Anyone recently stared wearing bifocal contacts?

Question

After getting some great information from this site a couple weeks ago, I got an exam and will try out some bifocal contacts later this week. Just wondering if anyone has recently gone through this process, if so, what should I exspect? I am near fifty and hope they will work for me. The eye Doc thought I was a very good candidate for them, now just to give them a trial. I am just wondering if I will get some major headaches or what. I like to mentally prepare for things like this if possible. Thanks for any helpful replys.

Answer 1

You'll probably know quite quickly if they're for you or not.

But if you are keen on the idea, don't let a first failure immediately put you off: there are several significantly different approaches to bifocal contacts.

Basically though, you don't have the flexibility of focal length adjustment that you used to have, and adding that property back in doesn't come for free: somehow, somewhere, something has to be robbed or borrowed in order to supply it.  

The trick lies in borrowing from where it won't be missed too much.

With monovision (one eye for distance, one eye for near) it's stolen from the binocular vision, which some people accept without noticing any problem, and others find totally impossible.

With true bifocal contacts, in effect it's stolen from the contrast levels: blacks are not as black, whites are not as white.  Now, in a high-contrast environment, that may not show, there being contrast to spare, and the result be excellent.  

But the quality of vision could drop drastically if the lighting is poor or the print is grey.  For related reasons, night-time glare off car headlights and streetlights can be noticed.

It may not be an impossible effect: judging the trade-off against the more flexible vision is a very personal choice.

The verdict may be different for varied activities: bifocal contacts fine for social events, but not good for all-day on paperwork, or driving.  

It can be possible to have distance contacts and reading glasses*, but keep a reading contact to get a "just for menus" effect for evenings out.

Not often done, but it is done, for the people it suits.

*or even reading contacts and distance glasses over the top for the really office/book/computer based lifestyle!