Every year a couple of weeks after my birthday I notice my vision getting a little fuzzier. I could delay no longer and did the deed and booked an eye appointment. I wear glasses, but over the last few years struggled with a 'progressive' lense and could never find the sweet spot in the lense, driving was always miserable with them, reading impossible, so it seems I am in the small percentage of people who can't wear them.
This leaves me with little options, I now have a prescription for distance and reading = 2 pairs of glasses. I have never tried contacts bit am seriously considering this, the quirky thing would be that one lense would be for reading & the other for distance. Not sure what this will be like for riding or if it is going to completely mess up my eyeballs, but I am not going to rush into this yet. I contemplated laser surgery, but that is not in the budget right now.
I also needed to save some money because as most spectacle wearers know it is very expensive nowadays to get glasses. I decided not to get them from my optician because for the 3 pairs I needed (reading, distance & sunglasses) it was going to cost well over $1600 and change - YIKES!
I decided to give Costco a try and so far I am pretty happy with my new specs. I am waiting for the sunglasses to arrive I bought retro Rayban wayfarer style glasses. So here is the amazing part for 3 pairs of specs it was $384 all in, quite the difference from $1600. I am happy with the lense quality and frame choices.
15 comments:
Losing your eyesight sucks. Especially when you have to wear two different glasses.
Funny though that you mention the price difference. I needed reading glasses as per doctor's conclusion, and the glasses I had been offered by the optician was at 680 bucks. At Cosco 80 quid.
I went to an eye doctor in Germany, and he concluded: You don't need glasses at all... made me think about the business...
Sonja - I know exactly what you are saying. I just don't get the huge prices they charge on lenses. My stupid progressives actually cost me $900 (Not including frames!!!) and I was never able to get used to them. I went back time after time and was told to persevere and by the time I was so frustrated and their 90 day guarantee of getting used to the glasses was over and it didn't matter that I had been back to them numerous times in that period and they did absolutely nothing. This made me gun shy and I have never recommended that particular optical store or optician again. I personally think it is somewhat of a racket. I had excellent service at Costco and was very happy with all the help I received. Unfortunately I do need the glasses and it makes a huge difference when I am riding and I don't have any eye strain. I am still thinking about the contacts and may give them a try because it may uncomplicate things a lot.
Dar:
I have progressives and at work I have to wear a weaker pair or I have to move farther back from the computer screen. I don't think I ever want to wear contacts, I am squeamish when it comes to putting things into my eyes. I also am experiencing "less vision" lately.
Mrs Skoot used to be an Optician so we go to a place where they "make" the lenses and they give us a discount. This is a place where they both used to work together many years ago.
Never thought of going to Costco+ , perhaps next time
OH, BTW . . . the glasses are making you look a whole lot smarter
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
I tried the progressive and gave up on then. Now, I just have "regular" trifocals with the obvious lines. Much easier to deal with as you can see the boundaries and pick the right one to minimize the eyestrain.
We still don't have a Costco yet but I'd try them.
Bob - I hope you didn't think I was slamming opticians :) I am sure Mrs. Skoot was an excellent optician. You are very lucky that you have the connection to a good dispensing place.
Thanks I feel smarter in them. I love these frames, I was wanting some retro funky looking ones.
All of our eyes decline over time due to aging. I don't wear glasses but am just at the cusp where I probably should. I'm holding off the inevitable for as long as I can.
BTW, you're awfully cute!
Richard - I thought about the bifocal/trifocal thing, but then decided with my adverse progressive reaction that I would just be better off doing distance glasses for riding. There is nothing scarier in the world than feeling off when riding and not seeing properly. Friends of mine swear by Clearly Contacts for frames and lenses. I know it is not the personal service, but it may just work for you.
Ally - Thank you! Stave off the eyeglass thing for as long as you can!!! Those funky glasses were the more conservative ones that I was looking at, I actually had a set in my hands that were a little more pointy and had some rhinestone bling on the edges, but then I thought they were too Dame Edna-ish and felt a little bit more sedate would be a better call. I am glad I went with them.
Dar you can pay a bundle for them at Costco too ... the digital lenses are a bit better (though much pricier), but I am like you I cannot get used to them. Bifocals actually make me feel "car sick" to wear. I'm lucky and don't need them for distance, just for close up (like the GPS when riding - so I might not accurately interpret how fast I'm going or the name of the upcoming street. Luckily Dan talks to me, I can still hear - a bit :o)
I keep drug store readers all over the place, so there's usually a pair close by when I need them.
Don't feel nervous over the contacts. I had a friend that had the surgery due to a cataract and major lense problems. They made one eye near and one far, so that brain is excellent at interpreting everything. Might want to take to the optician about it though as it may affect depth perception. Give one pair a try and just see how you like them.
Karen you are lucky you can get by with readers! I wish it was that easy for me. I can still comfortably read so I am in no hurry to rush out for readers. It was more distance for me.
BeemerGirl I will seriously consider this, I am really concerned about the depth perception thing and kind of nervous about it affecting my balance on the bike.
I'm in the short-sighted club and have worn glasses since my early teens.
Recently they've become a real pain when doing slow adventure riding in cold/wet conditions - fog city! I looked at the laser option but I'm still unsure about it so trialled some contacts last week.
On Thursday I should be getting my first set of "dailies" with the idea that I'll mainly use them for riding and still wear glasses at least occasionally. It's not cheap but I really hope it's gonna work out for me.
May have to post how I get on...
Looking good!
Having worked in the optical industry I can attest to how many people cannot wear progressives. At least you didn't fall down the steps leaving the building or off a sidewalk or walk into any walls like some of the patients.
My brother tried them too and he now wears bifocals.
I'm laughing a bit at Trobairitz's comment. As a kid, I had to wear bifocals. Every time I got a new pair, I would fall off the curb on the way out of the building.
Luckily for me, I don't need those any more.
Even with the cost, I suspect I would also personally prefer the two pairs of glasses over getting a pair of bifocals again. I'm clumsy enough without having odd lenses tripping me up! ;)
yes, the price of lenses whether contacts or glasses can be ridiculous depending on where you get them. Chris and I waited until we were making a trip to the states to get ours. We did the exam and everything at the same time. I have found that because I have allergies and I have somewhat dry eyes, that I cannot successfully wear contacts unless I am riding. I think it might be because I have on riding glasses and a full face sheild down to keep the wind off my eyes. Other than that, they just burn my eyes and irritate them.
The lenses that I had were weird in that the top was for distance and the bottom was for reading. I didn't even know they made lenses like that! Problem was the "mid-range" view was blurry....:-(. I couldn't really see right across the room!, but I could see very well down the street or up close.
You look very "professional" in your new peepers....:-). I hope you find something that works for you and doesn't freak you out when you are riding. That sucks....:-(
Dar those glasses look really good on you.
I adjusted pretty quickly to the multifocals but having only worn glasses for reading for so long I sometimes just dont feel like it. I wear contacts at times but they do dry my eyes out a lot and foudn when I was wearing them all the time I ended up with very irritated eyes .. now I just wear them when I'm having a big day out riding .. so much more comfy than glasses then.
I hear you about the cost but have been bitten with the 'cheaper' company, buying cheaper glasses then being hit hard on the lenses without any kind of warning .. then I had two pairs of glasses I couldn't wear as one pair hurt my nose and they wouldn't fix it without extra cost and the other pair were just the wrong lens .. I gave up and went to back to my regular shop.
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