[Magdalen] New specs

[Lynn Ronkainen]

The having to move one's head instead of eyes to read was/is so totally unnatural for me it was a deal breaker. Someone here said that was normal reading eye mode. I am a very fast reader and I have never moved my head, only eyes. I wonder if that might be part of my fast reading?
OTOH with so many people wearing progressive lenses no wonder so many people are reading by moving their heads! LOL
Lynn 

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 8, 2015, at 12:10 AM, Arthur Laurent <ALaurent at npr.org> wrote:

I began wearing glasses ("school myopia") in the 5th grade, and always hated them, 'cause they were always in the way of what I wanted to do. (And, deep down inside, I don't trust objects with sharply-defined edges... <g>)

I made the move to hard contacts when I was 21, to daily wear soft contacts when I was 30, and to monthly-wear contacts when I was 35.  Each has its own little annoyances.

About five years ago, I had PRK surgery done in both eyes. It's like LASIK, except the surgeon didn't make a corneal flap...he lasered the cornea off. Recovery time was about 10 days; I should havebeen off work for two weeks. The first evening I ventured out to drive, I couldn't read the street signs. Good thing I'd memoried my way to work!

Before surgery, I was -3.5d in one eye and -3.75d (moderately myopic, with mild astigmatism) in the other. Now I'm 0/0d in both eyes, with no astigmatism. My distance vision is superb!

However, I now need glasses to read. (I used to take off my glasses to read.)

Over the years, I have come up with a multi-eyeglass formula that works for me. I use three pairs of glasses, only one of which is expensive. (All of these are full-lens sized.)

One is a single-zone reading prescription, +2d or so; (CVS, about $20)
The second is a two-zone prescription, for reading and computer (moderate distance); (CVS, also $20)
The third is a multi-focal prescription, with plano (0d) where the distance correction would otherwise be. This one cost me about $350, from a real optomistrist, and did not include the frames, which I already owned. (Incredibly light and strong, Swiss, not made any more. You shape and order the various parts after heating them with a 700-degree or so torch. So far (I've had the frames 8 or 9 years), I haven't been able to bend or break them. Yay! I used to be one of those kids with gobs of adhesive tage holding his frames together.)

I carry all three with me, not knowing which one I'll need.

I use the progressive for church, and generally like them. (As much as I like any glasses. I take them off as soon as I can.) Without taking glasses on and off, I can read Scripture, BCP or hymnal; distant people and objects will be clear when I look up.

I don't usually wear the progressives anywhere else, because I don't perform closeup tasks except at work.  The only annoyance I have with the multi-zone progressives (I looked at all the variants, made by all the companies, before I ordered) is that the Reading Zone is relatively small, so I have to keep moving my head to keep up. But that is better than taking glasses on and off all the time, I think.

Arthur