Going to have to submit to the dreaded reading glasses

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I'm psyching myself up to finally admitting to myself that I'm going to need reading glasses very soon.

I'm already mildly short sighted but never wear glasses to correct as I hate wearing them, and think they've improved with age anyway- I can read subtitles on the TV no problems.

How do you "do" reading glasses? Do you put them on to read and take them off after, so on-off-on-off all the time? Isn't that massively faffy? (I'm sure I would find it so).

Or do most people go for verifocal glasses and just wear them all the time? I think that's what most people I know seem to do. Even the ones that used to wear contacts all the time. It's what my DH has but he's extremely short sighted so has no choice. I hate wearing glasses though.

Oh and I've put this in style and beauty because how I look is one of my most important concerns about this - after being able to see obvs.

What do you recommend, what works for you?

I have worn regular contact lenses for decades. I now wear varifocal contact lenses due to getting on a bit. 🤣 Utterly brilliant.

I've worn contacts for years. Tried varifocals
And absolutely cannot get on with them.

I have about twenty pairs of reader glasses
Dotted around the house and in al my bags.
Cheap ones from tiger do just the same job as expensive optician ones.

It's a pita.

Embrace it OP - with a spectacle chain around your neck. I've got lots of different ones, beaded, pearl, metal etc and change them depending on what I'm wearing a bit like you would jewellery. To be fair, I am slightly eccentric but at least I know where my glasses are and can put them on and off as needed and don't have to waste my life searching for the blasted things as they're either on top of my head or round my neck.

I have about ten pairs littered all over the house and am already contemplating lens replacement I’m so irritated by it all.

I have them scattered everywhere. I want to just get a chain, but DH is begging to avoid glasses on a chain. There are spots I wish I had glasses stashed in multiple places in the same room.

I have multifocal contact lenses. My glasses are only for short-sight and sometimes I struggle to read close up, but I only wear them in the house and often put them on my head to do things like use my phone or paint my nails.

I have cheap pairs dotted around the house, and a pair in my handbag of course. On and off, or (because they're quite narrow top to bottom) perched on my nose so I can look over them ... honestly, I need half-moons. not sure that's very helpful on S&B!

I have three pairs, one upstairs, one downstairs, one in my handbag.

It is fine. Putting glasses on is a lot less faff than not being able to see!

"Peepers by PeeperSpecs" https://www.peepers.com

I bought from this USA company because if you have to wear them you might as well have fun. Also buy from Opulize.

I have pairs around the house in strategic places, as it's only teeny tiny print that gets me, the kind you see on instructions on paint tins. They're standard black or brown rectangular ones, but good enough to wear in public.

I make sure the ones for my handbag are always very nice indeed.

Same here. And apologies to Yoko Ono for thinking she looked pretentious wearing glasses on the tip of her nose.

It's the classic "my distance vision (whether with or without contact lenses) but I can't read anything" effect

I've got them everywhere. I get mine from Primark and they are really stylish. I use them for reading or anything close up, have prescription glasses for TV etc. Didn't get on with varifocals.

My sight has deteriorated quite quickly in a matter of years so I'm glad I bought el cheapo reading glasses rather than investing in varifocals.

Depending on how bad yours is, you might get away with using camera + zoom and/or a magnifying glass on your phone for awhile. I do this while out and about, for e.g, ingredient lists at the supermarket, restaurant menus. My glasses never leave the house so I don't really care how bad I look in them.

*magnifying glass APP. They're great, highly recommend!

Thanks for the magnifying app tip! At the moment I really only struggle with reading in low light, or reading very small print like on the side on product bottles or washing labels. I can read my phone and normal sized text fine in good lighting. I've noticed it getting worse though in the last year, presumably it will continue to get worse for a bit longer?

I think some cheapo reading glasses will have to be fine for now (i say this grudgingly), just for those occasions when I need them.

But longer term...
With verifocals, I know some people who hate them and others who are fine with them, just like on this thread. How do you know which one you are? Don't want to spend loads on expensive lens if I hate them but I guess that's the only way to fine out!

I used to be very short sighted (-11 and -13) which was corrected by contact lenses or glasses . Then when I reached middle age I also developed a need for reading glasses. I ended up with so many different pairs of varifocals/varifocal sunnies/reading glasses/reading sunnies/standard glasses etc it drove me mad.

i solved it by having intra-ocular lens implants. It's like cataract surgery where the eye lens is removed and replaced by a permanent custom-made internal contact lens. Mine are varifocal and also correct a mild astigmatism in one eye.

It cost £6000 which was a small fortune to me 10 years ago but it's more than paid for itself - no more glasses or contacts and perfect vision. With that and my trusty hearing aids I function better now than I did in my 40s. I am practically bionic!

Find an optician who stocks Wolf glasses: https://www.wolfeyewear.com/

Noooo I dont want wacky glasses. Too many Timmy Mallett flashbacks!

I got these and absolutely love them.

I either look like a 1950s vamp librarian OR Roz from Monsters Inc depending on how much effort I've made that day.

Can I ask where you buy them from? I need a new one as the last two from Etsy and asos have both had the runners that the arms go through, go loose and stretched very quickly. I'd be happy to pay a bit more of they didn't do that.

Rubber loops, that should say

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz I buy them on amazon, they last a few months but are cheap as chips and quite pretty, I've got about a dozen different ones so with rotating them and what not they last a while. People buy them for me as well - it's sort of known as my thing. I agree the loops do stretch but you might find it better to have a few different chains?
This is the last lot I bought;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0B5DFZ7GD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

The most stylish person I know wears a chain round her neck but with a big ring at the bottom, and puts the glasses through the ring, so that she can then put them on like normal glasses without a chain. she always looks fab.

I can't do that as my eyes are too bad and I need varifocals to see anything. They are definitely a compromise though.

I'm interested in the intra-ocular lens idea for the future, but at the moment my eyes continue to change, so not sure that's feasible. I have both short sight and astigmatism, as well as now needing reading glasses. So I have no idea what they'd correct it to. Probably have to wait til I actually have cataracts to get it done though as I'd never be able to afford it. My glasses already bankrupt me each year!

Oh dear - sorry @tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz I've asked for my post to be deleted as the link contains my personal info!
I buy them on amazon, they last a few months but are cheap as chips and quite pretty, I've got about a dozen different ones so with rotating them and what not they last a while. People buy them for me as well - it's sort of known as my thing. I agree the loops do stretch but you might find it better to have a few different chains? Just put glasses chains in the search box and you'll get loads to choose from.