Didn't go to Specsavers..

[Scrumpy]

I was at the opticians yesterday.. My vision has remained the same for a few years now but, I struggle sometimes ...
 I buy two pair of glasses .. distance and reading..  I am not a fan of Bifocals or Lenses..
 My bill came to over 500.. I didn't mind because the (rebate) from gas/electric covered it..
What a surprise to be offered .. Interest free credit over two years.. which covered loss.. damage.. PLUS 20% off each pair of specs..
 They were encouraging customers to buy more than one pair of specs..
  My rebate from gas/electric is untouched..
Should anyone be interested Vision Express offered this..

[klondike]

They all offer different deals. I think the idea is to confuse.

Mention of the two big names reminded me of the adverts which without watching TV I no longer see even if they are still running. What amused me was following Specsavers entertaining and genuinely funny adverts Vision Express came up with
                 "Vision taken seriously"

This was my favourite

[Diasi]

Lol. My favourite as well. 

August 16, 2023, 04:34:00 PM
I went to a local optician as they were the only ones that supplied Ziess DriveSafe lenses & they cost £550.

[Michael Rolls]

Phil
Is that for a single pair? My most recent purchase - just over a year ago, two pairs of readers, two pairs of bifocals, all reactors, cost £703 from Vision Express - and I thought that was a lot

[Diasi]

Phil
Is that for a single pair? My most recent purchase - just over a year ago, two pairs of readers, two pairs of bifocals, all reactors, cost £703 from Vision Express - and I thought that was a lot

One pair of Zeiss DriveSafe varifocals.

The lenses are ultra thin & the specs only weigh 20 grams as the frames are very thin Japanese Titanium.

Really light & comfortable with no nose dints & night driving into oncoming HID or LED headlights is a doddle.

[GrannyMac]

I loved that advert too! 😃😃🤓

[Michael Rolls]

so did Veronica and I

[JBR]

I'm due to go to the optician in October, and I believe that after three years my prescription has changed so I shall be in the market for a new pair of glasses.

In the meantime, I popped in to have a look at what sort of frames are on offer. 
I like my current frameless glasses, so had a look at what is available along the same lines.

Apparently, the 'frames' on offer range between £200 and £300, depending on the name of the manufacturer.  On top of that, the Zeiss varifocal lenses will come to another £250 to £350.  I'm not paying five or six hundred pounds for a pair of glasses!  😮😮😮

After we'd left, Marge mentioned that a friend of hers, who also has frameless glasses, usually avoids buying frames and instead has her glasses 're-glazed'.  That would save a lot of money, so I'm going to do the same.

Thinking about it, I cannot see how a pair of 'frames' - for frameless glasses - can possibly amount to £200 - £300!
I know of a company which supplies replacement parts for glasses, and looked on their web site.
A metal bridge would cost around £8, and a pair of metal arms around £9, including all fittings.

So I can choose to have my glasses re-glazed for £250 and keep the existing bridge and arms.  Even if these metal components should break subsequently, I can in effect replace the entire frame (I can change the screws myself) for £17!
That's quite a reduction on the £200 to £300 to pay the optician to provide new frames!

I could also keep the old lenses as spares, pay £17 for bridge and arms, and have a spare pair of varifocal glasses for a few pennies!

[Sheila]

Paul is very pleased with his two pairs of readers from Glasses Direct.  £77 for both!

[Diasi]

After we'd left, Marge mentioned that a friend of hers, who also has frameless glasses, usually avoids buying frames and instead has her glasses 're-glazed'.  That would save a lot of money, so I'm going to do the same.

My optician said that the Titanium frames would last for years & that many of his clients had them re-glazed, so that will be an option.

However, I had my eyes tested in 2001 & I was using the same specs until 2022 when I had them tested again.

My eyesight had hardly changed & I only went to the optician because the lenses were badly scratched which caused severe light scatter when driving at night, but of course I had to have an eyesight test & my new specs have made a very marginal improvement to my close-up vision.

I still regularly use my now 22-yr-old specs in situations where there's a danger of the lenses being damaged.

I won't have another eyesight test while ever the lenses in my new specs are in good condition.

As I have said previously, the main bonus of my specs is the ability to be able to drive at night at up to 60 mph, on our dark country roads & lanes, towards oncoming traffic & not have to look away & not be dazzled.

[Scrumpy]

My eyesight has changed little over the years.. The lens were getting a bit scratchy.. I plonk them on the top of my head.. 
 Changing the frames is like having a new haircut or buying a new frock..

[klondike]

I won't have another eyesight test while ever the lenses in my new specs are in good condition.

There is a reason that the NHS offers a free eye test for the over 60s. The test incorporates more than just how well the eyes focus it is an eye health test - https://www.wheelingeyecare.com/7-serious-health-issues-an-eye-exam-can-detect/

Having a test, imo anyway, makes more sense than risking going blind or some other problem because it wasn't detected. There is no compulsion to buy new glasses.

August 17, 2023, 09:15:39 AM

The lens were getting a bit scratchy.. I plonk them on the top of my head..

Best to avoid wooden surfaces 

[Diasi]

There is a reason that the NHS offers a free eye test for the over 60s. The test incorporates more than just how well the eyes focus it is an eye health test - https://www.wheelingeyecare.com/7-serious-health-issues-an-eye-exam-can-detect/

I didn't have a free eyesight test, I paid for it privately.

That way I wasn't required to divulge my NHS number, the name of my GP etc. & I told him I didn't want to know anything other than what prescription I needed.

[klondike]

It's still the reason the NHS provide them free to over 60s. 

[JBR]

There is a reason that the NHS offers a free eye test for the over 60s. The test incorporates more than just how well the eyes focus it is an eye health test - https://www.wheelingeyecare.com/7-serious-health-issues-an-eye-exam-can-detect/

Having a test, imo anyway, makes more sense than risking going blind or some other problem because it wasn't detected. There is no compulsion to buy new glasses.

Very true.
Back in October last year, having gone to my optician, I also asked for an OCT scan (£20) which demonstrates the condition of the retina.  According to the optician there appeared to be what could be macular oedema.
I am aware that that condition can deteriorate quite quickly to complete blindness if not treated.  My mother-in-law has lost most of her sight for that same reason.
He sent an urgent referral to the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital.

Having heard nothing for over a week, I telephoned the MREH and was told, eventually, that the referral was being 'triaged'.

Still nothing heard after several more weeks, regarding this URGENT referral, I paid to see a specialist (who works at that hospital) privately.  The good news was that it was not macular oedema, but a schisis, far less serious.  He asked me, if I had not been called to the MREH in six months, to come back and see him again.

Still nothing heard from the hospital, so I have made an official complaint.