Progressive glasses - BIG adjustment?

[happ]

I've worn progressives for 20 years. I started with the Verilux and it took me about 4-5 weeks to adjust. You can't go back and forth with single vision lenses or your eyes won't adjust to them. Once I got adjusted I couldn't be without them. I was fortunate to had a good optician because the PD and centers needs to be absolutely correct. I have tried other lesser expensive lenses but they never could get right so I got my money back. In recent years I'm have a harder time adjusting to new lenses. I don't know if it's because I have more astigmatism or if the younger optician just aren't well experience.

 

[Osprey]

I really like the verilux brand. Local stores push their digital alternative and I have had the experience of having one store misrepresent that they were giving me verilux lens when they instead gave me digital lens. I had new glasses made last week with verilux lens and huge difference especially with the sun glasses. Very frustrating that u can't tell from the lens, no marking, as to what type of lens is being sold. Buyer beware!

 

[Midpack]

I really like the verilux brand. Local stores push their digital alternative and I have had the experience of having one store misrepresent that they were giving me verilux lens when they instead gave me digital lens. I had new glasses made last week with verilux lens and huge difference especially with the sun glasses. Very frustrating that u can't tell from the lens, no marking, as to what type of lens is being sold. Buyer beware!

Not sure if it's comparable, but my lenses are Trivex? Supposed to be the next to the best lens ForEyes offers.

 

[tdv2]

I've had them for years. I have a pair of single lens sunglasses I use when driving and playing golf. Never adjusted very well to progressive when trying to hit a golf ball.

Same here. I have a pair for about 3 months now and have adjusted. As you have said....no good for golf.

 

[Hermit]

I've worn progressives for 20 years. I started with the Verilux and it took me about 4-5 weeks to adjust. You can't go back and forth with single vision lenses or your eyes won't adjust to them. Once I got adjusted I couldn't be without them. I was fortunate to had a good optician because the PD and centers needs to be absolutely correct. I have tried other lesser expensive lenses but they never could get right so I got my money back. In recent years I'm have a harder time adjusting to new lenses. I don't know if it's because I have more astigmatism or if the younger optician just aren't well experience.

I started progressives with Verilux. Never had a problem. The ones I just got are a problem for reading small print. I'm back to the older pair. I'll have to ask at Costco what type of lens the new ones are.

 

[Live And Learn]

I'm late to this party but here is my experience with Progressive lenses.

I actually don't need glasses at all for the computer or reading, but I got tired of misplacing my distance glasses and having to take them on and off at places which required some longer distance and some reading distance times (like Mass). I've also always had transition lenses. So I now wear glasses full time just out of pure convenience. I have found that the "mid distance" view (computer distance) doesn't work well enough on the progressives so I do take my glasses off when at the computer.

I tried to return my first pair of progressives 3 times during the trial period. I HATED them. I'm glad the optometrist wouldn't take "no" for an answer. I love them now, but it did take me about 6 weeks to really feel comfortable.

Last year I got my first pair of prescription sunglasses (ie: not transitions, but full time sunglasses). I wanted more a wrap around to use for fishing. I don't find any difference in compression of distance that you are experiencing. I would go back and discuss what you are seeing with the optometrist.

 

[Amethyst]

I graduated to progressive bifocals at 50, after 40 years of glasses and contact lenses. The only issue I've had is that the smaller lenses that were in fashion when I got the bifocals, didn't have enough room at the bottom for the small-print RX. Mr. A. had the same problem. Larger frames solved this, although with the unfortunate side effect of being heavier (yes, even the expensive "lightweight" frames get heavy on the nose).

I also have bifocal contact lenses, but they have gotten less effective over time. Dr. says this is age-related (isn't everything?)

 

[Midpack]

It has gotten a little easier over the past 3 days, but I have to aim my head side to side and up and down to find the best focus, and peripheral vision is severely limited - that's the big unexpected surprise for me. Having fuzzy images in my periphery all the time isn't desirable to me. I'll keep at it, but this has not been what I expected at all.

I've had cheapo clear and sunglass bifocals before and adapted to them instantly. I expected progressives to be the same as bifocals with the split line smoothed. They aren't that at all. Peripheral vision with bifocals is vastly superior to both pairs of progressives I got.

I don't care about the fashion aspect of having lines in my glasses. I sure wish I'd asked more questions about $526 ago...

 

[Maximus]

I realize this thread is old but my eye exam is next week and I am considering progressive lenses. Two questions.

Has the technology changed at all in the last six years?

Midpack, did you stick with the progressives or give up?

 

[GenXguy]

I hadn't seen this thread before. I got progressive lenses about 10 years ago and had the same surprise as Midpack. I returned them immediately. Some people are happy they "got used to them" quickly, but I had no interest in getting used to inferior eyeglass correction than I was used to of having clear vision across the periphery.

Why would anyone want to "get used to" having worse peripheral vision? Not me.

 

[Irishgirlyc58]

I tried progressives about 5 years ago. Could not stand them.
Having to move your head instead of your eyes and then the blurring you see, not for me.
I have mono vision so I need prescription reading glasses.
I have bifocals for every day multiple uses, just reading glasses if all I’m doing is reading, and distance sunglasses for driving.
I had bifocal sunglasses for driving but I thought just distance would be better. I was wrong.
I got them at Costco so next time I am buying a couple of pairs I will get the bifocal sunglasses again.

I basically have a suitcase for all of my eye glasses. [emoji23]
But it works better than progressives!

 

[RunningBum]

I tried progressives ~15 years ago and didn't like them, for the same reasons given in the OP. Went with bifocals, but didn't care for them so much. I can't remember why, but it was easy for a new eye doctor to talk me into trying progressives again. Now they are perfectly fine for me. I don't know how to predict without trying them. Maybe the technology got better? Dunno.

 

[Midpack]

I started this thread almost 6 years ago?

I've since adjusted to the first pairs of progressives, you get used to them IME. Now I just got my second set, slightly different prescription, and it will take some time to adjust to them. But I still don't use them for golf, reading, or watching TV where single focal length is the only thing I can handle.

 

[Dash man]

I’ve been using progressive lens for about ten years and love them. My current pairs are from Costco and they’re great. It originally took me a day or so to get used to them, but now adjust to a new pair within a couple of hours at most.
DW tried them, but gave them up quickly. I wish she had stuck with them long enough to adjust.

 

[RunningBum]

If I still golfed, I doubt I'd use them as it would throw me off. I also try not to walk down stairs with them, or at least try to avoid looking down. But I have no problem driving, reading, watching TV with laptop on my lap, etc. I don't run or ski with them because I really don't need them that much for distance where perfect clarity isn't needed, and it would probably throw me off whenever I looked down.

 

[easysurfer]

I got new progressive lenses about a month ago. For me like that Forest Gump quote about box of chocolates. I think there are a lot of variables getting prescriptions on the sweet spot of the lenses. The last two time, I needed the opticians to try twice as first time around was way out of balance. Amazing how one's brain eventually adjusts to a decent pair.

I read an article somewhere saying, it's normal to not have just one pair of glasses. That's what I do now. One for driving, one for day to day don't need that sharp vision, computer. Plus the best approach reading up close, "no glasses and be like Mr. Magoo."

 

[fh2000]

Some 15 years ago, I first heard of progressive and bifocal glasses from Costco. I did not like the fact that bifocals had a distinct line in the middle. Those are for old people, I thought, so I chose progressive. I never used bifocal so do not know if I like them or not.

 

[statsman]

I also try not to walk down stairs with them, or at least try to avoid looking down.

That was going to be my comment. When walking down stairs of more than one flight, I will remove my progressives as I tend to look down. A co-worker friend of mine took a header going down stairs in the first week she wore them. I doubt any technology improvements would help with this specific situation.

 

[Act2]

I’ve had a good experience with progressive lenses for the last ten years or so. I feel that the therapeutic optometrist who fitted them for me was extremely careful, took a great deal of time making sure they were ‘just so’.

But I also had hard progressive contact lenses - the best vision I’ve had in many years. About two or three years ago, I found that the rigid gas perm contacts were no longer comfortable enough, as my older eyes were drier. And so now I’m going through another grand experiment: soft contacts, but I have to wear readers, too. And my computer screen readers are different from my book readers. Many glasses everywhere.

I know a lot of people get two contacts done differently - one for close vision and one for far but that just seems like it would be an endless source of migraines!

It’s a trial and error process. What works for awhile might not work in a couple years, and vice versa.

 

[tfudtuckerpucker]

I bought my first progressives from Costco some years ago. They were terrible! I had to move my head to look around. They I got a pair from a local optometrist. They are wonderful! I don't have to move my head to look
around at all. I think maybe it's because the intermediate areas in first lenses were too narrow. All I know is my new progressives are great. I would definitely talk with your optometrist- explain your concern.

 

[aaronc879]

I just got progressives last year at age 42. I didn't like them the first couple weeks but got used to them quick and they are fine. I never tried bifocals so don't know what I like better. I just know I can't see anything without glasses so I use what the eye doctor said I needed.

 

[Montecfo]

I have progressive glasses and sunglasses and have for years. There was an adjustment. I mainly needed the glasses for board meetings where I needed to be able to assess the projection screen and look at my computer.

Now? My next glasses may be single vision. I am nearsighted, so need them for driving and sporting events.

Other times I can remove them which I prefer to moving my head. And I do not need reading glasses and want to keep it that way.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

I have had progressive lenses for as long as I can remember. Some have been better than others. They take some getting used to. I was told to start using new prescription first thing in the morning when you eyes are rested. Your eyes will adjust easier than just taking off your old ones and immediately using the new ones. I think it depends on the lens materials used for some people.
They work great for me for daily stuff except for working on a computer. Progressive lenses have a narrow field of view when viewing things up close. Ok for viewing cell phone or book but wider computer screens cause you to have to move your head around too much to try to refocus. Computer specific glass really help open your field of vision while staring at the screen.

 

[jollystomper]

I have had progressives for about 15 years. It took me perhaps a week to get used to them. I have not had any issues. I do not see any blurring effect if I move my head. I also use progressive sunglasses when I drive, and they work fine for me as well.

 

[COcheesehead]

Progressive lens can be made in many ways. Don’t cheap out - go to a well reviewed source. I have had progressive lens for 10+ years and have not had a problem, but I had them made to my lifestyle- bigger reader zones.