# Varifocals



## GB72 (Jan 25, 2018)

Wondering if anyone here has made, or tried to make, the switch to varifocal lenses. 
Latest eye test shows I am borderline for the switch being beneficial and in a few years I will need to decide between having 2 pairs of glasses or one pair of varifocals. 
Not sure about the whole idea of having to look through different parts of the lense to see and am not convinced about having blurred peripheral vision. 
Anyway, anyone made the change got any comments on how you found it.


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## Imurg (Jan 25, 2018)

Theres several types of lenses Greg..
The more expensive ones have a better gradient between the different areas of the norms.
Cheaper ones have a blurry edge that comes quite a long way into your vision.
I found them easy to get used to but some do struggle.


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## Doon frae Troon (Jan 25, 2018)

I wasted Â£600 on them......really struggled and felt dizzy.
My brother wears them and is fine with them for golf/reading general wear.


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## Spear-Chucker (Jan 25, 2018)

Went to these 3 months ago and love em'. It's a case of you get what you pay for - better lenses with a larger field of vision (almost to the edges) cost more for example. I went with Essilor X's which we recommended by an optician mate and after around 10 days I was completely won over. You naturally compensate in terms of head movement etc. and they should soon feel natural. Took two or three rounds of golf for me to be truly comfortable but you could always keep your distance ones for playing if you need them.


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## Hacker Khan (Jan 25, 2018)

I got mine from Specsavers a year or so ago now and they were fine.  I was warned about feeling dizzy, remembering to look at close things out the bottom of the glasses, far away out of the top etc etc.  But to be honest I never felt any dizzyness and after a day or so I naturally got used to them and I subconsciously tilt my head if I need to without thinking about it.  Possibly I got lucky, who knows.


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## drdel (Jan 25, 2018)

I have two pairs. One I use for everyday and the second pair the optician changed the spec to improve the long distance for golf and with a slightly sharper gradient for the close focus as when putting but not as much as for reading.


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## Hobbit (Jan 25, 2018)

Got a pair that are graded for reading and then the computer screen. I don't need glasses for long distance. Took a few weeks to get used to them but was never 100% taken with them. Forgot them when we went on holiday last year, and have not bothered with them since. Back to using the bog standard glasses.


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## CliveW (Jan 25, 2018)

I've worn them for over 10 years without any issues except when putting. You need to be looking through the middle of the lens otherwise a straight line appears curved. I first noticed this when looking at the middle of a wall and the floor appeared to curve down from the centre and the ceiling upwards. Once I was aware of this things were back to normal.


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## clubchamp98 (Jan 25, 2018)

I found them difficult and opted for laser .
still need readers though.
Its one of them things you wonâ€™t know until you try them.
But they are expensive.


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## Crow (Jan 25, 2018)

I tried them when Specsavers were doing a free 10 day trial, so I had the more expensive lenses with the better optics.

Maybe I didn't give them long enough but I couldn't get on with them, stumbling on steps, not really getting used to looking through the right part of the lens, etc. On top of that I was getting headaches which I almost never do so I sent them back.

If the trial had been over a longer period I might have got used to them but it's put me off.


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## GB72 (Jan 25, 2018)

Thanks all. Think I am going to stay off them for the time being and re-assess if the situation gets worse. 

Part of my trepidation was that the optician seemed to have decided that I was coming in due to an age related eye issue and I sort of felt that he was building to selling me varifocals from the minute I stepped through the door.


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## SteveJay (Jan 25, 2018)

I have worn them for several years but have switched to single vision lenses for golf as I found varifocals encouraged me to lower my head so I was looking through the top (distance) part. I can play in varifocals but never as confidently as I can with single vision.

Fortunately I can still read a scorecard clearly enough if I remove my glasses.


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## Maninblack4612 (Jan 25, 2018)

All my specs are varifocals & I have no problem playing in them. When I first got them it took me 5 minutes to get used to playing in them. I think that how easy it is depends on how far apart your near & far vision is. Mine isn't extreme & I can see the ball quite clearly through the lower half.


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## upsidedown (Jan 25, 2018)

Bean wearing them for over 12 years now and no issues. Use a bottom rimless frame .


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## Tashyboy (Jan 25, 2018)

Imurg said:



			Theres several types of lenses Greg..
The more expensive ones have a better gradient between the different areas of the norms.
Cheaper ones have a blurry edge that comes quite a long way into your vision.
I found them easy to get used to but some do struggle.
		
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Ave read all the comments and this is the one that hits the nail on the head. If you go to say ASDA the lenses are not as good as other high street opticians. I have had them from a few differant places, ASDAS were the worst, Crown opticians who have gone bust due to cheap Chinese imports were the best. If you are gonna scrimp you may struggle to get on with them.


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## Neilds (Jan 25, 2018)

You might want to think about giving varifocal contact lenses a go, no problem with rain then ðŸ˜ƒ I have monthly lenses for about Â£20 a month
Another option with contacts is for the optician to prescribe one eye for near and the other for distance, apparently the brain then works out which eye to use


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## AmandaJR (Jan 25, 2018)

Neilds said:



			You might want to think about giving varifocal contact lenses a go, no problem with rain then ðŸ˜ƒ I have monthly lenses for about Â£20 a month
*Another option with contacts is for the optician to prescribe one eye for near and the other for distance, apparently the brain then works out which eye to use*

Click to expand...

Mono-vision. Worked a treat for me - just one lens in my dominant eye. Pain when I put my specs on though as had to take them off to read or work on the lap top. Recently started a single lens but Ortho K...wear a hard lens overnight and next day no need for any correction.

Highly recommend it - really impressed.

http://www.orthoklenses.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjfn0hOPz2AIVi7gbCh2JmQwaEAAYASAAEgJs2fD_BwE


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## arnieboy (Jan 25, 2018)

Worn them for years with no problems whatsoever.


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## jim8flog (Jan 25, 2018)

Out of all the pairs of glasses I have bought this year they are the least used, I have tried them repeatedly but just cannot get used to them. I bought both varifocal and bifocals at the same time and much prefer the the bifocals.  I use single vision for playing golf and intermediate for computer work.


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## chrisd (Jan 25, 2018)

That was the time that I decided to have my laser treatment &#128513;


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## Hobbit (Jan 25, 2018)

chrisd said:



			That was the time that I decided to have my laser treatment &#62977;
		
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I didn't know you were in to tattoos Chris!


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## chrisd (Jan 25, 2018)

Hobbit said:



			I didn't know you were in to tattoos Chris!
		
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Yep Brian, i had the enigmatic smile of the Mona lisa tattoo'd  on my bum - when i sit down she breaks into a big smile!


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## Beedee (Jan 25, 2018)

I'm slightly long sighted and slightly short sighted so I love my varifocals with a passion.  Cost a fortune but worth every penny.  

As others have mentioned tho, I wear distance glasses (normal or sunglasses) for playing golf.  In a normal posture the ball is in the "reading" bit of the lens at address.  Couldn't get used to that so just use single vision for golf.

In terms of price, the way my optician explained it to me was not so much that the gradients of the vision changed with price; but that the width of the bit in the middle of each lens that had the gradient changed.  So cheap glasses have a useful gradient in a narrow strip with big blurry bits at the side.  Expensive glasses have a wider gradient bit, so less blurring at the sides.


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## SwingsitlikeHogan (Jan 26, 2018)

I switched a few years ago to varifocal glasses.  I get on fine with them though don't wear them for golf (contacts still).  I do find that I can't be bothered with the lower part for reading and often just take them off for close work


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## Smiffy (Jan 27, 2018)

I have been wearing varifocals for a good few years now. As others have mentioned, they do take a bit of getting used to and I found the worst part about them was when you got on the green and tried to line up a putt.
Because of the way the lens works, you are limited on how shallow a frame you can have. My first couple of pairs had the shallowest frames I could choose, and they were almost impossible to wear for golf. When I bought some more a few years ago I chose one pair with narrow frames, and one pair with wider frames specifically for golf. Not quite Deidre Barlow ones, but wide enough to make a difference. These seem to have eradicated the problem and are fine.


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