Progressive bifocal lens - one only - fabulous!

[motorgypsy]

For those of you whose arms are becoming a bit short for reading and also need some correction for distance vision we tried something different and it has worked really well. Bifocal lenses can be very dangerous - especially in irregular terrain - especially when your reaction time isn't what it used to be - or maybe it never was too great. The distortion at the bottom of the lens just where you're going to put your feet can cause you to fall. For this reason we have avoided bifocals. For years we used mono vision contact lenses where one eye was correct for near vision and the other for distance. It worked fin until the difference between the distance correction and the near correction became fairly large. At that point we ended up using three pairs of glasses. One for driving, one for computer and one for reading. A TOTAL PAIN!

At the last checkup for new glasses we got this brilliant idea - why not a monovision bifocal - one bifocal lens and one just correct for distance. We discussed this with the optometrist and at first he was reluctant to do it. Then he asked if we wanted a progressive bifocal. We said sure. We didn't have a clue what it was but it sounded good! We went ahead and got the checkup and the prescription and ordered the single progressive bifocal lens and the other lens corrected just for distance. when thinking about it realized that the progressive lens is exactly what it says - the magnification instead of being one value varies from weak to strong with the strongest being at the very bottom center.

It is a FABULOUS combination. You can read a book, read the computer screen, read things at mid distance, see the ground under your feet perfectly and have the full field of distance vision undistorted (you brain learns to tune out the eye that is out fo focus for a particular distance).

No more keeping track of three pairs of glasses, no more fumbling around to read a map or the menu or the newspaper. It is totally amazing!

[CarolU]

Do you know if they come in transition lenses? Sounds like perfection to me, my eyes already tune each other out when something doesn't make sense (a result of my surgery). I'd need them for driving and reading maps at the same time...something I do alot of.

[motorgypsy]

If you mean the ones that turn darker in bright sunlight I don't see why not? It just the curvature and thickness, not the material I think that makes them variable.

They also make contact lenses that are similar but the problem is when they get a little off center you would really get distortion. I think they have to be weighted a little to keep the greater magnification down at the bottom.

[stella]

I've had progressives for about 3 years now, and they are WONDERFUL!

[Heidi]

Kenny got a pair last year and was just getting used to them when they fell out of his pocket and he stepped/skidded them across the concrete driveway and scratched them all to heck.
When I turn in our insurance receipts and get reimbursed we will replace those glasses AND get him a case to put them in when they are not on his face.
Heidi

[motorgypsy]

Please notice the difference here though - this is using ONE instead of TWO progressive bifocal lenses to prevent the distortion that causes many people to fall or have problems with other activities using precise distance coordination that also require a complete distance field of vision.

Progressives are great but they still cause areas that are out of focus even if they aren't as bad as regular bifocals. You completely prevent these problems with only ONE progressive lens. The second lens is just corrected for distance vision. We got the bifocal lens for our dominant eye but the doctor said it's easier to use it on the eye that doesn't need as much correction which in this case was the dominant eye.

[Heidi]

Hmmm. Kenny was doing fine with them...until he scratched them all to heck and back. I don't recall him saying he had any problems with them, he actually liked them really well. Much better than the store bought readers he was using.
I did note that you were using only one lens...and I'll ask about that when we next see the eye Doc.
Heidi

[Linda Y]

Progressive isn't the same thing as invisible, is it?
I got a pair of those and HATED them. I did get them in both lenses, but due to the nature of the lens, the 'blank' part goes all the way out to the edge of the lens. In my case, when I am driving and look out the side of the glasses it is a blur. I use regular bifocals and they work ok for me. My close vision is still pretty good, so the bifocal part is basically clear glass. I did have a little problem at first judging distance to the ground but adapted quickly.

[motorgypsy]

I don't think so. The invisibles I think just graduate the edge so there is no visible edging effect like in the old bifocals. Actually with the one progressive lens that Kyle is wearing the top is basically clear glass. The progressive means that you don't go from clear glass with no magnification to reading magnification instantly - rather you go from clear glass no magnification to very slight magnification to more magnification as you get lower and toward the center of the lens. This means that both the periphery and the top are not magnified so you can see at a distance without distortion. The center bottom is the strongest part of the lens and as you lower your head and look through a higher part of the lens the magnification decreases which is great for reading the computer screen - especially when it's on the coffee table like ours are. Kyle did say he noticed a wavy effect but this is where the second lens with no bifocal comes in. He had no "getting used to bifocals" because the second les was not a bifocal so he could see the distance with no distortion at all with the left lens yet still read almost everythin with the right lens.

The only down side is that with only one bifocal lens since you are reading with one eye you really can't read the page of literature in microscopic print that comes with a prescription in a dark room. You have to get out that pair of reading glasses or increase the light. You can read most anything in good light and newspaper print on up in low light. It's worth it though to prevent the risk of falling that you have with two bifocals and to no longer have to keep track of three different pairs of glasses.

[CarolU]

Interesting. I have the bifocal without the line and don't have a problem with them. But then I also don't look down when I walk, which comes from a long history of no depth perception. So...I trip a lot. LOL My worst problem is that I bought my sunglasses for driving with only distance and stigmatism correction in them. They REALLY mess me up when I look down and try to read - even the speedomter.

I'm interested to try this...if it doesn't work for me, I can always get the full perscription in the other lense.

[siegel]

I have progressives that are transitions are they are great; both eyes !

[motorgypsy]

That's what we figured when we did it - that we could always go back to the old - multiple glasses thing. Now that Kyle likes his so well I'm going to get a pair for reading and the computer. I'm so sick of trying to keep track of all the glasses.

There was an article not long ago telling older people NOT to wear bifocals because they cause so many falls. But we senior citizens also lose things even worse than we used to so keeping track of glasses for several different things is terrible. When my dad broke his leg when his car radiator exploded and knocked him in the ground he was in PT rehap and his roommate had fallen and broken his hip because of his bifocals. We decided then that we wouldn't wear them but keeping track of all the glasses has gotten ridiculous so we searched our brains for an alternative and came up with this idea of using just one bifocal lens instead of two and so far it is fabulous.

My problem is losing things all the time though so I will have to be sure I don't take them off. I was born like this - my poor dad put my name on everything because I'd lose something every day as a kid. :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

[Fino1]

I have progressives that are transitions are they are great; both eyes !

Me too and they are great. I've been using this type of glasses for years and have yet to have any problem with them. Mine also have anti-reflective which can be a pain because they scratch VERY easily. You have to use a solution to clean them and a special cloth to wipe clean. No more just wiping them off on your shirt.
But the anti-relective allow for night driving without any glare from oncoming headlights. So much better when it's raining at night too.

Judy

[Terry Wallace]

I've had mine going on three years. There is no distortion between upper & lower level...I love them, they have never been a problem...

At first, I didn't want to get them, because I thought I would never get used to them, and because of the cost ($600)...but after I got them, it took less than a week to get used to!

[Jane Hurl]

I'm not "getting it", Motorgypsies. Why would you trip because of bi (or tri) focals? I have progressive lenses (yes -- that means you see distance through the top half, then it progresses to mid-range distance and at the bottom, close-up work) and I love them. If you want to look down at the ground, simply drop your chin a little and look through the top half of the glasses.

I also have the anti-glare feature. When I need to clean them, Judy, I simply run them under the tap and use a cotton cloth to dry them. No scratches.

[motorgypsy]

We got the glasses and lenses - one progressive bifocal and one mono vision - (titanium twist type frame) UV protection, scratch resisitant and some other stuff for $250 from Sam's club optician.

Here's a test to see if you will benefit from this system of one bifocal and one mono lens. If you now wear bifocals look down at your feet without lowering your head so you're looking through the bottom of your glasses. If the ground is out of focus when you do this you are at risk for falling or tripping and the next time you need your glasses changed you might want to try the one monovision lens with the one bifocal

We just did the test with Kyle and he said the ground area directly at his feet was indeed out of focus if he was looking straight ahead through the one bifocal lens with the other eye with the monovision lens closed.

Here's a scenario - you're out feeding or catching one horse in the pasture with your bifocals on. You're having to keep your eyes straight ahead because the horses are very frisky and running all over the place and you need to watch them. The ground is frozen and uneven. When you look straight at the horses the ground right in front of your feet is out of focus and blurry. A small depression is right in front of you. You can't see it so you step into it and trip. If you're young you catch yourself. If you're not - you fall and maybe break something. This is why two bifocal lenses are dangerous. The same thing can happen when you are watching cars crossing a busy street and there's a curb or a raised area. You can't see it when you are looking straight ahead and again you trip. This is what happened to the man in PTrehap and he fell and broke his hip because he couldn't see the curb.

You don't have this problem with one bifocal and one monovision lens because the eye with the monovision lens has clear vision of the ground.

[Bonnie LR]

Interesting thread. I am just at the age I need to do something about my combo of severe myopia and ageing eyes, so have been trying to decide what to do--progressives or two pairs of glasses. I am due for a new prescription, and not sure what to ask for. The idea of progressive appeals, but not the scenarios the MGs have just mentioned, so now am wondering again....lol. Try single?

[Terry Wallace]

Question...I wonder if being near-sighted...as oppossed to far-sighted, is what is causing that for you MG's? I'm far-sighted. Seems like near-sighted people get much better buys on glasses than far-sighted people do as we are a minority.

Just a thought...

[motorgypsy]

The mono lens is correct for far sighted vision which means it is a + lens which magnifies. The progressive bifocal is also a + bifocal for farsighted also but only in the bifocal part. the distance part of the lens is just minimally corrected for astigmatism. The mono lens is obviously cheaper. The titanium frame was $100. I think the mono lens is $60 so that leaves the bifocal lens at about $90. I don't think our insurance discounted them but we can check the next time we go in. That's a huge price difference. I wonder why??

[Terry Wallace]

I wonder why too... It about choked me to pay $600 for progressive BF, transition lenses with scratch coat, and a pair of $150.00 frames.
Perhaps it is because I have so much astigmatism...my eyes are like footballs...contact lenses pop off of them. Must be the cutting of the lenses (?)

Anyway...my tax refund was $600.85 cents that year, and my new glasses were $600.00 even..sure was a disapointment...I got mine at Abba eye care, and that was after checking Sam's which was slightly higher.

[motorgypsy]

Perhaps it's the transition lenses that are so pricey??

We have Sernegeti sunglasses that we totally love that fit over our regular glasses. Yes it looks dorky but they are such amazing sunglasses we really don't care!