Tried new verifocal contact lenses

[Butterfly44]

Short sighted and wearer of contact lenses. Noticed close up reading becoming more difficult (age) and have been given one lens that's varifocal and one standard to wear. Day 1 trial today, reading close up is better but seeing in distance isn't. Not too comfortable driving.

Those who've been through this, was your experience similar? Do I just carry on and hope it adjusts gets better?

To clarify, wearing 2 different contact lenses one ‘distance’ and the other a ‘reading’ contact lens.

No advice but following with interest.

Would also be interested to hear other people's experiences, as I'd like to try this.
Wonder if you'd get more traffic in Chat?

I did extensive testing on this a few years ago.

The combinations I tried were unbelievable! One thing that surprised me was that the same prescription strength in different contact lens manufacturers made a difference - they weren't all made equal, so you could be forgiven for thinking they should be as it was the same prescription each time.

I tried a prescription balance of better distance sight than close up reading, and I tried a prescription balance of better close up reading than distance sight. I tried one prescription with verifocal in one eye and a normal prescription without verifocal in the other eye; I tried one prescription of verifocal alone and no contact lens at all in the other eye.

In the end I opted for a slightly lesser normal distance prescription and put up with not reading the bottom line on the wall. However, this is only a short-term solution because as my reading sight worsens in my old age, I won't get away with it anymore... or even my normal distance site. It would be an issue because I would have to up the prescription and I am already one notch down from with my current prescription so I don't need reading glasses, so if that strength changed, this too would need to increase if I wanted absolutely perfect sight.

It took me a few days to adjust but mine were east to get used to, and I’m very short sighted with astigmatism. I went to spec savers.

I wear one contact lens for distance and the other for reading and I find it works, but my vision will never be as good as with glasses. I'm very short sighted and have astigmatism too. I don't wear contacts every day and when I do I find it takes a couple of hours to be comfortable with my sight. I can drive OK, but in low light I'd struggle to read a menu, for example.

OP, keep going back to your optician and getting them to tweak the lenses until the distance part is right. If you need to you can always wear those ready reader glasses for close up stuff.

I tried these and I just couldn't get on with them at all. Reading was fine but distance not great at all. And driving was horrendous. No one warned me vision would be distorted when driving at night. I found out the hard way whilst on the motorway! I gave up and went back to glasses.

I couldn't handle them - tried for a month or two. Hard gas permeable lenses, both verification with the reading zone at the bottom. Was no good at all for reading on a screen, might be better with books. In the end I have up and went back to purely distance lenses which I supplement with cheap drugstore reading glasses.
I'm told varifocal glasses are often easier to handle than lenses. I do use glasses sometimes mornings and evenings but was told it's early days for varifocal glasses as my eyes change so just got a set to use for screen-type distances.

No I've tried various combinations, now just have lenses to see and reading glasses to read over my lenses.
Can also read without my lenses in.

I wear distance for driving, cinema and sightseeing, I don't wear them out and and about and accept the slight vision loss, although my prescription isn't high. I can read OK, but tiny print and low light is becoming an issue, but I just cant cope with reading glasses. I can't read at all with my distance glasses on.
My profession is art based with a fair amount of screen work. I need good close up vision, but am happy to forego some distance vision.
Not really sure what the solution is. But I had hoped a distance lens in one eye and close up in the other might be a solution.

I have varifocal contact lenses - I think they might be called multifocals. My prescription is about -5 distance in each eye, then a +1 for reading. My optician said you compromise on perfect vision for both with multi/vari/whatever it’s called, but it’s good enough for me.

I only wear glasses at home but they are regular distance prescription. Sometimes I stick them on top of my head if I am reading tiny print but I mainly read on Kindle and have the font bigger - I wanted to be able to watch TV clearly.

I tried multifocal ones (which my optician said were like dots of different strengths within the lens). I couldn't see near or far!

I then suggested mono-vision (one long & one short as you describe) which I'd only heard about because my mum has had them for years.
We had to get the balance sorted which too a few visits, but they work perfectly for me.

The only thing I found a slight issue was driving at night (because your pupils dilate in the dark and it changes your prescription slightly) and I got a pair of driving glasses which just live in the car and had a plain lens for my distance eye but correct my reading eye to distance.

The optician said they go with multifocal first as most people cope better with them.
Cynically I wondered if it was because multifocals are a more expense lense whereas mono-vision are just standard lenses.

I've also been diagnosed with blepharitis, the only noticeable symptom I have is oily deposits collect on my contact lens and make things foggy. This is mainly in my reading eye and I've actually stopped wearing my reading lens because of it and I can still see fine for most things includong distance, but wear my driving glasses for extra sharpness whenever I drive now not just at night.

(My distance is a toric lens and I wonder if the thicker lens stops the fogging - which I'll ask about at my next appt.)

Oh, prescription is only -1.75 distance and -0.5 reading.

But my mum is a lot more shortsighted (can't read the top letter on the chart) and she's used them fine for years.

I tried weighted lenses and also one reading/one distance (for a week each type).
Neither option was as good as a decent pair of varifocal glasses, and it didn’t improve over the trial weeks. so I went back to glasses.

I don't think that's varifocals that you have OP. When I had the one long, one short vision they were called monovision. They actually worked well for a time but then had to move to varifocals as apparently "my brain wasn't balancing them as well as previously - otherwise known as getting older!"

You might just have to try a different strength on the distance. Multifocals are a good bit more expensive but worth it.

Am on my second day of wearing multi focal contacts and although not perfect yet I much prefer them to my multi focal specs as my vision is much wider and I get a much bigger field of vision to read with which is great.
I have astigmatism so can only have the monthly ones but that’s not really a problem.

I've had monovision lenses for years and they worked well both for distance and reading, I must have been lucky as the first pair I had worked well from the start. I then had cataract surgery and don't need them at all now.

I started a multifocal lens trial yesterday. Had to go back today because I can't see to read in them and that's what I actually need them for. My distance vision is pretty good but I need reading glasses.

They've suggested a different prescription in one eye so I'm waiting for those to come in. I'm interested to try the reading lens in one eye option if that doesn't work.

The opticians are really pushing the multi focal option. Assuming it's because they are more money.

For me varifocal contact lenses were the worst of both worlds. Poor distance vision and still needed reading glasses. Gone back to single vision contacts plus reading glasses on a 'Croakie' round my neck. Short sighted with astigmatism. Worth a try though, they may be good for you.

It took me ages to get the right multi focal prescription and to get used to them. I have one "near" centred lens and one "distance" centred.

This was ok for both driving and reading although not super close up.

Then my vision deteriorated a bit more and I'm back to compromising on the reading side. I only really wear them for sports and going out, for work I use my glasses.

I've been wearing lemme like this for a while
Suits me well

at least I've got something to look forward to then!

I’m -9.50 with astigmatism and a reading add of +2 in both eyes and I tried just about every single type / combination of contacts with no luck - and this is coming from someone who has worn contacts since 14 (30 years). I just feel that with the reading add on bit I have to compromise my vision to wear contacts and I really don’t like that. I’m really sensitive to changes in my sight and if anything is slightly off I hate it - the best vision I have is with my £500 lens varifocals. I may just be incredibly fussy though - I’ve tried specsavers and Asda varifocals and hated both - felt I was looking through a murky fish bowl and got refunds on both.