Its time for me to get new glasses and I’m wondering about the different kinds of progressive lenses. My Rx is high, about a -6.00 so I need thin lenses. This Rx makes it hard to get bigger frames because the lens thickens as it gets towards the edges. I have a vision plan but it doesn’t pay much towards the progressives lens. I’m wondering about the different types of progressive lenses. Is there really much difference? I feel like the ones I have aren’t great, but the optician at my eye doctor says they are good ones. I think part of the problem is that my frame is not tall enough.
I’m thinking of trying lenscrafters to see how their selection is, but I’ve never used them with a vision plan. I’m thinking that they may have more selection than my doctors office, but not sure if their pricing is the same or how the quality/accuracy of the lens is. We have United Healthcare Vision which I think might be the same as Spectera. Next year we get a new one called EyeMed which means I can get another pair without waiting a whole year. I’ll probably do contacts with one plan and glasses with the other. I also have to figure out if the current plan or the new one will give me the best deal on glasses. I won’t have the plan details until Nov 9 when enrollment starts. The company tells us when enrollment starts but doesn’t let us preview the plans until the open dates. I want to know now, as they are changing everything! (med, dental, vision)
I usually wear contacts but I want good glasses in case I run into problems with my contacts as I am getting older. I like to read in the bathtub and watch TV in bed or lying on the sofa. So far I have found having dedicated reading glasses to work best when reading.
I wear progressives–rimless–and I just got a new pair from Zenni online. They’re great, and with all of the bells and whistles they cost less than $90. My previous progressives have been from Lenscrafters: about $400-500.
Use Zenni. I can’t wear progressive lenses and have a strong prescription, but in one eye only. I need two pair-one for driving, one for reading. The eye doc’s shop told me I would need to pay upwards of $300 PER PAIR and of course my insurance paid nothing close to that. I found Zenni, and all the pairs I’ve bought since then haven’t totaled what those people wanted for ONE pair. They are so affordable that if I lose a pair or get bored with them, I just order another pair. As consolation says, even the progressives are affordable, though I can get away without those for under $20, depending on the pair.
I had a couple of pairs of progressives rom a national chain and I hated them. Then I went to a local optician with my reading glasses and he used my existing frames that I love ( SEE Eyewear ) and set me up with progressives. He told me some of the discount chains use cheaper lenses and the quality isn’t that great…it actually made a big difference for me and now I can comfortably use my glasses for everything.
My daughter got her latest glasses and also prescription sunglasses from Warby Parker. I really like their frames and prices are surprisingly good
I go to Lenscrafters Optometrists and get my prescription there - they are in-network, so that’s free. I have needed progressive glasses for several years and have gotten the prescriptions filled at Lenscrafters, Costco and BJ’s. They were much less expensive at Costco and BJ’s. The reason I went most recently to BJ’s is that they were having a sale and they are much closer to me than Costco. I really like my current glasses - they have a wider mid-range made for people like me that spend a lot of time on the computer and reading. I got the modern larger size lenses.
I got my first and only pair of progressives from Lens Crafters. I couldn’t get used to them, took them back once for some adjustments, but still couldn’t get used to them. They now sit in my desk drawer unused. I am not blaming Lens Crafters. Maybe I am just not a good candidate for progressives. Maybe I should have taken them back a 2nd (or 3rd) time. Maybe I should have tried harder. People say they take some getting used to. My point is, this was an expensive ($450) mistake. I get all my glasses from Zenni. I have a few $20 mistakes, but I also have many pairs of $20 - $30 glasses that I love!