You know you're middle aged when

[andytheflyer]

You collect your first pair of varifocals.

Cue lots of wierdness and nausea.....

Careful going down stairs !   Actually I've more or less abandoned contact lenses now & am a full time vari wearer.  A great improvement on my old single distance ones.

I've worn varifocals for years, without many problems.  But, although my prescription changed only slightly, I needed new ones recently.  I went for ones with a wider 'sweet' spot so I don't have to turn my head so much (I have 4 fused cervical vertebrae).

These have been a real learning curve.  Stairs are an issue I never had before and even after a couple of months I'm still not fully acclimated.  I also bought (with the free second pair offer) a pair with a fixed distance at about 4 feet - for reading music.  These are brilliant for this, but get up and walk to the kitchen to get a coffee and it's a near-death experience.  That and the nausea.

Getting older sucks.  I get my pension this year too.

[Plug1n]

I also bought (with the free second pair offer) a pair with a fixed distance at about 4 feet - for reading music. 

That's a failing of varifocals for me too.  Being a clarinet player, the tilt of the head and position of the throat just does not work with my varifocal prescription.

I have a pair of half glasses on an older prescription that helps, but must get something better.  It's a good excuse for the occasional wrong note

Varifocals also don't work for cycling with me as I lower me head and look upwards to compensate (not that I have pretensions of being aero....).

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I got a couple of sets of varifocals specifically for cycling so that I could see both the road and the handlebars in focus with a normal cycling head position. The transition between prescriptions is accordingly somewhat higher than is standard.

[Torslanda]

@Fuzzy I may be around a decade ahead of you but you do get used to them. So much so that my latest pair of Fakeleys are useless for driving because distance is crystal clear but the dash is all blurry with single vision lenses and the lens carrier is too small...

[Basil]

You usually, depending on the supplier I suppose, get to discuss the shape of the varifocal areas of your lenses. For example, I requested that the long distance top area extended to the sides for over the shoulder glancing when cycling.

Agree about the going down stairs thing.  That still catches me out after 12 years of use.

[andytheflyer]

I also bought (with the free second pair offer) a pair with a fixed distance at about 4 feet - for reading music. 

That's a failing of varifocals for me too.  Being a clarinet player, the tilt of the head and position of the throat just does not work with my varifocal prescription.

Exactly.  Turn the head to see the music and you change the embouchure.  Got to keep sax and head together.

[nicknack]

I also bought (with the free second pair offer) a pair with a fixed distance at about 4 feet - for reading music. 

That's a failing of varifocals for me too.  Being a clarinet player, the tilt of the head and position of the throat just does not work with my varifocal prescription.

Exactly.  Turn the head to see the music and you change the embouchure.  Got to keep sax and head together.

It's even worse playing baritone. Got this great big lump of curly brass in front of you - right where the relevant bit of your varifocals is. Definitely single vision is the way to go for reading music.

[SteveC]

You remember Fabs appearing for the first time

https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=11510.msg2373393#msg2373393

My sisters' favourites - the combination of the Lady Penelope branding and the hundreds and thousands seemed irresistible

[IanDG]

You decide the 'fast bike' no longer serves a purpose and you replace it with a 'tourer'.

[Butterfly]

I've had varifocals since I got prescription glasses 18 months ago. I've had no problems with stairs since the first day. I have avoided reading music whilst playing an instrument since I was about 12, so that hasn't been a problem (also helped with the back ache). I take them off to drive in the dark, unless I need to see the sat nav on my phone, but that is the only time I do.

[hellymedic]

Would you believe it? Earlier this month I got an extra pair of glasses so that I can read music which sits just beyond an arm's length away, in my case on my iPad, which does not display quite as large as A4.

I am sure I have posted previously about David's single vision 'keyboard' specs on yacf...

[chrisbainbridge]

I now have varifocals for out and about and then separate varifocals for work.  The work ones are optimised with 2 vision settings.  the lower half is for keyboard and patient examination, the upper half is for looking at computer screens and patients faces.  They have completely removed my neck pain at the end of a days clinic.

[fuzzy (retd.) AAGE]

I have one pair at the moment and the second is on hold until I decide to stick with them.
I may just ask for the second set to be reading glasses as, away from home, the most use my glasses get is when acting as apprentice grease monkey in the workshop. The angle for the close work lens might be a bit crippling when working under a bb shell trying to thread a fubar'd internal cable routing.

[Phil W]

You can no longer be fagged to drive to the Lake District, Wales (including Pembrokeshire) or some such to go climbing for the weekend. You just can't be fagged with how long it now takes due to traffic.

[Greenbank]

Surely all this talk of varifocals signals reaching the end of 'middle aged'.

[EDIT] If there's denial about entering 'middle aged' then I'm sure there's even more denial about leaving it...

[mrcharly-YHT]

The father of your (step)grandchildren turns 40.

[hellymedic]

The father of your (step)grandchildren turns 40.

Likewise my primary schoolmates' kids are turning 40 or parents are celebrating their Ruby Weddings.

[Phil W]

The father of your (step)grandchildren turns 40.

That is a sign that he is turning middle aged.

[Kim]

You have entire conversations about nothing but the family's medical conditions.

[T42]

And they go a bit like Bridge bidding or a medical version of the Four Yorkshiremen. "I'll see your rotator cuff and raise you my diverticulosis".

[Kim]

And they go a bit like Bridge bidding or a medical version of the Four Yorkshiremen. "I'll see your rotator cuff and raise you my diverticulosis".

Barakta usually wins.

"5 cases in the literature, one associated with my syndrome.  The radiologist was quite upset."

[CommuteTooFar]

I gave up on varifocals. I used to work with multiple computer monitors at varying angles and distances.  The varifocals were a nuisance. I now use two pairs of glasses. Distance and computer distance (10cm beyond my finger tips). I usually read without glasses. (I have also given up work)

[hellymedic]

And they go a bit like Bridge bidding or a medical version of the Four Yorkshiremen. "I'll see your rotator cuff and raise you my diverticulosis".

Barakta usually wins.

"5 cases in the literature, one associated with my syndrome.  The radiologist was quite upset."

I'm a loser...

[hellymedic]

A former schoolmate just Facebooked a photo of André Previn shaking his hand.

hey BOTH seemed so young then...

[Greenbank]

And they go a bit like Bridge bidding or a medical version of the Four Yorkshiremen. "I'll see your rotator cuff and raise you my diverticulosis".

For my parents generation it's the numbers of hips, stents and bypasses.