Claire - time to find a new optometrist (or at least buy your glasses somewhere else)
And - for the record - yes - you do need a certain size lens with progressives, but - it is smaller all the time.
I have a small Levi's frame that is very chic and fun with my progressives. It is OK to take your prescription and get a second or third opinion!
You always want to walk out with a copy of your prescription - regardless - because - who knows - you might need to get new glasses while vacationing, or ???
I wonder if my exerience is typical or atypical? Do optometrists generally give you your prescription and say go find them wherever. I really got the impression at this office that the thing to do was buy them there. Maybe I just needed to be aware that I have other options. I will certainly be inquiring at my appt. Wed.
All of this is good to know... thanks again, gals!
They would like you to buy them there, for profit reasons. But it is nothing out of the ordinary to ask for a prescription. If you feel uncomfortable, you could always say you need to save up for few weeks. And regardless of where you buy your glasses or contacts, you should have your prescription anyway, so that you can replace them easily even if you're not in town. This is especially true for contacts, as often an optometrist's office in any city will have your prescription in stock.
Your Rx is your property, you can get it filled wherever you want.
Talk to your OD about contacts. Multi-focal or mono-vision contacts are ok, but not the same clarity as glasses in both distance and near.
I am a huge proponent of educating patients. I'll honestly tell you the pros and cons of different progressive designs, lens materials, frames, lens treatments, whatever.
If a pt wants to get thier glasses online, from walmart or from a crackerjack box, that's their business, as long as they are educated and understand exactly what they are getting and what to expect. Every type of optican from boutiques to walmart has it's place in the industry.
Any optician worth his/her salt will be honest with the patient, with more stress on pt education than selling them something they don't need.. Any decent office will have no issue with giving you your script, if they don't offer it first.
I've worn glasses forever! Cant do the contacts any longer and have just 'graduated' to bi-focals. I have my expensive ($600) glasses from optomotrist (wouldnt trust anyone else to do these) but probably have about 8 pairs single vision from Zenni. Love them because they are so cheap, and if bored you can change your 'wardrobe' often. Word to the wise though on sunglasses - my first pair was the darkest black they offer - hate them (but at -$30 complete, who cares). Too hard to focus when driving. My next pair was 1 step down in coloring - LOVE them!
Optical Goddess - Great point. About 15yrs ago I had a pair of Serrangetti's (Sp?) and even though the lenses were great, the metal frames were awful. The reflection on my face was horrible. I always joke that I'm going to pull a michael jackson - when my nose falls off after all the sunburns I've experienced! Wont be a joke when that happens!! I now only wear plastic or rimless. I also own a pair of photograys (I think they're called something else these days. Where the lens changes from light to dark). I like those when I'm walking in the evening - start out in the sun, get home at dusk.
I hate buying shoes, clothes, purses, makeup...but I love glasses. I have metal, zyl ( plastic ), rimless, semi-rimless.
Plastics can be sweet if they fit properly. If they don't fit well through the bridge of the nose, they're not going to. We cannot adjust the molded nose pieces on a plastic frame.
Photogreys usually reffer to glass photochromic lenses. Transitions or Life Rx are plastic photochromic lenses. I have a pair for out and about, walking stuff like that.
There's a type of sunlens out now that changes 3 different shades based on the lighting situation you're in. They also change behind the windshield which normal transitions/photochromics don't do. They're also polarized.
Unfortunately, polarized lenses cannot be totally clear to work, and transitions wont' work when driving. If they were made to darken behind the wheel when driving, they'd end up changing all the time, indoors and out
I believe optometrists and ophthalmologists are required by law to give you a copy of your prescription. You can take it ANYWHERE to be filled. You can get discount frames for a lot less money--they are usually "last year's" fashion, but with glasses it's hard to tell the difference.
The one thing that is concerning me about my glasses is my vision after working at the computer for an hour. My eyes cross. They don't do it with my contacts. Also, my contacts are set with 1 for distance and 1 near. I've complained about my eyes crossing with 2 different doctors but they neither one addressed it. I guess I'll have to be a bit more firm next year when I go back.
Great to see the thread is still going... I'm learning!
Optical - it's great to have your input here. Would you mind helping a clueless soul with a couple of things? First, what's an OD? And optometrist vs. opthamologist... what's the difference? I know I should know that! Finally, are you an eye doc? What kind?
Ok, today I did a little research. 39dollars.com was sounding like a really sweet deal, but they don't do progressive lenses. The Zenni site looks pretty cool, but then I came across some controversies on the Clark Howard website. He recommends them, but some folks are steamed that they are being cranked out in China, taking away jobs from Americans. I hate to think about an impoverished child making my cheap glasses (not that that is necessarily the case) I've got to think about how I feel about that before I order.
Then, there are my concerns that somehow my lenses won't come out right, and I don't think any online site would take returns. I had never heard of a PD until today. I kept coming across it in my reading, and it appears to be a problem sometimes with ordering accurately online. I sure know I can't measure my own accurately, but I assume that will be part of my prescription tomorrow.
About just getting the lenses changed... While I don't need new frames, I would like to have new ones, mainly because I am just tired of the ones I have.
I have decided to be frank with my doc tomorrow. I'm going to let her know that I'm not flush with money (this is true, as my husband and I are both working extra to pay off some debt that is weighing down on us), and $375 was a real surprise. I'm going to let her know that I'm considering ordering online or maybe from WalMart and let her know that I still may take the option of ordering from her if I need to. Perhaps she will give me some advice, but if not, at least I will be up front with her.
I wish I didn't have to get the darned progressive lenses. It seems it would be easier if I just had one lens to deal with. Ah, well...
