I'm older than you, and don't need glasses for distance, but for reading, i bought a Costco 3-park of reading glasses for 18.99. A couple of three packs, so I have glasses scattered all over the house. For serious reading, consider those.

I looked at the "reader" glasses they have at the drug store but each of my eyes are completely different in strength. My left eye is the worst & the left lenses on my glasses is thicker.

Last year is the first time I ever gave into progressive lenses. I've always needed glasses for distance but as I get older things up close can be a bit blurry also so I'm giving the progressives a try.

I got these for my husband's sunglasses, they come in different strengths if your eyes are different. You might try them on some regular glasses to get custom readers

https://www.amazon.com/OPTX-20-Stick-Bifocals-2-00/dp/B000W7HQCQ

Perhaps the issue is the progressives. With astigmatism, I would imagine it would make it harder to get the lenses right. You might try a pair of reading glasses or regular bifocals.

Also, if you ophthamalogist isn't meeting your needs, you might try an optometrist. They spend their schooling learning vision correction, as opposed to ophthamalogists who learn medicine.

I've worn the progressives for years and have been very happy. Good suggestion about the optometrist, Annie.

Glasses sure can be expensive unless you get the super-simple ones.

Socks, you got that right. I get mad everytime I go in for glasses. The frames don't have price tags & the "frame specialist" always brings me the most expensive set of frames to try on.

They always set me up with the gay flamboyant lense specialist. He says GIRL you need to make a statement and be bringing me these big loud glasses. And I feel bad but have to tell him the glasses are too over the top for me. I hate doing that. I just want simple and frameless.

I am almost 65 and have been dealing with a similar problem since I was your age. I buy dollar store reading glasses and have a pair by every place that I sit and read. I went with cheap reading glasses because my eyes are still changing and, like you, my eyes are different strenghs. I just pick out what ones work the best.

For distance glasses we use an online store, Zenni. We have been using them for several years. If you ever have a problem, like I received one pair with a scratch, just send them back and they replace them. No hassle. Try that at your expensive glasses place. Also no pressure to buy the most expensive ones.

My DH is very hard on glasses, lots of outside and repair work, and is constantly scratching or breaking his glasses. He just orders a new pair for less than $20. Just check out their website to see the latest styles. We also bought a couple pair of sunglasses, one to keep in the car and one to have in the house.

Zenni

I have reading glasses - but only for reading. Do not get up and walk down the hall wearing them. I did know about the dizziness factor but was surprised at how quickly it happened (my husband has thick lenses - now thin due to the type of frames he buys). I was 63 when I first needed them - very suddenly and 4 months after my eye exam.

I was speaking with another woman with the same issues. We were both thinking of books on tape. This year when I go for my exam I know that my prescription will need to be increased - but my frames are in really good condition - because I hardly read any more. I am concerned about sunglasses though. My glasses will not support the clip-ons and I like to have coverage of my whole eye. Plus my husband fiddles so much with his that it drives me nuts. Of course there are the sunglasses that fit over the regular glasses, but somehow I don't think I would be happy driving with them.

It is funny that I hate wearing reading glasses, yet I would not venture outside without my sunglasses (sensitive eyes).

I am almost 60 & wear tri-focals. Both lenses are different since my right eye is the worst. I hate how much the lenses cost!!

Consider having a pair of glasses made with just the "reading" portion of your prescription in the entire lens. My DH has a pair made just for working at the computer and finds them much more user friendly than his bifocals.

I have been legally blind in both eyes since I was in the 3rd grade with out corrective lenses. I have severe myopia and astigmatism. My lenses are extremely difficult to make which makes them more expensive and thick because the new super thin stuff won't work for my prescription. I loved wearing contacts but I can't anymore. I absolutely can not wear progressive lenses I wear regular bifocals and do just fine. My eyes are different prescriptions for each. It sounds like you need a better suited prescription and you need regular bifocals. My husband wears trifocals because he works at the computer so much. I always take my new glasses back to me ophthalmologist and have them check the prescription to make sure that the lab got it right. By the way I am definitely older than you lol. Don't fret you will be able to read. You will probably have to get cataract surgery at some point though. The arms getting shorter is par for the course at 50 lol. I am sure most here know all about that.

Raven, why can't you wear contacts? I had to stop too because of having dry eyes as well as astigmatism. Every so often I would try the new soft lenses, but they were right.

I found one that I can wear for socializing. They are Clariti topic one day disposables . For me they are great when I go to a party or the movies, just no longer every day for hours soon end.

Also, if I wanted to read with them, I would have to get a prescription reading glasses specially for the contacts.

I agree with Annie, go to a optometrist.

I have sjogrens syndrome which causes little tear production so I have dry eyes. Also very little saliva which is why I always have a water bottle with me

For your next set of glasses, I predict you'll get bifocals and you'll be reading again. The "close reading zone" is small in a varifocus lens and you do have to position yourelf for the print to come into good focus. Both varifocal and bifocals require positioning to place the reading material into the zone. The reading zone for bifocals may be the larger of the two.

Your next hit is off in the future, maybe after you hit 70 years of age. It will be cataracts. Until then, good reading. Cataracts require more serious surgery to correct, but is correctable. (The lens in the eye is removed and replaced by an artificial one, usually of fixed focus. There exists artificial lens flexible enough to permit focusing, however, these are not as proven as the fixed lens variety which have an excellent track record. The variable focus lens was not recommended by my ophthalmologist. When I expressed my concern about the fixed focus, he pointed out that my current natural lenses had stiffened and were not focusing, therefore I would experience very little difference. He was correct. The new lenses are an improvement.)

I have astigmatism and have worn trifocals for years. They do take some getting used to and you have to stick with it. Tilting your head correctly for distance, middle range, and close up (reading) becomes second nature.

I have worn trifocals for years, with no problems..........until I needed new ones, because of slight vision change. The new ones were impossible to use, as I was constantly "seeing" ravines in front of me........it was frightening to walk outside! That optometrist tried three different new ones, with the same results. I changed optometrists, again with the same results. Finally, the third pair was a charm, and I've had no problems since. He explained what the problem was, but only recall that it had to do with astigmatism, which I've always had, and the actual cutting of the new lens.

I'm slightly nearsighted and also have astigmatism. I started with progressive lenses about 10 years ago when the vision correction became too strong to allow close-distance reading with my glasses on. The "reading" area at the bottom of the lens negates the distance correction, though sometimes I still need to remove my glasses to read small print or when it's dark. I also have a few pairs of prescription sunglasses, also with progressive lenses.

I could have written Elmer's post, except for the "slightly" nearsighted part. I was always extremely nearsighted. I got progressive lenses in my forties and wore them for a long time. At some point I started taking off my glasses to read very fine print.

Then about five years ago I had cataract surgery. My cloudy lenses (cataracts) were removed, and new lenses were implanted. I chose to go the "mini-mono" route; that is, the lens in my right eye gives me perfect distance vision, while the lens in my left eye enables me to see closer objects. Neither lens is effective for very fine print or reading in low light, so I have an assortment of dollar store "cheaters" around the house.

This has worked out well for me, and I still think it's marvelous to be able to go without glasses, which I'd worn since First Grade.

The good news is, as you age, you may get cataracts. I was rooting for them and they fixed the astigmatism and put in the lenses and I see perfectly in both near and far distance. It's like a miracle.

Alisande, why can't you get corrected with 20/20 vision and not need glasses at all?

Yaya me too! I ask my ophthalmologist every time I go does he see cataracts yet. When I have that surgery and I am having multi focal lenses implanted, he specializes in them and has amazing results with extremely happy patients. When I get it done it will be the first time in my life that I will be able to wake up and see! I will be able to open my eyes and see with out reaching for glasses. My sister has about the same vision as I do and she had her surgery, she is quite a bit older, and she said she cried it was so awesome. I know I will too. Sad that we have to wait until we are old to be able to see. I never could be fitted with the soft lens you can sleep in my prescription was too difficult. When I got my first pair of glasses and could see trees had actual individual leaves. I only saw blobs of color. I would find leaves on the ground and didn't know where they came from. That's when my family started to realize how bad it was. I don't know how I had made it to the 3rd grade. I sat at the front of the class and could not see the board at all. When they finally tested me I could not see that big E at the top of the chart because I could not see the chart. LOL.

Alisande, why can't you get corrected with 20/20 vision and not need glasses at all?

Eld, I'm not sure how to answer that. I know there was (is?) Crystalens, an implant that claimed to do something similar. Florence Henderson was a paid spokesperson. But it was controversial, with problems reported, and my doctor wouldn't use them. I had at least one other option, but chose what he recommended and have been pleased. They used toric lenses because of my astigmatisms.

Medicare would have paid for clear lenses only, which would have left me with the same vision I started out with. I had to pay $1,000 for each of the toric lenses.

Thanks to TJ Maxx, I have the collection of sunglasses I always wanted. :-)

Hmm, that's a new one to me, but I'm not well informed about such things. Maybe because I'm not yet at an age where many people I know have had an experience to share concerning this procedure.

I think if I had to have lens implants, I'd want the two to be the same.

I once tried contacts and it made my eyes overly sensitive to light when outdoors. I decided that having to ALWAYS wear sunglasses outdoors plus having the paraphernalia and other things to do with the contacts, wasn't worth the limited benefit of just not wearing glasses indoors. This sounds like it would be the same to me, if you needed to find reading glasses anytime you wanted to read something, for me it would be of limited benefit.

I have never enjoyed wearing glasses. I wore gas permeable contacts for 30 years until my eyes became too dry for contacts, even the soft lenses.

My vision is good enough and I don't wear glasses unless I drive or read a book. Right now, I'm not using glasses.

Wearing sunglasses outside is important, for your overall eye care as well as preventing wrinkles!

The new lenses that I can wear, I will only be using when I go out in the evenings or to special events. I will never be able to wear contacts like I once did.

Elmer, there are so many contacts available now. I find night driving difficult because of the light auras. But, for some reason, the contacts reduce this phenomenon.

No contacts for me either. Because of my astigmatisms I had to wear toric lenses & my eyes were so dry & it always felt like I had lint in my eyes. So far the progressive lenses I have suit me best but I don't use them to read. I can't find the "sweet spot" that makes reading on my tablet or phone clear so I don't use them.

I can read books with my glasses, and computer screens -- but on my Kindle I take off my glasses, and if I use my phone intensively, I do the same -- I thought i was the only weirdo with this problem. Yes, i have progressive lenses and have had them for the past 7-8 years.

I was nearsighted with astigmatism in one eye since 3rd grade. As an adult I tried contacts but they could only fit me with hard lenses. I adjusted very well and liked them but it got to be too expensive because the eye with astigmatism had to have a custom sized contact.

Glasses always annoyed me and I found myself wearing them only for night driving and when in a theater etc. What a pain.

Some years back I got Lasik surgery done on the weaker eye. The doctor advised me not to do the other since it was not as nearsighted as I once was given my age and he said I may as well wait for the day I might need cataract surgery and let insurance cover it. Wonderful!!! For the first time ever I could see the trees on the hilltop and the leaves on the trees.

That left me with the same effect as mono vision so I was able to see distance with the surgical eye and read with the weaker one. Now years later I have no sign of cataracts and I need readers to read print. Don't need them for my Kindle or the computer. My current vision is 20-20 in one eye and 20-25 in the weak eye. With age we become more and more farsighted.

Raven, I did exactly what you wrote and I have 20/15 vision now. It's like a miracle. I will say I was shocked by much of what I saw the first day. My old vision reflected a smooth skinned pretty woman in the mirror. What a surprise that was when I looked with the new lenses, I did all but SCREAM!!!!! Just so you'll know, I told my dr. on the last eye exam before he did the surgery that I couldn't take a day longer with the cataracts. It was depressing me seeing a cloudy world. He said "okay we'll do it right away" even though he had said that they weren't ready yet. So, when you get them, push for the surgery. I've told others and their drs. relented too.

Yaya, many of us experienced that same shock after looking in the mirror post-surgery. :-)

I remember a thoroughly obnoxious man in the cataract surgery waiting room talking about getting new vision and discovering he was married to an old lady. What a sweetheart....

Watchme, only my left eye is bad enough to qualify for lasic. My doctor said I'd have mono-vision. I said no thanks.

No one around my area sells frameless glasses (if that is correct terminology) and I want some terribly! Are they still available in other areas?

I no longer wear contacts but always thought when and if I ever went to full time wearing of glasses, I would wear frameless but everyone says they caused so many problems!

Maybe a little OT, but vision and age related. Almost 2 years ago, I woke up with absolutely NO vision in my left eye... total blackness. No pain/discomfort, sudden lack of vision wasn't what woke me up that morning... regular morning alarm time. Have worn glasses since 2nd grade (MANY years) and consider myself "blind as a bat" without them. I took myself to ER, and sent literally across the street to Ophthalmologist. He dilated eye, looked inside, said first glance was something called a retinal occlusion... sent me back to ER. Was in hospital a day and a half, LOTS of poking/prodding/scanning/ultra-sounding etc. NOT a stroke, BP and cholesterol high (not surprising, but another story). Didn't even have a "primary care" physician at the time... no insurance and not quite old enough for Medicare. He said... BP and cholesterol can be controlled through diet and/or medication BUT... SMOKING had to stop!

Vision in left eye has come back from nothing but black but is just a big blur... can't read anything out of that eye. If that hadn't happened, would still be a smoker... can't honestly say I don't MISS that, no matter how bad it is for me... but haven't had a cigarette in close to 2 years.

hahahahaha Alesande