New Glasses----what the heck?

[N80]

I am having a great deal of trouble typing this post because I am wearing my new so-expensive-that-I'm-not-willing-to-tell-how-much-they-cost glasses. This is my first ever pair of prescription glasses. I'm 49. Reading has deteriorated over the years as to be expected. Right eye much worse then left. Drugstore readers would no longer correct right eye. Then I began to lose distance vision in my right eye. Gave up and went to optometrist. Did the exam and went to pick out glasses. Went for the cheapest looking Clark Kent nerd glasses they had. Then the optician led me over to the Silhouette brand glasses. Soooooo light. Titanium hardware. I bit hook, line and sinker. There's one born every minute.

They are also progressives. They tell me to keep them on at all times and that it will take two weeks to get used to them.

At first everything is swimmy. Then I get the 'progressive' thing figured out and things start to make sense. I have to move my eyes or head up or down to get the right focus. No big deal, I think, I'll get used to these in no time.

But then I notice that there is also a sweet spot in regard to horizontal aim. This is very distressing to me. In other words, as I look at a line of text on my small laptop computer screen, the middle of a sentence can be crystal clear and razor sharp but if I move my eyes to look at the end or the beginning of the sentence it is blurry as heck. This means that I HAVE TO TURN MY HEAD TO READ A LINE OF TEXT ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN OR EVEN A BOOK!

So I'm here to ask.....before I go back to the optometrist to demand my money back......enough money to buy a fine pair of German binoculars I might add.....if this is normal with progressive lenses or is this something I should expect (demand) that they would correct.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

 

[murphy1244]

I am having a great deal of trouble typing this post because I am wearing my new so-expensive-that-I'm-not-willing-to-tell-how-much-they-cost glasses. This is my first ever pair of prescription glasses. I'm 49. Reading has deteriorated over the years as to be expected. Right eye much worse then left. Drugstore readers would no longer correct right eye. Then I began to lose distance vision in my right eye. Gave up and went to optometrist. Did the exam and went to pick out glasses. Went for the cheapest looking Clark Kent nerd glasses they had. Then the optician led me over to the Silhouette brand glasses. Soooooo light. Titanium hardware. I bit hook, line and sinker. There's one born every minute.

They are also progressives. They tell me to keep them on at all times and that it will take two weeks to get used to them.

At first everything is swimmy. Then I get the 'progressive' thing figured out and things start to make sense. I have to move my eyes or head up or down to get the right focus. No big deal, I think, I'll get used to these in no time.

But then I notice that there is also a sweet spot in regard to horizontal aim. This is very distressing to me. In other words, as I look at a line of text on my small laptop computer screen, the middle of a sentence can be crystal clear and razor sharp but if I move my eyes to look at the end or the beginning of the sentence it is blurry as heck. This means that I HAVE TO TURN MY HEAD TO READ A LINE OF TEXT ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN OR EVEN A BOOK!

So I'm here to ask.....before I go back to the optometrist to demand my money back......enough money to buy a fine pair of German binoculars I might add.....if this is normal with progressive lenses or is this something I should expect (demand) that they would correct.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

I could of wrote this post myself. I can't stand those glasses, went back to my reading glasses. They conned me into buying Raybans 700.00 bucks for these blinders

 

[npalen]

I would go back to the vendor and discuss your issues with them. The "horizontal" thing sounds like something is not right in the prescription.

 

[/pine]

I would take the glasses to the optometrist so they can scope the lenses and make sure they are the correct prescription...I am not sure what "progressive" lenses are (didn't Google it) but I doubt it's the lenses that will be changing (progressively)...the optometrist will know I would hope...although you may want to get a second opinion from an ophthalmologist...

 

[N80]

Progressive just means that the prescription changes as you go from the top to the bottom of the lens. With bifocals there is a line. Far vision above the line, near vision (readers) below the line. No-line bifocals are the same there is just no transition line. With progressives it progressively goes from far vision correction, to mid vision correction to close vision correction. And moving my head and or eyes up and down to accommodate for distance is fairly intuitive and makes sense to me.

But if I hold my head still and look left or right (at all) the glasses are blurry...not just at the edges but anywhere left or right of dead center. It is like trying to read looking through a tube. I have to move my head left to right as I read or type a sentence. I hope this is not 'normal'.

I will say this, my wife picked the glasses up for me and they told her I needed to come in so they can fit them. And I will do that. I'm just not sure that that can fix what I'm seeing.

 

[EarPlug]

The horizontal problem is actually normal. The way progressive lens are shaped is like a narrow hour glass. The focal point is a narrow vertical band. Some lenses the band is wider than others.

You will no longer have peripheral vision. Yes, you will need to turn your head back and forth to read or look out the side view mirrors on your car.

For daily life I like the progressives, but for driving I prefer standard lenses.

Jack

 

[namron4491]

Yes, progressive lenses suck. Move your nose to follow what you reading. Gave up on them and got bifocals. Now just move head up or down to see what your reading.




Norm

 

[MossRoad]

Ok, here's the deal. They tell you it will take two weeks. Its been a day. Give it a chance....

I got them several years ago and attempted to drive home with them on.

"This means that I HAVE TO TURN MY HEAD TO READ A LINE OF TEXT ON THE COMPUTER SCREEN OR EVEN A BOOK!"

You have to do the same thing when looking in the car rear view mirror. I about killed myself and someone else within 8 blocks of the eye doctor's office. I turned around and took them back 5 minutes after I left the office. I have regular glasses with no bi-focals or progressives now and I carry a pair of drugstore magnifiers for tiny stuff.

If I ever decide to get bi-focals again, I will get lined bifocals like my dad! :cool2:

 

[Locoweed]

Some people have trouble with progressive lenses & others don't. I love mine, the wife hated the ones she tried.

 

[tcartwri]

Took me a year to get used to my first set. no exaggeration. Walking down stairs was the worst.

 

[/pine]

Progressive just means that the prescription changes as you go from the top to the bottom of the lens.

OK I see...makes sense too...but it seems that part of the lens would be wasted in the "progression" ??

personally I need tri-focals where the middle range is clear on the left and a very minor correction on the right...but I just wear lenses for near sightedness and cheapo readers for fine print etc...

 

[kw22614]

Progressives do take some time to get used to, but when you finally do they're great. Sounds like your place sold you the sporty good looking small frame ones. The rx area of progressive lenses are only about 30% - 40% of the size of the lens - so yes you need to turn your head to read a whole sentence. Over the years, I keep buying larger and larger lens frames because the rx area is much larger. Always a big fight with wifey - she wants me to get small fashionable frames and I opt for the more practical.
If they only made some with wipers and washer pump I'd be set! :laughing::laughing:

 

[Baby Grand]

Took me a year to get used to my first set. no exaggeration. Walking down stairs was the worst.

Just like the zoom in, dolly out shot in Hitchcock's Vertigo. I know it well. About a month after getting my progressive I found myself walking the steeply sloped, cobble beach at Cape d'Or, Nova Scotia. Good thing I had the walking stick or I'd have been in real trouble. You have to race the tide when your there.



Give it some time and your brain will "rewire" your perception.
It took me about a year before I could walk down stairs without grabbing for the handrail.
Otherwise, I like them a lot.

 

[RoyJackson]

I have progressive glasses too. They do take a bit of getting used to, no doubt.
The biggest problem (IMHO) is one's eyes are almost constantly moving, even when not "looking". With the changes in prescription in progressive lenses, that can really throw you off a bit.
You'll get used to them, but it's take a few weeks before you're really used to them.

 

[Egon]

N80, welcome to the part of the world that wear glasses.

Too many variables and lack of knowledge would make my advice erroneous. But the glasses do provide some protection from flying debris. They are also a pain to keep clean.

On my last visit to the optometrist I was told "you just want to be younger" to my complaints!

 

[Bellafx]

WWW.zennieoptical.com

They are very inexpensive, so you can order a couple of different pairs for the task at hand. Normally, progressives are around $50 with all the bells and whistles, while bi-focals are about $25. You will only need a copy of your prescription to copy the lens info down.

Clark Kent glasses are so cool.

 

[stuckmotor]

I can't add much to what's been said except to advise everyone to wear appropriate eye protection. I was using a drill press with just my regular progressives. I'd done it many times before with no problems. This time I didn't get away with it and a chip got around the glass and into my eye. It was a few days before I realized what had happened and it had rusted. The chip was over part of the cornea and now I'm usually looking through a cloudy spot when I use my left eye.

 

[Deere Dude]

I would go back and tell the optometrist the complaint. I think they can check it all out and verify. I am really surprised they gave them to you without coming in and having them fitted. That may change things for you. I have had only one pair in 25 years they had to redo because of glass or plastic problems..

I would stay with progressives over reading glasses or lined bifocals. At least to me nothing is worse than having a line across your view constantly and I could see it being a pain having to switch glasses very time you turn around. With bifocals, the line will always be obvious. With progressives, your head will move slightly when reading left to right more than a few inches of text but will be natural after a little bit and you will love them.

Like someone pointed out that the high price was more than likely for the fancy frames. Something else to consider about the frames that I found is the strength and design of them. I had a few pair of glasses with 2 metal pieces called the bridge and all was well. They could take a beating, not on purpose but accidents happen.

I decided to go with a fancier pair with one piece of metal for the bridge and about 1 year into the ownership I was moving something and it hit my glasses up against the face and it bent. I straightened them out but a month later they just fell apart and couldn't be fixed. The couldn't order new frames of the same model so I had to go with my old glasses for the next year until the insurance would cover it again. The next pair had two pieces for the bridge. If they break now I will have more problems than glasses.

 

[phiferpharm]

I like my progressives - I'm on set three of them in the past 15 years. I agree with whoever told you to recheck with the optomitrist. My first two sets were spot on and took very little time to get accustomed to. This last set was like looking thru someone else's perscription and really terrible. I went to the optomitrist to have him recheck the glasses (He is not associated with the store that made the glasses), and he found the store had the screwed up the perscription. Once they re-ground the lens all was well.

 

[MossflowerWoods]

I had trouble the first couple days... Yes stairs were worst the first 2 days... Actually it took some time to adjust to using the scope on my rifle also...

The weirdest thing was for a short while I would look at the corners of my laptop and the edges WERE NOT SQUARE!!!!!!! AHHHHH!

My brain adjusted after about 2 days...

That was seven or eight years ago.

Now I have 15 min or so adjusting to new glasses, and no sweat...

You will survive...
Honest.
David

PS - DO GO IN and have the fitted, one pair REALLY needed it my eye just could not line up to the lens, a tiny tweak and WOWZA all was better....