Buying eyeglasses (part III)

[frayne]

FWIW, I received my glasses from Zenni Optical yesterday and could not believe the quality, fit and how good I could see with them. I went the single vision route (cheap) just to see how they would come out. A whole $33.50 and now I am going to get a little more sophisticated and order some line less bifocals. Also they (and I have to chuckle a bit) included a measuring device for getting a PD reading. Evidently, must be a bigger issue than I previously thought with the local optical stores.

The exact same glasses purchased locally would have been in the $200 range and my wife was skeptical about going this route but now is a believer.

 

[Nova]

If you order progressive lenses, I'd like to know how that works out. I'm thinking that my new glasses will cost about $1,000...from Sams Club. That was the approximate cost for my last pair a couple of years ago. They are Nikon frameless progressive lenses.

 

[frayne]

If you order progressive lenses, I'd like to know how that works out. I'm thinking that my new glasses will cost about $1,000...from Sams Club. That was the approximate cost for my last pair a couple of years ago. They are Nikon frameless progressive lenses.

Just ordered another two pair, one progressive, and I'll let you know how they work out, usually takes about two weeks from the time of ordering until I get them. BTW both pair together were less than $200.

 

[Buckeye]

I really wish my local Costco did frameless.

I got a nice pair of frames and progressive lenses with all the bells and whistles (Transitions, anti-glare, etc) for $210 with a $30 coupon a few months ago.

I think getting the most expensive designer frames would have added another $100-$120.

 

[Katsmeow]

Reading this is a reminder of how glad I am to have made the decision 15 years ago to have LASIK. I used to have terrible vision (extremely myopic). After LASIK I still see 20/20. Of course, I need reading glasses but since I'm not nearsightedness any longer I just buy the drugstore readers. I get angst if I have to pay more than $15 for a pair....

 

[walkinwood]

Reading this is a reminder of how glad I am to have made the decision 15 years ago to have LASIK. I used to have terrible vision (extremely myopic). After LASIK I still see 20/20. Of course, I need reading glasses but since I'm not nearsightedness any longer I just buy the drugstore readers. I get angst if I have to pay more than $15 for a pair....

What does Lasik cost? Do insurance companies cover it? Tx.

 

[Allondra]

It sounds like Zenni is a great place for eyeglasses wearers. None of my prescription glasses are less than $100. I had my eyes checked recently, and my prescription is higher (-6.00/-7.00), so it’s time to get a new pair of glasses. Do they offer such high prescription glasses?

 

[REWahoo]

Do they offer such high prescription glasses?

Yes.

 

[harley]

Reading this is a reminder of how glad I am to have made the decision 15 years ago to have LASIK. I used to have terrible vision (extremely myopic). After LASIK I still see 20/20. Of course, I need reading glasses but since I'm not nearsightedness any longer I just buy the drugstore readers. I get angst if I have to pay more than $15 for a pair....

I've been fighting with this issue for 15 years. I'm pretty nearsighted, so Lasik would work perfectly for me. However, I read a lot, really a whole lot, so I'd want to go the route of getting one eye under corrected for reading. But from what I understand after a few years I'd end up with reading glasses anyway. So I figure I'll be wearing glasses 50% of the day one way or another. Thus, so far I've decided to go with the option of not shooting lasers into my eyeballs. I figure not paying for the Lasik will cover a number of years of glasses, especially since my vision is stable (if crappy) and I don't have to get new glasses but every 4 or 5 years.

 

[TromboneAl]

The reports of the rare LASIK surgery problems would scare me away.

 

[Marita40]

Keep in mind that eyes are constantly changing and that you still may need glasses down the road after Lasik. I was glasses-free for 5 years after Lasik, but now--12 years later--need bifocals. Was it worth the 5 years of freedom from glasses? Maybe.

 

[Katsmeow]

But from what I understand after a few years I'd end up with reading glasses anyway. So I figure I'll be wearing glasses 50% of the day one way or another.

This probably varies depending on how nearsighted you are. Yes, I wear reading glasses a lot. But there is no comparison to needing to wear reading glasses to read (and by now use the computer) and being severely nearsighted. Before I had LASIK I was so nearsighted I had to wear glasses to do anything, even go to the bathroom during the night. I hated that I basically couldn't swim. My vision was so bad I could swim without lenses. I even bought prescription goggles but they gave me a headache. If there had been an emergency and I needed to drive or do anything and couldn't find glasses I would have been up a creek.

Now, for someone mildly nearsighted those things wouldn't make a difference. But for me there is nothing in my life that I have medically done that was discretionary that had such a huge, huge difference in quality of life.

TromboneAl -- I am extremely risk averse and I was very, very worried about surgical complications. I mitigated risk by doing two things. One I didn't select the surgeon on price. I found the very best surgeon I could find. Specifically I found the surgeon that is known as the surgeon to surgeons. That is, he had an incredible track record for doing LASIK on other surgeons. He had done far and away more LASIK surgeries on other surgeons than any other surgeons. He wasn't the cheapest and he didn't advertise on TV or radio but he was the one that physicians I talked to said would do or had done the surgery on them or their family.

The second thing I did - which most people told me was ridiculous - was do my eyes separately. I did one eye, waited until I had good vision in it, then went back and did the other eye.

 

[frayne]

Having worn glasses since third grade I guess I am just kind of used to them. I am nearsighted and wear them primarily for driving, sports and TV. I have had two close friends that had the eye procedure done, don't remember if it was RK or Lasik but both swore they wouldn't have done it again due to complications with dry eyes and some other issues and they both still needed glasses in the end anyways. Other friends who had it done raved about how much better they could see and had no problems. Guess the bottom line is, your mileage may vary !

 

[grasshopper]

I have been wearing bifocals for 10 years, but even so when I read I take off my glasses. So the last pair of sunglasses my wonderful US trained Mexican Optometrist made me single vision sunglasses and left off the astigmatism aspect of the lens. Now I see better and my eyes don't get tired while driving here in the big sky, no horizon country.

 

[Katsmeow]

I was glasses-free for 5 years after Lasik, but now--12 years later--need bifocals. Was it worth the 5 years of freedom from glasses? Maybe.

I think this varies by person and how nearsighted you were before surgery. I was very nearsighted and my cost for glasses as a nearsighted person was high. Bifocals were even worse.

15 years later after LASIK all I need are drugstore readers. I've more than made up the cost of the surgery just in saved glasses costs. Of course, for me the quality of life improvements have been more important. But, of course, I realize that isn't true for everyone.

 

[TromboneAl]

TromboneAl -- I am extremely risk averse and I was very, very worried about surgical complications. I mitigated risk by doing two things. One I didn't select the surgeon on price. I found the very best surgeon I could find. Specifically I found the surgeon that is known as the surgeon to surgeons. That is, he had an incredible track record for doing LASIK on other surgeons. He had done far and away more LASIK surgeries on other surgeons than any other surgeons. He wasn't the cheapest and he didn't advertise on TV or radio but he was the one that physicians I talked to said would do or had done the surgery on them or their family.

The second thing I did - which most people told me was ridiculous - was do my eyes separately. I did one eye, waited until I had good vision in it, then went back and did the other eye.

Yes, I can understand that. I never looked into in, because I'm blind in one eye, so option 2 wasn't on the table.

BTW, I've often said that the disadvantages of being nearsighted are greater than the disadvantages of having only one eye.

Maybe you can answer this: when I see news articles on botched surgery, they usually show halos, or visual disturbances that would be pretty annoying. How would having surgery on one eye at a time solve that problem, unless you decided to wear a patch over the problematic eye.

 

[Moemg]

I went to be evaluated for Lasix but was turned down due to small cataracts that I had developed . Six years later I had Cataract surgery with monovision implants . I have had absolutely no problems . Several of my friends that had Lasix surgery and later needed Cataract surgery seemed to have a high degree of complications . Plus they still needed glasses while I am glasses free .

 

[Katsmeow]

Maybe you can answer this: when I see news articles on botched surgery, they usually show halos, or visual disturbances that would be pretty annoying. How would having surgery on one eye at a time solve that problem, unless you decided to wear a patch over the problematic eye.

I wasn't worried about botched surgery given the surgeon that I had. What I was guarding against was some catastrophic event that couldn't be predicted. If so I only wanted it to happen to one eye.