Old eyes and contact lenses

Anyone wear multi-focal contact lenses for presbyopia (eyes that don't focus as close as they used to)?

I'm really getting frustrated with my vision. I wore contacts all my life, but over the last 10 years, I get less and less near vision while wearing contacts and I need to use reading glasses over them. I'm up to a 15 foot range where I need the readers with the contacts. Not so useful. So I mostly wear my regular distance glasses. Everything is focused from 20 inches on to infinity. I just take them off to read small print. I miss the wide clear view of contacts though.

I tried soft multi-focal contacts about 6 years back. They worked, but I could not get used to them. Your brain is supposed to ignore the blurry regions of the lens. Didn't work for me, I obsess about the blurry areas. I'm hearing good things about gas permeable rigid contacts. No mixed near and far regions to make me crazy. Supposedly with the rigid GP's you get a normal distance view until you cast your eyes downward to see through the near focus area when you need it. I only met one guy that used them, he loves them, but he never tried the soft multi-focals to make a comparison.

Has anyone had success trying to make contact lenses work with older eyes?

I couldn't even get used to Progressive lenses. Bifocals drive me insane, and now, I can't function without glasses due to my poor near-vision.
I am interested in what you end-up with and how you function.

Wow! I can't help you, but I am in a similar situation/scenario. I do wear rigid GP lenses and have done so for more years than I care to talk about, but I have not ever worn the multi-focal lenses. Now I wear readers with the contacts for close up work. (Or remove the contacts at night and wear 15 year old bifocals.)

I did have an acquaintance who wore one lens in one eye for far vision and one in the other eye for close vision. It seemed to work for them, but I'm not sure it would work for me. Ha!

cwgrizz said:

I did have an acquaintance who wore one lens in one eye for far vision and one in the other eye for close vision. It seemed to work for them, but I'm not sure it would work for me. Ha!

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Too many people I know that tried that, had to go to a different setup later. Seems to affect depth perception in a bad way.


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I wear contacts. Have done for 30+ years but as I age my vision worsens, now I wear a lens in my left eye for reading and in the right eye for distance. Works a treat. I use the left when shooting so camera work isn't an issue. Otherwise I wear bifocals ...I have Nikon lenses in my spectacles too


In fact I've a 2nd set of lenses for left eye which are also for distance...like a lot if driving or playing golf.

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Glad I'm not alone here. I find bifocals annoying too. Not so bad as sunglasses if I'm just sitting around, but for everyday wear, not good. My trouble with the multifocal contacts is like I said above about noticing the blurry areas but it goes deeper than that. I feel handicapped. At distance, sure, I can see things, read signs, etc, but I think due to only a portions of the scene being in focus, I'm missing subtle stuff. For instance, I'll hear a bird in the tree and I can't easily find it. Or I'll be looking over a crowd of people for my wife and can't easily find her. It was very odd, I think due to not really seeing every detail in the entire scene and having my brain basically fill in the blanks. No way I'll ever get used to that, I'm too detail orientated. Same problem for reading, I could read every individual word on the page, but for something that needed concentration, like an instruction manual, it was frustrating. I think my brain likes to see the whole page at once.
I have tried one eye for reading and one for distance. For me, that was just wearing one lens for distance, leaving the reading eye bare. It works and I would rate it a good bit better than the multi focal lenses, but it gives the same frustrating issues noted above for things requiring concentration or 'finding' something in a crowd. If I am going to work on the car and have greasy hands, I'll wear one contact lens so I can see my fingers and find my tools scattered around the driveway. My eyes aren't too bad, both -1.75, so depth perception was not ruined, but it just messes with my concentration and problem solving big time.
I have to find a place that has good experience with the rigid gp multifocals, the mall docs hate multifocals, too much chair time.

Patrick Molloy said:

I wear contacts. Have done for 30+ years but as I age my vision worsens, now I wear a lens in my left eye for reading and in the right eye for distance. Works a treat. I use the left when shooting so camera work isn't an issue. Otherwise I wear bifocals ...I have Nikon lenses in my spectacles too


In fact I've a 2nd set of lenses for left eye which are also for distance...like a lot if driving or playing golf.

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How do you find the two different lenses work for night driving? I tried it and the reading eye being blurry at distance gave me a lot of glare for oncoming lights, much like a filthy windshield does. The multi focal lenses were even worse with points of light at night. I think I'm overly sensitive to anything less than crystal clear vision.

To be honest I never noticed any glare night driving. I guess I got used to it.


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My optician recommended I look at Clear Lens Replacement. It's not cheap, but it's 20/20 vision. In my case it's a consideration because I will develop cataracts.


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Hi Guys
Just a thought, about 15 years ago cataracts started giving me some problems,on top of that I also had astigmatism (cross eyed) in my left eye! My eye doctor suggested when the cataracts were removed to try lens implants. I have never looked back, about an hour for each side NO PAIN. I had to wear a patch over the repaired eye until the following morning. I looked out the next morning and counted leaves on the trees and read the newspaper! If any of you want to know more you can e-mail private also be happy to talk over the phone.
Harle

Wow, the thought of a lens replacement scares me, but good to know its routine and fast if that day ever comes. Amazing what can be done.

I thought lens replacement after cataract surgery was standard procedure now. I know 60 years ago it wasn't, when my Grandmother had it done. She had to wear coke bottle bottom glasses and of course had no peripheral vision.
The lens replacement would work, but I think in some people you will still have to use reading glasses as you get older, because the old eyes are like old leather and don't flex like they used to to focus. Some day maybe they will have some kind of electronic hook up to change the aperture settings. ha!

I had laser far vision correction on one eye over 20 years ago. I wonder if I would be able to get surgery now for my near vision.
My brother had it, he seems to do ok.

I am 77 and still reading newspapers if I am tired I have a little trouble with phone book size print

I a m not sure how they do it today but back then I had my worst eye done first then a couple of weeks later did the other eye. Before my glasses were about 1/4 inch thick! It sure dosen't hurt to ask. I don't know much about the laser proceedure. I checked fora friend of mine a year ago and his co-pay was $50.00 per eye.

For 30 years i wore close up and distant contacts,one in each eye with no problems. Finally needed my cataracts done, new lenses are dynamite. Only need readers for small print. 20/20 distant vision.
The surgery was painless . Would urge anyone to have lens implants if needed.

Crackerboy



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I am with you. If more people only knew.
Harle

Clear Lens Replacement here in Surrey, uk I'm expecting to pay about £6k ($8k) for both eyes.


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So I am 54 and glasses drive me bonkers. I went and had a consult for Lasik and Kamra inlay $7,000, but they only do that with one eye, so it is the near far thing. My eye doctor told me that lens replacement surgery would fix my problem all for $14,000 and would not be covered because I do not have cataracts. I did decide to go try bifocal contact lenses. Nobody at my eye center had ever tried them and my eye doctor told me that the bad rap on them is they are uncomfortable. Well I have had them for two months and love them. They are very comfortable, I cannot even tell I have them in. I can see distance and read with each individual eye. I will admit that my right eye reading is still not as sharp as my left, but I am very happy with them.