Who wears progressive bifocals? I need help!?

Question

Is it normal that when I shift my head from side to side everything goes all funny like a fun house mirror? Try shifting your head left to right quickly. For me everything seems to go up and down. Is that normal? I just got these btw and have never used bifocals before.

Answer 1

Progressives do that.  You can only see clearly out of the center of the lens.  Bifocals with a line in them don't have this problem.

Answer 2

Well, I used to have progressive bifocals (until I went to a new eye doctor who said I don't need them...lol), and I never really noticed that problem. Mine weren't very strong, so maybe that is why, but they never really bothered me in that sense. If you are worried about it, call your eye doctor on Monday. Good luck! : )

Answer 3

Be patient, when you get use to your progressives you will never wear anything else.

My first bi's were progressive, vanity was the reason then as I was 24.  Since I have had lined and there is no way I would ever buy them again.

With progressives trhe vision gradually shifts for smooth vision.

Give it time, you will learn to move your eyes more than your heard

Answer 4

It does take time to get used to them.  It took me a good two weeks.  Because the way the lenses have been adjusted to work around the centre, you have to remember to turn your head, rather than move your eyes.  When you don't do that - that's when strange things happen.  You've probable found that you've had to adjust your VDU so that you don't have to look up, but look down to it.  This helps, otherwise you will get neck strain on the back of the neck.  Gradually you will get used to it, and you will do these things automatically.  So all you are going through is normal, but if you are worried - check with the optician.

Answer 5

It took a good two weeks to get used to mine.  I had a problem going down steps and walking while looking on the ground ahead of me.

Answer 6

They do take getting used to, but it's also possible yours are set a little high.

There are bad patches on the lenses: it's the inevitable trade off for getting rid of the line, and having intermediate focal lengths between the full distance and full reading portions.

To test your glasses, find a detailed true distance object (shopfront with writing, billboard...)

From you natural head position, drop you chin slightly, so that your eyes are looking through a slightly higher part of the lenses.  If your vision improves, the glasses are set too high.

Return to normal... keeping you head level, turn it left and right keeping your eyes steady one object: see if the vision blurs.  If it does repeat that with your chin dipped a little.

Again, this may show your glasses are set too high.

(too low doesn't fit what you describe, unless it's happening for reading, in which case see if when reading the effect is lessened by *raising* your chin a little, when you'd be using more of the proper reading area, not just the relatively narrow transition zone)

The setting of these lenses is quite critical for best performance, and they are not right for everyone, though most people prefer them to bifocals.

I like them for general use, but I keep a distance pair for watching TV (you can't lean back on a sofa with varifocals and still see the TV) and a reading pair for in bed... again, more choice of posture.