Thank you for your comprehensive answer. I bought bifocals online from GlassesUSA.com. They were more expensive than the other online shops, but cheaper than eye doctor or the mall, and they are of excellent quality. I started using them and they seem to work fine. I am adapting to them for the most part, but have to get used to looking down with my head and not just my eyes. I can read more comfortably with them too. When I wear contacts, I use +1 readers which I bought from the drugstore. I should have bought them online because even though they work, the optics on them aren't very good. If I turn my head while using them, it's like looking through a fisheye lens.
Even though I am getting used to the bifocals, I can see some situations where wearing a single vision lens would be better, so I'm going to order a pair with single vision lenses. I'm also considering ordering a pair with a prescription for computer use, since I spend a lot of time online, and/or a pair of single vision readers. I looked at Zenni and they have good prices and after a couple of bad experiences with EyeBuyDirect and 39Dollarglasses, I'm looking for a new vendor to try. I looked at CoastalContacts, whom I've bought from before, but couldn't find anything I liked with my sizing requirements. I need a large frame with 145 temples and many shops, both brick and mortar and online, don't carry a lot of frames like that except in clunky looking plastic. Since I started buying online, I've started trying metal frames and like them better, and my wife likes the fact I wear fashionable glasses now since at these prices, I can afford them. It's great we have this forum to help each other out with our online glasses purchases. I've learned a lot here. Thank you. RedStickHam On Jul 27, 10:41 pm, Steve <[email protected]> wrote: > I’ve had very good luck buying bifocals online, so here’s a try at > answering some of your questions. (I tried progressives once and > didn’t really try hard to get used to them. I think the whole idea > behind them is wrong for me, but some people love them - maybe one of > them will respond here.) > > Zenni Optical has great prices, and I love the bifocals I’ve gotten > from them. They only charge $17 extra for bifocal lenses, and even > their under-$10 frames are very good. With prices so low, maybe you > could afford two pair with different ADD strengths or one pair of > bifocals and a pair of reading glasses just to get a feel for what > works. Even if you only "need" an ADD of +1, it could be that +1.50 or > even +2.00 suits you given where you like to hold a book, whether you > sometimes read in not-so-well-lit places, or whether you sometimes > need to do close work like threading needles. > > What works and whether bifocals are worth it at all depends on many > things - is it simple to keep reading glasses or a magnifying glass > handy instead? On the road, or if you go back and forth between close > and far frequently, bifocals are great, though. And at Zenni prices, > why not find out. (Bifocals aren’t very helpful for close work in the > up direction, of course.) > > As far as adapting goes: For me, it was easy. Frames with an > adjustable nose piece are a good idea, so you can get the line to be > in exactly the right place. (At the bottom of the windshield for > driving, maybe a bit lower for a balcony seat in the theatre.) It’s > possible bifocals were easy for me because I used to read without > glasses or by looking underneath my lenses. My sense is that few > people have much trouble adapting. > > As for the small reading area, my frames have lens heights of 33-35mm, > and the stronger D-shaped part is big enough. I wouldn't go with > anything below 30mm high, even if the retailer will let you. At least > one online retailer (I forget which) lets you choose between two > different D-section sizes, and another (or that same one) provides a > couple of options about where the line goes. Since Zenni bifocals work > for me, I haven't looked into those options again. Once I saw Ben > Franklin type half/half bifocals somewhere and was tempted, then lost > the bookmark. > > For the record, my prescription is a bit weaker than yours: -.75 sp, -. > 75 cyl in one eye and only astigmatism (-1.75 cyl) in the other eye. > At age 54, my ADD is about +2.25 (unfortunately, things progress like > clockwork). I’m basically down to zero accommodation now, and I can’t > use my bifocals for middle distances. So it gets complicated, or fun, > depending on how you see it. For computer work or helping students > over-the-shoulder, I wear special-purpose glasses. I have computer > glasses that are +1.25 on top of my full prescription, and if what I'm > doing is all at one distance, I like having the entire field of view > in focus. For teaching, I have glasses with different prescriptions in > each eye. I even have some super-reading glasses that are +3.50 beyond > my full prescription to use for things like changing a watch battery > or sewing a button! At under $10/pair, why not...) > > I don't wear contact lenses, but as your ability to focus close > diminishes, you will have at least two choices: change one of the lens > prescriptions to work for reading (mono-vision) so you can read with > your contacts, or use readers (buy those online, too - better quality > and frame choices at a much lower price than the drugstore). > Personally, I don't like having my eyes differently-focused unless I > have to, but some people don't mind. > > So there's my all-over-the-place answer. > > Steve > -- Check us out at the oft-updated http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com! You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "GlassyEyes" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/glassyeyes?hl=en
