Gransnetters share the difficulties they have experienced as their eyesight has deteriorated

I’m 72 and had no eye trouble until my mid forties when stated needing glasses. Then a few years ago I was referred to an eye specialist as I had a kind of double vision whereby lines would seem to merge together. Have macular degeneration and it was explained to me that each eye has 6 muscles that work in conjunction with each other. Problem is mine don’t hence the blurred lines. Was wearing varifocals which I’d switched to while still at work. I had prisms in the lenses to correct vision but started having problems again about a year ago. More glasses which are pretty expensive that only lasted 10 months before I again needed new ones. This time the reading was not improved so I now have reading glasses that are also for reading in the sun. Such a faff keep changing glasses if I am on the internet while watching tv. They are not perfect either but am resigned to not having good eyesight again. Also have the start of cataracts. Can’t keep forking out for new glasses. I’d have them lasered but, because of my condition it’s not an option

I have worn glasses since my mid 40s (now mid 60s). I do find it more difficult to read in artificial light these days. I wear varifocals all the time. Yes, I have seen adverts for Serious Readers - leaflets in newspapers - they must spend a small fortune on advertising. I haven't tried their lights, as they seem incredibly expensive!

Only need glasses for reading, can't walk about in them so find that I am constantly putting them on and off especially when out shopping.

I have been lucky with my eyesight, I was short sighted in one eye and long sighted in the other and they seemed to work together so I didn't need glasses. However when I turned 70 it was like I began to fall apart and I now need reading glasses. I really believe that the more you wear glasses the worse your eye sight gets, after 8 months of using them for reading I struggle to see any print without them! I still think I am lucky though as both my siblings have glaucoma and I do not have that yet.

I’ve been short sighted since my early teens. It has increased a lot over the years and now I can only see to about 20cm without my glasses. I have varifocals, but find it easier to read or do intricate work without my specs.
A good strong light is a must.
All these glossy mags and pretty packages are great until you try and follow instructions eg for cooking, then it’s impossible to read because of the lack of contrast in colours.

I've been short sighted for years wearing glasses or lenses.

About 10 years or so ago I had a torn retina and was hospital referred to have laser surgery. It was quite a difficult correction because of where the tear was. Although I was told I could wear lenses in the eye I now only wear one lens for distance and the other eye for close up. Touching wood this is working well so far.

For me the thought of loss of eyesight is quite scary. I have extra care with my optician to monitor things. A year or so ago my topography showed a mark which the optician said maybe the start of a cataract but subsequent screenings have shown nothing so its either corrected itself or was nothing in itself.

For me eyecare is very important along with GP and dental care.

I have not heard of serious readers before but will look them up.

I have been shortsighted since the age of 6. I now wear varifocals. Like Jacquik, I find glossy mags very difficult to read . I need really bright lights and use my iPad or kindle for reading as I can adjust font size. In supermarkets I find reading price labels on the top shelf difficult as my varifocals can’t focus on them. Also another annoying thing is cleaning the white bath sink etc. I think it looks clean but when I glance back at a different angle I see a mark.

I've had poor eyesight since as long as I can remember. I've worn glasses for long distance since I was 10 when it was discovered I couldn't see the blackboard. My sight has deteriorated over the years and my prescription now is very strong, A few years ago I had to have a retinal peel operation and then a cataract done in the same eye; I expect the other eye will need the same soon.

I did manage to wear contact lens when I was younger but now stick to variable focal and photo chromic lens. My specs always cost about £500!! I can read and use the computer without glasses as long as I am very close but I find it difficult to thread a needle now with or without glasses. I am better in daylight than artificial light. I have a fantastic optician, who runs his own private practice; I wouldn't touch the likes of specsaver!!!

Oh, I forgot, I also had to have the cataract lasered as it began to cloud over after a couple of years.

I only realised that my eyesight wasn't perfect when I started taking driving lessons at 21 years of age. My sight hasn't really deteriorated since then but I go for regular tests because my mum developed glaucoma in her forties. So far I haven't had any bad news. There are inconveiences to wearing either glasses or contact lenses but I appreciate the sight I have. I've heard too many stories of things having gone wrong with laser treatment to get this done. People should be thankful for the sight they have and take care of their eyes because you only have one set.

In common with many elderly people my sight is gradually deteriorating. Not helped by the fact I have worn glasses since childhood because of strabismus.
I have heard of Serious Readers because a friend of mine has their floor lights and finds them very good.
I think she supplied my name to the company, unknown to me, and I have been inundated with mail from them since!
I haven't ordered them for two reasons. 1) aesthetic. I don't like the look or would fit in with my decor. 2) price £400!

I have early onset AMD ( dry) and Charles bonnet syndrome. As I’m an avid reader and tv viewer I don’t know I would cope if it worsens but would try anyt

When I first thought my eye sight was going had really terrible headaches but I then thought of my eyes so I went to the optician's to see if I need new glasses. My husband took me after I booked appointment I went straight in then my trouble started they asked me can your son take you straight to the eye hospital they was referring to my husband. It took us ages to get to the hospital but we was there 6 hours you go into one room into another and another. It was a detached retina so now I wear bifocals but they cost the earth. I had really bad blood pressure that what was causing me trouble. I ended up having tablets and eye drops each day.

I've always been short sighted but now need reading glasses and can struggle to read without them unless I close one eye

I had measles at 10 months and believe that this may have caused my severe short sightedness. I had to wear thick NHS glasses from the age of 6. As a teenager , i would leave my specs off for social occasions, subsequently usually ending up going out with the ugliest guys around! I wore contact lenses from the age of 18 and am now 63. I have had hard lenses, soft lenses, gas permeable and vari focal. I was diagnosed with glaucoma 5 years ago and also suffer from night blindness
I am now developing cataracts but they are not yet severe enough for removal. At night I struggle to read my kindle so end up taking my lenses out, closing one eye and reading with the other! I will be so happy when I can have my cataracts removed and replaced with a prescription lens.

When my shortsightedness started after measles, at the age of six, children were very cruel. The NHS glasses then didn't help. It's amazing how long people went on being prejudiced against girls with glasses. More sensitive styles and contact lenses helped to change attitudes. But age brings other problems, from dry eyes and bletharitis, blurring vision unpredictably, as well as long sight. And many suffer far more serious issues than these ... The courage of those who become registered blind astonishes me: lesser problems such as the above are debilitating enough.

I have needed glasses or contacts for myopia since my early teens ( I am now 63) and have had varifocal glasses for about ten years. I have been able to drive, read, look at screens and see very well with my glasses. About 18 months ago I noticed that straight lines were looking 'wiggly' with my left eye and an epiretinal membrane was diagnosed. I was waiting for an operation to have a retinal peel but there was no urgency as it wasn't really affecting my day to day life I then started to have floaters but was told that it was nothing to worry about, quite normal at my age and the situation would be monitored. Then last December my left retina detached (macula off). I had an operation but unfortunately it detached again in January and was again reattached, together with the delayed retinal peel. This time the eye cavity was filled with oil which doesn't disperse by itself so I knew that another op would be necessary to remove it. The retinal operations hastened the growth of a cataract so after several cancellations I had an apparently straightforward operation in November to remove the oil, remove the cataract and replace the lens. It was not straightforward however because I haemorrhaged and had to have yet another vitrectomy. My current situation is that the lens capsule is cloudy so I cannot see anything with my left eye. I am hoping that I will have laser treatment in January and will then be able to see from my left eye. I am fortunate that I can manage at present with my functional right eye but I have a cataract forming there too so pray that I don't have similar difficulties. I have seen advertisements in the weekend papers for Serious Readers.

I have been shortsighted since I was a teenager. In recent years I have found my eyes take longer to focus when I’m looking at things at different distances e.g. if I’m knitting and watching TV at the same time. Sometimes if I’m reading writing that’s very small and close up, it’s easier if I take my specs off. If I’m wearing contact lenses I wear weak reading glasses. I think I probably have good eyesight for someone my age. My hubby is the same age as me and has more problems with his eyesight!

I have found that I have problems reading, and have had my eyes tested regularly. I do have a developing cataract, but I also feel I need to sit where I have proper light rather than in just any part of the room, as I think that helps. I have an eye test coming up and will be discussing this with the optician.

Not until I turned 70 did I need glasses for reading indoors, these over the counter ones. An optician tests my eyes regularly as I developed floaters, which he says is a perfectly normal thing at my age. I find I need glasses in supermarkets, I cannot read the labels without my glasses, if I leave them on I walk into people and things, a nuisance more than anything. I have just upped the strength to 2 so I suppose soon I will need a prescription.

Not my own sight, but that of my mother who is 97 years old and I have watched her sight deteriorate slowly over the last few years to the point that it is virtually non existent, only a thick grey fog all the time. She has a few eye problems. The frustration that it brings is immeasurable. She was a wonderful cook, loved reading and crafting. She is unable to do anything other than sit listening to music. She cannot see people's faces for recognition. Despite all this she is not grumpy, she wishes something could be done but knows there is nothing and this is how it will be for the rest of her life, with more deterioration. If I won the £300 I would donate it to the RNIB for research into sight loss.

i am 68 and had worn glasses since i was 25 last year i developed cataracts and had them removed last year the actual operation to remove them was good and i was surprised after the first one was removed how much better my sight was had the second one removed two months later, i now do not have to wear glasses all the time only for reading if any one has been told they have cateracts and are uncertain on having the operation i would say go ahead as it makes such a difference, only problem i have had is remembering to take my glasses with me when i go shopping so i can read the price tags and labels more clearly.

I wear both contacts and Glasses as soon as I take my contacts out my glasses are on and vice versa but as I'm getting older my eyes are much worst I'm not even getting to 2 years without noticing the difference so I think I need yearly checks now . I struggle to see receipts and prices in the shops an that with my contacts in.

Our family has always had to cope with eye problems. My late father was blind from his 40s....a condition called retinitis pigmentosa....so I always had my sons' eyes checked regularly, and now my grandchildren.
I've been very shortsighted since childhood. I remember wearing my glasses in the bath so I could see what I was washing! Oh the bliss when I reached 18 and the optician and my parents agreed that I could have contact lenses. No more specky four eyes or feeling self conscious.
And so to middle age....and the steady decline of reading vision. Plus cataract operations on both eyes in my 50s. The surgeon (genius) restored some distance vision in one eye and gave me reading vision in the other! Surprising how quickly the brain adjusts according to what I'm doing.
I still have contact lenses which, together, give me perfect distance vision, and have reading glasses on a chain round my neck, for whenever I pick up a book or iPad or magazine. But by and large, when at home, I can now bumble round the house without any aids!
And then...I read about Serious Readers. I wondered if it was a con, until I noticed that my optician uses them. After a chat with him, I became more convinced of their merits....and my Christmas prezzie from husband, arrived last week. You've guessed it....Serious Readers standard light plus table lamp. I'm a happy bunny!

I was 14 when I was diagnosed with myopia and prescribed glasses: all around me instantly became bright and intricately detailed. I remember a feeling of joy at being able to see properly and started drawing anything that caught my eye. Now, 40 odd years later, I periodically rest my eyes when reading, cross-stitching and using the laptop. I do eye exercises, eat carrots and take Vitamins A, E, C, B1, B6, B9, B12 and Omega 3. I have trouble in the supermarkets when trying to decipher the tiny print on many of their products: I have to take glasses off to read the lists of ingredients. I have not heard about Serious Readers but I will go online to find more information about their products, as I miss cross-stitching which I give up during dark winter days. Here's for the brighter future!