Glasses - Progressive Lenses vs. Two Pairs

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#1

So, turns out I need glasses. I have probably needed them for a while, but it wasn’t until a period of intense eye strain plus sinus problems that it got so bad I got my ass to the doctor. I have a distance prescription, and close range prescription, both are fairly weak.

So the question is now, do I get progressive lenses. I like the idea of one pair of glasses that I can just wear all the time.
On the other hand it seems like it would take a lot of getting used to, and I don’t like the idea of having to look through a certain part of the lens or move my head a certain way to get the proper focus.
I have never worn glasses before, so I don’t know how annoying or not it would be to carry around one, if not two pairs all the time. In my case it might not be too big a deal if I only have one since obviously if I don’t have them I can still see.

So what has been your experience with Progressive Lenses and with carrying around 1 to 2 pairs of glasses?

#2

While I don’t have progressive lenses (yet!), I have worn glasses for over 34 years. I have had transitions lenses in the past and now have a second pair of sunglasses instead. I LOVED the transition lenses and they were easy to acclimate to. However, they were so expensive I changed to a second pair of eyewear for sunglasses a couple years back. I like my sunglasses but it is a pain in the a#% to carry around a second pair and switch them out. For the most part, I don’t even wear the sunglasses because I only live about 15 blocks from work and I’m too lazy to switch them out for that short of a distance.

I also come from a long line of bi- and tri-focal wearers. None of them opted for 2 pairs of eyewear. You will have some adjustment to the progressive lens but my family seemed to acclimate within a week or so the first time they got these types of lenses. Of course, we were all single-vision lens wearers for most of our lives and were used to glasses in general. :slight_smile:

All that being said, my advice is this: get whatever you feel you will like better. And be prepared to use said eyewear for a couple of years - them suckers are expensive! And from my experience, eyewear should come from a higher-scale doctor’s office then Walmart. :slight_smile: I just can’t see as well from the lenses I get at the discount stores as I do from the lenses at my eye doctor’s office. I also have an astigmatism so that may be a contributing factor…

And I can’t believe I typed all that on my iPhone. :slight_smile:

#3

Thanks for the help. I do plan to get the glasses from a very high quality local place that my parents use.

And I can’t believe I typed all that on my iPhone.
Guess they are working.

#4

I wear progressive lenses. I had no problem adapting to them. Going down stairs was a bit tricky at first because if you look at the wrong angle the blur will kill ya! I also have progressive lenses in my prescription sunglasses.

#5

I DIDN’T get progressive lenses in my current glasses, and I’m kicking myself. I have to take them off to do close-up stuff, like reading cards for a board game or playing games on my phone in bed (when, for some reason, I prefer the phone about a foot from my face).

Next pair’s progressive for sure.

#6

Good! There’s nothing worse then trying to adjust to a prescription and then realizing that it’s just not going to happen because the lenses are only about 95% correct. Ugh.

#7

I LOVE my progressive lenses. I am a teacher, and it was driving me crazy having to switch glasses every time I needed to see close up. I had no difficulty whatsoever adjusting.

#8

All this reminds me that I need new glasses soon. I’ve never worn progressive lenses, but bifocals yes.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

#9

Annoyingly, the first few weeks I get these are going to have a pretty intense eye strain. Whatever, can’t let that interfere with what I get, which is a long term solution. Glad to see that pretty much everyone has had good experience with progressive lenses.

#10

Another option you can get sometimes are glasses with a separate “sun-glasses” filter you can clip on to them. My mother had a pair of glasses that actually had magnets built in just behind the lenses to attach to the sun-glasses piece.

I don’t have a pair like that, but in my case, it would be better than the sunglasses I do have because the sunglasses lenses couldn’t be made ultrathin, so the left lens is a lot heavier than the right lens (and almost touches my eye socket)

Another thing you might want to keep an eye out for is how the acidity of your sweat effects the arm of the glasses. With my second pair, my sweat actually caused those to corrode enough that they were staining my skin. I have to get titanium frames now to avoid that.

#11

The sun glasses filter is a cool idea, I’ll see if they have it.

Another thing you might want to keep an eye out for is how the acidity of your sweat effects the arm of the glasses. With my second pair, my sweat actually caused those to corrode enough that they were staining my skin. I have to get titanium frames now to avoid that.

We had not considered that Dude.

#12

Went to the glasses place today. Went with the progressive lenses, and transition. Picked out good frames, slightly larger then I would like style wise, but I wanted to make sure they covered the entire field of view. I want to thank all of you for your help and advise.

#13

Got the glasses today. It is pretty disorienting to wear them. I can tell immediately that the top part with distance is much better. Looking at the computer they did not seem to help much. Not sure about reading.

At this point my eyes are so fatigued that I probably can’t even tell if they work or not. Need to wear them more to see how they feel.

#14

So any advice on how to get used to wearing glasses for the first time?

#15

I usually don’t wear my new lenses (non-bifocals so far!) out of the doctor’s office. I wear my regular ones the rest of the day and then put the new ones on the next morning when I get up. My eyes aren’t so tired and they seem to deal with the new prescription better that way.

Hopefully you’ll adjust in a couple of days. I’ll be joining you in bi-focal land in February at my next annual exam. :slight_smile: