advice on the add ons for glasses ? And visual fields

[Ughb]

hello there, I would be grateful for any one’s experience to get the best from my reading and distance glasses. Long story but am needing to change what I currently have.

Firstly what actually is the best lighting for in the home? Not sure if leds are bright enough? It’s it a warm light or white light or how the lights are placed ? (I know to close the blinds to block out the Sun )

What is the best add on for computer screens? Is it anti reflective , zero tint or anti glare ? Any disadvantages to any of these? I think the tint is for all my workplace white shiny surfaces but I’m much more concerned about seeing the computer and my phone re my volume of usage.

for distance , specifically walking rather than driving. The sun is the biggest challenge. Is it best for reactive but will these make everything dimmer in the winter months ? would I need anti reflective for walking?

does anyone with poor visual fields find their distance glasses really unnerving? (Whilst they bring objects into sharper focus they seem to make it all more goldfish bowl!?) particularly struggle / unnerved by people appearing with no warning whilst wearing and I’m finding I much prefer no glasses and for everything to just be equally fuzzy ?? But the distance do help with the uneven pavements🙄

also is there an actual visual field ‘score’ ? I’ve had a few visual tests and the hospital did a more narrow visual test but other than the docs comment I don’t have a measure or score? Want a bench mark to help me gage if I’m exaggerating my difficulties.

any advice or personal experience would be most appreciated. Thank you xxx

[Blindbatuk]

I can’t help with your question about reading glasses but I can offer some advice about daytime distance glasses for outside and driving. An absolute game changer for me was buying distance glasses with Polaroid lenses. These completely remove glare from the sun and bright lights which was a big problem for me. I wish I’d done this years ago!

So I now have three sets of glasses (actually four as I have two Polaroid glasses):-

Reading glasses.

Distance glasses for indoors mainly and watching TV.

Distance glasses with Polaroid lens for outside. I use green lens for walking about and brown lens for driving as these are phenomenal. So yes they both cut out light glare but the brown lens are most effective!

[1inana in reply to Blindbatuk]

Thank you for bringing this up, I’m due to see my optician soon and will ask about polarising lenses. Although very retired my hobbies mean that I use my laptop a great deal. Despite using the magnification setting on my laptop I still find it difficult and would welcome any advise about lighting etc.

[Ughb in reply to Blindbatuk]

Thank you kindly for your advice! I excluded polarised as I’ve never particularly liked sunglasses re darkness but then I’m guessing if I don’t want sun then I may need to compromise! But the coloured options green or brown etc i will now investigate. I think I agree with more than one distance pair and that’s very helpful to have that confirmed before I’ve committed to my choices .Thank you x

[Sorshup]

The optometrist speaks:- but, frankly, chiefly as a glaucoma subject. I identify completely with your mixed experiences in different situations. I suspect therefore that we have similar levels of impairment. I agree with the advice over polarising lenses. Multiple specs for the different working distances too (especially if both eyes have had cataract surgery because the focus is more precise, with limited depth of field at any distance). As far as lighting is concerned, just do whatever works, cut out unwanted glare, viewing computer and 'phone should not benefit from a tint, just play with settings on contrast and brightness etc. Specs can be frustrating I agree; I find that, presumably because retinal response is generally weakened by the condition, the loss of transparency and the reflectivity of any lens, even AR coated, adds a haze to the view. I am probably getting boring, so I'll shut up, but thanks for raising some excellent observations.

[Ughb in reply to Sorshup]

Thanks so much (and definitely not boring!):-). That may explain why even tho I like aspects of both my current near and far glasses I do notice significant glaze. Tho I think the glaze on long is the visual fields as apart from 2 blobs it’s more focused all around the edges. In print contrast , my cheapy Amazon ones sometimes seem clearer than my tint/anti glare. Ok, so with distance I’m understanding the add on variations can make a big difference for eg 1 1/2metres compared to say plus 10 metres? I will need to ascertain the best fit to cover both of these distances simultaneously tho. So perhaps for sunny days outside polarised and for near- computer anti glare (plus my cheap ones for other near functions) but maybe also a distance with no add ons for non Sun Walking and the tv. Perseverance and determination are required - I keep reading on other posts that it is trial and error but I so wish we could all somehow trial each of these add ons individually to help us reach fullest optimisation more speedily and with less cost. Thank you so very much for the informative advice x

[Beecalmed]

I have transitions lenses with anti glare in. Helps with bright light indoors in my kitchen and outside. I do find that I still need a peaked cap on outside to stop the light coming over lenses or my vision feels blurry in sunlight. Game changer for me was getting new glasses (transitions) but with magnets in frame which allows companion clip-on polarised shades which I can clip on and off whilst driving with one hand as traditions don’t darken in the car.

Yes I spent a fortune on my glasses but as I wear them all the time and I want to forget I have glaucoma as much as is possible I felt the expense was worth it.

On visual fields score I think there’s a percentage score in the top right (or is it bottom right?) corner of the results. Yes I’m an annoying patient that asks questions about my results and how they are displayed. 😬

[Ughb in reply to Beecalmed]

Thank you for your info! Yes totally agree, it’s not so much the cost (I’ve actually thrown money away by foolishly swapping opticians and as I refused the new opticians offer of retesting my prescription (which apparantly is 2 steps out on both) I will now need to pay extra. My own fault for both rushing (panicking/getting confused)and initially trying to get a better deal ! However this time I want to ensure to get this as right as possible and as good as it can possibly be. Problem is I can’t fully work out which issues are my damage, which are loss of field , which are prescription issues and which parts of my current glasses work or don’t work as well for me.😩 however, I’m narrowing it down. The optician I spoke to today said they only have a couple of the polar clip ons and strangely when I asked that question a few weeks ago, her colleague said they don’t do those at all? Can I ask if I can get those from the internet? Thank you kindly x

[Beecalmed in reply to Ughb]

The brand is called Eco. If you check online I think their website should list the stores that stock them. There may be other brands that do clip ons, but I’m not sure how many do a magnetic version without clips. The key with the clip on is to get polarised if you have issues with glare.

[Ughb in reply to Beecalmed]

Thanks so much! And all the very best xx