Varifocals.

Who said that?

Useless things i'm seeing five varifocal threads when i only posted three..going to get my loot back and lump on Caravaggio.

Spent 400 quid on varifocals, opticians (v/express) told me to give them a chance for a few weeks, they're in some drawer now..
useless waste of money.
Like looking through a keyhole.
Boots (the chemist) is where I get my glasses from, 20 quid, but good enough for me.

I've had them for many years and, admittedly, I struggled at first but now wear them all the time.

I don't think that the assistants always give the best advice as, when you select the frames, they just go along with your choice.

When you say "like looking through a keyhole". am I right to assume that you have very small lenses?

If so, thereby hangs your problem!

You need a good height to the lenses, otherwise they can't accommodate sufficient field, particularly in the reading area.

I always get a pair of fixed focus ones just for the PC as the close up area for reading etc is designed for you to look down,
whereas using them on the PC means having to tilt your head back.

When I speak of the assistants not giving the best advice, you would expect nonetheless, that the lens manufacturer would give some feedback!

I really think that you should go back, and speak to the person who produced the prescription, and have them remade in a different frame.

Like AP, I wear them all the time during the day. The reading distance is important and I demonstrate this to the optician so that she can measure the distance to the screen or book from my eyes. Also of importance if you do a lot of reading is the width of the focussed reading area. If this is narrow, as in cheaper lenses, then you have to move your head from side to side to retain good focus. I think it's worth paying the extra for a wider field of view.
I also have a pair of reading glasses for when I want to have a long reading session as using these is easier on the eye and visual cortex and prevents tiredness.

Please be aware that varifocals are a known risk for falls.

They are probably bad for your vision, as you almost certainly spend significant periods looking through the wrong part of the lens. I always feel more comfortable watching tv with my long vision specs, rather than the varifocals. Similarly with the pc/reading ones on the pc.

I haven't heard it expressed as such annie, but I can confirm that they sometimes make your head swim, if you are looking down and then up,
as you might be, having for instance, stepped off a kerb, and then looking ahead, and then down again.