It's amazing how quickly your eyes get used to stuff like this. A few years ago I got me some glasses after having worn nothing but contacts for 20 years. They were those new fangled super-thin lenses. However they have barrel distortion like crazy around the sides, as well as some very noticeable chromatic aberration. The overall effect if I looked anywhere but straight ahead was that I seemed to be in some kind of strong LSD trip. Every time I had to look down or to the side I felt like I was going to fall over. I actually felt like they were a threat to my safety when crossing the road etc and so I took them back. The optician just said relax and give them a couple of days. A couple of days later everything looked perfectly normal and I didn't notice any of the weirdness at all. 

Thanks, ol' pal. I got these at Costco, $220 with tax. I thought that was a pretty good deal, as I was expecting it to be $400+. I'll definitely check out zenni.com.
 
My eyes have always been over-sensitive to bright light (see my avatar). So I got the auto-darken option. Still deciding whether that was a good choice. They don't get dark enough to not need sunglasses when driving, but I'm hoping they'll help with stage lighting. I think it looks cheesy to wear sunglasses on stage, although I've long been tempted to because I am blinded by stage lights. On the bright side, I never know whether there's an audience out there or not.

I play piano better when I tune the audience out. I think you will get used to your glasses, and learn over time to appreciate the quirky limitations they will impose upon you.
 
For close-up work (berry picking as an example) I take 'em off, fold them and hang them off of the neck of my t-shirt. Or drop them down to the end of your nose. Both very fashionable to be sure. All the kids are doing it.
 

 
cheers and good luck!
-Tom

yorolpal
Once your prescription is right...I highly recommend www.zenni.com 
They have some of the best frames and lenses at really incredible prices.  All made in China...natch...but all done extremely well.  As an example I paid over $400 smackers for my frames and lenses at my Eye doctor's shop...all top notch (RayBan Clubmasters with Progressive no line Transitional lenses...the ones that darken in the sun).  Basically the same at Zenni would be about $100 bucks.  I actually had no backup glasses at all until my buddy hipped me to Zenni.  Check em out if you're in the market for some new specs or just need a backup pair.  
 

I am going to have to check this out Ol' Pal.  I just paid close to $700 for a pair of top of the line glasses from Lens Crafters.  I could use a back up, set.  

I have been wearing progressive lenses for the last 10 years.  The first pair that I got, 10 years ago, I had many of the same issues that you are having Dave.  I went for a very narrow pair of the no frame style glasses.  I discovered pretty quickly that there just wasn't enough room for the "progressive" part to do its transitional, thing.  I now, 10 years later, have probably gone through 5 different pair of glasses, each time with them getting better and better.  I am now wearing a large pair of "Clapton-like" plastics that have pretty good height to the lenses.  I went for the best lenses and optics that I could get.  The "sweet spot" on this pair, are very wide and full range.  They are excellent.  
 
It still takes a little while to get used to them, however.  It took at least a week for my eyes to fully adjust from a pair that were very similar, to the new pair.  You do have to learn to move your head, other than just your eyes.  The part that still bothers me the most about Progressive Lenses, is having to tilt my head back to view the computer screen.  I have had to adjust my monitors to be as low as the stands will allow and slightly tilted back to get a more usable angle.  Other than that, my vision is excellent and I almost forget that I am wearing them from time to time.   
 

bitflipper
I think it looks cheesy to wear sunglasses on stage, although I've long been tempted to because I am blinded by stage lights. On the bright side, I never know whether there's an audience out there or not.

Keyboard players and saxophone blow monkeys are completely allowed to wear shades on stage Dave. 

I tried them once, but after sitting behind a W shaped keyboard controller, shifting stairs, the dash of my car float around the bottom edge of my vision, all giving me an over whelming feeling of being about to puke, I gave up.  I now have three pairs of specs, Normal, Reading and studio.

Have any of you ever tried to simply fix your eyes yourself?  They are muscles that need to be exercised and glasses are actually detrimental (your eyes get lazy and start to rely on them making them even worse).  Both of my parents required glasses at an early age but I had read about ways to strengthen your eyes and tried that instead.  Besides some simple exercises you can do, I also have glasses with pin holes in them that force you to really focus to see through them making your eyes stronger.  Between all of this I still have 20/10 vision when I'm not tired (and I'm in my 50's now!).  Too much staring at my monitor (something I've done since monitors first came out) and reading those extremely fine prints in tech. books can make my eyes tired and blurry, so I'll sometimes wear a set of cheap reading glasses if I have to continue (very rare) but, even there, a little break and a couple of exercises helps a lot.
 
Just sayin'!!!
 

 
This girl has the right idea.  Not exactly sure where the number 36 comes from, but I've used all of these exercises before.  The first one feels great on your eyes when they're stressed and tired (when I was taught it originally we always used to say "Ahhhhhhhh..." while covering our eyes - heh).  Give them a try, you should be able to tell that they can't hurt ya.
 
I also have a little rectangular eye covering (made by a friend's wife) that's soft fabric filled with little beads and softly scented with lavender.  Lay back and put it over your eyes for a few minutes and they work magic.

bitflipperSounds like I need more than one pair of glasses. One for watching TV. One for playing piano. One for walking down stairs and walking in general. One for the computer. One for driving. I haven't tried soldering yet but I suspect that will be a challenge, too.
 
But for everything else, these new glasses will do just fine. Important activities such as listening to music in the dark will not be impacted.

All of this is why I use three pairs of glasses. And sometimes no pair is ideal or the optimum pair isn't with me. I'm 55 and got to age 47 without needing glasses and I found the transition to using glasses pretty difficult and frustrating. Sometimes it still is.

Age related focal shift isn't always negative though. At age 46ish my wife found she can read without glasses for the first time since she was six.

craigb
Have any of you ever tried to simply fix your eyes yourself?  They are muscles that need to be exercised and glasses are actually detrimental (your eyes get lazy and start to rely on them making them even worse).  

I wish that I would have tried that when I was 46 when just started needing glasses.  I wore none at all until I was 46.  My distance is still really good and I do not require glasses to drive.  What I can't see is the dash board.  Pretty much everything within 20 feet of me is now blurry.  For me, I simply would not be able to function or do my job with out some sort of glasses.  Going glasses full time was much easier than constantly putting them on and taking them off.  
 
Next, I have to deal with some hearing loss.