I'm almost 65 years old, wore contacts for 40+ years, had lasic surgery done on both eyes in 2002 (with stellar results, although I suffered from presbyopia, so wore the small, over-the-nose reading glasses when necessary), and in 2008 and 2009 I had cataract surgery performed, one eye each year. Because clarity of vision is exceedingly important to me, because I absolutely did not want anything to do with the mono-vision approach, and because I'm physically active, with lots of outdoor activities, I decided it was worth the money to purchase the special lenses that would allow me to see long distance as well as read. In 2008, I had the ReZoom lense inserted into my right eye. Here's its link: http://www.rezoomiol.com/ In 2009, I had the ReStore lense inserted into the left eye. I think you must have information on this lense, so I've not included a link. With both lenses, there was a "learning curve" while the brain adjusted to the different "readings" on the lense, and learned where to go on the lense to view things in the distance or read. I rarely use "reading" glasses, except in situations where the light is very low or the print is very small. Reading the newspaper or books without my glasses, reading recipes without glasses are just some of the pleasures of using these lenses. Similarly, I can easily see the computer and engage in other mid-range tasks, without using glasses. And my distance vision is very good. I golf, and can easily see the golf balls. When I'm outside, I often am the first to spot a deer or some other sight, and have been frequently complimented on my vision. When I do drive at night, I do so without any qualms. I don't detect any halos around on-coming lights, but I confess I never had this problem with either my contacts or the post-lasic surgery, so maybe my eyes aren't sensitive to lights??? For me, the better reading lense is the ReStore lense, which is why my doctor recommended that lense instead of the ReZoom lense when it came time for the second surgery. But this is really a matter of personal adjustment. As my right eye adjusted to the ReZoom lense, I kept complaining about the reading print being a bit blurry -- I am VERY picky about clarity of vision. So, when it came time to select the lense for the other eye's cataract surgery, we went with the ReStore lense. I think my eye dominance switches between the right and the left eye. Normally, I'm right-eye dominant, and I think this applies for long distance vision. When I'm reading, I think I become left-eye dominant, because I see with excellent clarity...it's like the left eye's ReStore lense over-rides the right eye's ReZoom lense. I can tell you that I have never regretted spending the extra money for these lenses, and that the quality of my vision is very, very good. Each year I test out at 20-20 at my eye exam. Also, in my own case, I'm very glad I had each eye done 12 months apart because that gave me an excellent opportunity to determine how well the first lense was working. I would not have been happy had both eyes had the ReZoom lense, with its less-than-perfect clarity for reading. But I want to emphasize that these are my results, only, and every patient is bound to have her own unique experience. The final point is the importance of a thorough and skilled surgeon. My surgeon obtained many, many readings from the opthomologist that did my lasic surgery in Virginia. In fact, he would not schedule the surgery until he had those readings to ensure he was ordering the correct readings for the implanted lense. And this was on top of the lengthy and many measurements performed on my eyes during the pre-surgery sessions in the office. I hope this information helps.

This "fad" gives me the chills. Does your GD wear contact lenses normally? There are a lot of Web sites that sell these things, and the ones that I just looked at require a prescription to get these (and prescriptions for glasses are not the same thing as a prescription for contact lenses). When people wear different-colored contacts to change their eye color, they are getting them through their doctor's prescription. Legit Web companies will not sell without a copy of a prescription, period. (I have an ophthalmologist in the family.) Check out Lens.com (just the first site I hit on) for some FAQs about these things. Contact lenses of any type need to fit the individual's eye -- there are all sorts of variations that only a trained professional can measure. And no offense to opticians -- I'll let them order my glasses, but only with a prescription from an ophthalmologist. And if I had kids, no way would I walk into an optician's at the local mall and buy this stuff, which is what it sounds like happened. If they were purchased from one of those Halloween costume stores that pop up during this season, I would be even more worried. (The fad lenses seem to cost under $30.) Mona: Do you know which mall they went to? If I were in your shoes, I'd go do a little in-person research. I'd want to know if there is SOME eye doctor on the premises and whether the specific lenses it sells are FDA-approved, and that's just for starters. But the bottom line for me is that I would never jeopardize a child's eyesight by buying her something that I have not researched thoroughly and gotten my ophthalmologist's approval for. A $30 fad for a few hours of fun is not worth the possible issues.

I am surprised by how small of type I can read without reading glasses with my monovision. Unfortunately my eyes still feel kind of strained by the difference in the two. My discomfort comes from the unevenness of my vision rather than an inability to see things. If on,y my brain could adjust to this, It wold be amazing. However, I just went upstairs and tried to thread a needle and I cannot do it With my reading glasses on, no problem. I also need a lot of light to see well. I also had great near vision before my cataract surgery. I'd always take off my glasses to read or work at my desk or at a restaurant. I had to put them back on to see far. I miss that too, especially being able to read in bed at night without glasses. If I could do it over, I would get good distance vision and use readers. You also can get bifocal type glasses where the top part is clear glass and the lower portion is your reading prescription, so you don't have to keep taking them off and on. Good luck with your choice. I use a magnifying mirror for makeup.

This is an old thread but maybe I can help. I'm a ABO certified optician with over 25 years of experience and I work for a group private optometrist practice. First, I think there are good and bad optometrists out there but I disagree that you will get a better refraction(that's the part where they do the eyeglass/contact prescriptions ) from a medical doctor. Most MDs have techs do the refraction and they just check it, optometrists do the refraction themselves. You can get a good or bad refraction from either. And even the best doctors will sometimes have to redo a rx. Secondly, there are hundreds of progressives! Some people can wear almost any of them if properly fit but some people are pickier. The newer designs are usually better with less blur on the sides and larger areas. People with + corrections in the distance often have more issues- it's the nature of their prescription. Some good brands are Varilux, Shamir, Zeiss, and Hoya. But all these brands make a range of progressives from average to great. Varilux recently came out with a new progressive that they worked on for 5 years called the Varilux X that seems to have a superior reading and intermediate/arms length area while still having a good distance area. You can find it at private doctors offices and private opticals. Proper fitting is is extremely important with progressives. Opticians can remark the lenses and make sure that they are placed correctly- there are laser marks on the lenses for this purpose. If you have an issue with your glasses insist on this being done. The fitting cross should go right over the pupil. I think a lot of issues people have with progressives are with poor fit. Just understanding how to use them is important, too. With a computer monitor lower is better. Remember that straight ahead vision will be distance so if your monitor is straight ahead you will probably have to raise your head to see it. Some people need a separate pair of computer/work space glasses if they work at this distance a lot and can't lower the monitor. Walking- the lower portion of the lens is for near so if you need to look at your feet you need to use the upper area of the lenses. Make sure that your glasses tilt in at the bottom enough. If they are too far out at the bottom it can make walking harder. Sorry this got so long. I am very passionate about my job and helping people see and look better! I'm happy to answer any questions.