Bifocal contacts | TheaterFire

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Longjumping_Code_649@reddit

I tried monovision (hated them, though my mom and aunt loved them), and bifocal and really didn't love them either. Now I wear regular contacts with graduated glasses over the top for reading. I'm a teacher and need to be able to read and to see my students.

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snarkmeister99@reddit

I’ve been too chicken to try them. As a result, I’m wearing readers with my contacts more often than not- anything that requires me to read something that isn’t in like a 24pt font is too blurry to read without them. But I got the Pair glasses so I switch up the tops all the time to go with my outfit. 😆

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MagentaMist@reddit

I do the monovision ones. One eye is for distance and the other is for close up. The bifocal ones gave me a splitting headache.

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Ordinary-Tax-7026@reddit

I tried mono vision contacts. The doctor told me everyone loves them. I did not. I just keep wearing glasses. Haven’t found good bifocal contacts that also work for astigmatism.

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TripThruTimeandSpace@reddit

They have new ones out and they are fantastic because they are dailies. I used to use the monthly version. They are the Acuvue Oasys Max.

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Salty-Programmer1682@reddit

These are amazing.

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Ordinary-Tax-7026@reddit

Yeah it’s been a couple of years since I’ve tried. I was thinking about trying again. Thanks for the suggestion. I’m going to ask

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MagentaMist@reddit

That's reasonable. TBH, I do have issues driving with them at night so I usually wear my glasses then.

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thisiscrazy654@reddit

Same. Monovision is the way for me. I couldn’t get used to the bifocal contact lenses.

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feralGenx@reddit

Running the same setup, takes 5 minutes after putting them for my brain get with it.

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Medeamama@reddit

Same. I tried the bifocal ones and preferred the mono vision

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doglady1342@reddit

I hated monovision. It just couldn't do it. I wear contact lenses for presbyopia that have built in reading glasses. They aren't bifocals. They have concentric circles and there is no adjustment between areas of the lenses. They are awesome and both eyes get to see everything.

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MapleWolf1970@reddit

I have the same. Not perfect but I can read well enough with them and can still see well far!

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katwoodruff@reddit

Monofocals here, too! Works a treat.

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ManyCanary5464@reddit

My doc told me I could try this and I didn’t believe it would work! How long till you got used to it? Do you always have the same eye see near or do you switch them up?

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MagentaMist@reddit

It only took a few days to get used to.

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Kiwiatx@reddit

Same preference for mono vision contacts here. They work well for me.

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upirons@reddit

Same here. Could not get the bifocal ones to work well but monovision does the trick.

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ZweitenMal@reddit

I love my monovision Rx. I also have astigmatism and the bifocal contacts for astigmatism don’t cover my degree of correction.

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CaptainMahvelous@reddit

I have done this for years and for the same reason. The bifocals made my brain hurt.

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MagentaMist@reddit

Yeah they were horrible!

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MidnightNo1766@reddit

I hate monovision. They did that with my lasik and I've regretted it ever since. I'd rather have kept my bifocals.

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Its_Friday_Again@reddit

My bil did the surgery too and he said at first it made him nauseous but seems he eventually got used to it.

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MidnightNo1766@reddit

Mine was 6 years ago so that ship has sailed.

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3yl@reddit

Wow - really? You're one of the few that I've seen say they regretted it. I'd be looking for the monovision if I did it (or I thought!) What was the issue?

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marge7777@reddit

also love the mono vision. It took a bit to get used to, and I had to switch which eye had the multi focal, but it is great. -10 prescription and no loss of distance, etc.

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Koolmidx@reddit (OP)

I'm easily distracted by all kinds of visual details, if that's what they intend I get used to I might just do regular contacts and use readers for everything else. My eyes are only -.25 off and both have a smidge of astigmatism.

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PrognosticPeriwinkle@reddit

Another vote for monovision. I never thought it would work for me (high power) but it’s been amazing.

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mortsdeer@reddit

Yeah, finally let my optometrist convince me to try this, and it's been a game changer, being able to actually see my phone when I have my contact in for working out.

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bike619@reddit

ELI5 how this works… I understand bifocals/progressives because they are set off from your eye, different lens strengths depending on where your eye is pointed… but a contact lens is sitting in a (mostly) fixed position on your eye, so no matter where you are looking you’re looking through the “same part” of the lens…

I don’t get it.

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TeamShonuff@reddit

They are a series of concentric rings. The center is one power (distance or near depending on the lens) and the next ring is the other power and so on.

So they go distance-near-distance-near-distance-near-etc. You see both the distance and the near at the same time. They sort of blend but they sort of compete - at the expense of your contrast acuity.

They're not as clear as monovision but they're binocular and are easy to adjust to. Monovision (one eye distance and one eye mid-near) generally gives better clarity but is more difficult to adjust to wearing.

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ZipCity262@reddit

The eye doctor explained it to me that the lens has sort of concentric rings of different strengths on it, like the Target logo - and you learn (subconsciously) to make very subtle movements with your eyes to take advantage of these differences. I still don’t get it 100% but they work like magic for me.

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Initial_Run1632@reddit

I don't know if they are all made this way. But mine have concentric rings of distance, alternating with close-up vision. Your brain just kind of adjusts and fills things in. It's interesting because when I first was using them, every now and then I would sort of see a pale bullseye pattern. That never happens anymore.

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MapleWolf1970@reddit

I have the same and had the same experience! They work well!

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Koolmidx@reddit (OP)

I was hoping the doctor would explain it but she only said as much as I'll get used to it, it's a neurological thing. I was gonna look it up later when I have more time.

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bike619@reddit

I tried some research and also asked here cause I was hoping for a quick and dirty understanding… it does seem like it is one of the miracles of our brains acclimating to incoming information. Like the experiment from decades ago where they put people in goggles that flip everything upside down and over time the brain formed new pathways to correct the problem… but much less intense.

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Koolmidx@reddit (OP)

SmarterEveryDay backwards bicycle is a fun YouTube video.

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OkTouch5699@reddit

I had them. I decided to get rid of them... and I hate it. Go back the 29th to get thwm back. Idk how they work, but they do. I think it has to do with your dominant eye.

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Extreme-Amount-9689@reddit

I’m on my trial pair of toric lenses. I got the 2.5 weeks ago. I have the clearest double vision ever! I took about a week off of wearing them. I put them back in today before work and I notice less double vision than before. When it does happen I just blink fast for about a minute and it clears up. I also have astigmatism and am a first time contact lens wearer. I really want to love them.

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Ok_Responsibility419@reddit

Yep multi focal lenses FTW

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NedRyerson92@reddit

I use multifocal contacts (-11.00 and +1.00) and have no issues.

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amyrxatl@reddit

I wear a -11.5 contact prescription and I have an eye doctor appointment next week. Thanks for sharing I am going to ask about this for me. I started wearing contacts in 3rd grade and I will be 51 next month

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Front-Cat-2438@reddit

-11.00! That’s an astounding myopia you’ve got there. Yay for being correctable!

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NedRyerson92@reddit

They’ve been this way since I was in elementary school! I’m am so thankful for contacts, I’ve been wearing them since I was 11 (51 now).

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i-am-jjm@reddit

Been wearing multifocal lens for 13+ years started at 42

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Addapost@reddit

I tried them. Unusable. Not to mention I literally couldn’t get them in or out of my eyes. My wife had to do both for me every day for two weeks. I couldn’t get them in or out. Epic fail. Which is just as well because they did not work at all for me when they were in. Nothing was clear. Oh well. I tried. Back to the progressive glasses.

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ZipCity262@reddit

I love them! I adapted to them really quickly. I wish I had some advice for how to adapt, I just got lucky and they seem to work really well for me. All it felt like was “okay, this is what it felt like before I needed reading glasses all of a sudden.”

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Grace_Alcock@reddit

The double vision didn’t resolve. I can see better at a distance without any correct than I can with the bifocal contacts. Such a shame. I so wanted them to work.

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KhunDavid@reddit

I could have lived without the music.

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TheNolaCatLady@reddit

I tried multifocal contacts, but it just didn't work out. I wear glasses for distance and can still read up close fairly well. The problem is that I can't read with my glasses on and I stopped wearing my regular contacts years ago because I couldn't read with them. The multifocal contacts just seemed to throw everything out of whack. My distance vision didn't seem as sharp and I couldn't read the computer screen at work. So, I'm just back to wearing my glasses and taking them off when I need to read something.

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kadiebug12@reddit

Same exact scenario here.

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stellablue176@reddit

I have them. They're ok. Still prefer to also use reading glasses. I have astigmatism so they don't fully sit well in my eyes so I think that's part of the problem. I've always had terrible distance vision but losing my close up vision has been one of the things that's really made me feel old (even more so than the gray hairs).

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Key_City_3152@reddit

I go monovision when I wear contacts. I tried the bifocal ones, and it wasn’t good enough close up or distance, for me. But don’t wear contacts much anymore - glasses 95%.

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TankApprehensive3053@reddit

I was prescribed one contact. Just one. I'd wear it in either eye as I have the same prescription in both. The other eye did not have one. That way I could see mid and far just fine with the contact eye and near vision was good with the non-contact eye. Your eyes compensative quickly really.

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movieator@reddit

I just wear my regular contacts and keep a pair of readers on me.

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michemel@reddit

I have them but they aren't quite right. It feels like every sneeze changes my Rx lol

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KindIndependence9401@reddit

I had them for a few years but elected to go back to regular dailies because the halo effect at night made it so I couldn’t see to drive.

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rebar71@reddit

Haven't tried them. Maybe I will next time. I just wear contacts for distance and pull out cheaters for up close if I need to. I have a pair of 2.5x ThinOptics on my keychain. When I'm wearing my glasses, I just take them off if I need to read something small up close.

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No_Act6908@reddit

My eye doctor gave me Natural Vue multifocal lenses years ago. Not toric and I have astigmatism in both eyes. Best contacts ever! Seriously!

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Pattycakes1966@reddit

Glasses

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Artistic_Head_5547@reddit

I have bifocal in my non-dominant eye, and a toric contact in my dominant eye (astigmatism). I still use readers towards the end of the day, but it’s the best solution by far.

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fzzball@reddit

Didn't like them because it seemed that nothing was in focus, ever.

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Edu_cats@reddit

I have multi focal and love them. I get great correction but some people just can’t find the right balance between distance and reading .

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badasschurchlady@reddit

Yeah. About 15 years ago. Also tried mono vision. Hated both. I tried the bifocal for a few years. Everything was always a little blurry; corrected enough but not perfect. And mono vision I just couldn’t get used to at all. I just gave up and have glasses now with progressive lenses . . . and I take my glasses off when I get to the office and put them on when I leave.

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Ok_Schedule5017@reddit

I want to try them but last time I did, it didn’t go well. I have a terrible astigmatism in my left eye and they didn’t accommodate that.

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CallMeSisyphus@reddit

I loved them, but they were useless for reading in dim light. If I'm gonna have to carry readers to read a restaurant menu, might as well just get regular lenses. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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SDBitsME@reddit

I’ve happily worn multifocal contacts for years. If my eyes are tired, or in dim light, I sometimes use 1x readers in addition to the contacts

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Dangerous-Lunch647@reddit

Same

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peatmoss71@reddit

Agree. Similar experience. My eye doctor tried to put the same lenses in both eye. Basically lowering the prescription in each eye. All that did was make me dizzy. But multifocal lenses are amazing

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Detroitdays@reddit

I have worn contacts since 1985. They’ve come a long way since the days of “cooking” them once a week in whatever that heater thing was called. I’ve worn multi focal for years now. Unfortunately I need to use readers to read. Defeats the purpose of the contacts but it is what it is.

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No-Championship-9071@reddit

Same on all counts!

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Evianicecubes@reddit

I have such bad distance vision and losing my closeup vision so fast that they don’t work for me in most situations. I was still wearing readers with the contacts to see my computer at work.

But they are very useful when glasses are not an option like swimming etc

I also found it seemed like my eyes got fatigued, they would be good to see my phone early in the day and then later on they were less effective.

Very comfortable at least

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Sheweb@reddit

I got them last year for the first time and they’ve been great! Get a little drier than my usual ones so I find I have to change them a bit more often.

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Expert_Potential_661@reddit

I wear bifocal contacts and I still have to use readers.

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MrNotConcerned@reddit

In my opinion, bifocal lenses still suck. I keep trying them but always go back to monovision.

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TripThruTimeandSpace@reddit

Yes I have multifocal toric lenses and I love them. I tried mono vision but they gave me a headache.

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HallackB@reddit

Just had the lenses in my eyes replaced. Started with trifocal, didn’t work, now have blended mono vision. 20/15 close/mid in one eye and 20/15 mid/far in the other. Still getting used to it but on the whole, excellent

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PrincessPalm22@reddit

I just got LASIK PRK last year I have 20/20 vision quit screwing around with these Doctors taking your money and gain a solution fix your eyes people your not too old! That’s a stereotype! Mine was $4200 both eyes no glasses or contacts ever or readers. I got 2 different eye strengths or whatever you call it each eye sees different longer recovery and odd for like 6 months but I hung in there and I have 20/20 55 years Hot

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Koolmidx@reddit (OP)

The expense is what keeps me from getting it, I never have enough saved up.

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PrincessPalm22@reddit

I charged it lol but I can see! And I paid it off already so do it do it! I just thought Dude! I get older loose glasses loose my contacts what do I do? I always had back up contacts, glasses, readers, ridiculous you know! So I was like I’m going to see if I can get LASIK and it’s called LASIK PRK. And driving I had contacts tear while driving so yeah…I was thinking long term investment 🤠🤑

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PrincessPalm22@reddit

https://goalphaeon.com/

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Mediocre-Penalty3001@reddit

You'll sacrifice some distance w multi focal contacts.

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grateful_john@reddit

Over time if your reading vision continues to deteriorate multifocals will no longer do the job alone. I have multi focal contacts but I’ve needed reading glasses for a few years. If they upped the reading prescription my distance vision would be impacted.

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tex_hadnt_buzzed_me@reddit

I had multifocals for about a year and they were fine. But then I switched to only one lens for reading and it's been amazing. So much cheaper and so much better. (My distance vision is good enough I didn't need correction.)

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Tess47@reddit

My cousin told me about hers and how much she loved them. I went out and got a pair to try. My body hates contacts. I guess proteins would attack them in my eyes and my vision would just be gone. It was all so strange.

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OldSchoolPrinceFan@reddit

Have you tried monovision? They are awesome if you don't do a lot of night driving.

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Koolmidx@reddit (OP)

I occasionally drive late on off days, so the option is kinda necessary. I'll check it out though to be educated.

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Consistent-Change386@reddit

Currently using a trial pair. I can see up close again but driving is a little weird- the distance vision kind of comes and goes. For some reason I’m not seeing as much halo effect at night which is really nice. It is really nice to be able to wear my favorite cheap sunglasses outside again! I also have progressive lens glasses that I’m still waiting on getting delivered. I’m probably going to order the contacts but most likely won’t always wear them.

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GotchUrarse@reddit

I have them and use them when I go out. I work in IT and staring a screen, for me at least, I can't work with them. For 'casual' wear they're great. They do work well. But you have to teach yourself to blink.

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Servile-PastaLover@reddit

I've had multifocal contacts for more than a decade and wouldn't change a thing.

Your eyes and your brain will take awhile to get used to them...but after that, you'll be overjoyed.

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Moonsmom181@reddit

I just wear normal contacts and use reading glasses. I get migraines so I can’t tolerate anything else.

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Acceptable_Reality10@reddit

My wife absolutely loves her new bifocal contacts, I am on the edge but not quite there yet but I hope when I am there as great as she says!

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NotaMillenial2day@reddit

I’ve been wearing them for years. Love them!!

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ChaosTheoryGirl@reddit

Multifocal lenses are awesome but there is finesse to getting the prescription correct. It is easy to focus on up close to the detriment of further vision. I have it balanced so I can see far away (maybe a smidge blurry) and can see well enough close up. I still need readers for very small font but can read a menu at a restaurant without glasses. Keep trying to work with the prescription until it is something you can live with.

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Koolmidx@reddit (OP)

I'm definitely not happy with blurred distance vision since at night it will only make driving more difficult. I'll have to check with the office next week.

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gyrofx@reddit

I have the bifocal ones, been brilliant, been a couple of years now.

Use them mainly for sports.

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Nervous_Survey_7072@reddit

My daughter who is only 24 first got bifocal contacts in her teens.

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EstateGate@reddit

I love them. I have no idea how they work, but they do!

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aogamerdude@reddit

I tried a pair once long ago & didn't like them for distance. I'd rather use a regular set & readers.

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wisemonkey101@reddit

I wear multifocal contacts. Life changing.

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Komaisnotsalty@reddit

I used to have bifocal contacts but now I wear trifocals and don't wear contacts as much. But yes - bifocal contacts are AMAZING.

I really miss contacts, but lordy, they're expensive.

I do have monovision ones, then I just put readers on for when I need that.

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unknowable_stRanger@reddit

I'm 20/200 in one eye and 20/400 in the other. I don't think this technology would work that great for me but I'm glad it kinda works for you.

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Jasonstackhouse111@reddit

I LOVE my multi focal contacts! It’s like my eyes are 35 years old again.

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imalloverthemap@reddit

They drove me nuts. I use readers if I have contacts in.

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AnnieB512@reddit

I tried them but couldn't stand the 2 second delay in refocus. I ended up getting single prescription ones and carrying readers. That's also a pain in the ass.

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ertyertamos@reddit

About the same experience. Tough to dial in both distance and close.

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welltravelledRN@reddit

I love them! Have worn them for 10 years.

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Familiar-Seat-1690@reddit

If you have astigmatism they are a godsend for driving at night. Eyedoc just gave me a protip to get a pair of reading glasses so I can see the cell phone without removing contacts when needed.

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MaximumJones@reddit

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No_Caterpillar_8573@reddit

I’ve gone back and forth between contacts and glasses over the years. The last time I tried contacts they were the multifocal ones and I couldn’t adjust to them in addition to them irritating my eyes. Now I just wear my glasses when driving. I occasionally have to pull out the magnifying glass for reading really small print.

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JulesSherlock@reddit

I use multifocal lenses and I love them. I have one regular contacts for 40 years, but just switched to the multifocal this year. No more readers. I hated putting those glasses on and off all the time and not being able to see the computer screen, to read, or eat my food. Of course, I could eat without seeing my food, but food I consider one of the pleasures of life and seeing it clearly is part of that.

Once the eye doctor gets that prescription correct for the multifocal, there is no going back. It’s awesome.

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alayeni-silvermist@reddit

I have toric lenses, and I also need bifocals. I tried the full toric/progressive lenses and I was just nauseous all the time.

Now I just wear the torics and use readers when I need them.

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