Expensive glasses woes

[Mr Larrington]

I got my last pair of specs from Bromptons in Clapham High St.  They may or may not still have a branch in High Street Ken as well.  Luvverly lightweight Ti which could bend enough to accomodate my gigantic bonce.

[peliroja]

Chocolatebike - to answer your question, I manage because I have worn specs since I was 6 and don't really know anything different. I don't get on with contacts at all well (get very dry eyes), so I don't have much choice.

That's tough Peli.
I've also worn specs since I was very young- 8 I think- but I was lucky enough that I got on with lenses and I started wearing them when I was 16. Been wearing them ever since but I keep the time that I wear them down.
Have you tried lenses recently ?
The technology has moved on an awful lot and it might be that there is something that you get on with now.

Good luck.

Thanks. I have tried lenses recently - the daily extra moist sort, I forget the name. They still dry out within about 3-4 hours and become unwearable. The optician says I just have naturally very dry eyes. At about 3pm every day I have an eye watering fit when they decide they've had enough and need irrigating. It's very irritating!

[peliroja]

Thanks everyone else for the recommendations.

I like my optician at D&A and that's the main reason I go there, but buying specs from them is a nightmare.

[Zipperhead]

At about 3pm every day I have an eye watering fit when they decide they've had enough and need irrigating. It's very irritating!

That's just because you realise how long it's been since you last saw Wooly.

[Sergeant Pluck]

I can recommend Wheeler and Kirk in Southfields. Not too far from you, they carry a good range and there's decent bicycle parking (well, if you go when one of us it at home!)

Are you on a bonus? 

I found W & K very professional and thorough - a "proper" optometrist.

[peliroja]

At about 3pm every day I have an eye watering fit when they decide they've had enough and need irrigating. It's very irritating!

That's just because you realise how long it's been since you last saw Wooly.

Well, it is true that I hardly ever see the boy, except for fleeting glances in the evenings and mornings. 

[peliroja]

I've just asked our HR dept if I can claim anything back (over the standard eye test reimbursement and £60 towards specs) towards this cost, given that using a computer has made my eyesight worse.

If you don't ask...

[ian]

Thanks. I have tried lenses recently - the daily extra moist sort, I forget the name. They still dry out within about 3-4 hours and become unwearable. The optician says I just have naturally very dry eyes. At about 3pm every day I have an eye watering fit when they decide they've had enough and need irrigating. It's very irritating!

I'd avoid the daily lenses - they're a convenience, but I always had problems with long usage. I have dry eyes and the monthly ones have been much better. I usually carry some of the comfort eyedrops - you can get little single-use ampoules - they're useful for dry eyes.

[Jezza]

Same problem here - I can't wear contacts for more than 3 or 4 hours due to my eyes drying out. I've tried monthlies, dailies, drops and everything else. Resigned to being a four-eyes for life now.

[peliroja]

Same here, Jezza. I've tried them all, plus eyedrops, and I can't wear them for long at all. I don't mind wearing glasses. I've got over the speccy4eyes taunts now. Just.

[rafletcher]

... given that using a computer has made my eyesight worse.

Is that what your optometrist is saying? I've always thought that whilst using screens can lead to eyestrain (like reading in low light) it didn't cause pemanent damage to the eyes. I also though that changes in vision like increases in short / long sightedness were due to a change in the shape of the eye?

TBH I think anywhere will charge quite a lot for the lenses you want unfortunately. It's much more difficult to get high levels of correction into thin lenses - and like any "special" the costs escalat accordingly. And if in later years like me you need varifocals with astigmatic correction and myopic correction it just gets worse 

[peliroja]

Yes, that's exactly what the optometrist said. "Using a computer has made you more short-sighted. Try to look into the distance every ten minutes."

I've never been tempted by laser surgery, so I think thicker and thicker jam jars it will have to be!

[peliroja]

By chance I nipped into Boots Opticians in Putney today, and as they were having a sale and looked to have a good range of frames, I called Woolly down after his training to have a look. I'm as blind as bat, so can't appreciate what frames look like when I'm trying them on. 

After quite a while we found a frame that Woolly thought suited me, this one, in black and silver, costing £99.99. So many frames are just not suitable for me due to my incredibly strong prescription. They have to be size 50 or less, which discounts a lot of them.

The lady in the shop was actually very helpful, and quoted me a grand total including lenses of £272. Until I noticed that she'd put in the wrong price for the frame (£22 instead of £99.99) and I stupidly pointed it out. "You should have kept quiet!" she exclaimed. Bugger.  I am too honest. New total price £349.99.

She did then offer me 10% off, so £314 final price. Having searched online I can't find this frame much cheaper than the discounted price she offered me, or the lenses (the thinnest available) cheaper than her offer of £215, so I think I'll will plump for these, after much umming and ahhing and perhaps a trip back wearing contacts so I can see what they look like.

[peliroja]

This is a conversation with myself, but might be useful for future searchers on this topic. https://www.glassesuk.co.uk seem to offer the 1.74 lenses for the cost of basic lenses (seems to vary from about £25 to about £40) plus £120 = total of £145 - £160. Which is still less than the price I've been offered from various high street shops of £250 - £300.

I've emailed Glasses UK to see if they can glaze a frame I send them with their 1.74 lenses for that price. Fingers crossed!

[Bledlow]

Is that what your optometrist is saying? I've always thought that whilst using screens can lead to eyestrain (like reading in low light) it didn't cause pemanent damage to the eyes. I also though that changes in vision like increases in short / long sightedness were due to a change in the shape of the eye?

I can see how long periods focusing at a single distance might lead to a reduction in of ability to vary focus. You're not re-focusing, not using your eye muscles. It happened to my shoulder after a period (much of last year) in which its movement was restricted, necessitating physiotherapy to recover lost movement. after the cause of the original restriction was removed Why not eyes?

[FyPuNK]

Sorry to be a little late on this thread, I am an Optician (iindependent) and may offer some advice about your lenses, with your prescription please bear in mind the centre thickness will about 1.8mm, this will be the same on most refractive index's, so what will this mean to you? Well, simply the more you cut into the lens (smaller frame) the less of a thickness reduction you will see in the lens itself in the frame, I see it a lot here and use more often or not the 1.67 option which we sell for £100.68 and you will probably find the thickness reduction between that and say a 1.74 lens £203 around a millimeter or so in a smallish frame, so you can make your own mind up, our patients can see the difference as we have a frame scanner that will give a 3d model as well thickness at any given point in the lens before they choose and hand over your hard earned money.

[rachel t]

I know I am a little late responding, I have used zennioptical.com on about 6 occassions in the last time & order about 35 pairs of glasses for myself and friends we have been all very happy with the glasses, this included 3 pairs of varifocals.  For your prescription the cost is about start from usd 45 approx £30, for their thinnest lens, without the thinned lens they cost from usd 8. They also do prescription sports glasses from usd 39 approx £26, which my dad got last year and thinks are great for when he is out on the bike.

zennis manufacturing base is in Hong Kong so they send direct, they only charge usd9 £6 for postage for however many pairs my biggest order was 11 pairs. Delivery is not the quickest my orders have taken anything from 2 to 4 weeks to arrive.

[peliroja]

Thanks FyPuNK and thomtera for your advice and suggestions.

I've just got back from a second opinion eyetest with the same optician but with a different optometrist as I wasn't 100% sure that my eyes had deteriorated so much. I had a very thorough eye examination by the resident optician, who said she couldn't find much difference between my eyes now and my 2007 prescription! Just a slight change (improvement) in my astigmatism.

How on earth did each optometrist get such a different result? The second one was far more thorough, and took more time. Both took place at the same time of day.

[hellymedic]

I am no expert. In the dim and distant past, I read that distortion is proportional to the cube of the power of the lens.
Getting lenses perfectly centred (looking through the optical axis) is critical when both testing eyes and supplying spectacles. (You can easily test this yourself by wiggling you specs around.) It is possible the other optometris had not centred the lenses properly.
I would be very wary about this if tempted to purchase glasses online but I'm equally wary of getting trousers and shoes online...

[peliroja]

I think you're spot on, Hellymedic. The first time she plonked the test specs on me with no care. The second time she (different lady) took about 5 minutes making sure they were centred. 

[Somnolent]

I used to like Dollond & Aitchison - 2 years ago I got some very nice glasses (with a 1.74 lense as I have strong myopia & astigmatism like the OP) for just over £300.   The frames they found for me really suited me - made me look 10 years younger according to some - and vain bugger that I am, that's definitely worth £300!

This year - I hated Dollond & Aitchison.  The lady who tested my eyes (whilst very thorough) talked down to me as if I'd never worn glasses or had an eye test before.  I asked for my PD measurement so I could order sunglasses from Optilabs - they wanted to charge £20 for the information - even though I was planning to buy my everyday glasses from them.
The selection of frames wasn't as good - and when I found something acceptable it was going to be over £400.
I finally got the PD without paying by quoting the Data Protection Act at them (suggestion from Optilabs)   
I hope for their sakes that when they merge with Boots Opticians they all get a thorough kick up the backside...

I looked at all the online options suggested here but a little wary of them as per Hellymedic although I buy a lot of other stuff online.

Finally ended up at Specsavers - found a much better frame (only £275 with the thin lenses), and free pair of sunglasses - they even had a wrap around style suitable for cycling, normally impossible with high prescription like mine.  If only their adverts were not so annoying !

[bikenerd]

Finally ended up at Specsavers - found a much better frame (only £275 with the thin lenses), and free pair of sunglasses - they even had a wrap around style suitable for cycling, normally impossible with high prescription like mine.  If only their adverts were not so annoying !

Could you tell me which model these are, or just the brand, please?  I'll be getting new specs soon and want my 2nd pair to be a pair of sporty glasses with transitions lenses.  Ta!

[Somnolent]

I think the brand is Osiris....I will confirm when I get them.

[Somnolent]

Yes - Osiris it is.

[hbunnet]

The distance between the pupils is trivially easy to measure, using a ruler and a mirror even easier using a helper. It is just the diatance between the pupils in mm.

I have successfully ordered & used specs from Optilabs & glasses direct.  If you poke around on their websites there is something there about measuring the PD.

I now find visiting an optician to be a two stage process. 

1) Professional treatment by the optometrist
2) Banal crap from the daft bint who tries to push expensive frames on you.  IMHO is is the  aforsaid daft bint who measures the PD using a MK1 ruler.