Getting used to wearing glasses; any tips., please?

Got ‘convinced’ that I needed to ‘upgrade’ to varifocals at my last eye test (I have worn reading glasses for a few years now) which would help with my intermediate range vision (watching TV). I opted for the custom made lenses as they were supposed to have a wider sweet spot and less distortion at the edges.
Could not get on with them – the distortion made me feel sick and the reading area was so hard to find it drove me up the wall. I tried to wear them for driving but I felt they were more dangerous wearing them than the slight improvement they produced.
Thankfully I got a full refund on the cost and have stuck with my current glasses…

Me too baz and as I need to wear them all the time the lighter and thinner the better.

I agree with skyskooter and have light and very thin titanium frames,the answer to the opticians question (frame style) is…. ‘the same as I am wearing’ so I have very unfashionable metal frames with metal brow bar for extra strength,+ very thin arms which do not intrude on peripheral vision.
Personally I do not use varifocals or bifocals because I am an aircraft engineer and I find the distortion too dangerous on steps etc.I am lucky in that if I remove my glasses (i am short sighted) i can read very well…even very small print.
So personally I only use single vision (plain) lenses but we are all different and some people love varifocals !

Always go for the lightest pair you can get. There is nothing worse than heavy specs sliding down your nose all the time. So annoying having to keep pushing them back. Titanium frames are feather light yet strong but the most expensive. Lenses need to be as thin as possible but again the price goes higher than standard thick lenses.

What bugs me is when your lenses need upgrading opticians try to convince you that you need a new frame as well. They don’t like “reglazing” as they call it. If you meet that sort of opposition just take the prescription and go elsewhere. They will change their mind as you head for the door.

That’s for sure !

John. You have to look after your eyes, I think, if ever I went blind, I would Top myself. A gift that’s more treasured than any other.
Just my opinion.
Jim

Lincoln .7

I just have reading glasses Jim, for poor or dim daylight. They’ll never wear out, I use them sparingly. If I forget they’re on my nose, I wonder why I feel so spaced out and borderline disorientated !

……”number of myths”…….. What are the others ?

If you do not have to do so, don’t continuously wear your specs, if you do, they’ll soon be on the end of your nose permanently; not just for occasional and special requirements.

I agree John, When I get out of my pit int morning, I don’t put my specs on, and can see pretty well, Then the Post comes or I get on here, and find out I then need to wear them all day. I wonder why this is?.

Jim.

Lincoln .7

Well that’s obvious. You wear your specs for whatever deficiency you suffer from, not if you don’t. If your sight is such that you need to wear them all the time then of course you do so. I think I misunderstood your earlier post when you seemed to suggest that you should only wear them as a last resort but if not only from time to time as your vision would be affected detrimentally, otherwise. That is simply not true.

……”number of myths”…….. What are the others ?

If you do not have to do so, don’t continuously wear your specs, if you do, they’ll soon be on the end of your nose permanently; not just for occasional and special requirements.

I use Varifocal and I also use long distance for driving if tired. As said above do not use them all the time, depending on the barometric pressure depends on if I have to use them (dont laugh its true)
Varifocals are great but take a time to get used to as you have to lift your head to read things and also at first its hard with steps and kerbs.

That’s one of a number of myths about eyesight and glasses. If your vision is defective in any way you need to wear glasses and not wearing them will have no effect other than the natural deterioration which has already started.

Unless it is compellingly necessary to do so – driving, reading etc. – don’t wear them. But, if you have to, then sparingly. If you wear them continuously, your eyes will become dependant, perhaps much sooner than they need.

In poor light I now have to use reading glasses. Similarly when flying, to read the small print on the GPS.

I have worn glasses for the last 50 years and tried most testers/suppliers. For me the independent/smaller optician with a trusted tester has always proved more reliable than the big high street chains, albeit they are often a bit cheaper. The most important aspect is finding a good tester whom you can trust because he/she gets it right first time. Enhancement of sight is not something you can compromise with cost. I changed to vari-focals several years ago and they were life-changing. No separate pairs of glasses and none of the inconvenience of bi-focals. Expensive, yes, but a new scrip every 2/4 years does not make it out of the question.

The distance ones are probably just that, and not good at medium distance.
I have a pair of bi-focals (didn’t fancy varifocals) that I use for driving and watching TV, as well as reading.
Then another pair purely for when I’m on the computer.

Most of the time I don’t need to wear either pair.

I had my eyes tested at Vision Xpress, and suffered nearly the same symptoms as you. It was so bad, I went elswhere and had my eyes re tested again, only to be told V.E. has put the lenses in the wrong sides.
A quick visit to V.E. and they changed the lenses over within a few days.
I managed to blag a free pair of same prescription sun glasses out of them for the inconvenience.
Worth a second opinion, your eyes are far too valuable.
Jim.
Lincoln .7

You will need to get used to them but if one pair is different to the other that rings alarm bells to me.
I remember getting a pair and walking across a newly laid smooth floor and mentioned to the wife why on earth would they build a new floor with a hump in the middle—yep they hadn’t ,it was the glasses.
If in doubt get them checked.