Progressive lenses

[Brandi]

I need to get new glasses and was wondering about progressive lenses? A friend of mine who has them says they make your eye's get worse. That your vision goes faster with them. Has anyone heard or thinks this is true? I thought maybe it was just her and that her eye's are getting bad just because. But I can't tell her that she is stubborn and believes what she believes. (giggle)
I am having that thing where I am sitting and knitting and when I look up I can't see cause it is blurry and it is taking a bit for them to focus. When I wear my glasses they work for seeing far ahead but then I can't see up close. And now I need a magnifier lens to take splinter's out and so on. No big I like me in glasses just need one's that work for what I need without owning a bunch of reading glasses and distance glasses. Of coarse reading one's are waaaay cheaper. Any thoughts?

[OakLeaf]

I'm in the reading glasses club ... half a dozen pairs strewn all over the house, in my purse, in my jersey pocket, where I can (usually ) find them when I need them!

I like having full, unobstructed distance vision, including ALL my peripheral vision, and never more so than when I'm on the road (bici, moto, running, car). So I have contacts for my distance prescription and I just deal with not being able to see up close without glasses. Lately I almost always have a pair perched on my nose, granny-style, when I'm indoors.

[Brandi]

You know it is cheaper. My friend said her glasses including the office visit was almost 600. ouch! And if you go to the dollar store they are even cheaper only a $1.00 (hence the name)! lol

[pll]

Getting progressive lenses or reading glasses is a major event... an admission of age, so to speak. I have had progressive lenses for more than 3-4 years now. The first week or ten days were hard (I was dizzy) because you need to get used to the way you use the lenses. I don't think your eyes get any worse. My prescription has not changed.

What was funny is that the day picked my first pair of glasses with progressive lenses, I had dinner with a couple of friends of mine (both use glasses). They told they did not need reading glasses yet, but when the menus and the bill came, they read those by removing their glasses or held the bill high to read it by looking above their glasses.

[OakLeaf]

Well I think it's pretty common for people with nearsightedness to be able to read without correction for many years. I've been using reading glasses with my contacts for I think 12 years now, but when I'm home with my contacts out, it's only recently that I sometimes (not usually) need a little bit of "help" to read. If the type isn't super small and there's a reasonable amount of light, I don't need any. DH wears glasses for distance vision and same for him, his close vision is fine without any correction at all. If they were to make progressive lenses (or regular bifocals) for people like him or your friends, the bottom tier would be plain glass (no correction) anyway. So why pay extra for it?

[radacrider]

I am at that age , according to my doctor where it is just because of my age that my vision needs are changing. I have had progressives for some time as I am far sighted and my work does require close up and reading.

Over the last year, I have had a problem even with those, so now I have 2 pairs of progressives, 1) a general purpose pair for most things; and 2) a "working" pair for computer and close up work. The working pair have a higher transition line to give me more close up lens area.

It is a PITA, but I like being able to work without eye strain. I should note I have to have prism and astigmatism correction also.

[pll]

Well I think it's pretty common for people with nearsightedness to be able to read without correction for many years. I've been using reading glasses with my contacts for I think 12 years now, but when I'm home with my contacts out, it's only recently that I sometimes (not usually) need a little bit of "help" to read. If the type isn't super small and there's a reasonable amount of light, I don't need any. DH wears glasses for distance vision and same for him, his close vision is fine without any correction at all. If they were to make progressive lenses (or regular bifocals) for people like him or your friends, the bottom tier would be plain glass (no correction) anyway. So why pay extra for it?

For me, at the end it was an issue of comfort and safety to some degree. I was progressively annoyed at not being able to read my watch when I was driving or, at a stop, not being able to glance at a map or read an address. I still can read comfortably without my glasses and some detail oriented tasks are more easier without them, but now I don't have to remove them or do awkward eye contortions to look above or below the glasses. The comfort is well worth the price, in my view. I had the reading prescription for more than a year before actually caving in and ordering the progressives.

[Irulan]

You know it is cheaper. My friend said her glasses including the office visit was almost 600. ouch! And if you go to the dollar store they are even cheaper only a $1.00 (hence the name)! lol

Good lord, love those expensive eye clinics. WTF?

I've been getting my glasses at Costco optical for years. I have two sets of progressives, one for eveyday and one for work. Each set was less than $200, I'm sure. I've been a fan of the Costco optometrist ever since he figured out what my problem with contacts was, and the expensive eye clinic guy couldn't. That was lot of money down the toilet until we got that solved.

[Selkie]

I'm nearsighted and have been wearing progressive lenses for a couple years (I'm almost 49). Agree with pll. They are worth the investment---particularly the middle distance option for computer work.

It can take a bit of time to adapt but if I can do it, anyone can. :-) Have to admit that going down stairs can still be disorienting if I forget and look out of my "low beam" (reading) portion of the lens!!

One tip is to get frames that allow a decent size lens.

They haven't made my eyes worse (have had the same script since I got the lenses).

[Crankin]

I wear contacts for distance and reading glasses, like Oakleaf. I have a pair of progressives that I hardly ever wear, as I have my contacts in all of the time.
I started needing reading glasses when I was barely 40, so 18 years.
My distance vision has improved in the last 4-5 years and my reading has leveled out.
I am going to get a new pair of progressives this yr., that are a little bigger, as I can't read well with the ones I have. But, I need child sized frames, so this will be interesting. It's worth the $. I mean, vision is, ah, kind of important.

[jusdooit]

I am very happy with my progressive lens. I had no trouble adapting to them. I did get a hint from someone however, blink when changing your vision from the reading portion to the distance portion. This break in input makes it easier to adjust to the change. I had to make a conscious effort to do this at first, but now it's second nature. Just a note, my vision actually improved last year.

[jessmarimba]

Good lord, love those expensive eye clinics. WTF?

I've been getting my glasses at Costco optical for years. I have two sets of progressives, one for eveyday and one for work. Each set was less than $200, I'm sure. I've been a fan of the Costco optometrist ever since he figured out what my problem with contacts was, and the expensive eye clinic guy couldn't. That was lot of money down the toilet until we got that solved.

That's not really an absurd price depending on the prescription. Even at Target Optical with insurance, non-progressive distance lenses for me are about $300. Add in non-clearance frames and I pay about $400 (and then I have to wait about 3 weeks to get them).

Which is why I'm wearing glasses that are about 4 years old.

[bmccasland]

I currently wear gas-perm contacts for my very bad nearsightedness and like Oakleaf, have reading glasses sprinkled all over for close work.

I need to get my back-up glasses updated, and my optometrist has mentioned progressives. I'm holding off - partly because I'm currently funding my dentist's office - and partly because I'm not sure if I want progressives. Because of the strength, thus thickness, of my glasses, I need smaller frames. I learned in the "big frame" craze that they were just too heavy. I can see to read without glasses, but have a little trouble at that middle range for computer work. I want to avoid eyestrain, anything to keep me from having headaches.

[goldfinch]

I currently wear gas-perm contacts for my very bad nearsightedness and like Oakleaf, have reading glasses sprinkled all over for close work.

I need to get my back-up glasses updated, and my optometrist has mentioned progressives. I'm holding off - partly because I'm currently funding my dentist's office - and partly because I'm not sure if I want progressives. Because of the strength, thus thickness, of my glasses, I need smaller frames. I learned in the "big frame" craze that they were just too heavy. I can see to read without glasses, but have a little trouble at that middle range for computer work. I want to avoid eyestrain, anything to keep me from having headaches.

I have very strong lenses. Now they have high index lenses that are pretty thin. And like you I do not use a very big frame. I've had no problem with progressives and have been using them for at least 10 years.

I also buy cheap prescription glasses just for computer work. I am wearing them right now. I have other pairs just for reading if I am going to read a long time. Because they are single vision I buy them online, from www.zennioptical.com. I rarely spend more than ten dollars a pair and that is with prescription lenses. I buy my progressives local because of the need to get a nice, accurate lens for my bad eyes.

[Catrin]

I've had bad luck getting good lenses from Walmart, and I tried before I needed a bifocal. My prescription is complicated, and the adding in the progressive or bifocal component doesn't help. I like my progressives and will stick with them.

My glasses are far from inexpensive, but they do the job - and I was never able to find a less expensive provider who was able to deliver lenses that worked properly for me. I am sure they aren't all that way, but as bad as my vision is I won't gamble just to potentially save a bit. Thankfully I do have vision insurance which does help mitigate the cost. I don't spend much on the frame, the insurance helps most there.

We had to change my astigmitism prescription a bit to enable to me have Oakley sunglasses for the bike - I am concerned that won't be an option this time as I think my astigmitism might be worse right now but we will see. Sometimes it is worse, sometimes it is better. I will find out next Tuesday when I go for my appointment.