new progressives - narrow field close up

I'm new to glasses, having used reading glasses for the past 10 years
or so. I got a pair of progressives today and whereas they seem ok at
distance and mid range, reading a book, it seems that my field of sharp
vision is about 4 words across. If I were in the middle of the line,
the edges on both sides would appear blurry. If I turn my head to look
at the end of the line, it will get better, but it is almost like I
need to tilt the book towards me as well - something that makes me
think I have to be in the direct plane of focus. Either that or move
the book back and forth from right to left and vice versa to make it
sharp. Am I nuts? Will my eyes adjust to this? Of course the optician
guy said wear them for 2 weeks and see how it goes.

I'm a fairly fast reader so normally am used to skimming my eyes across
the page - now I I feel like I have to be moving my head back and forth
constantly. When I do move my head to look at the right or left side of
the page, vertical lines skew. I have to physically move the book or
magazine directly under my vision to make the vertical lines vertical
again.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Mark

 

I think the two week thing might be a good idea. I've done the "move
the book back and forth thing" though, and it is totally unacceptable.
Moving your head is also unacceptable.

 

I remember the optician said " you have to learn to point your nose at
what you are looking at" , which of course would mean you would be
moving your head back and forth. What is really distracting is when
you move your head outside of your 3 or 4 word zone of comfort to point
to the next 3-4 words to read and the page starts twisting - vertical
line skew,etc.And that's even when you move your head to point to that
section! It's like you have to move the magazine or book back to the
left so that it is directly under your line of vision, which of course
is a nutty thing to have to do.
Maybe this is all normal, but like Doc Judy mentions here, maybe this
is not quite right either.

Mark

 

Please post your exact Rx, the lens brand (Sola, Essilor, Varilux,
Zeiss, etc), the lens model (Liberty, Panamic, Comfort, etc), and the
type of material (polycarb, 1.60. 1.67 etc). If you don't know this
information, contact your optician and find out. If the person you talk
to does not know, ask to speak to someone in charge.

 

I bought them at Costco. Progressive Hi-index 1.67 - Ovation.

DIST:
SPHERE CYL AXIS
R +7.50 -.750 95
L +7.50 -.750 97

ADD:
ADD SEG HGT DIST P.D.

R 2.25 19.0 29.0
L 2.25 19.0 31.0

 

That is a very tough Rx because of its high strength. You are looking at
+9.75 in the reading area, which is quite powerful, and difficult for
progressives to handle well and provide a wide reading area.

On top of that, you have 1.67 index (the higher the index, the more
chromatic distortion). But high index lenses make the lens thinner and
therefore lighter. If you don't care about thin and light, then you might be
able to try a 1.60 index lens.

On top of that, the Essilor Ovation.you have is not a "premium " lens design
Essilor does own a premium brand called Varilux, and Varilux has some good
premium designs such as Physio360. Of course, these will cost more, but if
want better vision you will need a premium progressive lens design with your
powerful Rx. Other premium brands besides Varilux include Zeiss, Rodenstock,
Hoya, and others.

Since you should have a 30 day adaptation guarantee, you should ask Costco
what other brands and models they have and try a remake (if you can afford
the premium brands), or get a full refund if that is an option (not all
optical stores have a money-back guarantee).

But don't expect perfection will any progressive lens that is that powerful.
Ultimately, you will have to learn to move your head to some degree, unless
you want bifocals (with visible lines).

PS: Don't let anyone talk you into polycarb lens material. For very high
power plus (+) Rx like yours, polycarb is horrible in terms of optical
quality.

 

A friend with progressives described reading with them as being "like
eating corn on the cob".
He never found any that were different. I don't know his scrip.
LD

 

There definitely is a difference between the low-end progressive lens
designs and the high-end designs, but there are not any progressives that
allow one to not move your head at all while reading. One will eventually
learn to move the head by instinct and it becomes second nature, but
obviously it helps to start with a reasonably wide reading area to begin
with, and that usually means a premium lens design for someone with a high
power Rx.

 

I screwed up and didn't notice it when I entered my script. Under
Sphere for Right and left it was supposed to read +.75, NOT +7.50. I
suspect that will make a difference in what you might tell me.
Sorry about that! Missed it completely!

Mark

 

In that case, the optician was negligent in selling you a 1.67 index lens.
Get a remake with 1.50 regular plastic (CR-39). If for some reason you must
have a higher index, then go with 1.60 at the highest. Even though you have
a mild Rx, I would stay away from polycarb given your previously problems
and the plus (+) lens power.

Try a premium lens design like Varilux Physio360 (or at least some Varilux
model). Hopefully Costco has other premium lens designs also.

But you will have to learn to move your head a little (you will "adapt" over
time).

 

Thanks for the advice! I don't mind moving my head so much, more
bothersome at this point is the fact that as I turn it ever so slightly
to see the end of the line, I can see the page skewing (sort of a
visual distortion) and the left edge of the book tilts both along the
vertical and horizontal axis. Maybe I will adjust to that or maybe
that is just something not quite right - think I'll drop in on them
today and ask.

Mark

 

It doesn't make much sense to ask someone at Costco who sold you 1.67 index
lenses for advice, because they are idiots (or maybe they are cheats who
wanted to sell you a more expensive lens).

Almost all places allow for a free remake or refund if you are not satisfied
(which is why progressives are so expensive). You will have much better
optics and vision with a lower index lens lens. 1.67 is only needed for
people with high power Rx who want thinner lenses (the higher the Rx, the
thicker the lens). With your very mild Rx, 1.67 will not make it noticeably
thinner, but will just make your vision worse.

A premium lens design (Varilux, etc) in 1.50 plastic will probably cost
about the same (or maybe lower) than Ovation in 1.67.

 

I knew that cr39 plastics were definitely better than polycarbs before
I went in. I found a pair of frames I liked that wire rimless on the
bottom. I was going to go with the cr39, but the optician said that
Costco wouldn't sell a rimless pair with cr39 because they had too many
problems with the bottom of the lens chipping (I guess when people lay
them down or something - don't fully understand how that happens).
Then he went on to say how the 1.67 was excellent, blah, blah, high
abbe and all that (I read now on the Net that cr 39 has an abbe of 58
and abbes for high and medium-index fall in the 35-45 range.)

But nonetheless, I've dropped $200 on these things and I figure I'll go
back and lay the problem on their doorstep and see if they can make it
right.

 

Ovation is a fairly low-end lens. Essilor sells a ton of them to places
like Costco and the "2 pair for $199" places, but they are far from
their best design. I had a set and had to junk them in favor of Varilux
because they just were unacceptable, with many of the same symptoms you
describe.

 

1.67 has an abbe value of about 32-26 at best (Sola 1.67 has a abbe value of
32 in their 2006 catalog). The term "high index lens" has no meaning
whatsoever these days, because the term was originally coined when 1.60 was
the highest plastic index available.

I just called my local Costco, and (after getting past the first idiot who
didn't know the different between a lens brand and a lens material) they
said that Costco only sells one brand of progressive lens (Essilor Ovation)
and only 2 materials (polycarb and 1.67). So the person who told you that
they don't sell CR-39 because of chipping on your type of rimless frame was
lying. The don't sell CR-39 for any frames.

Looks like you are screwed. Even Wal-Mart has a much better selection of
lenses than Costco.

 

Interesting, as I certainly got the impression from my Costco that I
could get CR-39's. Anyway, I took mine back today and sat down with a
very nice woman who checked my pd again using a cpr and told me that
the previous readings were incorrect and mentioned that something else
was incorrect as well, so no wonder I was having some issues. So she
is having them redone and we'll see how this saga continues. Not
surprised after hearing that, that I was having skewing of the page
when glancing to the right. What will be interesting to see is how
much of a single line appears in focus when I get them back - hopefully
a bit more than 3-4 words.

Mark

 

Robert,
When you say "some designs", what do you mean by that?

Thanks,
Mark

 

I suspect that they sell CR-39 for SV lenses, but not for Essilor Ovation
progressives. That is strictly a Costco decision, since Essilor makes the
Ovation in CR-39.

 

In layman's terms, that means that some lens designs are more sophisticated
than others. Essilor Ovation is not one of the more sophisticated designs.
Essilor's premium brand of progressives is called Varilux, and within that
brand there are various models, some more sophisticated than others.

 

Im having the same problem. I just paid $650 for Shamir autograph
freeform progressive lenses - the frames were extra - the total cost
with frames was around $875.00

I paid that much because I was assured that this would give me the
widest horizontal range, with this 'new' advanced technology. However,
although the distance is fine, the midrange is very small - I can't
look at a newspaper on the table without the edges being blurred. To
view my computer monitor I have to peer through a tiny slit and move my
head back and forth. The near is very small as well- I believe this is
because I wanted more distance at the top - I tend to hold my head
back. If I increase the near I will lose the far.

The optometrist told me this was normal, and that progressives were a
compromise, and that I would need reading glasses, and computer
glasses. But I feel like I could have gotten a lens from lenscrafters
or costco that would have been just as good.

The seller told me I could bring them back for any adjustment - but
since I have never worn progressive, I dont know what normal is.

2 progressive wearers I have talked to since say they dont have any
issues at all with blur- and they got lenses from places like
lenscrafters.

Any advice?