Need advice on what kind of lenses to get – lined bifocals or progressives (and if so, which type).?
I have worn the Nikon progressive lenses in a small squarish frame for about 3 years now. I have HATED it every minute. I usually yank the glasses off my face when I’m talking to people because they go in and out of focus, etc. I can generally see fairly well around except for the small things up close. I have an astigmatism and don’t have a particularly strong prescription. I have asked my eye doctor and several people at the optical store, but no one will venture an opinion other than to try a slightly larger frame/lens. While I think I got used to my glasses as well as possible, it has been constant head adjustment with the slightest motion making what I’m looking at go out of focus. The eye doctor suggested that perhaps lined bifocals would make me happier, but then changed his mind and said I should probably go with the stronger prescription in the progressive. I was hoping that someone here might have some insight for me. I got on a forum for people in the business and discovered just how many types of progressive lenses are out there. Does anyone know if there is one that would suit my situation better? Should I try the lined bifocals in my old glasses (not an expensive proposition at all) first and see how I like them and then try the progressive in a slightly larger lens, but then the question comes up as to which lens to look at, Varilux (and all their varieties), Nikon, the basic polycarbonate progressives, Zeiss, etc. I am a professional musician that likes to do some outdoor sports and really needs the non-glare feature. Anybody got any ideas before I start uninformedly trying different options?
Thank you both for your thoughtful answers. I have been mulling it all over the last few days and I will definitely go and get lined bifocals put into my old frames to start with. I will then also probably go and get a multifocal lens in a larger pair of frames, but still need to do my homework on which lens to choose. I always had a feeling that those Nikon lenses that were in there somehow just didn’t suit my needs. That website that one of you posted is the one that I was on and since I only have a little bit of knowledge, all that detail and wealth of information was rather daunting, so I will have to take my time and go through it in more detail. Thanks for taking the time to help educate me. I’ll post my results with the lined bifocals if this posting doesn’t expire before then.
Thanks!
Oh, I guess I neglected to mention that the stronger prescription was simply because it’s been 3 years since my last exam and a stronger prescription is what is now appropriate, I guess.
greetings.. i worked for Eye Masters (also Vision Works, Vision World, Hour Eyes among a few others) for a while as an optician. EyeMasters doesn’t sell Nikon lenses so i cannot comment directly on that. so, from what i recall most new progressive lense wearers grew to prefer progressives over lined bifocals but there would still be that 25% or so who just couldn’t get used to them. half the time the reason was because the optician who measured where the progressive bifocal should begin set it too high or too low, or the lense in the frame style was just not big enough for the person to comfortably change focus between distance, intermediate and up close vision. everyone’s comfort level with how much of an area they need to focus through the distance and the reading portion of the lense is of course different.
if you haven’t already, you can try adjusting the part of the frame that bends around your ear and/or the nose pieces to make your glasses sit just a hair lower on your nose. i definitely recommend taking it to a local eye shop to get that done however. nose pieces are tricky..
this should be a free service.
i would not recommend upping the prescription simply because if you are comfortable with your prescription, it just isn’t necessary to increase it.
anti-glare can be added to any progressive lense, no worries there.
as for which lense would be ideal for your situation, i can only recommend the best progressive lense available at your optical shop. each eyeglass shop seems to carry their own variety of high quality polycarbonate progressive lense, unless you go to the very high end places.. regardless, if you went to Eye Masters i would definitely recommend the Eagle Vision Trivex progressives.
and regardless of lined bifocal versus no-line, i think it’s wise to own a pair of bifocals regardless of your issue with the progressives, just incase.
the most important thing is to not be bogged down by all the lense types. i realize this is a sensitive sitaution but it’s crucial that you use your judgement/intuition in finding an eyeglass shop with opticians who not only know their product but can compare it to product they do not carry. it’ll save time if you can find an optician you trust.
check out the link and scroll down a bit to the quality & specification comparisons of progressive lenses available.
it sounds like the progressive lenses you have are not properly fitted. It Could be a matter of where they measured the bifocal height for. Because a progressive lens has three focal areas to it, distance intermediate and reading it is critical to take very precise measurements to ensure the proper fitting height. I wouldn’t give up an trying a progressive. Most people after wearing progressives have a harder time going into a lined bifocal the two major complains are that they miss that intermediate channel, used for seeing the computer monitor, the dashboard in the car, and also because you have a segment line when ever you see the bifocal line looking out Thu the distance it can create a jumpy effect. There are some great progressive lenses available. I would recommend a Varilux that lens will give you wider channels Thu the lens all progressives have some distortion. Because they have to blend 3 focal points together the varilux compared to others like the nikon have a narrower channel causing more Peripheral distortion. People wearing varilux don’t seem to notice the distortion areas as much. the anti reflective coatings can be added on just about any lens type. the polycarb lenses will give you an impact resistance, that means the lenses won’t shatter polycarb is also more lightweight than plastic. If your out doors a lot you might like the photochromic lenses they are activated by uv rays and will darken when your out side. they wont get as dark as sunglasses but they will eliminate the squinting and eye strain caused by the sun. Varilux ipseo uses the newest manufacturing processes and is the latest and greatest in varilux. The lenses are basically customized to you past the point of any other molded lens. Fair warning because is is a pricey process to make the lenses they are more expensive than say a varilux comfort which should suit your needs much better than your current glasses do. I Hope that helps good luck