Be Excellent To Each Other

Interestingly, last time I went to specsavers, the woman was very nice and helpful and non-twattish. She said I should go for something that looks pretty much just like what I already had on right off the bat. Clearly this means that I wear the best glasses ever.

Well I found it interesting.

I know at least some Vision Express branches are franchised, possibly the same with Spec Savers, which could explain the difference in treatment. They're all pretty much the same, aren't they? I started using Vision Express because I knew one of the top guys in our local branch - I'd let him use my staff discount at Gamestation and in return I got free contacts, massively reduced price glasses and once a free pair of Police prescription sunglasses! Sadly we both moved on (or not, considering I now earn approaching twice as much as those fuckers paid), but I still use that company because I'm too lazy to try anywhere else!

Fuck 'em, they're only bees.

When I switched opticians one time and didn't have a prescription, they had some device or other that I stared into for a few seconds and that attempted to get my prescription. It wasn't entirely spot-on, but it was close. I suspect the eye-zap places have super-duper versions of that.

I do really like it though when they look at the back of your eye with the torch and in the most soothing way possible say "look uuuup. Look doooown. Look leeeeeft. And loook riiiiiiight."

I've gone to Specsavers the last 3 times I've had glasses and I can't fault them. A cynic would say the testing is like being on a conveyor belt but I see it as being efficient & timesaving.

The only thing I would say is to bear in mind the price on the frames will be for the frames & lenses, but then they'll add on extras like coatings and lense thinning (if you're blind as a bat like me). For example I got 2 pairs for £125 but it ended up costing £215 by the time they'd added on the extras. The specs I've got this time are designer (Red or Dead and Jasper Conran) because I decided it was worth paying the extra because they're something I'll be wearing every day and are probably the most instantly noticable (sp?) thing I wear.

Contact lenses haven't worked for me. I tried and tried on the run up to my wedding but just couldn't get the damned things in my eyes. I got in such a tizz because "brides don't wear glasses" (anyone who followed me on Twitter during that period will remember the angst!). I like wearing glasses now, I'm embracing the geek chic!
that

I've been leaving my glasses off for lengthier periods at a time to the point it feels weird when I put them back on again.

I hate wearing them because I have self esteem issues enough without worrying about having the stigma of glasses as well. I wish you could get knocked out completely for laser eye surgery.

No one even notices your glasses when you're as stunning as you.

@Ange... and Russ. :x

I think you suit glasses though, in fact, I think you'd look quite strange without them!

I'd like to give contacts a go, but I doubt I ever will, as my eyes are absurdly hayfever-y and prodding about with them every day would be unwise. Plus with my brain-hate and all, I'd end up falling asleep with them on probably at least once a week, which I'm told is Very Bad.

Shame really. It would be quite weird not having to wear them all the time.

Also, Ange, Jasmine is right. You do look quite strange.

I hate wearing glasses too. I'm on daily contacts now, so I can wear the specs at work when I don't care, and then I can actually look half-presentable maybe once a week.

Seriously thinking about going laser. People try talking me out of it (you might go blind!), but then when I told people about my holiday before I went, all they could say was 'don't get robbed!'. I need to speak to new people.

Surely laser surgery has been around for long enough now that we'd know if people's eyeballs turned into coal after five years.

Actually on topic: go indie. Work should give you vouchers to make eye tests free. Spend on quality frames. If you're anything like me, you'll be wearing them pretty much every day for years, so you'd be best off investing in a really good frame.

I can't remember exactly how much my last glasses cost, but it was a fair bit over £200 (probably nearer £300) with the frames, lenses and anti-glare and anti-scratch coating put on. I've had them over three years now, so I figure that was a fairly worthwhile investment!

I've had mine for 3 and a half years and spent about a third of that. Clearly I'm best.

Being durable is the only thing worth spending money on, I find - mine get dropped and sat on and all sorts more often than I care to admit, so they need to be tough.

I'd rather have some that cost a bit less and I can change them more often, I'd get really sick of seeing the same frames for three years straight.

I have daily disposables too, sometimes specs just aren't practical. Too lazy to deal with normal contacts though.

I had my Occi Health apt yesterday, they agree with the optician and are gonna give me £85 towards getting glasses. Sweet! So, I'm gonna go to VisionExpress/SpecSavers in the Arndale in Manchester tomorrow morning to try on tons of specs to see which I like.

Question about Anti-Glare Coating:

I've read online lots of people saying it isn't necessary for PC use as it was made for use with CRT monitors, and now LCD/TFTs don't require them. Is anti-glare useful for day-to-day use? I've heard it scratches easily? A friend told me that anti-glare is only worth getting if you have a strong prescription since these lenses refract the light a lot. My prescription is only about 0.50. Any thoughts?

I'm quite looking forward to buying my glasses, I've always liked specs, even since I was a kid. I remember when I was young and had an eye test, I was gutted when they said my eyes were fine and I didn't need any

Dunno so much abotu low prescriptions. Mine is 6.something, as I have spaccy eyes (been wearing glasses since I was 4 or 5). I know that I need all the anti-glare and scratch stuff, and also the thinnest possible lenses, else I look like more of a fool than normal.

Strangely, since I play footy in contact lenses, my friends in that group get weirded out when I wear glasses, despite me wearing them 99% of the time when not doing sports (or sleeping).

I don't find the anti-glare stuff much use for the things you stare at, where glare is at a minimum anyway; it's annoying bits of light to your sides that it has the greatest effect on, and stops them catching your eye so much.

I have glasses because the optician told me I have to wear them so my eyeballs can breathe or something. Apparently, wearing contact lenses for more than 15hrs a day is bad....The blood vessels grow to compensate for lack of oxygen getting through and they can obscure your vision or make you blind or your head fall off.

Obviously, I took his advice and bought 2 pairs of glasses. That I rarely wear Maybe at the weekend of I'm not going out but if I put my face on, I put my eyes in. That's just how it is.

I'm too scared for laser surgery They can slice any other part of me up, I'm not bothered, I like watching if it's an option, but my eyeballs....*Brrrrrr* No thanks.

When I had my eye laser surgery, I got to watch too!
Your eyes are supposed to black out during the procedure, but one of mine didn't...

Well, I'm definitely not doing it now.

I look sexy and smart in glasses... but it has been 2 years so I should get the old eyes checked..

I had my eyes tested last weekend as I've been getting headaches and eyestrain (which is unusual for me, even though I'm at a screen for at least 12 hours a day, every day) and sure enough, I need new glasses. I couldn't be arsed to pick any out there and then though.. I'll just go back again.

I've already had detached retinas fixed in both eyes so I can't remember if that rules me out for laser surgery. I think I'll stick with specs anyway.

Q: When they laser, they lift a flap on your eye, right? How do they seal it afterwards?

blu tack

No idea, I think it just seals itself after a few days.

I had stitches in mine (for the detached retinas, rather than for corrective reasons). I then had to go back and have them removed - just a case of looking up while he plucks the bottom ones out and down so he could get at the top ones.

The same way that your leg would seal itself if the same thing was done to your leg.

Malc

Even just the thought of laser eye surgery makes me physically sick.

Eep. It's way more gross when it's your eye.

Personally, I would always, always go for anti-glare coating on my glasses. I still have the one pair I got without it at home and I hate wearing them. Lens flare is for videogames, not real life.

I've had glasses since I was 8, got priced up for laser eye surgery because of :medicalstuff: but I got the impression I was being bullshitted as he was going on about being "borderline" and "the surgeon may decide on the day not to do it". Given that it's a non-refundable deposit they can fuck off.

One good thing that came out of it was the very accurate eye test that they did that proved my theory that my current glasses are far too strong. Annoyingly I went to a upmarket non-chain opticians for them, went to specsavers today with the old wrong prescription and their tests showed me the laser place was right. Going to get fitted for daily disposable contacts next week.

/eye blog

*vomits* Nope, that's me sticking with glasses then!

I have my glasses... please tell me this will get better... been wearing them for two days, my eyes ache and everything is less clear. Everything I've read online says this is normal and my eyes will relax to work with the prescription. The frames look nice, but atm wearing them feels horrible

I got two pairs a couple of years ago, one for reading, the other for PC work. The readers were great as soon as I put them on, but I found that the PC ones were always out of focus at the bottom corners. I persevered with them for a few days, then took them back. I was advised that I'd get used to them, but I never did. However, I certainly never found that my eyes ached with them.

I do normally have to go through a period of adjustment when my prescription changes, so I can only imagine what it must be like for you wearing glasses for the first time ever. I would certainly give it a few days, but if things don't change, go back to the optician. Certainly you should be finding that they improve your vision, not make it worse!

Take them off. Double check that you have the right prescription, sounds like they are too strong. The noticable difference should be immediate and not like this at all.

My laser eye treatment had a stupendous effect on my vision, my prescription was -2.5 (or 20/400 I think?) and I ended up at 20/10.

Now (just under four years later) my eyes are getting worse again (prescription is now -0.5) - I wear glasses for night driving and for going out places at night where I actually need to see (night vision was always less perfect after the treatment, but it's really pronounced now) and I'm tempted to get them re-lasered under Ultralase's "Lifetime Care Guarantee."

The treatment I had was the most expensive option possible (my parents paid for it, yay) and I experienced no pain whatsoever either during or after the surgery, just some discomfort during when they do something to the pressure in your eyes which makes it feel like they're being forced into your skull.

I'd definitely recommend it if you have dodgy eyesight.

If you are set on glasses though, don't pay high street prices. Get your prescription from the eye test and go to a place like Glasses Direct and buy them online.

Just got two funky pares of glasses from them for £60 - I picked sunglasses for the second free pair.

Staying at a friend's atm, he's had glasses since he was little and has a -9.00 prescription now! Obviously he's had loads of eye tests and after we tried some simple tests on my eyes/glasses he reckons i've got the wrong prescription too. I wore my glasses all yesterday (day 4) and it still made my eyesight worse and made my eyes really ache. I also tried on another friends glasses who has a mild short sighted prescription (which is what I think I need) and they were def better than my glasses, if a little too strong?!!

I'm gonna go to a different opticians on tues I think and get them retested.

No, go back to the same opticians and get them to check it - if they've given you the wrong prescription, surely it should be up to them to sort it out for you? You don't want to end up paying for someone else's fuck up.

Yeah, I thought that first, but I really don't like him or his attitude. I just need to make him do the test until I'm happy, instead of fobbing me off with a quick 5 min test like last time. I had no idea what to expect first time, but this time I'm more clued up.

Specsavers do eye tests for £20, I had my eyes re-tested there and they found that I was a -6.50 on both eyes (as I was the time before last) where as my current perscription is -7.75.

update, glasses direct e-mailed me to say that one of the pairs I ordered on May 26 at 6pm have been dispatched, other pair is perscription sunglasses and they are sending them seperatly later.

edit: others were sent 4 hours later.

Updated again. They both turned up today, I'm very impressed. I went for full plastic framed on both of them so didn't bother with getting thin lenses, comparing them with the specsavers frames I was looking at last week I would say they are in their £100 price range. The normal glasses are fine but I am very impressed with the sunglasses considering it was a free option. I will certainly be using them again.

I picked out some new glasses in Specsavers on Monday as my prescription has changed slightly. They won't be ready till next Tuesday though... slackers.

I also realised that each of their styles have names. The ones I currently have are 'Randolph' (as a friend pointed out, it sounds like a name more suited to a monocle) and I'll be switching to 'Marcus'.

The temptation to PhotoShop...

Just been to get these. Considering I've been wearing specs for years, these feel decidedly odd. Maybe my prescription has changed more than I expected. I do think I need to cut back on my work at monitors though - I'm using dual-screen at work and home now, which probably isn't healthy.