Best bifocal contacts?
Casey
I'm a 48 year-old male who's nearsighted and now has a classic
condition of presbyopia. I've tried a few brands of bifocal
contacts, but so far I can't read with them. I'm currently
using contacts in a monovision arrangement, which kinda works.
My distance vision isn't very good, though.
My eye doctor wants to try another brand of contact (from Canada),
but says they cost $500 and might last 18 months. I'm having a
hard time believing this is a good solution and not sure I can
afford it. Losing one of those would be traumatic.
I haven't managed to find out exactly what types I've tried. He's
always been vague on brands and types, even when I ask.
If anyone has any great experience along these lines, I'd like to
hear what you have to say. Reading manufacturer's web sites
doesn't really give a realistic idea of what to expect.
Casey
LarryDoc
Casey <c...@cox.netremove> wrote:
Without knowing your prescription (and a great many other variables,
like pupil size, cornea size, lid position, cornea curvature, etc)
there's not a lot of specific information for you.
There are a dozen different soft lens and more dozens of RGP multifocal
and bifocal lens designs. There are two Canadian manufacturers of soft
lenses that I personally use in my practice. I find that my patiients
(and me---on my eyes) do better with RGP lenses, providing the best
combination of distance, near and intermediate vision. Disposable-type
soft multifocals I find to be the least satisfying of the different
designs and materials, but some people to very well with them.
Prices vary from US$10 to $150 per lens, cost to doctor----a very large
range, so no help there either---plus fitting and follow-up office visit
costs.
The best bet is to have a doctor who is experienced with the different
materials and designs and go for the best combination of factors that
meet your needs and expectations----if you can handle the costs. A more
expensive lens is not necessarily going to be the one that works best.
And visa versa.
Let us know what you end up with, and good luck!
--lbOD
--
Dr. Larry Bickford, O.D.
Family Practice Eye Health & Vision Care
The Eyecare Connection
http//www.eyecarecontacts.com
larrydoc at m a c.c o m
Mike Tyner
If you'll post the name of the other brand of contacts, maybe someone here will
be familiar with them.
-MT
"Casey" <c...@cox.netremove> wrote in message
news:LOxXa.138982$R92....@news2.central.cox.net...
Rod
I'm not a professional, just someone who's 52, nearsighted and has worn
glasses for 40+ years, contacts 30+ years and bifocal and/or monovision
contacts for 7 or 8 years and have tried a lot of lenses. I have very little
astigmatism, so I haven't had to deal with toric lenses. These are my tips
to help the Dr. give me the best vision solution. And Drs. please jump in
and correct me.
You aren't 15 anymore and wearing contacts at your age will require
compromises. You're looking not just for the best possible vision, but for
comfortable vision. One pair of contacts may not be best for all conditions.
Find an _OPTOMETRIST_ who's older than you and has tried all all the lenses
him(her)self and is willing to share information with you. No matter how
much training the younger person has had they don't quite get the right
experience trying the lenses. Personally, I want to know what lens I'm
wearing and what the prescription is, but I'm told I'm an exception in this
case. I also am willing to experiment and let them know what I like - I've
been given 2 different pairs of lenses at 1 fitting and picked the pair I'm
comfortable with at follow-up visit.
Know which is your dominant eye. For monovision, this is a must and it also
affects the bifocal experience. At least 1 company makes different bifocal
lenses for dominant and non-dominant eyes.
Light is extremely important for bifocal contacts, both at distance and
near. Make sure you're prescribed for the type of lighting you'll be using
the lenses in.
(My personal experience is: When the tecnician turns off the lights to test
my distance vision, I lose 3 or 4 lines on the chart, but with the lights
on I can see 20/20 and read the near chart with no problem. If they
prescribe for the low light conditions, I end up with an extra -.75 and will
probably be uncomfortable with near vision and feel overcorrected by the
first follow-up. In low light, it's very easy for me to start using the near
portion of the lens for distance. My compromise is that I wear different
lenses (distance only or monovision) for night driving.)
Personally, The bi-focal lenses I've successfully tried are Sunsoft
Additions, SofLens Multi-focal, Focus Progressives, Frequency 55 Multifocal,
and Acuvue Bifocal. I had no luck at all with Hydron Echelon lenses. I'm
currently wearing Acuvue Bifocals and have 1-day Acuvue's for distance only
and monovision.
good luck and don't give up too soon...Rod
"Casey" <c...@cox.netremove> wrote in message
news:LOxXa.138982$R92....@news2.central.cox.net...
>
> I'm a 48 year-old male who's nearsighted and now has a classic
> condition of presbyopia. I've tried a few brands of bifocal
> contacts, but so far I can't read with them. I'm currently
> using contacts in a monovision arrangement, which kinda works.
> My distance vision isn't very good, though.
>
Make sure you're using your dominant eye for distance.
> My eye doctor wants to try another brand of contact (from Canada),
> but says they cost $500 and might last 18 months. I'm having a
> hard time believing this is a good solution and not sure I can
> afford it. Losing one of those would be traumatic.
>
> I haven't managed to find out exactly what types I've tried. He's
> always been vague on brands and types, even when I ask.
>
This makes me uncomfortable, you're paying, I'd find someone willing to
share the information.
Mike Tyner
"Rod" <jew...@tcimet.net> wrote
> (My personal experience is: When the tecnician turns off the lights to test
> my distance vision, I lose 3 or 4 lines on the chart, but with the lights
> on I can see 20/20 and read the near chart with no problem. If they
> prescribe for the low light conditions, I end up with an extra -.75 and will
> probably be uncomfortable with near vision and feel overcorrected by the
> first follow-up
I have the same experience, but dim light still has its purpose, giving more
precise and repeatable measurements.
I like to refract in dim light and then prescribe something else, choosing 075
or 050 less with conscious intent. If the distance chart isn't clear in dim
light, night driving will be a problem. I generally work with the lights down
until I have my final results, THEN turn up the lights and see what the
"real-world" response is.
-MT
Rod
I'm not a professional, just someone who's 52, nearsighted and has worn
glasses for 40+ years, contacts 30+ years and bifocal and/or monovision
contacts for 7 or 8 years and have tried a lot of lenses. I have very little
astigmatism, so I haven't had to deal with toric lenses.
These are my tips to help the Dr. give me the best vision solution. And Drs.
please jump in and correct me.
You aren't 15 anymore and wearing contacts at your age will require
compromises. You're looking not just for the best possible vision, but for
comfortable vision. One pair of contacts may not be best for all conditions.
Find an _OPTOMETRIST_ who's older than you and has tried all all the lenses
him(her)self and is willing to share information with you. No matter how
much training the younger person has had they don't quite get the right
experience trying the lenses. Personally, I want to know what lens I'm
wearing and what the prescription is, but I'm told I'm an exception in this
case. I also am willing to experiment and let them know what I like - I've
been given 2 different pairs of lenses at 1 fitting and picked the pair I'm
comfortable with at follow-up visit.
Know which is your dominant eye. For monovision, this is a must and it also
affects the bifocal experience. At least 1 company makes different bifocal
lenses for dominant and non-dominant eyes.
Light is extremely important for bifocal contacts, both at distance and
near. Make sure you're prescribed for the type of lighting you'll be using
the lenses in.
(My personal experience is: When the tecnician turns off the lights to test
my distance vision, I lose 3 or 4 lines on the chart, but with the lights
on I can see 20/20 and read the near chart with no problem. If they
prescribe for the low light conditions, I end up with an extra -.75 and will
probably be uncomfortable with near vision and feel overcorrected by the
first follow-up. In low light, it's very easy for me to start using the near
portion of the lens for distance. My compromise is that I wear different
lenses (distance only or monovision) for night driving.)
Personally, The bi-focal lenses I've successfully tried are Sunsoft
Additions, SofLens Multi-focal, Focus Progressives, Frequency 55 Multifocal,
and Acuvue Bifocal. I had no luck at all with Hydron Echelon lenses. I'm
currently wearing Acuvue Bifocals and have 1-day Acuvue's for distance only
and monovision.
good luck and don't give up too soon...Rod
"Casey" <c...@cox.netremove> wrote in message
news:LOxXa.138982$R92....@news2.central.cox.net...
>
> I'm a 48 year-old male who's nearsighted and now has a classic
> condition of presbyopia. I've tried a few brands of bifocal
> contacts, but so far I can't read with them. I'm currently
> using contacts in a monovision arrangement, which kinda works.
> My distance vision isn't very good, though.
>
Make sure you're using your dominant eye for distance.
> My eye doctor wants to try another brand of contact (from Canada),
> but says they cost $500 and might last 18 months. I'm having a
> hard time believing this is a good solution and not sure I can
> afford it. Losing one of those would be traumatic.
>
> I haven't managed to find out exactly what types I've tried. He's
> always been vague on brands and types, even when I ask.
>
This makes me uncomfortable, you're paying, I'd find someone willing to
share the information.
> If anyone has any great experience along these lines, I'd like to
Rod
Casey
> Every bifocal option includes some compromise.
>
> If you'll post the name of the other brand of contacts, maybe someone here will
> be familiar with them.
I wish I knew. I'm going to try again to find out. I think he's
been vague on purpose. I like to know the specifics of what I'm
trying, but he keeps most of the information close to the vest.
Casey
"A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory."
-Steven Wright
Casey
> You aren't 15 anymore and wearing contacts at your age will require
> compromises. You're looking not just for the best possible vision, but for
> comfortable vision. One pair of contacts may not be best for all conditions.
I'm resigned to the fact that it's all a compromise. I guess I'm
just trying to get the best compromise I can find.
> Personally, I want to know what lens I'm
> wearing and what the prescription is, but I'm told I'm an exception in this
> case. I also am willing to experiment and let them know what I like - I've
> been given 2 different pairs of lenses at 1 fitting and picked the pair I'm
> comfortable with at follow-up visit.
I guess I'm like you in that respect. I want to be "involved" with
the process and I like to ask questions. I don't mind
experimenting at all. I was a little aggravated when I realized I
had come for a follow-up visit to try some new contacts but I
hadn't been told that the pair of contacts was $500 (not including
the fitting and other fees).
> Know which is your dominant eye. For monovision, this is a must and it also
> affects the bifocal experience. At least 1 company makes different bifocal
> lenses for dominant and non-dominant eyes.
I do know that my right eye is dominant. My right eye gets the
distance contact with monovision.
> My compromise is that I wear different
> lenses (distance only or monovision) for night driving.)
I probably should do something for night driving. My night vision
is much worse with monovision that it was with glasses.
> Personally, The bi-focal lenses I've successfully tried are Sunsoft
> Additions, SofLens Multi-focal, Focus Progressives, Frequency 55 Multifocal,
> and Acuvue Bifocal. I had no luck at all with Hydron Echelon lenses. I'm
> currently wearing Acuvue Bifocals and have 1-day Acuvue's for distance only
> and monovision.
I was curious to know what brands and types worked for others.
I honestly think I need a new optometrist. I like the guy, but
it's just not going well. He actually had my girlfriend's daughter
in tears not long ago.
> good luck and don't give up too soon...Rod
Thanks. I don't plan on giving up anytime soon.
Dr Judy
news:LOxXa.138982$R92....@news2.central.cox.net...
>
The best bifocal contact lens is the one that works for you; there is no one
best lens for everybody.
Dr Judy
Rishigg
> I'm not a professional, just someone who's 52, nearsighted and has worn
> glasses for 40+ years, contacts 30+ years and bifocal and/or monovision
> contacts for 7 or 8 years and have tried a lot of lenses. I have very little
So stupid a man can become.
It's really difficult for me to understand how can a man wear contacts
for 30 years.
Really unbelievable!
Rishigg
> I like to refract in dim light and then prescribe something else, choosing 075
> or 050 less with conscious intent. If the distance chart isn't clear in dim
> light, night driving will be a problem. I generally work with the lights down
> until I have my final results, THEN turn up the lights and see what the
> "real-world" response is.
This has nothing to do with refraction but simply with the amount of
strain one gets in dark light.
There are people, a minority, that see better in the dark, and thye
light bothers them so much.
Anyway, you can teach the patient how not to stare and demonstrate to
him that he can see very well in the dark also.
Gerenally this has to do with the ability to imagine black.
Most of the people with IS (imperfect sight) are not able to imagine
black in the dark but mismatch it with the dark white of the background
of letters.
This is an illusion.
If you go closer and closer, you will realize of the blackness of
letters even in bad light.
Then by slowly slowly getting further away, the blackness can be
retained, at the beginning only temporarily, and the sight is good at
distance.
These are simple things anyone can test.
If TYRNER was an intelligent man, he could have showed these things to
himself very often since he has to do with patients every day.
But this is not so given his own proper stupidity in searching true
light on the subject of IS.-
--
"As surely as any soldier ever died on the field, Dr. Bates gave his
life for a cause, battling against fate, during many years of
magnificent struggle, when the unending disappointment finally broke in
hopeless despair. His torch is still burning. There will come some other
battler, who is fit, and will hold it high until the people who are
sitting in darkness have seen its great light."
William B. MacCracken, M.D.
(1937, Berkeley CA)
Casey
I think he takes them out every night. I know I do.
> Really unbelievable!
Yeah, it really is amazing how stupid... and rude... some people
can be.
Casey
RM
reiterating some of the points they already made:
1. the best lens is the one that works for you. different people prefer
different brands (but see point #8 below).
2. you really should get a doc who also is presbyopic and has tried these
lenses on themselves. I have and the experience is invaluable. I know that
many younger docs who don't have 1st hand experience have some
misconceptions about these lenses.
3. you must accept that, regardless of the brand of lens, your vision in
bifocal contacts (and in monovision) is going to be a compromise compared to
your pre-presbyopic vision and your vision through glasses. the optics of
bifocal contact lenses is not perfect. you will likely notice a little blur
and distortion. this is normal. just try to find a compromise that is
"good enough".
4. there is no one bifocal lens prescription that will work good for all
instances. for example, bifocal contacts as well as monovision contacts
frequently give patients difficulty with night driving. For night driving,
a straight distance correction with glasses or contacts is much better.
5. gas permeable hard bifocal contacts (RGPs) have the potential to be
slightly better optically than soft lenses but they are notoriously
uncomfortable to most patients. Unless you are already a successful RGP
wearer, or are willing to try to adapt to them (most patients can't), then
stick to the soft bifocal lenses.
6. getting a good bifocal contact lens fit will probably require that you
have a number of follow-up appointments with your doctor and that you try a
lot of different lenses. Expect it to take some time. In my experience
with my patients, bifocal contact lens fittings are probably the most
time-consuming contact exams that I have.
7. Ask your doctor to try "modified monovision". In this configuration you
fit one eye with a bifocal lens and the other with a standard lens.
Sometimes this approach minimizes some of the optical problems inherent to
bifocal contacts (e.g. unacceptable blurring of distance vision).
8. In the realm of soft disposable bifocal contacts, definitely you should
try Acuvue bifocals (comfortable, easiest for the doc to try to "tweak" the
len power parameters) and the newest SofLens Multifocal lenses (high and low
add aspheric design, from Bausch & Lomb, comfortable).
---------------
"Casey" <c...@cox.netremove> wrote in message
news:LOxXa.138982$R92....@news2.central.cox.net...
>
Casey
> You are getting lots of good advice from the other docs who post here. I am
> reiterating some of the points they already made:
> :
> 7. Ask your doctor to try "modified monovision". In this configuration you
> fit one eye with a bifocal lens and the other with a standard lens.
> Sometimes this approach minimizes some of the optical problems inherent to
> bifocal contacts (e.g. unacceptable blurring of distance vision).
> 8. In the realm of soft disposable bifocal contacts, definitely you should
> try Acuvue bifocals (comfortable, easiest for the doc to try to "tweak" the
> len power parameters) and the newest SofLens Multifocal lenses (high and low
> add aspheric design, from Bausch & Lomb, comfortable).
Thanks for your observations and advice. I appreciate the time you
and others have taken to reply with some very good advice.
I don't believe my doc even let me try the Acuvue. When I asked
about them last year, he said none of his patients had any luck
with them and he didn't offer to let me try them. I think it's
time to visit someone else who has a bit more insight into this and
who's willing to communicate more about what we're trying.
Casey
> sorry about the double posting, didn't think the first one went thru...
It's okay.
It's okay.
Casey
Larry
I'm a 56 year old male who is both near-sighted and with presbyopia.
I have been wearing RGP contact lenses for about the last 10 years.
However I needed reading glasses for any kind of close work. I could
not read a book or magazine, much less the writing on a computer
terminal.
I recently had some aspheric multifocal RGP lenses prescribed for me.
The result is nothing short of incredible. I have excellent vision at
all distances. I no longer need reading glasses. It is the best
vision I have had in many years.
The lenses I got were from a company called Conforma Labs. You can
find them online at www.conforma.com. The model number of my lenses
is VFL3. I paid $300 for the pair, although the actual retail price
is higher. I got a special deal from my optometrist, who ordered
them directly from a supplier. The lenses are not available on the
internet.
If you are presbyopic, I would highly recommend the aspheric
multifocals. Lasik cannot correct presbyopia, but the multifocals
can. They are expensive, but well worth the price.
>
>
>
> Casey
Casey
> Casey <c...@cox.netremove> wrote in message news:<LOxXa.138982$R92....@news2.central.cox.net>...
> >
> > hear what you have to say. Reading manufacturer's web sites
> > doesn't really give a realistic idea of what to expect.
>
> The result is nothing short of incredible. I have excellent vision at
> all distances. I no longer need reading glasses. It is the best
> vision I have had in many years.
>
> The lenses I got were from a company called Conforma Labs. You can
> find them online at www.conforma.com. The model number of my lenses
> is VFL3. I paid $300 for the pair, although the actual retail price
> is higher. I got a special deal from my optometrist, who ordered
> them directly from a supplier. The lenses are not available on the
> internet.
>
> If you are presbyopic, I would highly recommend the aspheric
> multifocals. Lasik cannot correct presbyopia, but the multifocals
> can. They are expensive, but well worth the price.
Thanks, Larry. I'm looking at the web site now, and I'll ask about
those lenses. I have an appointment on Thursday with a new doc and
I hope this goes better. I'm willing to experiment.