varifocals again or 2 pairs of glasses?

adandem

newatc wrote: »

Well I've never been refused (including going into Specsavers in Sydney which did surprise me). Perhaps it depends on the size of the problem and the staff themselves. I think most have mine have been replacing screws and straightening side of the frame.

Ours was an issue with my husband's contact lenses. We were told that only the store who supplied them would help.
I also purchased some frames which I hated and had to go back to the original store.

Starrystarrynight1

My husband recently tried varifocals for the first time. He gave himself a few weeks to get used to them, but he just found them awful. Specsavers had already said that, if he couldn't get used to them, to bring them back and he could change to 2 separate pairs, one for reading and the other for distance. He drives a lot as part of his job so I think this may have been part of the reason he couldn't get on with varifocals.

Tom99

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I had a pair of varifocals but did just not get on with them, you have to hold your head up but swivel your eyes down to read.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]I have recently bought one reading and one distance glasses for a total of £15 from glasses-direct.[/FONT]

pattycake

The dispensing and fitting of varifocals are critical. If the dispensing optician does not get the measurements correct then problems arise.

The size of the frame lens is also a consideration. On collection, the fitting must be exact. It is easy to see why patients give up on varifocals.

My advice is to find a good optometrist! I use Specsavers but I will only deal with one particular lady. She is brilliant and always gets it right.

apple_muncher

Thank you for all the comments.

It is the dispensing and fitting that are vital to me - pattycake, you put it so well. If they are slightly off, I am not able to compensate and end up feeling nauseous.

The first pair I had, I was given the same reading strength as the person didn't think you could put in different strengths in different eyes. D'oh.

On going back another time with distance issues in one lens, I was told that anything beyond the end of my arm was distance, so what was my problem...

That said, the reading issue was sorted v quickly, and did eventually see a great person who adjusted the angle for me.

I guess that , as I am expecting to need new specs, I'm also expecting to encounter new problems. Oh pessisistic me!

getmore4less

I found the easiest way to get used to vari was sitting watching tv and using a netbook/phone you adapt to the vertical axis first.
Then go out then drive.

One you are used to them and how to adjust them then you can get on line if you have the right pupil distances and don't have a wonky face.

£150 for titanium rimless vari photochromic delivered in <2 weeks.

I use optical4less no problems. There are cheaper but the quality has not been so good so I go back to O4L for my good pairs.

trailingspouse

I think you have to accept that they take a bit of getting used to. Vision Express give you three months - there must be a reason for that!!

The first day I wore mine, I was pleased my OH was with me, as I felt like the pavement was coming up to meet me - I remember clinging on to him as we walked back to the car!! It was a few days before I felt confident to drive. But that was several years ago - and now I don't think about it at all.

My mother, on the other hand, never got along with them - they made her feel seasick and she didn't trust herself to walk downstairs in them.

The only time I don't like them is when I'm reading in bed - it's uncomfortable to have to tip your head slightly up in that position. But that's an easy problem to solve - if I'm reading for any length of time, I just use normal reading glasses.

Gloomendoom

trailingspouse wrote: »

I think you have to accept that they take a bit of getting used to.

I resisted getting varifocals for years, convincing myself that using two pairs of glasses was the best option. Then I tried on my sister's (Zeiss) varifocals for a joke and could see everything perfectly, near and far, without having to swap specs. I didn't need any time to get used to them.

I bought some myself and, again, it took no time to adapt. However, my employer supplied me with some prescription safety specs with the cheapest varifocal lenses fitted and they are horrible to use for any length of time. I have to turn my whole head to look at things rather than just my eyes and it can be rather disorienting.

Cheap varifocal lenses tend to give a very narrow field of view in the middle distance. It's worth paying the extra, in my opinion.

The other thing to bear in mind is that varifocals don't work very well with narrow (top to bottom) frames.

pmduk

adandem wrote: »

Can you? We were refused at another branch because they said each store is individually owned?

They are individually owned, but you should get basic assistance in any store. Obviously depends on the problem. I assume anything costly must be dome at the original store, but adjustments etc are available anywhere.