bad eyesight - presbyopic - glasses for drawing and reading

[Levtrona]

I have been shortsighted since third grade. I made it to -5 dioptrin now in my 40s.
The problem is now i start beeing farsighted as well, the usual thing that i would have to hold the book far away from my eyes when wearing glasses. I fear the cost of varifocals, because i dont know if i get along with them and they are effing expensive.
The optician suggested some special glasses for drawing/reading but these are expensive as well. health insurance doesnt cover.
At the moment i can only draw when the light is really good, for reading i simply have to take the glasses of.

Anyone out there who has experience with this problem? is it worth it to get special glasses?

[Redrobes]

Luxottica is the company which owns almost all glasses around the world. They have a de-facto monopoly and hike the prices of glasses global far above the manufacturing costs. On the other hand since most of the glasses that are sold through the brands they own are made in asia then if you have simple short / long sight and you know your prescription dioptre value then you can order some glasses direct from the asian suppliers and get them at considerable discount to the retail price. Since opticians know this they are usually reluctant to give you the values from a consultancy / appointment. But in the UK you have the right to be given the values if you have a consultancy that is billed to the NHS. So make sure before your appointment you ask if that will be the case as a contractual point and dont pay your prescription fee until they have provided it.

Personally mine are not so bad that I need them but I have this knowledge from relatives etc.

So I have to ask since were here on this global forum - any mappers use glasses that live in the far east / china and how do the prices of glasses compare with US / western prices. Id be interested to pass on any tips for where to get them if someone has already done this successfully ?

[Diamond]

Opticians are required to give you your prescription in the US if you ask for it.

The materials used to make lenses varies widely from place to place. You can usually get thinner lenses at cheaper prices in Asia, but the quality/quality control is sometimes lacking. In the US, all lenses must be FDA approved, pass a drop ball test to determine that they're not so thin they'll just shatter if you turn your head the wrong way, etc. This means that while, if you have a stronger Rx, you can get thinner cheaper lenses in Asia, you're taking a bit of a gamble in terms of quality and safety.

As far as frames, Luxottica certainly owns a LOT of frame lines, but by no means do they own "almost all glasses around the world". There are hundreds of competitors, large and small.

There are lenses called Near Variable Focus lenses (or NVF, or office lenses), which I've found work well for detail work, like hand-drawing maps, painting miniatures, etc. They are a multifocal where the top part of the lens is a mid-distance prescription which will allow you to focus anywhere from a couple of feet out to twelve or fourteen. The lower section is a reading prescription, good for a foot to two feet (roughly). If you make sure you tell the optometrist or optician what you are after in a pair of glasses, they can create a prescription specifically tailored to the activity you want to use them for. NVF lenses are generally much less expensive that progressives and other multifocal lenses, also.

I've been an optician for more than 25 years, FYI.

edit: be careful about ordering glasses on line, also. While people with lower prescriptions generally will have no issues with vision from on-line glasses, more accurate measurements are needed for higher prescriptions, and there is a lot that can go wrong if you try to guess at a measurement on a frame you haven't even tried on.

[Levtrona]

I think i will be going for NVF. I think that was what the Optician suggested. I just have never heard of it. She was really helpfull and totally understood.

Thank you.

[Levtrona]

I did get my office glasses today finally. They were really expensive. But i am glad i got them. Its great. i got some sewing done for a start. Looking forward to drawing without hurting my back and neck.
The optician gave me the exact prescription so i can use any cheap offer online.