 2 pairs. Obviously this is tempting, but I want a good quality lens with good peripheral vision. Does anyone have any experience with Adsa varifocals? Do you know if you can pay more to upgrade them to have better peripheral vision? Am I going to regret going cheap and end up paying twice? Any advice will be gladly received. Thanks.

Get the best lenses you can afford with the greatest peripheral vision
I go for frames that come with a bespoke sunglasses clip to save money getting another pair ( and that look better than the clips you get for a few quid on Amazon!)

It depends on your prescription. I have had eye problems since I was 5 and wear contact lenses (now with reading glasses over them), distance and reading glasses - what a palaver as you get older. I have looked into getting cheaper glasses but they don't cover my prescription, nor am I eligible for any 2 for 1 or 2 pairs for £x offers.

I went with Specsavers and paid about £300 in total, which was for two pairs and included lens thinning & 'reactions' in one pair.

Specsavers do several levels of quality - I went for the 'Elite'. My sister works in eye-care and her advice was to get the best you can afford as you adjust to them more easily. I 'adjusted' almost straight away - wore them full-time straight off and after a couple of days I adapted to turning my head more to avoid lack of focus in my peripheral vision.

Specsavers will also guarantee them for 100 days if you don't take to them. My husband didn't so was able to change them for separate reading and distance - he's long-sighted. I'm short-sighted ( - 6) for my distance vision.

So, yes, definitely go for the best you can afford. I find them amazing - being able to read and write without taking my glasses on and off all the time made me feel 20 years younger!

There's very little info in the Asda website about their varifocals, but the fact that they only quote one price suggest they only do one grade of lens.

Thanks. Issue is I don't know how the Asda lenses compare to the different standards of lenses other opticians offer. My regular prescription is not down to -0.75 and -1, which is massively reduced from what it was, asda include anti reflection coating and lens thinning too. But I don't know how good the varifocal part is and how much peripheral vision they give.

My sister works in eye-care - just to add, not for Specsavers in case it sounds like I am advertising them!

I just found this on Money Saving Expert - might be of use, OP -

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5614385/varifocals-asda-vs-specsavers-field-of-vision-comparison

I've had two sets of varifocals from Asda, and even with my complex prescription I was really happy with them. Due to lockdowns (and the location of my nearest Asda optician) I got my latest varifocals from my local independent optician and went for a 'good' grade of varifocal. Maybe they are optically a little better, but tbh I don't think I can tell the difference that way, and certainly not the £300 difference for just getting one pair

I wear glasses all day abs have tried Asda. They fell apart pretty quickly. I could have just been unlucky though.

I have asda varifocals.. They are fine

Thanks @ArblemarchTFruitbat I read that but a lot of it is quite old and large companies tend to change suppliers quite regularly so not sure if it still applies.
I want to go for good quality, but don't know how the asda lenses compare to eg specsaver/vision express etc

I've had two sets of glasses from Asda for my ultra complex variafocal glasses. Two different branches. One was great, the other not so, but I'd still go back. Glasses themselves still going strong but I tend to choose big heavy frames (so I can see them in the morning)

I’ve got varifocals from an independent optician (£££) and a pair of cheap sunnies for driving from one of the online glasses place. Am not paying mega bucks for prescription sunnies.

@AlphabetAerobics I have very sensitive eyes so I need good sunglasses which do the same job as my regular glasses. This could get very expensive!

My eyes are very sensitive but I’ve gone for just the single prescription for the sunnies - couldn’t afford £400 for prescription sunnies. Paid £24 and they’re fine for driving.

When I got varifocals last year I did the Specsavers 241 deal and got prescription sunnies in the same style as my main glasses. One thing I really liked was being able to do that quite a bit later - so I spent some time living with my varifocals first before deciding what I wanted for my second pair.

Again I went with not the highest grade lenses but near the top. Having resisted varifocals for some time, I'd never go back now.

If you go for a clip on, you don't need to buy a second pair. I've tried various options (second pair, transition lenses) and this is my favourite. e.g.:
www.specsavers.co.uk/glasses/clip-on-sunglasses

I have the standard Specsavers varifocals which are fine, you can have sunglasses at no extra cost, or could when I got mine.

I'm on my third set of Asda varifocals. No issues with them whatsoever and saved me a fortune.
I always buy the glasses and a pair of vf sunglasses as there's a 2 pair deal.

I have had Asda varifocals for about 15 years [ not the same glasses, different ones :) ] and always been impressed with them. Never, ever had an issue with their varifocals, and they are so much cheaper than anywhere else.
I like their one price for everything --- very few opticians do this. Most will add on for various things which really hike the prices up.

I can't handle varifocals so have 2 pairs - one for my short sightedness and one for long! I got mine from specsavers and they are doing a 2 for the price of 1 deal at the moment as long as they are the same prescription

Thanks all. I've been recommended to get the best possible lenses and you can't upgrade at asda so went to specsavers....however there was no truth in the word savers as they charge at every opportunity and cost me well over double what they would in asda, and then got a call today to cancel as they won't be the right fit for me. So now looking for recommendations of where to go where I can get high quality varifocal lenses, don't charge through the roof and can actually fit me!

Oh, gosh, sorry to hear that! I had really good service from them, but my prescription, though high, is reasonably straightforward. My sister (who works in eye care) got hers from Vision Express - might be worth a look?

@ArblemarchTFruitbat unfortunately they are absolutely extortionate (quoted £320ish for one pair and I need sunglasses too, granted second pair was less but still well over £500

Aargh. Being able to see properly shouldn't be that expensive. It's ridiculous, really, what we glasses-wearers just accept as a regular wallet-drain to keep our prescriptions up to date.

Would an option be to get your main pair from an optician and go online for your sunglasses?