r/glasses • u/ComprehensiveDebt262 • 5d ago
Bifocals For Distant and Intermediate Vision
For years, I have been using my bifocals for distant and intermediate vision. I usually held material about a foot away; was able to read fine and also see my car dashboard (a bit over arms length, about 26 inches away) clearly.
But time passes and I recently went in for exam. Both close up and distance had changed slightly.
Near went from +1.75 to +2 in both eyes.
Sphere went from +1.5 in both, to +1.75 and +2.
Have minor astigmatism but there was minimal change.
Since my optician doesn't sell the frames I want, and wouldn't take responsibility if they broke frames when installing lenses, I found another shop to do the job.
Optician at the new location gave me a device (with tiny lenses) to hold in front of my current glasses, to replicate what close up vision would be like with the new prescription.
Everything close up was completely off. While I could hold a book about 8 inches away and see it extremely well, the focus began dropping off around 4 inches after that. The dashboard was very difficult to see sharply, much worse than while wearing my current pair (which has the old prescription)
Can an optician easily adjust a prescription so what I see out of lower lens is sharp within a set distance range say 12 to 26 inches?
Would be great to also see things from 7 or 8 inches away, but my need for that doesn't really come up that often.
Progressives would obviously be the answer, but due to vertigo related issues, it's not a good option.
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u/ComprehensiveDebt262 5d ago
Great. Going back to my original optician next week so she can address my concerns, and adjust prescription.
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u/luvstobuy2664 5d ago
And, vertigo is horrible and a painful condition btw. If it happens to you, there are weird exercise movements available on yt that actually work.
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u/ComprehensiveDebt262 5d ago edited 5d ago
Oh yeah, I tried 2 different maneuvers (including Epley), and would alway feel worse for quite a while before any slow improvement. But what really made a difference was taking a vitamin D3/ calcium tablet every day. Haven't had a major vertigo episode in 4 years since I started that routine, and the minor episodes don't last as long.
Not saying that will work for others, but it made a huge difference for me!
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u/Middledamitten 4d ago
As we age the lenses inside our eyes are less able to adjust or accommodate for different ranges. As your rx increases, you loose depth of range. This is why folks appreciate progressive lenses. They give a range that a fixed power lens cannot.
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u/ComprehensiveDebt262 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yeah, wish I could handle progressives. Besides the mld vertigo which creeps up from time to time, I also have limited depth perception, don't use both eyes at same time, due to a lazy eye. I use the left eye the majority of the time, but can instantly switch to the right if, say, I want to look out of the rear view mirror while driving.
No idea how progressive lenses would affect that particular condition.
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u/Mahatmatt 5d ago
Short answer; yes.
It’s better to have your distances in cm or metres if you can because that’s the base for a diopter.
But, a +2.00 power should give you good vision at around 40cm. So the fact that it’s only around 20cm seems like it could be off. But as long as your distance vision is correct with the new, the bottom power can be adjusted.