Contemplating spare glasses

[redbird]

A couple of people I know have reported good results recently with ordering eyeglasses cheaply online. I'm tempted to get either a spare pair of the progressives; a pair of distance-only prescription sunglasses; or even both. The only thing is, their lenses are all polycarbonate. I had trouble with glasses a couple of years ago, which the optician suggested might have been because of the material. "Might" because it was also a different prescription. At that time, I went back to the other kind of plastic, and I made a point of ordering that for the pair I had made a month ago.

Any thoughts or advice--based on optics, materials science, neurology, or personal experience--on the topic are welcome. Here's what I posted two years ago, two posts a couple of weeks apart:

The optician--not an apprentice this time--adjusted both the earpieces and the nose pads, and it seems better, though I do keep reaching to slide them back a fraction of a millimeter. She also measured the previous glasses, and compared them, to try to figure out why I've been having some headache and eyestrain.
It turns out that the new prescription is stronger in both eyes for the astigmatism, but has lessdistance correction in the right eye than the previous. The right eye is where I'd been noticing strain. The plan is to wear these for a week or so--not switching back to the previous prescription--and see if that does the job. If it doesn't, I can get the lenses remade in the same plastic as the previous set; the new ones are polycarbonate, which is lighter, but it seems that any change can cause difficulties for the eyes and brain.

I'm returning my new eyeglasses, and having them remade in the plastic of my previous lenses, and without the self-darkening coating, for three reasons:

1. I'm still not quite adjusted to them, and the optician suggested that the problem might be the change to polycarbonate.


2. The darkened lenses let in enough light to cause eyestrain, because itgets in past the edges of the glasses. They also aren't entirely clear indoors, though the shading is subtle.


3. I cannot get them to stay clean for more than about five minutes, whether I use soap and water, the special cleaning stuff the optician sold me, or just my shirttail.

This means going back to the old, heavy glasses for at least a week, but it needs doing. I'd probably be returning them even if it were only that self-darkening lenses don't work for me, but I might have kept the polycarbonate if so.

These wouldn't be my only glasses--except in the sense that if I have a spare pair, and I lose or badly damage the main ones, I would use them instead of going back to the previous prescription while waiting for a new pair to be made.

Comments

[timprov.livejournal.com]

I cannot get them to stay clean for more than about five minutes, whether I use soap and water, the special cleaning stuff the optician sold me, or just my shirttail.

It's possible to have glasses without having this problem?

Typically whenever I get a new prescription I have two to three weeks of significant eyestrain before I adjust, and the new online pairs from December were no exception. Contributing to this might be that each of my last four or so changes has included a significant reduction in lens area, and thus more adjusting to having out-of-focus peripheral vision.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Mine have been polycarbonate for a while now and I haven't had trouble with them, but I've never had darkening glasses. In fact, I need new glasses and have an appointment with the optometrist next Thursday and assuming she says I should have new glasses now and not the cataract surgery first (last May the ophthalmologist said I'd need them out this year and I don't know if the blurry is just a big vision change or the cataracts), I'm going to get them from Zenni (http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php). Getting glasses like the ones I have now, but with the new prescription, would be about $72 and I paid $435 for these (and that was with Kaiser paying for one lens) in December 2006. I figure with that much difference, I can risk $36 (if you return them within four weeks, you get 50% refund).

[timprov.livejournal.com]

I used Zenni and am quite happy with them, FWIW.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

Another happy customer! Yeah, I've heard a lot of people say that, which is why I'm going to try them for the next glasses, considering that the monetary risk is pretty small.

[wild-patience.livejournal.com]

I love my polycarbonate lenses. I was so happy when they were approved for safety glasses for work, too, because they're so much more comfortable than the old plastic.

I was thinking of getting the self-darkening lenses but decided against it after talking to the optician. She said that they won't get dark inside the car or if you're wearing a hat -- and I'm always wearing a hat when I would want sunglasses so that wouldn't work for me.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Have you ever tried polycarbonate lenses that were not self-darkening? The self-darkening coating is very much more likely to cause a bad reaction than the plastic itself (both chemically and optically.) Though if the glasses fit well, and the coating is properly cured, you should not react to it chemically at all.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

You do not have a chemical problem with polycarbonate lenses. Your sunglasses are polycarbonate.

[redbird]

Thanks for confirming that, love. And I wasn't having any of what I think of as allergic reactions, like itching, with the polycarbonate lenses on my prescription glasses.

Based on discussion so far, I think I'm going to try this--no self-darkening, either prescription sunglasses that are dark all the time, or untinted.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

You are at least the third person from my flist to write about buying glasses today. Odd. Must be optometry season.

I need new ones myself but have been postponing the search for an English-speaking optometrist from pure laziness. I don't particularly like darkening lenses, because I want them perfectly clear when they're not darkenin on purpose and they don't seem to do that. I don't normally need sunglasses with glasses, only with contact lenses, but in Arizona it was bright enough that sunglasses were more comfortable, so I finally broke down and bought a pair of Fitovers (www.fitovers.com). They're much less goofy looking than the old kind of over-the-glasses shields, but not quite as comfortable as I'd hoped.

For me the biggest eyestrain issue has been when I've had overly large lenses (which with my current prescription just means normal-sized, not tiny) that give me too much distortion.

[bibliofile.livejournal.com]

Oh, those Fitovers seem good. I'll have to check them out this summer.

re: Optometry season
For my insurance, the coverage periods run with the calendar year, as do the benefits. Could be a factor.