4 ms·

I saw his article on reversing myopia and followed his advice to this day; I hope he doesn't mind me sharing his suggestions! "I think the next time I go for n

by alliao 3y ago

I saw his article on reversing myopia and followed his advice to this day; I hope he doesn't mind me sharing his suggestions! "I think the next time I go for new glasses, I'll skip the progressives (which are extremely expensive) and just get reading/computer and driving glasses, each fixed-corrected to the appropriate distance. This will probably cut the cost in half, and I find that when I'm travelling and wearing the progressives, I usually just push them down my nose to read rather than trying to read through the lower part, which is pretty wonky (this may have something to do with my astigmatism correction)." amazing human taking time answering rando emails from the internet. world would be infinitely better with more like him.

femto 3y ago
The world's changed since then. If you go to the right online glasses providers, you can get progressives for much less (<half) than the cost of a pair of single power glasses in a high street store.
- noir_lord 3y ago
  True but some of what he says still makes sense. i.e. I'm near sighted now (need reading glasses) and have astigamatism (I've always had that but until I needed reading glasses I never bothered with glasses so my brain has adapted, if I wear lenses that correct for the astigmatism everything looks the wrong shape for quite a while before eyes adjust then when I don't wear them everything looks the wrong shape but the other way so in the end I just went for glasses for close vision work (screen/reading) since that was less bothersome than "fixing" a problem that isn't really a problem).
  - gtirloni 3y ago
    I'm in the same situation. Astigmatism and really mild myopia all my life (got glasses but never really used them). My eyes got really tired a year ago and I got glasses for short distances. But now they got much worse and I think I'll have to order new lenses. I was thinking about progressives but it looks like a lot of people have issues adapting. Since my myopia continues low, I think I'll just focus on the reading glasses for now. Any advice welcome.
    - wmertens 3y ago
      I got dramatical improvement in my myopia over a few months time when I switched to a Paleo-ish diet, drastically cutting sugar and supplementing with vitamins including luteine. I no longer needed my glasses to drive or go to the movies. Granted it was only -1 but still. Now a decade on, my diet isn't so clean any more, far away details are somewhat blurry but still better than they used to be. The biggest impact is the amount of sleep I had the night before.
    - dnh44 3y ago
      Progressive's are the highest margin lens for both the retail store and the manufacturers (Essilor, Zeiss, Hoya, Rodenstock, etc). By putting a fancy curve on the back of a lens a $1 piece of plastic is transformed into a $500 piece of plastic. There is a lot of pressure to sell progressives. Without the high margins on progressive lenses many optical retail stores would not make a profit. Progressives are fine as long as they aren't being sold as a lens for all situations. For example a lens that would be good for driving or playing golf (using mostly distance vision) would be terrible for sitting at a desk (using mostly the reading area). Depending on your lifestyle there may or may not be a design available that is less annoying than just changing glasses. Bifocals are even more limited in this respect. This trade-off is not related at all to the issue of adaptation which is something else. So the first question you have to ask is if having both a distance and reading Rx in the same lens is something that is better for you compared to separate distance and reading glasses. My monitors are at head height so simple reading glasses are the best solution for me when working at my desk. If I wore progressives with this setup I would have to tilt my head back in order to view my monitors through the reading area of the lens which is at the bottom of the lens. If I instead worked on a notebook computer all day, looking down at a screen, then viewing that screen through the reading area of my glasses wouldn't be a problem. I'm currently wearing a pair of fancy fully personalised progressives that retail for £2000 a pair but I still use some cheapish reading glasses for working at my desk. However to be fair to the progressives I adapted to them just about instantly; the design just wasn't suited for reading for long periods of time. The adaptation issue is another issue and another thing you should consider. Adaptation refers to the ability to become accustomed to the distortion that often exists at the edges of progressive lenses. They can make you feel a bit dizzy when you first wear them. The general rule of thumb is that if you have a small "add" then it will be easy to adapt to them but if you have a large add it may be difficult. If your add is small now and don't see the point of progressives but are thinking of trying them later as your near vision deteriorates you may want to consider starting on them early just to make it easier to adapt to them later. Otherwise you might get stuck with bifocals which make you look old. Anyway if I had to boil that advice down to just a few quick points I'd say: - If you're planning on using the glasses just for working at a desk then I would just get reading glasses (that also correct your astigmatism). - For other situations where you need both distance and reading then progressives can be nice. - If you're not quite sure about progressives but think you'll definitely want them later in life then it is better to start on them now. - If you're buying online I would only get single vision lenses. To get a nice fit for progressives you need to get a bunch of stuff measured that doesn't get put on your prescription.
- AdamN 3y ago
  I got progressives a few months ago - going back to reading glasses
- kwanbix 3y ago
  What options do you use? I know about Zennit but I always wondered if there is something better, as my progresive are very expensive.
  - bayindirh 3y ago
    Zeiss & Hoya make good lenses. Both also have expertise in photography equipment and they have their own coatings, so they're also a plus. Their lenses might not come cheap, though. I also used Japanese Tora and French Essilor Crizal lenses (cylindrical, not progressives), and they had good resolution with superb coatings. Currently I'm using a domestic lens with blue filter, and my eyes are happier than ever. My mother uses progressives. A bad progressive is a life quality reducing expense, so paying the price for a good lens pays in dividends over the short and long run.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - femto 3y ago
    > What options do you use? Last two sets of glasses I got were progressives from zennioptical.com. You have to be happy to fit the glasses yourself (worked okay for me), but I've been happy with the quality of the hardware and the quality of vision and fit. The last pair I bought was in 2020 and I'm still wearing them all the time. All up cost was US$108 including frames with progressive lenses, high refractive index plastic, oleophobic coating and delivery. I'm about -6 with an astigmatism in both eyes.
fuzztester 3y ago
>I saw his article on reversing myopia Where did you see it? I'd like to read it too.
- alliao 3y ago
  it's here! https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/health/myopia/ https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/health/myopia/
  - Asooka 3y ago
    In the end he recommends if you need cataract surgery, i.e. a lens replacement, to get a lens focused at reading distance. Note that there is progress being made on accommodating implantable ocular lenses (also called variable-focus) which can shift their focus similar to your natural lens. I'm personally keeping an eye out on these guys https://ocumetics.com/ https://ocumetics.com/ .
  - fuzztester 3y ago
    thanks
swader999 3y ago
This is interesting, I'm going through an internal debate about what type of lense to go with for cataract surgery. The latest progressive lenses or just correct for distance and wear reading glasses for close in work. I've come to the same conclusion, better to go with single lense, rather than the progressives.
DonHopkins 3y ago
Progressives just don't make sense to me. I have a pair of computer glasses, and a pair of bike riding glasses, and I never ride my bike while using the computer. So why would I want to have 50% of my vision blurry at all times?
- RHSeeger 3y ago
  I got bifocals for driving, so that I could read the gps when necessary. Turns out it's not really very useful because it's hard to "glance" that the gps and get it in the right area of my vision to use the "reading" part of the glasses. I wouldn't do it again. That being said, having the "reading" part of the glasses doesn't negatively impact my using them for distance, so I could see the benefit of the bifocal just so you always have the reading part available without needing a second pair of glasses. To the best of my knowledge, bifocals are just progressives with a distinct line where the prescription changes; instead of having an area where it "transitions". They look archaic (social concerns, if you care about that kind of thing) in exchange for not having a whole area of the lens that isn't usable at all.
phkahler 3y ago
>> amazing human taking time answering rando emails from the internet. Life tip: Most people will do that if your email is about something they are interested in and (most importantly) they have time. Celebrities are usually off the table (no time for all the fan email), but this guy is "just" a retired engineer who made a big product and a lot of money. You were also asking about some side interest of his, so I would almost expect a response. Be polite and fairly concise (brief, they don't need your life story out the gate) on a topic of interest to them and most people will respond positively.
- johnnyanmac 3y ago
  >and (most importantly) they have time. >is "just" a retired engineer who made a big product and a lot of money. Gernerally those 2 go hand in hand. You make something well known and they get dozens of emails a day about advice, business deals, the usual spam, and more.
galoisscobi 3y ago
I’m curious about how long have you been trying out his advice and if you have seen any improvements in your prescription?
- alliao 3y ago
  just over 10yrs and my prescription used to get steadily worse due to the 20/20 power yet I stare at the screen (arms length) a lot. I was -4.75 and is now -4.25 I'm just happy it didn't progress into -10 arena. I have 3 pairs of glasses one for everyday (short distance), one for driving, and one sunglasses also for driving.

by alliao 3y ago

femto 3y ago

The world's changed since then. If you go to the right online glasses providers, you can get progressives for much less (<half) than the cost of a pair of single power glasses in a high street store.

noir_lord 3y ago
True but some of what he says still makes sense. i.e. I'm near sighted now (need reading glasses) and have astigamatism (I've always had that but until I needed reading glasses I never bothered with glasses so my brain has adapted, if I wear lenses that correct for the astigmatism everything looks the wrong shape for quite a while before eyes adjust then when I don't wear them everything looks the wrong shape but the other way so in the end I just went for glasses for close vision work (screen/reading) since that was less bothersome than "fixing" a problem that isn't really a problem).
- gtirloni 3y ago
  I'm in the same situation. Astigmatism and really mild myopia all my life (got glasses but never really used them). My eyes got really tired a year ago and I got glasses for short distances. But now they got much worse and I think I'll have to order new lenses. I was thinking about progressives but it looks like a lot of people have issues adapting. Since my myopia continues low, I think I'll just focus on the reading glasses for now. Any advice welcome.
  - wmertens 3y ago
    I got dramatical improvement in my myopia over a few months time when I switched to a Paleo-ish diet, drastically cutting sugar and supplementing with vitamins including luteine. I no longer needed my glasses to drive or go to the movies. Granted it was only -1 but still. Now a decade on, my diet isn't so clean any more, far away details are somewhat blurry but still better than they used to be. The biggest impact is the amount of sleep I had the night before.
  - dnh44 3y ago
    Progressive's are the highest margin lens for both the retail store and the manufacturers (Essilor, Zeiss, Hoya, Rodenstock, etc). By putting a fancy curve on the back of a lens a $1 piece of plastic is transformed into a $500 piece of plastic. There is a lot of pressure to sell progressives. Without the high margins on progressive lenses many optical retail stores would not make a profit. Progressives are fine as long as they aren't being sold as a lens for all situations. For example a lens that would be good for driving or playing golf (using mostly distance vision) would be terrible for sitting at a desk (using mostly the reading area). Depending on your lifestyle there may or may not be a design available that is less annoying than just changing glasses. Bifocals are even more limited in this respect. This trade-off is not related at all to the issue of adaptation which is something else. So the first question you have to ask is if having both a distance and reading Rx in the same lens is something that is better for you compared to separate distance and reading glasses. My monitors are at head height so simple reading glasses are the best solution for me when working at my desk. If I wore progressives with this setup I would have to tilt my head back in order to view my monitors through the reading area of the lens which is at the bottom of the lens. If I instead worked on a notebook computer all day, looking down at a screen, then viewing that screen through the reading area of my glasses wouldn't be a problem. I'm currently wearing a pair of fancy fully personalised progressives that retail for £2000 a pair but I still use some cheapish reading glasses for working at my desk. However to be fair to the progressives I adapted to them just about instantly; the design just wasn't suited for reading for long periods of time. The adaptation issue is another issue and another thing you should consider. Adaptation refers to the ability to become accustomed to the distortion that often exists at the edges of progressive lenses. They can make you feel a bit dizzy when you first wear them. The general rule of thumb is that if you have a small "add" then it will be easy to adapt to them but if you have a large add it may be difficult. If your add is small now and don't see the point of progressives but are thinking of trying them later as your near vision deteriorates you may want to consider starting on them early just to make it easier to adapt to them later. Otherwise you might get stuck with bifocals which make you look old. Anyway if I had to boil that advice down to just a few quick points I'd say: - If you're planning on using the glasses just for working at a desk then I would just get reading glasses (that also correct your astigmatism). - For other situations where you need both distance and reading then progressives can be nice. - If you're not quite sure about progressives but think you'll definitely want them later in life then it is better to start on them now. - If you're buying online I would only get single vision lenses. To get a nice fit for progressives you need to get a bunch of stuff measured that doesn't get put on your prescription.
AdamN 3y ago
I got progressives a few months ago - going back to reading glasses
kwanbix 3y ago
What options do you use? I know about Zennit but I always wondered if there is something better, as my progresive are very expensive.
- bayindirh 3y ago
  Zeiss & Hoya make good lenses. Both also have expertise in photography equipment and they have their own coatings, so they're also a plus. Their lenses might not come cheap, though. I also used Japanese Tora and French Essilor Crizal lenses (cylindrical, not progressives), and they had good resolution with superb coatings. Currently I'm using a domestic lens with blue filter, and my eyes are happier than ever. My mother uses progressives. A bad progressive is a life quality reducing expense, so paying the price for a good lens pays in dividends over the short and long run.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- femto 3y ago
  > What options do you use? Last two sets of glasses I got were progressives from zennioptical.com. You have to be happy to fit the glasses yourself (worked okay for me), but I've been happy with the quality of the hardware and the quality of vision and fit. The last pair I bought was in 2020 and I'm still wearing them all the time. All up cost was US$108 including frames with progressive lenses, high refractive index plastic, oleophobic coating and delivery. I'm about -6 with an astigmatism in both eyes.

fuzztester 3y ago

>I saw his article on reversing myopia Where did you see it? I'd like to read it too.

alliao 3y ago
it's here! https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/health/myopia/ https://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/health/myopia/
- Asooka 3y ago
  In the end he recommends if you need cataract surgery, i.e. a lens replacement, to get a lens focused at reading distance. Note that there is progress being made on accommodating implantable ocular lenses (also called variable-focus) which can shift their focus similar to your natural lens. I'm personally keeping an eye out on these guys https://ocumetics.com/ https://ocumetics.com/ .
- fuzztester 3y ago
  thanks

swader999 3y ago

This is interesting, I'm going through an internal debate about what type of lense to go with for cataract surgery. The latest progressive lenses or just correct for distance and wear reading glasses for close in work. I've come to the same conclusion, better to go with single lense, rather than the progressives.

DonHopkins 3y ago

Progressives just don't make sense to me. I have a pair of computer glasses, and a pair of bike riding glasses, and I never ride my bike while using the computer. So why would I want to have 50% of my vision blurry at all times?

RHSeeger 3y ago
I got bifocals for driving, so that I could read the gps when necessary. Turns out it's not really very useful because it's hard to "glance" that the gps and get it in the right area of my vision to use the "reading" part of the glasses. I wouldn't do it again. That being said, having the "reading" part of the glasses doesn't negatively impact my using them for distance, so I could see the benefit of the bifocal just so you always have the reading part available without needing a second pair of glasses. To the best of my knowledge, bifocals are just progressives with a distinct line where the prescription changes; instead of having an area where it "transitions". They look archaic (social concerns, if you care about that kind of thing) in exchange for not having a whole area of the lens that isn't usable at all.

phkahler 3y ago

>> amazing human taking time answering rando emails from the internet. Life tip: Most people will do that if your email is about something they are interested in and (most importantly) they have time. Celebrities are usually off the table (no time for all the fan email), but this guy is "just" a retired engineer who made a big product and a lot of money. You were also asking about some side interest of his, so I would almost expect a response. Be polite and fairly concise (brief, they don't need your life story out the gate) on a topic of interest to them and most people will respond positively.

johnnyanmac 3y ago
>and (most importantly) they have time. >is "just" a retired engineer who made a big product and a lot of money. Gernerally those 2 go hand in hand. You make something well known and they get dozens of emails a day about advice, business deals, the usual spam, and more.

galoisscobi 3y ago

I’m curious about how long have you been trying out his advice and if you have seen any improvements in your prescription?

alliao 3y ago
just over 10yrs and my prescription used to get steadily worse due to the 20/20 power yet I stare at the screen (arms length) a lot. I was -4.75 and is now -4.25 I'm just happy it didn't progress into -10 arena. I have 3 pairs of glasses one for everyday (short distance), one for driving, and one sunglasses also for driving.