Help with ADD, BF/SV, PALS ??

[kgforce]

I'm hoping someone can help me with my prescription in regards to the
ADD. I want to get a pair of distance/driving/movies glasses and a
pair of reading/computer glasses. I just had my eyes checked at Costco
and received the following prescription:

OD: plo -1.25 x 176 add +1.25 BF/SV
OS -0.25 -0.75 x 005 add +1.50 PALS

They gave me my PD of 64 and I asked for an explanation of the
prescription. The young lady told me that for the reading glasses they
would add +1.25 to the plo for the OD and +1.50 to the 0.25 for the OS
-- making them both -1.25.

On some websites they say the ADD must be the same, some websites
don't even show an option for ADD.

I am also wondering... does BF/SV stand for bi-focal / single vision?
And any idea what PALS stands for?

[Chuck]

If I were you, I'd ask them to explain it again...till you understand
it. It's a reasonable question.

PLO usually means plano...no correction. Apparently your problem in
that eye is only astigmatism...

So, in a more traditional format, your prescription would be
OD: SPH +0.00, CYL -1.25, AXIS 176, ADD +1.25
OS: SPH -0.25, CYL =0.75, AXIS 005, ADD +1.50

The ADD is usually the same, but there is no inherent reason that it
has to be. Any web site that has that requirement should be informed
in the "customer comments" field on the order form, that yours are
different. They may request a scan of your prescription to confirm
this, but should not be a problem.

PALS usually means Progressive Lens...no-line bifocals.

-- Chuck Knight

[Paul]

BF = bifocal
SV = single vision

If you wanted single vision reading glasses, you'd enter +1.25 SPH for
each eye, and also the astigmatism correction.

Your left eye myopia correction is so tiny (-.0.25) that if it were my
prescription, I wouldn't even bother with it. Your visual acuity can
easily vary +/- 0.25 diopters during a day.

[kgforce]

Thanks for all the help -- it is appreciated. Now that I know how it
works, I have ordered two pairs from Zenni -- a single vision distance
pair and a single vision reading pair. I am going to try one or two
other places as well so I can have a variety of glasses to choose
from.

Paul, you are right about vision changing during a day -- I had quite
a bit of RK surgery done on both eyes 17 or 18 years ago (initial
surgery and several "touch ups"). My vision fluctuates quite a bit
depending on how much time I've spent on the computer and how much
sleep I've had. Some days it is surprisingly clear, and sometimes it's
a blur. It's just been in the last year that I'm starting to struggle
with up-close reading of small type. But overall, I'm pleased that
even now at age 42, my vision is pretty good.

[Chuck Knight]

Did you adjust your PD for your reading pair?  Zenni usually recommends around 3mm less for a pair of reading glasses, unless your doctor specifically gives you a reading PD.

It's something I learned about AFTER I placed my first order for reading glasses.

If not, call them in the morning (they open at 9am Pacific time) and let them know to make the change in the reading glasses.  You'll be happy you did.

     -- Chuck Knight

[kgforce]

Wow. I specifically asked the lady at Costco if the PD should be
adjusted for reading glasses and she said no, they leave them the
same. I'll call Zenni and see if they can change that. Thanks!

[clenc...@hotmail.com]

On Jul 12, 10:15 pm, kgforce <ke...@planetgraham.net> wrote:

> OD: plo -1.25 x 176 add +1.25 BF/SV
> OS -0.25 -0.75 x 005 add +1.50 PALS

I suspect the doc intended that the glasses be made with an add of
1.25 (in both lenses) if they are lined bifocals or single-vision. If
they're PAL (Progressive Addition Lenses), the add should be 1.50.
Some docs do this because PALs tend to have smaller useful reading
areas and they think this will help.

> They gave me my PD of 64 and I asked for an explanation of the
> prescription. The young lady told me that for the reading glasses they
> would add +1.25 to the plo for the OD and +1.50 to the 0.25 for the OS
> -- making them both -1.25.

I suspect she is mistaken. The safest thing would be to go back to
the doc and get the prescription written less ambiguously.

[kgforce]

I got an email from Zenni at 11:34 pm on Monday night (do they work
really late or it do they have offices overseas?) asking for
clarification on my prescription -- wondering why one pair had OD-SPH
+1.25 and OS-SPH +1.25. I went ahead and emailed them back around
7:30am on Tuesday, and indicated they were for reading, and to adjust
the PD to 61.

Just to make sure, I called them around 9:30am. They apparently hadn't
received or read my email. When I told the customer service rep that
the Rx was correct and they were for reading, he told me they needed
to adjust the PD to 61 for reading. It should all be squared away now.