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Original poster

There MUST be a solution to this. Surely!!

26 replies

Merse · 09/07/2015 13:47

What do stylish women of a certain age do about sodding reading glasses. Or the issue of needing them. I don't see the likes of Liz Hurley wandering around with granny specs on a cord around her neck (not that I am trying to model my style on La Hurley, but you see where I am coming from). I am naturally short-sighted so generally wear contact lenses. Then have to shove reading glasses on top to read which is a pain in the extreme - whipping the wretched things on and off. Have varifocal glasses which is fine, but not great if you want to do sport or if it's sunny. Have tried some varifocal contact lenses ,but they were pretty hopeless. IS THERE a solution????.

OP posts:
tethersend · 09/07/2015 13:52

I got some massive 70s frames- in my head I'm Jane Fonda.

In reality I'm Deidre Barlow.

Melonfool · 09/07/2015 20:07

I couldn't cope with reading glasses, so it's just varifocals for me. For sport I wear some very old not really my prescription any more lenses, which are fine as long as I don't need to read a menu.

Tisgrand · 10/07/2015 02:40

I have worn varifocal glasses for some years now, but I recently treated myself to some disposable contacts. I had visions of myself looking very glam in restaurants, the theatre / cinema, the pub etc. But I realise now that I wasted my money, because as you say, every time I want to read a menu or program or price list, I have to whip out the reading glasses. Its particularly painful when shopping, I have to wear the reading glasses to see the prices - but perched on the end of my nose, so that I can see where I'm walking over them!

What I've done is bought several pairs of inexpensive glasses in assorted colours / patterns, to match to my outfits. Then I either perch them on top of my head when not in use, or tuck them into the v of whatever top I'm wearing. Not ideal I know.

Rock3t · 10/07/2015 03:47

I wear one contact lense for distance and one for near. Not perfect but good enough :)

Everythinghaschanged · 10/07/2015 06:38

Is this problem solved if you have laser eye surgery?

Original poster
Merse · 10/07/2015 07:16

Sounds like there is no perfect solution!! I don't think the problem is solved with laser eye surgery. Think you have to choose which vision you want fixed if that makes sense. So if you have your 'normal' short sightedness fixed then you no longer need lenses, but will still need to shove on reading glasses endlessly. My optician said you can have one contact lens for reading vision and the other for normal vision and apparently your brain works it out. Have tried it and found it odd, but maybe it's worth persevering?

OP posts:
Original poster
Merse · 10/07/2015 07:28

And what about sunglasses??? Does anyone have varifocal ones that go tinted in the sun (reactalite or whatever they are called)? They always seem to look a bit naff and not like 'real' sunglasses to me. But maybe I just haven't found a good pair. Would so love to find a good way around this conundrum!

OP posts:
GeorginaWorsley · 10/07/2015 08:18

Gosh OP this is me exactly!
I wear contacts and buy dozens of cheap reading glasses from Primark which are dotted everywhere, .
Am fine managing most of time but small print defeats me now and I foresee a time when not so small will tooGrin

Perhaps all the celebs have laser eye surgery.

LindyHemming · 10/07/2015 09:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Melonfool · 10/07/2015 09:37

Laser is different for everyone, I can't have it as you need a steady prescription for two years, which I have never had and I started wearing specs aged 9.

Also, it doesn't necessarily actually give you 20/20 vision, it can mean you still need glasses, just not as strong, which I know I would find annoying. Especially if, like a pp, I needed reading glasses.

I quite fancy proper prescription sunglasses actually, but they'd have to be the full varifocal and my normal glasses were £600 last time so for both would be more or less double that. No point doing it now as it's been 2.5 years since I had these and I know I need a new prescription as I am now peering under them to read labels which I didn't have to at the start.

I know you can use online glasses co but I cannot bring myself to trust them when it's for varifocals as it's all about the measurements and where your pupils are on the lense. But I might try it just for the sunnies. I've never had sunglasses in my life so it would be a real treat and I'm starting to get to the point where I can afford them.

burnishedsilver · 10/07/2015 09:46

Sil wears monovision contact lenses. It sounds bizarre but one lens is for distance and the other is for reading. Apparently the eyes and brain adjust so you don't notice that each eye is different. She's very happy with it.

cathcustard · 10/07/2015 09:48

This is me too.
I've tried bifocal contacts but I felt sick.
I have contacts, reading glasses, reading sunglasses, prescription specs & prescription sunglasses.
And I'm always losing all of them Grin

specialsubject · 10/07/2015 10:03

it seems that there is now a way of replacing the lens in your eye with a new one (Cataract surgery style) which will be flexible enough to remove the need for reading glasses.

£5k or so plus the attendant risks.

no ta.

Original poster
Merse · 10/07/2015 10:21

It's chaos, isn't it? The number of different types of lenses/glasses combinations. Maybe worth trying the mono vision contact lens approach again. I think I wrote it off on the basis that the varifocal lenses were so weird, but maybe different.

OP posts:
Bearleigh · 10/07/2015 17:25

Sorry about this, but you should have arranged to have weird eyes like me - one very short sighted; one slightly long-sighted. When I was younger, my glasses were always lopsided because the lens for my shortsighted eye was so heavy (and thick), it weighed down that side, but now I wear one contact lens in that eye, and nothing in my long-sighted eye. I remember the optician when I was about 25 saying I'd be pleased about this arrangement when I was older - and I am. Apparently possibly due to my having had a forceps birth!

My eyes compensate for each other, so I only occasionally need reading glasses - when it's really teeny print. Sometimes I don't realise I've forgotten to put in my lense - my long sighted eye does all the work. I only twig when I want to read something and can't see as well as I usually can, and my s/s eye gets tired.

ilovekittycats · 10/07/2015 21:23

I wear multifocal contacts and they are a godsend to me otherwise I would need reading glasses which tend to really hurt the bridge of my nose.

They are good enough for driving and also reading although neither is perfect, you just find what works well for both (or rather the optician does)

GlowWine · 11/07/2015 06:41

Ilovekitty can you explain how they work? I'm in the same position as OP, currently use a solution like tisgrand described. It's fine but occasionally I do wonder... I am very short sighted (10) and can't imagine only using one eye, long sightedness is only slight at the moment now hovering in the 1-2 range.

Original poster
Merse · 11/07/2015 09:18

Kitty, when you say multifocal do you mean varifocal or mono vision lenses?

OP posts:
KatieScarlettreregged · 11/07/2015 09:23

Varifocals and the one short, one long contact lens thing.
I just wear ordinary sunglasses over my lenses as I'm too mean to buy a prescription pair for the 3 days per year I need them in Scotland.

ByTheSea · 11/07/2015 09:25

I feel your pain and continue to wear contact lenses for normal vision and cheap reading glasses everywhere (desk at work, handbag, kitchen, living room, bedroom) to be able to see up close. Varifocals made me feel sick and I could not get on with the different contact lenses for each eye either. I wish I had the answer.

hollyisalovelyname · 11/07/2015 09:39

Get your eyes lasered.
They can do it in such a way that you won't need reading glasses.
My aunt got it done.

Melonfool · 11/07/2015 10:48

Not that simple Holly. Glad your aunt coukd have it successfully but it really isn't the same for everyone. One anecdote does not a laser summer make.

Cheesymonster · 11/07/2015 19:24

I just got my varifocal glasses this year and I love them but it's a pain when I want to wear contacts. Optician has put me onto the one lens for short sight (4.50) and one less strong (3.25) but it's not perfect and I still need reading glasses. I bought a pair from Amazon which aren't too hideous for about a fiver.

ilovekittycats · 11/07/2015 21:38

I had my eyes lasered about 12 years ago as I was very short sighted. It was great and could see in the distance really well and still can. They said I would probably need glasses for reading in the future and i thought, that's fine, I can sit with a book and put reading glasses on.

What I did not think about was shopping, reading labels on tins etc. I had swapped one problem for another and did wear reading glasses (cheap ones) for years but they used to really hurt my nose so thought of contacts.

The ones I have are called multifocal for presbyopia which is when you are older and need glasses for reading. They allow me to see enough distance to pass the driving standard and enough magnification to be able to see all that I want for reading, books/kindle/price tags in shops etc.

They have made such a difference to me and I am 63 now. They are not cheap at around £44 a month but worth every penny to me. They are daily ones and just thrown away each night.

I did have the two week ones that you clean but they were not much cheaper and the dailies are great. I was not suitable for one eye for reading and the other for distance for some reason that I cant remember now.

GlowWine · 12/07/2015 07:33

ilovekittycats thanks for that info, really helpful! I have worn non-disposables for strong short-sightedness all my life since teenage (and glases since I was four, and obviously still do plenty of times) so we'll see what the optician might suggest when it becomes a real issue for me. I just can't see the two lenses approach working for me.