Amy wrote:

<If you find another solution, please share!>

My multiple pairs of prescription and drug-store reading glasses are a standing joke with my family and friends. Of course, I am much further down the 'presbyopia road' as an octogenarian;-), let alone as someone with astigmatism, anisometropia and aniseikonia, and with one pupil slightly higher than the other too;-). Probably more than that inside the eye, but I'm not going there till I have to.

There are definitely such things as various styles of occupational lenses for various types of occupations, including all sorts of solutions for those who spend hours at a computer after midlife. There are also very specialized occupational lenses for those in professions such as various kinds of engineers, etc. And think of pilots, who must look upward, forward, downward, sideways, etc. at gauges, etc. while still being able to take the long view out over the horizon and downward towards earth! 

I understand that auto mechanics, who often have to look upward under a car raised on a hoist also use them. Their lenses have an additional small 'near prescription' segment inserted at the factory, located somewhere in the upper area of the top segment.  Many dentists, surgeons, etc. how have 'mid/near office distance only' prescriptions with expanded areas of the lenses where the 'middle range' of their prescription is currently more often used, but still in a no-line progressive lens to avoid the distortion of vision from the segment lines. The more one ages, the higher that the bifocal/trifocal lined segments increase the risk for falls, a concern that, by itself, rises with age. Sorry to have to tell you that, but when you consider the alternatives . . . . . . . 

I have several opticians in my family, and I wore them all out with my questions over the years. By now, I am a familiar face to my own optician, who was therefore willing to give me an issue of a recently outdated catalog of optical lenses just to look over to see all the various types of lens blanks available to them to tailor to an eye doctor's individual Rx. 

Hopefully you have an eye professional to whom you can explain exactly the personal demands you are finding in your particular practice setting, looking at close range at babies' oral anatomy, mothers breast anatomy, and maintaining eye contact while discussing symptoms and teaching, then switching to scale calibrations, etc. I advise you to think carefully and write down exactly what you experience the situation to be, because your words will ultimately have to be translated into the mathematical formulae of optics for trial and error with your $$. I found that I had to 'get over' answering questions during the exam like a third grader trying to please an authority figure. If you prefer neither 'this' image nor 'this' image, say so! Choose your own words carefully in advance to start your explanation/testing.

You may be less likely to find this time and expertise in 'mall-type' commercial settings, but there are those eye doctors in private practice who actually specialize in solving challenging visual dilemmas. I am blessed with one of the kindest and most patient of these who has even deliberately provided me articles, test lenses, etc. and taught me over the years to speak a little in 'opticalese' ;-) 

K. Jean Cotterman RNC-E, IBCLC
WIC Volunteer LC    Dayton OH    (back home again after a month in AZ with several of my kids.)

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