Anybody reading fewer books due to eyesight problems?

[Habibi]

I've been suffering from worsening sight for about 10 years now, and I can't seem to get a decent prescription. I wear bifocals, and I hate them! I just can't seem to adjust to them well enough to read with for long. Has anyone else had this problem and resolved it? I'd love some advice. I miss reading for hours . . .

Then again, maybe it's just that my attention span has been obliterated by the Internets.

[nashville_brook]

1. i'm nearsighted, so reading is about the only thing i can do without

glasses. i would hate to be farsighted! reading is everything!

[CountAllVotes]

6. that is how I am too

I am very near sighted. I must have glasses to see anything within 6 feet of me. It is awful really. I asked about bifocals. They told me that I did not need glasses for reading, only for distance. So I don't have them but I sure wish I did because when reading I have to either take them off or prop them up on the top of my end try to read by looking down beneath them.

As for reading glasses go, maybe a tint might help or different lighting can be a huge difference as well as does your computer screen itself.

It is worth investing in a good monitor if you need a large one. I bought a Nokia over almost 10 years ago and it still works perfectly. It is a 17" and has speaker; made in Finland!

Stay away from fluorescent lights. They magnify any visual problems you may have. Soft lighting is best for me and I'd also suggest if the problem seems really bad, maybe a trip to an ophthalmologist might be in order. It could be something else, you never know!

[nashville_brook]

18. those are good suggestions! light is very important.

as for monitors, i find the LCD screens are easier for me to read than the old CRTs.

(i recently kicked the contact habit b/c i couldn't read with them in)

[yorkiemommie1]

2. same here

i wear contacts and reading glasses. at home, like now, i wear bifocals but while i can read just fine online, i find it bothersome to read magazines and books. i usually find myself taking off my glasses and holding the material up close to read. i'm sure this can be remedied on my next visit to my eye dr.

[Habibi]

7. I do that too

to read labels on bottles and such. I'm resisting doing it with my recreational reading, however. I find that if I take off my glasses to "read close" to a book or a magazine, I end up with a headache.

[astonamous]

3. I'm an Ophthalmic Physician's Assistant....

If you are going to be reading for long periods at a time and don't need to see anything far away, you should try a pair of just reading glasses. When you put them on, you won't be able to see far away, but you will decrease the distortion that you may be feeling from the bifocals.

Do you know what your prescription is?

[YDogg]

5. That sounds like a good idea to me ...

.. one I had not thought of. With my work, I read for many hours daily. Maybe I out to check out some reading glasses ...

[astonamous]

15. If you're a cubical dweller at work

and you need a different strength for the computer, you can get a pair of bifocals that are set for the computer in the top part of the glasses (so you don't have to tilt your head back) and stronger on the bottom part for that tiny stuff on paper. Again, this won't allow you to see very far away.

[YDogg]

22. Thanks for the suggestion!

I'm close to another trip to have my eyes checked, and this sounds like a useful eyeglass setup.

[Habibi]

10. I'm due for a new prescription next month

but I've been thinking about getting just reading glasses. I used to read in bed for hours. Now, if I get 20 minutes of reading before my eyes say goodnight, I'm lucky.

Pisses me off, y'know?

[CrispyQ]

21. This is what I finally did.

I have 3 pair of glasses. One regular that I wear most of the time & if I need to read with them on, they end up perched on the tip of my nose, a pair of bifocals that I paid an obscene amount of money for & don't like or wear, & finally, a pair of reading glasses that is bascially the script of the bottom of my bifocals. These are what I wear when reading.

Oh, & I finally invested in script sunglasses after wearing glasses for 40 years! One of the BEST eyeglass purchases I've ever made!

And lastly, the best invention to date IMHO is high index lenses!

[El Supremo]

4. I think there ought to be a law.

Outlawing small print! Seriously, we baby-boomers are the largest segment of the population. Why are newspapers and telephone books printed with type that only a 20 year old can read?

:mad: :mad:

[skids]

16. Heheh. Well, I hate to break it to you.

Since 2000 or thereabouts, GenX is the biggest segment of the population.



Oh wait, sorry. How very inconsiderate of me...



:hide:

http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Animation/pyramid.html

[El Supremo]

17. Then they should be concerned about their parents.

You little shit!
:P :P

[skids]

20. Hahaha! :-)

But I'm neither! I'm one of those strange intersticise people with no coherent generational identity. Parents were pre-boom and then they waited a long time to have kids so I'm post-genX.

So I guess I skate :-)

[Spinzonner]

8. Maybe you should get separate glasses for reading

if you're having trouble with the bifocals for reading.

It's more expensive but it's better than the loss of reading enjoyment.

If you think its the prescription, perhaps a different source for the prescription or glasses is in order.

[Habibi]

11. I've been to 3 different optometrists

And each prescription sucked, as far as helping me read. I think you and the other folks here are right: I need a "reading" prescription.

Oy. This gettin' old stuff ain't for sissies.

[Spinzonner]

13. That sounds like the simplest and best alternative

But in case there are still problems ...

I have my eye exams done at an Optimetric College that's fairly nearby.

They do an incredibly extensive exam with lots more tests that the typical Optometrist or eye exam outfit. It's training for the students but all the work is checked by the professors and referrals can be made when necessary.

They might find anomolies that contribute to the problem but are not ordinarily detected.

[Extend a Hand]

9. yes

I've never worn glasses but just in the last 2 years I had to get reading glasses. I know in January I'll have to get bifocals. It *really* bites. :(

[Broken_Hero]

12. I have...

I have a hard time focusing, the eye doc says its because i don't take regular breaks from reading...i have probalby read well over a 1,000 books in my life, and most of them monsters, all clancys, steven kings, the bigger the book, the more likely i am to read the thing, i have noticed a lot of change..so when i read now, i read for half an hour and take a five minute break, but things are still fuzzy...

[KerryOn]

14. Do you have no line bifocals or lined bifocals?

I have not had any problems at all with no line progressive lens bifocals. I started wearing them about 10 years ago, and it only took a few days for me to get use to them. I have talked to many people that have problems with the lined bifocals.

My wife has never gotten use to bifocals. (She has tried both types of lenses.) She is near sighted in one eye and far sighted in the other which makes it very difficult to get a prescription that will work well for her. She wears her glasses to drive or to see far away, and uses a pair of reading glasses for close work. Give that try, it seems to have worked for her.

[left is right]

19. I am far-sighted

and after 2 pairs of bifocals that I never got used to I gave up and went with OTC reading glasses. My problem with bifocals was that I was constantly getting loss while wearing them. I couldn't find my way down a flight of stairs. but it is getting harder to read, now--15-20 minutes tops

[raccoon]

23. Have you tried audiobooks?

I discovered them about 12 years ago and I love them! When I read, I tend to zip through and miss a lot. I retain more when I listen.

Plus, I can listen to books while driving, while doing housework, etc.

[Habibi]

24. I've tried one or two but

got annoyed at the overblown theatrics of the readers. Maybe just bad luck; it might be a good alternative. Getting a new prescription this month, though, and will check out reading glasses.

[Hamlette]

27. I'm a complete audio book fanatic, some are bad, try again.

I just finished listening to Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin and I'm 3/4 through River of Doubt, a fascinating book about Teddy Roosevelt's trip down the amazon in 1914.

Last week I "read" Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime. It was great.

I joined Audible...got a free iPod shuffle and 2 books a month for $21 a month. I'm in love!

I agree, some of the readers are overblown. The good thing about Audible is you can listen to a sample before you buy...but its still hard to tell. Sometimes they don't start to annoy you until after 100 pages or so. But, the way I see it, at least someone is telling me a story as I clean house/play with fire/putz around all weekend.

[NYC]

25. Natural daylight.

If you have the opportunity, try reading outside. I have worn reading glasses for almost 8 years now, but I can still read The New York Times without glasses if I am out on the sidewalk.

You might also try a natural daylight lightbulb at home. It may help.

I used to read for 12 hours sometimes, but since I've worn glasses, my eyes get tired. It just isn't the same. (My glasses are the cheap drug store reading glasses, but that seems to be all I need.)

I avoid paperbacks, and will compare different hardcover editions in the library to find the one with the largest print.

Good luck. I agree that this is a serious drawback for a reader.

[flamingyouth]

26. My mom had bifocals and had to get rid of them.

She went to having two different pairs of glasses, which is cumbersome and sucks, but she is an avid reader too.

I am finding that as I get older that I need more and better light to read. Good luck! :hi: