I am 52, first time wearing "real" glasses. I've been wearing drugstore reading glasses for years.
My distance vision has become slightly blurry, so I finally bit the bullet and got real glasses. Got Varilux Panemic progressives from an eyeglass chain in a mall. (Are we allowed to say the name? They are one of the large ones.)
I understand that progressives take a while to get used to, and I am prepared for that. However, these just didn't seem right when I first tried them. I have to move my head slightly to the left to see straight ahead. So I'm not looking straight out of the middle of the lenses. And the reading part didn't seem right. Finally the clerk helping me asked the technicians in back and they said the PD is off. Said it is within tolerance, but they will send off to Varilux for new lenses. I asked could I go ahead and wear these in the meantime just so I could see how I liked them for distance and they said that would be fine.
So now that I've been using them, I've been able to concentrate and figure out what doesn't seem right. My reading area is about 2.5 inches wide. When I look at a normal size check from my checkbook (about 5-6" wide), I can only see the middle third. Both sides are blurry. Quite blurry. I can tell what they say, but it is uncomfortable. No way to read a page in a book. The vision area is just too narrow.
Tried to use them on the computer. If I sit close and look through the near-vision part, I can only see a small 2.5" circle at a time. If I sit far enough back to use the mid-range, it is the same problem. If I tried to sit and read an email, I don't think I could do it. I feel like a kid in bed hiding under the covers with a tiny pin-dot flashlight trying to read a book, and having to move the flashlight slowly across the page because I can only see a narrow bit at a time.
I propped up a potholder on the kitchen counter about 6' away. I could see the middle of the potholder real well (it has a word on it), but I had to turn my head slightly to look at either side and see it as clearly. Seems like from 6' away, I should be able to 7" wide.
I'm hoping this is just because the PD is off. Maybe it is off more than she told me.
I had a bunch of people over the other night and we were comparing glasses. Most people had progressives. When I put on theirs, I could see a much wider range. I could look at the page of a book and not have to move my head from side to side to read it. One of the ladies must have a prescription very similar to mine, because I could see pretty well through her glasses. She doesn't need them much for distance, just mostly for reading, like I do. Those glasses had a very wide field of vision in the reading area, and it was wonderful!! And hers were just the progressives they grind in the store; they weren't Varilux or anything special.
I thought one of the great things about Varilux (according to their website) was that you had a wide vision field and less distortion on the edges. The ones I have are HORRIBLE. I realize that is probably due to the fact that they weren't cut properly in the store and the problem might not be the lenses.
What I'd specifically like to know is:
1. What width (in inches) should I expect to be able to see out of the reading area?
2. When I go back to have them put the new Varilux lenses in here, what should I say or ask for to try to get them to do them correctly? Should I ask to have the technician come out and mark where my pupils are on the glass? I feel if I talk directly to the technician rather than the clerk who sells you the glasses, it would be better.
One good thing about this chain store is that if you don't like your glasses, you can return them for a complete refund within 30 days. I really like these frames, and didn't see any that I liked in other stores, so I'd like to make this work. If I return them, I'd be back to square one.
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