Experience with multifocal contacts.

[N80]

I've gone down the typical path of hitting forty and losing my near vision. Did readers for years. Now losing distance as well. Went to eye doctor last yer and got progressive glasses. Took me a while to get used to them and then for a while they were so much better than readers hanging around my neck.

Now I'm getting sick of the glasses. They are always dirty. I have a very hard time hunting with them in regard to scopes and binoculars. Also, you can't really look sideways at something whether it is a deer in the woods or an approaching car at an intersection....you have to turn your whole head. They are very frustrating when working on a car or tractor in tight spaces. They don't stay on when looking underneath something, etc. Plus I've chipped the lenses (and these suckers were expensive).

So, I'm thinking about multifocal contacts. I think I can get used to the 'multifocal' aspect of them but not sure about the 'contact' aspect of them. I've never worn contacts.

So I'm curious about folks in their 50's or so who have transitioned to multifocal contacts. How did you do with them? Like them better than glasses? Problems? Expense? Daily wear? Extended wear? Etc.? Any help appreciated.

 

[dmccarty]

...
So I'm curious about folks in their 50's or so who have transitioned to multifocal contacts. How did you do with them? Like them better than glasses? Problems? Expense? Daily wear? Extended wear? Etc.? Any help appreciated.

Even though I am not YET in my 50's, , I have tried the multi focal contacts. My doc let me try a pair for free but I did not like them all. Having to move my head to get the right focal length lined up correctly to see was not working for me. We struck a balance on my contact prescription that gives me some close vision at the expense of far objects. I still have to use reading glasses I get from the dollar store. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Worst part is shooting a pistol and getting a focus on the front site. Reading glasses would help but are not really practical in that situation but if I squint everything works out. Also, I figure The Squint makes me look "bad" like Clint! Clint Eastwood that is! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Or maybe I just look like I am in my 50's with bad eyes? :confused3::shocked:

Before I turned 40, the eye doc said to get ready, you will need reading classes soon. I figured no way! I figured wrong and he sure was right.

Later,
Dan

 

[N80]

I have tried the multi focal contacts. My doc let me try a pair for free but I did not like them all. Having to move my head to get the right focal length lined up correctly to see was not working for me.

You have to do that with progressive glasses but I don't see why you would have to move your head with multifocal contacts. Of course there are different types of multifocals. The 'concentric' ones interest me the most.

For shooting a pistol or using a peep sight, my progressive glasses actually work okay. Technically even with good eyes you can't precisely focus on the front sight and the target. My progressives do this fairly well (and it did take a good two weeks to get used to them. I've heard the same about the contacts.) Driving with these glasses is okay too, as long as you are looking straight ahead the dash and straight out the window are both sharp. Looking side to side or looking in the mirrors are hard. I take my 350Z to the track (or used to until I crashed it at VIR in October...not because of the glasses) and looking straight up the track or even through the corners is okay. Keeping track of cars behind and beside me was difficult with the glasses.

Truly hoping these contacts are the answer.

 

[gsganzer]

I went through this same issue. I had progressive glasses, but I hated the field of view. You'll also notice you can't tell if anything is level, plumb or flat wearing progressives. I also hunt a lot and I hated the fogging glasses and the hassle with binoculars. I couldn't get used to contacts or putting something in my eye either.

I ended up getting LASIK in my shooting eye , corrected for distance, my other eye can read just fine without correction. I did have some issues with my LASIK, that ultimately required me to have PRK instead with a much longer healing time.

That being said, you might want to try 2 different contacts. Have them put in a correction for distance in your shooting eye and a correction for reading in the other eye. If it works out for you, you can have LASIK that mimics the contacts and you'll be free of glasses and contacts. I will say this, give it about 6 months to get used to the contacts, it takes the brain a while to adjust. I had mine done in August and I'm still getting used to it. I'm not quite fully adjusted, but I think I'll get there. If you try it with the contacts, everything is fully correctable and reversible.

 

[RSKY]

I am nearsighted, can see up close but not far off. So I have no contact in my right, dominate, eye and a fairly strong one for my left eye. When I read I do so with my right eye, for far vision I depend on my left. You still have stereoscopic vision because you are using both eyes but you unconsciously ignore the information from the blurred eye. Sounds weird but it works.

If I am doing some work that calls for very close work I will take my contact out so both eyes are short range. I also have a box of contacts for the eye that I normally do not wear them in. They are about half strength of the others. This is for hunting or whatever but I rarely wear them. The box is probably out of date by now.

I started wearing contacts when I was in my twenties and I am very close to sixty now. My first set were hard flexible plastic and could only be worn for about twelve hours without having sore eyelids the next day. I now wear the oxygen permeable throw away type. I take very good care of my eyes. Even though you can wear the lenses for a month I throw mine away about every seven to ten days. As soon as they start getting dirty, and you can tell, they go in the trash.

If you do get this type you will probably do as I do and have bottles of eye drops stationed around your house. I put these in as soon as possible after I wake up and that is the only care I give my lenses other than inserting a new one after throwing a dirty one out. If they get dirty they are discarded, never cleaned.

With contacts you can wear sunglasses, welding goggles, safety glasses, or a scuba mask with no problem. I have worn them for so many years that I have no problems putting them in or taking them out. I can sit here and put my finger up against my eyeball with no problem. Some people cannot do this. A friend and I spent over an hour one time trying to put a contact in his sixteen year old son's eye. The doctor had inserted them the day before, Greg got them out that night but could not get them in the next morning. We got him on the floor, his dad would hold his upper eyelid and I would hold the lower and would try to insert the contact. He would blink. Finally had his dad using both hands on the upper lid, his mom holding the lower lid with both her hands, and me trying to put the lens in. He would blink. When we finally gave up the kid looked like he had gone three rounds with a heavyweight boxer. He still wears glasses twenty years later.

I simply cannot imagine my life without my contact lenses.

 

[grsthegreat]

I've gone down the typical path of hitting forty and losing my near vision. Did readers for years. Now losing distance as well. Went to eye doctor last yer and got progressive glasses. Took me a while to get used to them and then for a while they were so much better than readers hanging around my neck. Now I'm getting sick of the glasses. They are always dirty. I have a very hard time hunting with them in regard to scopes and binoculars. Also, you can't really look sideways at something whether it is a deer in the woods or an approaching car at an intersection....you have to turn your whole head. They are very frustrating when working on a car or tractor in tight spaces. They don't stay on when looking underneath something, etc. Plus I've chipped the lenses (and these suckers were expensive). So, I'm thinking about multifocal contacts. I think I can get used to the 'multifocal' aspect of them but not sure about the 'contact' aspect of them. I've never worn contacts. So I'm curious about folks in their 50's or so who have transitioned to multifocal contacts. How did you do with them? Like them better than glasses? Problems? Expense? Daily wear? Extended wear? Etc.? Any help appreciated.

personally im in my 50's and i wear contact lenses. LOVE THEM. hate glasses.

I use a setup called monovision . The left lens is set for reading and the right is set for distance. I can read anything without any issues, and can see distance just fine.

The eyes learn to compensate. It took a few weeks to get used to it, but ive been using them for over 5 years now. very happy . I tried bifocal glasses...hated them. I didnt like my vision to change as i tilted my head.

 

[kenmac]

George, If / when you decide to try these . Please report back and let us know how they work out for you. I also have these progressive glasses (just started wearing glasses) and like you, if there's something better I would change in a second. I really don't like these glasses

 

[Stick895]

I started with hard contacts in 1970 and have progressed through every permutation since then, YMMV, but as you get older your eyes dry out and don't lubricate even the soft lenses as well, hence they don't float and stabilize as they are supposed to, a hindrance for progressives. My $.02 and solution, just go back to glasses as the adjustments are at least consistent.

 

[bucktaker]

same issue hear with the progressives simply hate them going to the doc soon to explore the options for contacts.....have worn them a little over the years but was never a fan due to tired eyes. But these progressive lenses are the worst.

My wife really likes it when I wear contacts so thats a plus...

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I have been wearing contacts for about 36 years. (I'm 53 now).

I started with gas permeable hard lenses.

Now that I need something for reading, I have gone to soft multifocal lenses. I am not having much success with them. In fact, I picked up a new trial pair yesterday. My problem is that I can not read with the multifocal and have to carry a pair of 'cheaters' with me anyway.

My eyedoctor thinks it may be a 'dry eye' issue. He says that the contacts will be blurred if my eyes are too dry. I am trying to use more eye drops through the day to see if that helps.

I can read and see distance just fine with my glasses, but I just don't like wearing glasses. Most of my work is outdoors, and I prefer to wear safety sunglasses.

I asked about surgery, and my doctor said that is probably not a good option at my age.

And, yesterday I tried one lens for reading and the other for distance, and I couldn't see anything.

I also have the issue of only being able to focus directly in front of my eyes when wearing the glasses.

 

[Travelover]

Another mono contact user here. I have decent near vision in one eye and correct the other for distance vision. You would think that I'd have poor depth perception, but it has not been a problem for me over at least 10 years with this scheme. My only issue is in the mid range and I use cheap reading glasses to compensate for that.

Tried progressive contacts and could not make them work.

 

[Redbug]

I also am a long time gas permeable hard lense wearer. Since about 1974, and I am 55 now. I tried the short range/long range...one for each eye. That did not work out for me. I also hunt a good bit. I keep my prescription sharp more in the middle range and that works fine for me. I use reading glasses to read small print nowdays. Binoculars for far away stuff.

 

[N80]

Okay, I got the multifocal contacts. They are Bausch & Lomb PureVision 2. Been trying them for about a month. My experience:

1. Trouble getting them in. Some days I get them in first try. Bingo, no problem. Other days, I'll try a half dozen times, run out of time and tears and give up. They have a very large diameter and it is easy for an eyelid to fold them over. But the hardest thing for me is to tell if they are inside out or not. They say you can look at the shape and tell. I cannot. I can't tell until I get them in and they hurt, so then I take them out and start over. Everyone tells me to keep trying and it will get easy with time. So that's what I'm doing.

2. Dry eyes. It is an issue but by using drops a couple times a day it is manageable. Doesn't seem any worse with or without the contacts.

3. Lens movement. Occasionally I'll have to blink hard or even press on my eyelid to push the contact back into place. Maybe once or twice a day. No big deal. No worse than glasses

4. Prescription issues. First set, near and medium distance crystal clear. Wear them all day at work and everything is great. But go outside or drive and distance sucks. Was not sure if this was a prescription issue or just my brain not adapting to the distance (outside) ring of the contact. Anyway, go back for follow up and explain problem and he gives me a different prescription. Wow! Distance and intermediate vision are perfect.....but reading is now difficult. And this is confusing to me. I thought they could change each focus ring independently to tailor them to you needs. Apparently not. So now I've got to decide which prescription to go with. I really love have good distance vision for driving and outdoor stuff and might be willing to pop a pair of readers on for real up close stuff.

5. Life without progressive glasses. This is the part that keeps me pressing on trying to make the contacts work. So nice to have peripheral vision back. So nice not to have sweat and rain on my glasses. So nice not to be cleaning glasses all the time. So nice to be able to walk down stairs and over rough terrain without looking down at my feet. So nice to be without all the glare. But having said that, I'm still not sure the contacts are going to work out. I might give it another month. Will post update then.

 

[speedbump]

I guess we have all had most of the same experiences. Hated glasses (trifocals). Got tired of readers. I see fine at distances, but with the contacts I get a bit of double vision. But I can read now. Same thing on getting them in/out. Sometimes first try other times not so easy. I can shoot with no problem. The contacts really helped me with shooting and playing pool.

 

[jejeosborne]

I have multi focal contacts and have to also keep the distance only contacts as well. I can tell you that it is just something you will have to personally experiment with yourself. Everyone's brain to eye communications work differently. For me, the multi focal lenses work with the exception of quick action events. For example, I enjoy off road motorcycle riding and my brain isn't quick enough to process all that is happening as I buzz through the trees. When riding I use my single vision contacts but require cheaters to read my phone. Sucks getting old!

 

[N80]

I do track events in my 350Z. Not sure how contacts will affect that. I'm not racing wheel-to-wheel but there is passing. I think with the contacts with good distance and intermediate vision should be fine. But, I think in terms of looking around me for other cars and looking in the mirrors the contacts will be superior to my progressive glasses which I've been using at the track for the last 2 years. Also a pain to get glasses on with helmet on.

 

[N80]

I'm thinking about doing an experiment. The first pair were sharp up close and at middle distances. The second pair are sharp at middle distance and far distance. I might put the first prescription in my left eye and the second one in my right eye and see how it works. Can't hurt to try.

 

[grsthegreat]

I'm thinking about doing an experiment. The first pair were sharp up close and at middle distances. The second pair are sharp at middle distance and far distance. I might put the first prescription in my left eye and the second one in my right eye and see how it works. Can't hurt to try.

i have reading contact in left eye and distance contact in right eye. I wish i had a 3rd eye for the stuff inbetween hehe


but it has worked great for many years. beats the heck out if glasses.

 

[i579rbd]

I got LASIK last year for distance Vision and kicked myself for waiting so long. Now I keep cheaters by my reading chair, bed, in my truck and at my work desk. just got tired of chasing everywhere for one pair.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

The multifocal contacts just are not working for me. I can't seem to see close or far with them.

So, yesterday, I picked up a pair with my left eye for reading and my right eye for distance. The doctor had to try 3 lenses before getting my left eye so that I could read. My right eye seems to be good at distance now too. At least it's better than before with the multifocal lenses.

She said it would take about a week for my brain to get used to focusing with the new lenses. Today is my first full day of wearing them, and I feel that my brain has a long way to go before it gets used to focusing properly.

The good thing now is that when I do focus properly, things are clearer both up close and at distance.