Issues With Progressive Glasses

[jyl]

I'm having a weird issue with progressive eyeglasses, and was curious if others have had this or other issues with them.

The upper third of the lenses are useless, being focused on something past infinity. To see distance, I have to look through roughly the middle part of the lenses. To see my computer screens, I have to look through the bottom third, so I spend all day at work with my head cocked back. To read fine print, I have to look through the very bottom part of the lenses, practically holding the paper under my chin.

I went back to the optician and explained this. They checked the glasses and said it was normal and that the various focal zones couldn't be moved. I made another appointment with the optometrist, who rechecked my eyes and told the optician to remake the lenses, moving the focal zones up.

These damn glasses cost close to $1,000, so I want them to work right. My last pair of progressives was never quite right, and after three years I finally learned that the focal zones were misaligned between the right and left lenses.

I generally do like progressives. When the glasses are correctly made, I have no problem using the different zones.

Anyone having trouble with getting progressive lenses made right?

[Evans, Marv]

I had some about 25 years ago, had the same problems you do. I went back to the optometrist & got the same song & dance you did. I finally just put them away & never used them again. They also made me dizzy when I used the long distance portion of the lense. Waste of money & I just went to using 2 or 3 different grades of reading glasses.

[tevake]

I've been using progressive lenses for years, and also got a pair once that just didn't work for me. But most have been excellent. Except for working in close at eye level or higher then I am looking thru the distance lens and that makes it better to just take them off. How they fit on your nose has a bearing on the location of the transition.
Good luck with them. Maybe go with a different maker?

Cheers Richard

[Heel n Toe]

I feel your pain, but not completely. I had bifocals once a good while ago and didn't like them. Could never get used to them, and I am a patient man.

I wore them for a coupla years and made the best of it. I'm sure that even progressives with only two strength levels would be equally as unpleasant/unusable for me.

So, now... I prefer one pair of glasses at a prescription strength that is optimum for driving, outdoor stuff, and movies... and I keep them in the car.

I have two pairs of inexpensive drugstore reading glasses for reading. I can carry a pair with me anywhere I may need them.

I don't need anything for using a computer, but if I did, I would probably be able to address that with a different strength of cheap reading glasses.

Some may say this is not optimum for them and their life, no fun to be changing glasses, too easy to forget, lose, or misplace one of the "components" of this system, but it has worked flawlessly for me.

I will add that I am also not one who has a universal remote to handle the TV, VCR, DVD player/recorder, either... so I'm no renaissance man.

And I like it like that.

Also, $1000 for a pair of glasses is... uh... not something I would do.

BTW, with the current style of frames that is often less than 3/4" tall, if one did want or need progressive lenses, it might be a good idea to try a frame that provides for a larger/taller lens so each "band" would be taller from top to bottom...

Divide these up into three horizontal strength bands, and it would seem you've got a built in problem:


Picking frames like these... less of a problem if one needed two or more "bands:"

[jyl]

Damn insomnia.

My frames are more like the second ones shown, lots of vertical dimension to work with. Ray-Ban "New Wayfarers", I like 'em.

Yeah, I was blown away at the cost. This is LensCrafters. Last set was Costco, I didn't want to go there again after finding out how badly they made that set. I have super-bad eyes, get high density material, also astigmatism, coatings, progressives, and photo-gray. Still thinking I got taken.

[mossguy]

Me too (insomnia). I've been wearing progressives successfully for the first time as a result of cataract surgery. Prior to the surgery, there was too much of a differential between near and far and I could not get used to them. The biggest problem before was peripheral vision.

[jyl]

This is the "wake up at 2 am" kind of insomnia. Usually very irritating since I get up at 4:00 am on weekdays, so it soon becomes pointless to go back to sleep. On weekends it is less of an inconvenience, but I'm (planning to) get up at 6:00 am today so still irritating.

I very seldom have the "can't fall asleep" sort of insomnia. I'm usually out like a light.

I wish I understood why I wake up in the middle of the night, and could stop it.

[gamin]

$1000 for glasses??? I paid $97 for 2 pair of titanium frame progressive lens glasses ordered on the internet. That included shipping and I received them in a little over a week. I couldn't be more pleased with fit and vision. Much better than the locally obtained expensive glasses that they replaced. Only additional expense is the cost of the eye exam.

[jyl]

Where did you get them?

[azasadny]

This is my 1st pair of progressive lenses and it took me a few weeks to get used to them, but they are fine now... Go back to your optometrist to make sure the glasses were made correctly.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by jyl

This is the "wake up at 2 am" kind of insomnia....

I very seldom have the "can't fall asleep" sort of insomnia. I'm usually out like a light.

I wish I understood why I wake up in the middle of the night, and could stop it.

I don't require a lot of sleep (4-5 hrs), but I have the same issue. I think part of it was being on-call 24x7x365 for years. Had to go from deep REM to wide awake and processing info within seconds of the phone ringing...I can't help ya . Once I wake up...no matter what time it is...I'm up!

[ddbach]

It sounds from your description that your lenses maybe a bit over-minused causing you to need to use part of your add for the distance.

I would speak with your optometrist again and ask them to put the distance correction in a trial frame so you can see what it looks like outside of the exam room. Exam lanes are designed to simulate 20ft which works well for the vast majority of people but every once in a while trial frames will find a small difference. A small increase in the reading add can also move the part you are using for near higher in the lens.

If your old pair are better also ask the optometrist or the optician to check what lens you have been wearing, both manufacturer and design as there are a substantial number of them. Sometimes a change in this can affect your use and comfort.

On shorter depth frames there are two general kinds of progressives; standard corridor and short corridor. The short corridor lense have a faster rate of change as you look down into the progressive allowing smaller frames to still be used. Newer designs of progressives put add power on both the front and back of the lens reducing distortion at the edge of the add. Definity is one such brand, this can improve comfort and wearability.

[jhynesrockmtn]

I tried them and couldn't see anything. Figured out my shyster eye doc got my prescription wrong after 4 visits back. I finally got his counter person to compare them to my original glasses. By this time he had transitioned me to bifocals which I'm now wearing. I will not go back to his shop and not sure I'd try progressives again. My girlfriend just got some and is struggling with hers. I still wear my original glasses for the computer.

[gamin]

jyl - Got them from zennioptical.com after recommendations from co-workers. Tip - when you get your prescription you must get the pd which is the distance between your pupils.

[89911]

Any Walmart or Costco can set you up with a regular pair of glasses. When you get into progressive lens, the stakes and the expertise go up. Fortunately I go to a husband-wife practice that know what they are doing. My last contact fitting took almost an 1 1/2 hours to fine tune. I have been wearing progressive lens for the past 5 years and know have them in 2 other pairs. Many factors have to go in and the first and most important is the position of the corrections and the size of the glasses. Obviously your not happy with these so you are seeking advice. You generally have 2 zones to look through, so I'm not sure whats up with the top part of your glasses. It should be the same until you get to the transition. You didn't say if these are new or older glasses and if you recently experienced a change. Doesn't matter if they tell you there fine or not, if you unhappy with them, get a change. Also progressive's are never going to be like having the vision of a 20 years old and are a series of compromise. As is most when you get older.

[Superman]

I wear progressives, and have for some time. Yes, the lenses must be placed in the frames in EXACTLY the right spot. Left-and-right, and also up-and-down. Particularly left-and-right. I have a pair I wish I had taken back, as they are not correct. If yours are not correct, make them do it again.

Wow. Thousand dollars, eh? That seems like a lot, even with all the features.

My main glasses have the anti-glare coating, which I like. It allows people to see my eyes, and also reduces glare a tiny bit.

I would recommend against photo-grey. The reason is because this does little to reduce eye strain in bright light. The thing that reduces eye strain in bright light is polarization, which the photo-greys do not do. At some point, it might make sense to pick up a plain, prescription set of polarized glasses. For driving and whatnot. WAY more effective than photo-grey.

Oh, one more thing. Progressive lenses, I am told, have to be made so that there is one or two locations on each lens that are useless to you. Think of a square curb and a handicap-ramp curb next to each other. There is an area, between the two, where you have neither a handicap curb nor a square curb. Apparently, according to the physics of refraction, progressive lenses require some space where they "mush" some optics that are neither single-vision nor magnified. Or so I am told.

[jyl]

Interesting. I need to learn about progressives. I looked at the new prescription I got yesterday, it is a bit different from the original prescription the glasses were made to, and the new prescription also says "move higher" with the same +2 notation as before.

I'm optimistic these will be fixed and then I'll wear them for 3-5 years, so the price, although it seems excessive, is just a lesson learned not a big deal. I think I'll eventually get a set of single vision computer glasses to keep at work, and maybe a pair of prescription sunglasses too.

[Superman]

Originally Posted by jyl

I think I'll eventually get a set of single vision computer glasses to keep at work, and maybe a pair of prescription sunglasses too.

This is actually a pretty good idea. Have your optometrist set them up for you. They can dial them in to the exact distance to your computer screen.

[jyl]

Jeez, went pistol shooting, could hardly focus on my front sight.

Here is the first prescription.
OD sphere -9.25 cylinder -2.25 axis 180
OS sphere -9.00 cylinder -2.75 axis 001
+200

Here is the one the optometrist told them to remake my lenses with
OD sphere -9.25 cylinder -2.25 axis 003
OS sphere -9.00 cylinder -3.00 axis 001
+200
Raise P_____ ht (can't read this)

Does this tell you anything? From the little I know about eyeglass prescriptions, the two look very close? I assume +200 is actually +2.00 for near vision.

Also, can anyone help me figure out what glasses one would get, if one were planning to work seriously on one's shooting? Single vision, focused on three feet away (front sight)? What if one uses a red dot sight? Color for indoor ranges?

EDIT: actually I found this which addresses the shooting thing, very interesting.

http://www.sportglasses.com/content/Front_Sight_Blur.htm

[ddbach]

Yes, those are very close to the same and should have minimal difference between them. Seeing the numbers though does raise a question. Did they check a vertex distance? That is the distance from your eye to the back face of the lens. In a strong prescription (yours is quite strong) this can affect how well you see. I am still interested in what your old prescription is by comparison not just these two. It maybe where the new frame sits relative to your eyes vs where the old frame sat that is an issue. One mm can make a difference for you. Yes, the +200 is your reading add. They probably said raise prog ht = raise progressive height.

Ask them to do an over refraction, i.e. you wear the new glasses and the phoropter gets put up and they recheck your power.