Need new glasses. What's your experience with progressives

[Brian Ashton]

Was wanting to get feed back from those that wear progressive lenses. I know all about bifocals but was wanting to know about progressives. I've been told that they can have a fair bit of side distortion. And in this country extremely expensive. I have a prescription that is +7 so I would suspect the distortion and any other effects would be quite magnified (literally and figuratively). My other alternatives are to go with a bifocal lens or have two pairs of glasses (but considering my prescription and the focal lengths each pair would have it's way too impractical) What's been you experience with progressives? More interested in those with prescription is the higher numbers such as +5 or more.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Brian,

The only problem that I have seen wearing progressive was an initial adjustment when going down stairs or steps. After a while that has not been a problem either.

[Joe Pelonio]

Same here, took maybe 2-3 weeks to adjust and have been fine with them for about 4 years now. It's great to be able to read the road signs way ahead and yet still read the little green displays on the dash at night. Mine are slight
distance correction on top, then computer slight close enlargement in the middle, and reading on the bottom.

[Roger Feeley]

I have them and I have mixed feelings.
-- the near focus is critical. You won't have the side to side vision you would have with a pair of bifocals. Read the literature on your progressives carefully and you will find that there is this sort of peanut pattern of the area in focus. You don't get the full width of the lens. What does this mean? If you don't get it right, when you read a book, your head will be going back and forth because you can't just swivel your eyes and see a whole page of text. there is a wide variation in the width of that near vision part of the peanut.
-- They can make some folks nauseous. Didn't happen to me. My eyeglass place offered a 90 day trade in for bifocals if I didn't like them. For me, it didn't take long to get used to them.
-- You will find yourself nodding up and down a bit more as you find the sweet spot.

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

it is took me a week or two to accommodate. But after that - perfect. Mine only +3 and distortion not so visible on the edges. Yes about moving head more then eyes, as above little bit difficult going down the stairs. Did not fill nauseous a bit.
Ed.

[Belinda Barfield]

I love mine, Brian. No problems adjusting whatsoever. I'm in a little different boat than you though, as I'm a -5.25 for distance. There is loss of peripheral clarity, which I don't like, and I have to take care walking down stairs.

[Jerome Stanek]

I like mine I also had them lower the line a little

[Sean Troy]

Took me a very short time to get used to them and I've never noticed any distortion.

[Russ Filtz]

Same here. Like mine. My Ophthalmologist was not thrilled with them, but I went ahead as the newer tech is supposed to be much better. Took a bit longer to get over the fish bowl/dizziness effect you get from most new glasses, but after that, I notice no difference from plain glasses now. Mine are in the 6's I believe. Definitely over 5.

[Myk Rian]

All I've ever worn are progressives.
I am seriously thinking of getting try-focal progressives next time, with the closeup lens on the top also. Would make a lot of things easier.

Like Belinda mentioned, stairs are something else, but I suppose that's true with any glasses.

[Brian Kent]

I had one pair very well made, without noticeable side distortion. The next lair was not nearly as good. Lots of side distortion in the bottom part and both parts made my computer screen distance unusable. Right now I have none, and really hope the optometrist will know what I need.

I accidentally sold the second pair with my car. I was about to call the new owner to retrieve them when I got a police notice in the mail that the car was used in a felony. I thought maybe I would just let that pair go!

[Steve Baumgartner]

I've been wearing them for about 10 years and love them (prescription 5.7 in one eye, 5.0 in the other plus astigmatism, varilux lenses). I could never get used to the sharp divide line in regular bifocals. Most of the time the clear focus is simply natural, as if I didn't have bifocals. I suppose I've gotten used to pointing my head, but by now it is completely unconscious. I can't see close things above eye level, but that would also be true with traditional bifocals!

The early versions (and maybe cheaper current versions) had fairly serious parallelogram distortion at the outer parts of the bottoms of the lenses. The newer ones are much better for distortion, though the focus is still not as crisp as straight on. The good ones are expensive, but in my experience are noticeably better.

I've found that the setup by your optometrist is crucial for progressives, and some of them do it sloppily. Unlike ordinary spherical lenses, where all that matters is to put the optical centers the right distance apart for your eyes (and even that isn't super crucial), these have a "lane" down the middle where your view is supposed to track as you change from distance to close. This lane has to be carefully aligned with your pupils. If it is miscentered, crooked, or doesn't match how your eyes converge, you will get fierce headaches and dizziness as your eyes strain to follow the track. There are faint marks laser etched near the edge of each lens that the optometrist is supposed to use for this alignment, yet on one pair (that made me almost sick I was so dizzy) I found them to be at different heights and crooked! I took those back and had them remade, and the replacements were fine.

[Steve Jenkins]

Love mine too. As for the initial nodding to find the right place to look through, when I mentioned that to Margie she said "just keep saying yes dear,yes dear".

[David G Baker]

I have been wearing them for years and the thoughts of wearing anything else won't happen. The thing I don't like about them is the extra cost. Before I had my cataracts removed and lens implants installed I wore tri-focal lenses and my only problem with them was with using them for working on my computer, I would get a sore neck from leaning back so I could focus on the screen. I had a set of glasses made that matched close-up lens to eliminate that problem. If you have worn bi-focal glasses you will love progressive lenses.

[Belinda Barfield]

I should have mentioned one thing regarding the peripheral distortion. Lenses for nearsighted folks in my range get really thick at the outer edges. I have my lenses ground to what would be a "normal" thickness so this causes the distortion. I have a narrow channel of clear vision centrally so I have to turn my head to get that good peripheral vision. I can see car's etc., when driving (as I don't have to see them that clearly) but when reading I have to move my head slightly to track across the page of things like large format magazines. I wear my contacts and readers most of the time, but we are in pollen season and the contacts are just irritating.

[Lee Schierer]

I love mine, when my doctor suggested trifocals before I was fifty, I said no way and went to progressives. I went with Zeiss lenses and they were reported to have the widest mid channel and bifocal width of any on the market. After more than 10 years wearing them I wouldn't wear anything else. It took me all of 2 days to "adjust" from bifocals. The biggest adjustment is learning to turn your head instead of moving your eyes off to the sides as much.

The only problem is I wish that the progressive lens also went to the top of the lens so I could see better when working over my head.

[glenn bradley]

Hate 'em. I like to know what focal point I am using (seems I have control issues :o). Terms like; "progressive" and "soft focal area" just mean "large blurry areas" between the very small usable parts in my two attempts (years apart). Your success will vary with your particular prescription requirements. Many people love them and most docs will let you try them with the agreement that they will replace them with hard lines if you are not satisfied. I would ask your provider about that. Then its no risk. There are some laser cut progressives that have been out for awhile that are just fantastic. Much larger un-blurry area and clarity that is just spooky but, it costs. My girlfriend got some at an incredible discount so they were only about $500 but, she loves them.

[Brian Ashton]

I have been wearing them for years and the thoughts of wearing anything else won't happen. The thing I don't like about them is the extra cost. Before I had my cataracts removed and lens implants installed I wore tri-focal lenses and my only problem with them was with using them for working on my computer, I would get a sore neck from leaning back so I could focus on the screen. I had a set of glasses made that matched close-up lens to eliminate that problem. If you have worn bi-focal glasses you will love progressive lenses.


I've also thought about having lenses implanted also. My father in law had them and didn't need glasses even in his 80s. How have your implants been

[Jim Becker]

I wore progressives for many years prior to my LASIK surgery in 2003. They did have a "learning" curve to them, but I otherwise enjoyed them with one exception...reading in bed. For that activity, it was far easier to use a fixed-magnification lens since it's hard to move one's head while lying down as you must do to use the progressive (or bi/tri focal) lenses. Also, progressives are harder to deal with with smaller lens type glasses. You don't need the big obtrusive lenses, but really small ones increase the challenge with focusing. Professor Dr. SWMBO wears progressives now and they are serving her well.

[Carl Beckett]

I never could make the transition to progressives. Just couldnt live without the peripheral vision.

With progressives, you have to turn your head (side to side or up and down) so you are physically pointing exactly at the area you want in focus. Things like stairs, and even computer work just never worked for me (turned out I like to use peripheral vision a lot and also move my eyes without moving my head - this doesnt work with progressives)

So I went back to a bifocal type arrangement.

[David G Baker]

Brian,
The implants would be fine except for the eye doctor implanting the wrong element in my left eye requiring me to wear a corrective lens for that eye. I can drive with out glasses but still need them for reading. Since I had cataract surgery I have had seven retinal tears, four in the left eye and three in the right. The tears were repaired using laser surgery. Not sure if the tears were related to the cataract surgery. My dad had cataract surgery before implants were available and he had to wear coke bottle glasses and could no longer work as a machinist. I recommend implants because my vision is so much better than before I had the cataracts removed and the implants installed.

[Shawn Pixley]

Love them. I am severly farsighted and need them to read (or see clocks, find objects, recognize people, etc...). Being farsighted indicates that you are less likely to be an acceptable candidate for Lasik. The only thing i don't like them on is my safety glasses for soccer, baseball, etc... Luckily they don't bother me so much that I don't want to play. I was eligible for a clinical trial for implanted contact lenses. Eventually, the FDA approved the implanted contact lenses for nearsighted patients but not the severly farsighted like myself. C'est le vie.

[Kevin W Johnson]

I was eligible for a clinical trial for implanted contact lenses. Eventually, the FDA approved the implanted contact lenses for nearsighted patients but not the severly farsighted like myself. C'est le vie.


Clinical trial involving my eyes? Nope, not unless I already couldn't see at all.... Just seems like too much could go wrong, and you could end up with worse vision then you started with.

[Shawn Pixley]

It really wasn't as risky as it might be perceived. Implanted contacts were approved by the EMEA years ago with no major problems. That said, your concern is rightly placed. As one whose eyes continue to get worse, you look for any potential solution. Anytime (all the time) I am awake, I wear my glasses in order to function. It used to be that I could drive without them. But now, even that is not allowed, nor advisable.

[Don Morris]

Beats the Dickens out of carrying two different pair of glasses in summer when you need sunglasses if you also get the darkening/lightening kind. I used to have a pair of computer glasses and my regular bifocals. Now I just have to deal with one pair of glasses. The trade off is in the progressives favor IMHO.

[Bob Lloyd]

After wearing them for a few minutes they were giving me a headache and I thought that I was going to throw up. The adjustment time was very short though. I also got transition lenses which was a great addition.

[Gary Max]

Had to take them back two days later-----just didn't work for me.

[Ron Natalie]

I went from regular single vision lenses to progressives without a problem. Never had traditional bifocals so I can't judge.
What I can't do (and I doubt bifocals will help) is use them at the computer. I spend 9+ hours a day with my entire field of view at about 18" (Multiple large computer monitors). I used straight reading glasses then.

I got some safety glass cheaters from Lowe's but my wife made off with them.

[Brian Ashton]

What I can't do (and I doubt bifocals will help) is use them at the computer. I spend 9+ hours a day with my entire field of view at about 18" (Multiple large computer monitors). I used straight reading glasses then.

I got some safety glass cheaters from Lowe's but my wife made off with them.

I'm not entirely sure as to what you're saying. Is the field of view on progressives narrower than 18"

[Joel Goodman]

For me the side to side field of view issue with progressives was a deal breaker. I found it unsettling when driving. I am much happier with bifocals. I do have two sets as my work is mostly at 30" and reading so I have "work" bifocal set up that way (30"/reading) and a "normal" bifocal with distance/ reading. I think it's more of an issue with stronger corrections for myopia.
That being said a lot depends on who fits and makes the progressives. My wife is happy with hers from a high end shop and couldn't wear the progressives from the eye doc.
A tip if you have a strong correction -- have the base curve matched on all your glasses. The base curve is the curve on the front of the lens. There is a lot of distortion in strong glasses which your brain corrects for, but it can be disturbing if the distortion changes from say regular to sunglasses -- keeping the base curve helps keep the distortion inherent in strong glasses constant so your brain doesn't have to readjust. Just have the optician measure the base curve on you favorite pair and have him make any other glasses to match.
Also a good shop will advise on which frame are suited to bi focals or progressives -- very narrow top to bottom is not good. And will mark the spot where the lenses join correctly!

[Ron Natalie]

18" is the distance from my eye to all of my computer monitors. The problem is that, it's straight ahead and up and down a few feet. To use my progressives, I've got to tilt my head towards the top of the monitor to look out the near distance side. A full up set of readers work better (or in my case just taking my glasses off as what I really need is the distance correction removed from the close up stuff).

[Jim Becker]

Ron is correct that one of the things one must do with progressive lenses (and certainly with bi/tri focals) is move one's head to change the focal point. You can't just move your eyes. This takes getting used to. It also makes for a very narrow range of where you head needs to be to do work on a computer or, as I mentioned previously, read in bed where you can't really tilt your head freely. For this reason, many folks will keep readers for both of these activities while enjoying the progressive lenses for the rest of life's endeavors. Nature of the beast...

[Ed Gibbons]

They work for me. (getting old xucks)