General Chat

Well I have to say these replies have given me a lot more confidence and thank you all very much for your comments and advice. I'm still not sure why they were prescribed when it's only reading and the pc I need glasses for but I shall persevere for a while and hope not to bump into too many things! I've tried them several times today and am virtually feeling my way round the house as everything feels like one of those halls of mirrors you get at funfairs! Felt very sick earlier though and I do have a bit of a phobia about sickness so that's quite difficult to deal with. Pat - good to have someone to compare notes with and look forward to hearing how you get on. Daisy

Paul - I only went to Spec savers once - I began having terrible headaches when wearing the new glasses and kept resorting to the old. After about 2 weeks - I returned and had to stand my ground - technician checked the prescription/glasses - all OK and I kept insisting there was something wrong - basically to shut me up and my friend who was sticking her oar in by this time - they tested me again and -- that is right the optician had written down wrong prescription - much too strong!!!!!! Never again will I darken their door. Vari-focals - great no problem - never worn bifocals - husband did and changed to varis some 2 years ago and it took him some time to get used to them. Ann

Picked up my new varifocals this morning. This is the 4th pair I've had and find them absolutely brilliant. It is a case of moving your head not your eyes as you normally would. Hope you can manage to get used to yours Daisy, Viv xxx

Daisy, reading would be close work and PC middle distance I suppose. Just try them an hour at a time. I know what you mean about the feeling sick, that would put me off too as I havve a phobia about sickness too. I am sure if you wear them in gradually you will adjust to them. ann Glos

Wore mine for over ten years and, after the first few weeks when I thought I would never ever get used to them, they were great. I then became allergic to the frames and so changed to contacts -

They are brilliant. Mrs M had hers for three years before I dared to and told me what to expect. Just remember that the top is for distant, the bottom for near. Once you remember to move your head up or down so the right bit of the lens is in your line of sight. you are near to cracking it. Worst bit was looking down at your feet. You can't just glance down. You need to move your head down so you are looking through the top half, not the bottom half of your glasses. The woosy feeling onlt lasts a few days, beleive me.

Hi Daisy I posted a thread about the very same thing a few months ago: 'How do you get used to.......... the dreaded varifocal glasses' I know exactly how you are feeling at the moment ! All I can say is that I spent several years putting off the evil moment, but, I spent most of the time either looking over or under my glasses. Push came to shove eventually and I gave them a go. It was horrible at first.!!! People would speak to me and I would turn to look at them and then spend the next few minutes trying to get them in focus. Also the first time I went in a big shop (M&S) I felt physically sick. Everything was swimming around in front of my eyes. Looking at a computer screen was awful. But please dont give up. It took about a month before I felt comfortable and forgot about looking through the reading part and the distance part. IT DOES become second nature and you dont realise you are doing it. Believe me if I can get used to them anyone can. Hang on in there it will get better although I know at the moment it does not feel like it will. I wouldnt be without them now. Hang on in there and good luck. Susan

I got my two most recent pairs in Cyprus. When the Optician fitted them, he said 'Stand up. Do you feel dizzy or sick?' I did slightly - he took the spex off and adjusted the fit, pushing the lenses nearer to my eyes, if you understand what I mean. Perfect. Only problem - I am now as blind as a bat without them and live in terror of breaking them, I stupidly didnt get a spare pair. BTW - Specsavers isnt coming out of this thread awfully well, is it? OC

To be fair Specsavers shops are all privately owned - it's a franchise - so each one is going to be different. I go to one but there are two others in the area with bad reputations and as for Vision Express - well - never again. Gwynne

Interestingly where we live, VE scores evey time. The Optician couldn't be more helpful. She spent over half an hour over and above the basic eye test making sure my varifocals were right for distance, for reading and for computer work I have not used SS but both my wife and son thought they were rubbish and never went back. Their prescriptions were wrong and the specs themselves were not up to scratch either. I suppose at the end of the day, it all depends on the local staff.

I went from bifocals to varifocals several years ago, it only took me a week to adjust, and now prefer them to bifocals. My hubby had a new pair of specs from Optical Express, he knew when he tried them on in the shop that they wern't right, the assistant told him to go away and give them a week or so, but he refused and insisted on seeing the optician, the assistant tried telling him he couldn't the optician, but luckily the optician heard the row going on and saw him. And YES they had been made incorrectly and had to be returned. The same thing happened to my brother in law with the same firm. Where do they all get made? do they maybe use the same place?

sorry I gotta stick up for Specsavers! have got mine and daughter's and mum's there for a few years now and have found them polite, helpful, accurate and efficient. my only gripe is the cost of my lenses - but then that's not their fault, it's my crappy eyes! Maz. XX

As I said before, we go to Specsavers and think we get a great deal! Yes, a mistake was made but they put it right quickly and efficiently. Getting a free pair is a huge bonus - that's the spare pair OC that you need! Anne

Anne No, I will never go back to SS, not if they are the last Optician on the planet - while all this fuss was going on with my mis-made spex, I had non spex at all, had to buy a cheapy pair from Woollies. When I enquired politely as to the progress of my being-put-right spex, I was informed off-handedly that they had mislaid them and they were too busy to look for them. I found the phone number of the Owner of Specsavers (in Jersey or Guernsey, can't remember now) and I phoned him. He was nearly as upset as me about it. The following morning I was invited to choose any pair from SS with no charge, and a £200 cheque for my trouble. I chose a pair.....the lenses were wrong..... I went to Cyprus on the £200, and bought all-singing, all-dancing, varifocals for £90. They took 48 hours to make because my particular lenses had to be sent to GERMANY to be ground. The sight test was computerised - none of that 'Is that better or worse?', you just stare at a Xmas tree on a screen for 30 seconds and out pops your prescription. Going back this winter and getting two pairs this time! OC

that's VERY interesting about the Cyprus procedure OC. Can I ask how much you usually paid for lenses in the UK please? I have a very complicated prescription and would love to save money on them. With flights being so cheap nowadays it is something worth considering. Maz. XX

Well having spent the weekend feeling spaced, hungover and sick, and patience not being my strong suit, I've bottled it already and returned them. True to their word, they're changing them to normal reading glasses and even let me choose different frames. Very relieved. Daisy

I have had them for about 5/6 yr. You will get used to them I really like mine. Only problems I find are reversing the car..I have to take them off, or walking down steps can be a bit distorted. Marion

oh ya big chicken lol !! Maz. XX

Oh Daisy I nearly binned mine yesterday, they were so awful but wore them all day at work today and got on better than I expected. Will give them a few more days, before deciding what to do. Pat

Maz I know but I felt so ill wearing them and I really do only need them for reading so couldn't see the point of all the hassle. Pat - well done. Glad you're getting on better with them and hope one of us has success with them! Thanks to everyone for your help and advice. It really was very useful despite my decision to bail. Daisy