Anyone Here Knowledgeable About Eyeglasses?

[GO-NAD!]

Some background - I recently turned 50 and a couple of years ago, I started wearing off-the-shelf reading glasses for reading and computer use. I actually needed a couple different strengths for each purpose. Prior to that, I hadn't ever required glasses; so, my experience with them has been fairly brief.

Anyway, last September, I saw my Optometrist, who confirmed my need for glasses. Plus, she said I needed some distance correction - which was a surprise to me, as I hadn't noticed any problem with focusing on anything beyond a couple of feet. I figured, "OK, she's the expert". So, the verdict was - progressive lenses needed. But, when we started talking about the price of the lenses - almost $600, including all the coatings, just for the lenses - I balked. I figured that I could manage with the cheap reading glasses and if I needed any distance correction, it was so minimal that I could easily get by without it.

But, over the past few months, I found it more and more annoying to have to carry around the reading glasses in order to focus on my phone, restaurant menus, product labels in stores, etc. And, if I'm wearing them, I have to take them off to focus on anything beyond 2 or 3 feet. So, I was constantly putting them on and taking them off. I got so fed up, I decided to get my prescription filled. I took it to Costco, where I could get glasses for a bit more than half the price my Optometrist charged.

I received my glasses this past Monday and I must say that I'm happy with them - except for distance. Up to about 6 - 8 feet, they're fine. Beyond that, they seem to make my vision worse. I realize that it depends on the section of lens that I'm looking through to focus on an object at a given distance, but it doesn't seem to matter which section I'm looking through. It's just a slight out-of-focus sensation, so it's taken me since Monday to decide that I'm not imagining it.

I just need to figure out how to address this. Is it too soon to say that the glasses don't have the proper distance correction? If not, how should I handle this?

This is what I'm thinking:
1. Go back to Costco and get the glasses checked to confirm they conform with the prescription.
2. If the glasses conform with the prescription, get their Optometrist/Optician to check my eyes to confirm my prescription. If I go through steps 1 and 2 and everything checks out correct, I will have just paid $450 for reading glasses!!
3. If my distance vision requires different/no correction, this will be be where it gets complicated. If I go back to my Optometrist and tell her she shagged up my prescription, she could just say that my vision changed between September and now. I wouldn't think that to be at all likely, but could that be her trump card? I think I need less, or no, distance correction. That may be my trump card, because I rather doubt that my vision got better between September and now.

Or, do I just need more time to get used to them?

 

[Speedskater]

I'm far from being an expert, but I have worn eyeglasses since I was 10 years old. I'm nearsighted so the bifocal part has less correction than the main part of the lens. I have two pair of glasses, an outdoor & sports pair with a small (area) bifocal and an indoor & reading & computer pair with a large bifocal.
Once I tried progressive lens, what a mistake! Only a small area of the bifocal focus's at any distance and much of the total lens area never comes into focus.

 

[Swerd]

GO-NAD!

It seems you have now developed classic "early elderly eyes". Welcome to the club! Get used to it because it won't get better. Consider yourself lucky if it doesn't get progressively worse over the years.

Yes, you should definitely go back to Costco to double check your glasses.

But I suspect, based only on what you describe, that you will have to get used to it. However, I could easily be wrong about that.

Like Speedskater, I've been somewhat nearsighted all my life, and have worn glasses since I was 10. I needed the glasses only for distance vision, to watch TV, movies, to see the blackboard at school, and to play baseball. Even though I played a lot, I was always a poor hitter. I often swung late and if I did hit the ball, it usually went to the opposite field.

With the new glasses, I could properly focus on the ball and judge it's distance better. My hitting got better, and I took advantage of my prior experience at hitting to the opposite field. So I quickly decided I liked those glasses. I still wear single focus lens glasses as I got used to taking them off for anything closer than arms length.

Around the time I turned 50 (give or take) I noticed that I wasn't so near sighted any more. That was only a passing phase, as my eyes were aging. Now they're getting worse more rapidly. Changing focus and adapting to bright or dim light take much longer than it used to.

So get your glasses fixed if you have to, and make the best of your eyes while you can. It's only money. It can, and likely will, get worse with time.

 

[Hobbit]

Some background - I recently turned 50 and a couple of years ago, I started wearing off-the-shelf reading glasses for reading and computer use. I actually needed a couple different strengths for each purpose. Prior to that, I hadn't ever required glasses; so, my experience with them has been fairly brief.

Anyway, last September, I saw my Optometrist, who confirmed my need for glasses. Plus, she said I needed some distance correction - which was a surprise to me, as I hadn't noticed any problem with focusing on anything beyond a couple of feet. I figured, "OK, she's the expert". So, the verdict was - progressive lenses needed. But, when we started talking about the price of the lenses - almost $600, including all the coatings, just for the lenses - I balked. I figured that I could manage with the cheap reading glasses and if I needed any distance correction, it was so minimal that I could easily get by without it.

But, over the past few months, I found it more and more annoying to have to carry around the reading glasses in order to focus on my phone, restaurant menus, product labels in stores, etc. And, if I'm wearing them, I have to take them off to focus on anything beyond 2 or 3 feet. So, I was constantly putting them on and taking them off. I got so fed up, I decided to get my prescription filled. I took it to Costco, where I could get glasses for a bit more than half the price my Optometrist charged.

I received my glasses this past Monday and I must say that I'm happy with them - except for distance. Up to about 6 - 8 feet, they're fine. Beyond that, they seem to make my vision worse. I realize that it depends on the section of lens that I'm looking through to focus on an object at a given distance, but it doesn't seem to matter which section I'm looking through. It's just a slight out-of-focus sensation, so it's taken me since Monday to decide that I'm not imagining it.

I just need to figure out how to address this. Is it too soon to say that the glasses don't have the proper distance correction? If not, how should I handle this?

This is what I'm thinking:
1. Go back to Costco and get the glasses checked to confirm they conform with the prescription.
2. If the glasses conform with the prescription, get their Optometrist/Optician to check my eyes to confirm my prescription. If I go through steps 1 and 2 and everything checks out correct, I will have just paid $450 for reading glasses!!
3. If my distance vision requires different/no correction, this will be be where it gets complicated. If I go back to my Optometrist and tell her she shagged up my prescription, she could just say that my vision changed between September and now. I wouldn't think that to be at all likely, but could that be her trump card? I think I need less, or no, distance correction. That may be my trump card, because I rather doubt that my vision got better between September and now.

Or, do I just need more time to get used to them?

I have had glasses incorrectly made. However, the issue wasn't that the prescription was wrong. What they did was get the centering of the lenses off. This is when you look into a machine that measures the distance between you pupils. They sometimes do this manually with a ruler and mark on the lenses. If the optic center of the lens isn't centered over your eye you will have problems like you describe.

As for myself, unless I'm reading a book for extended periods I can still get by without reading glasses. My doctor convinced me to get small enough glasses that I can look under them while reading. I must say that when I'm out at restaurants with friends I need to take them off or my eye's will strain looking across the table...

I had LASIK done that eventually waned over the years. I really never noticed until last summer when I was in Vancouver, BC driving around and was having problems reading the signs from a distance. Fortunately the change isn't so big, about a -1 diopter, that I can still get away without glasses if need be.

Around the office I had a bigger pair of glasses made with Zeise officelens. I love them. They have a center band that's setup for the computer (viewing at a distance of ~25-30"), a smaller section at the bottom to look down at documents, and an upper that's about 75% full regular prescription, which is perfect for walking around the office. At 75% you really don't notice it's not full strength until you forget they're on and start driving! I got used to them fast.

 

[Hobbit]

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[GO-NAD!]

I'm far from being an expert, but I have worn eyeglasses since I was 10 years old. I'm nearsighted so the bifocal part has less correction than the main part of the lens. I have two pair of glasses, an outdoor & sports pair with a small (area) bifocal and an indoor & reading & computer pair with a large bifocal.
Once I tried progressive lens, what a mistake! Only a small area of the bifocal focus's at any distance and much of the total lens area never comes into focus.

I wonder if progressive lenses can be too much of a compromise. The only reason I got the prescription glasses was to avoid having separate reading and computer glasses, as well as to correct (supposedly) my distance vision. I'm still suspicious of the distance correction added to my prescription though; I didn't think I required any. If I was a betting man, I would say I don't need it. And, if I don't really need it, I've wasted my money on these. We'll see...

 

[Hobbit]

I have had glasses incorrectly made. However, the issue wasn't that the prescription was wrong. What they did was get the centering of the lenses off. This is when you look into a machine that measures the distance between you pupils. They sometimes do this manually with a ruler and mark on the lenses. If the optic center of the lens isn't centered over your eye you will have problems like you describe.
.

I just want to point out that if this is the issue, the lenses will measure the correct magnification when they put it on their machine....

 

[TLS Guy]

Hobbit may well be correct. I would never trust Costco or a chain with a job like that.

Getting the lens centered and the transition in the right place is skilled.

At an eye center in Eagan, actually owned by an ophthalmologist, the staff did not know how to carry out the procedure properly and I had to teach them. They did not get it close to correct when I checked what they had done.

However, you are at an age when your eyes will be changing. Your lens will be stiffening and changing its focal length. So you should really have had another refraction before having the lenses made. It could also be that your lenses were made incorrectly.

I went through frequent lens changes starting in the forties, and then it stabilized until my cataracts started to develop. That caused frequent changes. Two years ago I had lens implants in both eyes, and my vision has been perfect and stable since.

That brings me to the next issue. You are old enough that you could be developing cataracts. My wife developed hers at about your age and had to have lens replacements in her early fifties.

So, my advice, before you do anything else is to see and experienced ophthalmologist and get a complete and thorough eye exam.

Obviously something is not right and you need a definitive diagnosis and assessment of your problem.

 

[GO-NAD!]

GO-NAD!

It seems you have now developed classic "early elderly eyes". Welcome to the club! Get used to it because it won't get better. Consider yourself lucky if it doesn't get progressively worse over the years.

Yes, you should definitely go back to Costco to double check your glasses.

But I suspect, based only on what you describe, that you will have to get used to it. However, I could easily be wrong about that.

It was certainly disconcerting when my eyes started to go off, as I had excellent vision until a couple of years ago. My parents and siblings all started wearing glasses at an early age - I was the odd one (shut up! ). In fact, just 8 - 9 years ago, when I had my pre-employment medical for my present job, they were quite impressed with my vision. I kept going further and further down the eye chart until they said, "OK, stop! We've seen enough!". When they checked my colour vision, I could identify a figure that - in their experience - nobody had been able to identify before. I had also been a very good shot, too. When I was in the navy, I always did well at the rifle range, even though I only went about once a year. I haven't picked up a firearm since I left the navy, so I have no idea how I'd do now.

I will definitely be going back to Costco.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Hobbit may well be correct. I would never trust Costco or a chain with a job like that.

Getting the lens centered and the transition in the right place is skilled.

At an eye center in Eagan, actually owned by an ophthalmologist, the staff did not know how to carry out the procedure properly and I had to teach them. They did not get it close to correct when I checked what they had done.

However, you are at an age when your eyes will be changing. Your lens will be stiffening and changing its focal length. So you should really have had another refraction before having the lenses made. It could also be that your lenses were made incorrectly.

I went through frequent lens changes starting in the forties, and then it stabilized until my cataracts started to develop. That caused frequent changes. Two years ago I had lens implants in both eyes, and my vision has been perfect and stable since.

That brings me to the next issue. You are old enough that you could be developing cataracts. My wife developed hers at about your age and had to have lens replacements in her early fifties.

So, my advice, before you do anything else is to see and experienced ophthalmologist and get a complete and thorough eye exam.

Obviously something is not right and you need a definitive diagnosis and assessment of your problem.

When they checked the centering, they used an instrument that looked like the old viewmasters we had as kids, only bigger. If the centering was off, wouldn't it also affect my vision at all distances, including up close for the computer and reading? Because, for those purposes, they work perfectly fine. It's only when I look beyond 6 - 8 feet that they seem to negatively affect my vision.

I had a thorough exam by my Optometrist who said my eyes were very healthy - except for the age-related focusing problem. If I was developing cataracts, I think she would have mentioned it. And, wouldn't it affect my vision at all distances? That's the thing - I don't think I need distance correction, or not as much as prescribed. That's the only quibble I have right now and I think she made an error in that regard.

Thanks for the input though - it's certainly food for thought.

 

[Swerd]

TLS Guy may be right. Where I live, an optometrist can check visual acuity and prescribe corrective lenses, and they are trained to look for other problems, but cannot treat them. A good optometrist should know when to refer someone to see an MD. They should be able to easily recognize early stage cataracts. But when in doubt, you can always go see a pro on your own.

I've had great familiarity with ophthalmologists for years. For reasons other than what I described above (glaucoma), I see an ophthalmologist at least 4 times yearly. For a while, I also went to Baltimore every month to see a guy at Johns Hopkins U. about what was diagnosed as idiopathic uveitis (Greek for your eye is red and damned if we know why). I was taking high-dose prednisone for it. (If you have to ask whats the problem with prednisone, consider yourself lucky .)

At least once a year my ophthalmologist does the full visual acuity check. He also carefully observes my retina, as well as maps them physically and functionally to look for advancing glaucoma. He has warned me against going to those chain-store optician shops. After the experience I once had with them, he only had to tell me once. And yes, I'm developing cataracts. Once they get ripe enough, my eye doc will do the surgery on them.

So yes, as you age, having an ophthalmologist is quite useful. I hope you live long enough to have cataracts, and I hope you never need an ophthalmologist for anything other than cataracts.

 

[TLS Guy]

When they checked the centering, they used an instrument that looked like the old viewmasters we had as kids, only bigger. If the centering was off, wouldn't it also affect my vision at all distances, including up close for the computer and reading? Because, for those purposes, they work perfectly fine. It's only when I look beyond 6 - 8 feet that they seem to negatively affect my vision.

I had a thorough exam by my Optometrist who said my eyes were very healthy - except for the age-related focusing problem. If I was developing cataracts, I think she would have mentioned it. And, wouldn't it affect my vision at all distances? That's the thing - I don't think I need distance correction, or not as much as prescribed. That's the only quibble I have right now and I think she made an error in that regard.

Thanks for the input though - it's certainly food for thought.

My only comment is that an optometrist is not an ophthalmologist, and has nowhere near comparable training. In addition a well equipped ophthalmology office has a lot more expensive "toys" with the training and license to use them.

I can tell you from experience, optometrists miss all kinds of medical and surgical eye conditions. They are trained in, and usually competent at refraction, but really not much else.

So, my advice to you is to seek out an experienced ophthalmologist, which will be covered under your Canadian medical plan.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Another 50 year old here who's vision has changed a lot over the past year.

I have two pair of expensive progressive lens glasses that stay in my drawer. My favorite glasses are just plain and simple single vision and I take the dang things off to read.

My real cost is for my sunglasses as I have to have a lot of different color lenses for varying light conditions when I am riding/racing. That gets expensive in a hurry.

 

[Swerd]

My real cost is for my sunglasses as I have to have a lot of different color lenses for varying light conditions when I am riding/racing.

What are the different colors for?

Two years ago, I replaced my sunglasses and was happy to get polarizing prescription lenses. I also remember from when I skied, that yellow goggles were good for overcast days. What else?

 

[GO-NAD!]

I don't want to appear unappreciative of the advice, but isn't it a bit premature to be seeing an Opthomalagist? Should I not just get the glasses checked first? Oh, and opthamology (or any other eyecare) is not covered by Medicare, unless it involves hospitalization.

 

[TLS Guy]

I don't want to appear unappreciative of the advice, but isn't it a bit premature to be seeing an Opthomalagist? Should I not just get the glasses checked first? Oh, and opthamology (or any other eyecare) is not covered by Medicare, unless it involves hospitalization.

Certainly the chances of an urgent condition here are remote.

By all means see if the glasses can be rectified.

However, at your age a thorough eye check has a lot to recommend it.

Certainly if you make no progress, you need to move up the food chain. At your age you should correct to at least 20/20 in both left and right eyes.

When I practiced in Manitoba, and that is a long time ago, ophthalmologists were paid on the same basis as everyone else, refraction excepted, as that would not have been fair to the optometrists. But I suppose this may now be a penalty for optometrists getting into fields they are not properly trained for.

 

[KEW]

Certainly first step should be checking to be sure the glasses Costco made are correct. They should do this without any trouble.
CostCo actually only make digital glasses (custom CNC) now, and are a great value.

I'm a firm believer in doing as much as you can on your own before going to the office.
You should also look at some far away print with and without your glasses. If you cannot tell a clear improvement from the glasses and feel your vision is good without them, then the Rx for distance is clearly wrong or not needed! You might also get a friend and compare your long distance vision against theirs.

If these indicate you need long distance Rx, then get to the Ophthalmologist.

The optometrist may have been looking at the sale of $600 glasses when he decided you needed a long distance Rx. They don't make a killing on exams, but do on glasses. Especially the progressive lenses.

You may have been better off sticking with you reading glasses or going retro with half lenses that won't interfere with looking up for long distances:

Or getting slender single vision glasses and letting them ride low on your nose:

 

[ParadigmDawg]

What are the different colors for?

Two years ago, I replaced my sunglasses and was happy to get polarizing prescription lenses. I also remember from when I skied, that yellow goggles were good for overcast days. What else?

I have lenses for:
bright sun
overcast
clear for night
http://www.evo.com/oakley-goggle-lens-color-tint-guide.aspx

 

[Alex2507]

I got me some Varilx Lenses. I'm sure they sell themselves better than I could but more transitions or breaks in the lens allow for a better distance graduation for the first couple a three feet.

My experience with the fancy shmancy surgeon type writing my script was that he was a slob at that. He understood that small 1/4 degree adjustments wouldn't matter much to begin with and the tolerance of the lens makers is only so good. I feel like he's happy I'm not bleeding out of my eye sockets and my vision is only gonna be so good so stop whining and get the f^%& out of my office.

Since my insurance company employs some cut rate Davis Vision outfit, who bull whips their inspectors to maintain a low fail rate on lenses, some lenses that shouldn't pass do pass. Costco can't be much different. I've had to send the last 2/3 of my prescriptions back.

I also chose a frame with lots of lens ie big frames so that I'd have lots of room for this transition. As it turns out there is one spot where the lens starts to shift on my right eye and the distance vision there is perfect. They won't ever be able to nail down that one weird spot and apply it to the entirety of the distance script, not according to Burt, my eye guy.

For watching movies I also got a single vision distance lens which work well on long drives with a polarized green clip on. I've had brown and grey tints before but now prefer the green. I think that's all I got on eyes. Good luck w/ CS.

 

[rojo]

All y'all just need longer arms. Problem solved. Except for Swerd. You're just screwed, man.

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