# Help with eyeglasses prescription (readers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 8, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-eyeglasses-prescription-readers/994301 "2023-12-08T15:13:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2023, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-eyeglasses-prescription-readers/994301/1 "2023-12-08T15:13:50Z")
I have an Optometrist’s prescription (written) and have used it to order glasses from EyeBuyDirect. These worked perfectly for distance, but now I need readers for close up vision, and the notation is confusing. The actual values are: OD: Sphere: +150. Cylinder: -025. Axis: 180. OS: Sphere: (?\*). Cylinder: -175. Axis: 072. \*Indecipherable doctor-scrawl. Technician thinks it means “zero”. Below the Sphere/Cylinder/Axis table are the following lines: “Add: +225. Add for PAL: +225.” “Add is OPTIONAL” There are also check boxes for Full Field OK and NVO OK (neither are checked). Is the “Add:” value the amount of change needed for my near vision? If my Sphere value is +150, then my near vision Sphere value would be 375? What is the “Add for PAL” field for? It has the same value as the Add field. Thanks for any and all help. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2023, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-eyeglasses-prescription-readers/994301/2 "2023-12-08T16:08:21Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Is the “Add:” value the amount of change needed for my near vision? > If my Sphere value is +150, then my near vision Sphere value would be 375? > What is the “Add for PAL” field for? It has the same value as the Add field. Pretty sure your first two questions are “yes”. Third question, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2023, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-eyeglasses-prescription-readers/994301/3 "2023-12-08T17:32:00Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > What is the “Add for PAL” field for? It has the same value as the Add field. I believe this is used when the ADD for progressive lenses is different than bifocals. In other words, in your case the value would be the same for progressives and bifocals. Both instances are referring to the bottom portion of mulit-focal lenses. mmm ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2023, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-eyeglasses-prescription-readers/994301/4 "2023-12-08T17:46:25Z")
Yep. Yep. PAL = Progressive Addition Lenses (as opposed to old-school bifocals/trifocals). ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-eyeglasses-prescription-readers/994301/5 "2023-12-10T19:51:41Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > OD: Sphere: +150. Cylinder: -025. Axis: 180. > OS: Sphere: (?\*). Cylinder: -175. Axis: 072. I think you’re missing some decimal points. The magnitude of the sphere and cylinder values is in the single digits, not hundreds. E.g., 1.50 or 0.25, not 150 or 025. Axis is indeed from 1 to 180. I’d guess the “indecipherable doctor-scrawl” is “plano,” which comes from Latin for “flat.” It means you have no sphere correction in the left eye. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-eyeglasses-prescription-readers/994301/6 "2023-12-10T20:42:24Z")
IANAO but I don’t understand why there are cylinder and axis values if the spherical correction is zero (or plano). If that eye needs no correction, why does it need cyl and axis readings? ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-eyeglasses-prescription-readers/994301/7 "2023-12-10T20:48:42Z")
Cylinder and axis are for astigmatism correction and are independent of the sphere value. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2023, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-eyeglasses-prescription-readers/994301/8 "2023-12-11T17:42:31Z")
Thanks everyone for the replies and clarification(s). I ordered a set of “cheaters” (reading correction) that fit over my single focus glasses like clip-on sunshades. They work fantastic, and now the other values/astigmatism are corrected when I read or “tablet”. ← that needs to be a verb, imo. I’ve ordered a pair of bifocals as well, using the values above. Unlike the previous pair, 24 hr turnaround isn’t possible so I’ll have to wait a week or two for those. The end result of all this will be: 1. An everyday pair of eyeglasses with bifocals for short-term reading (instructions, price tags in stores, etc.) and long distance focus for driving. 2. 3 sets of clip-on readers that correct the entire lens for longer term computing and reading, which allows me to sit head-level without tipping upward to engage the bifocal area. (one at the computer desk, one at my lounge chair near the TV, and one in the car’s glove box). 3. A backup set of single-focus (distance) eyeglasses in the glove box also, just in case. The grand total for all this, including the optometrist visit was: $264.00. Quite a bargain considering the normal cost of optometrist + frames/lenses often exceeds this even for a single pair of glasses.