Trying to find good source for replacement lenses for my old eyeglass frames....

Hi,
My most recent experience with the opthalmologist I had been with for
several years has made me realize that I need to move on. In
September I spent over $300 on some Fendi frames for my new
prescription. It was only that cheap because my vision insurance paid
the rest. However, I have transition lenses and the frame I got was
just horrible for that prescription, and for what I need to do most of
the time, which is read and work at a computer. I am a librarian so
eyes are big in my work! I got neck strain trying to read with those
glasses and this fact does not seem to interest
she-who-does-the-fitting in the least.

The Fendi frames are very fragile and I have broken them twice...never
had this happen with other glasses..I am not that hard on things, but
these things break with very little provocation. Maybe I am breaking
them accidently on purpose because I hate them!

For some reason, the person at the doc's office who does the fittings,
and who is tall and large, got me in a weak moment and just insisted
that "we need to get you out of those frames". I guess they offended
her sense of what was fashionable. But I LIKE them and am kicking
myself for paying her any attention.

My old frames are larger, but they worked and work fine! It is my own
fault for giving in (I am usually not so passive), but I really don't
want to have to arm wrestle with people who are supposed to be helping
me to get what I want. The actual reading area of those glasses is so
narrow (laterally, maybe short is a better word), that she recommended
that I just hold my head up high. I am supposed to do this all the
time?

Sorry for the whining!

Anyway, I won't get insurance-subsidized eyeglasses for another year
and a half so now I am going to have to get some lenses I can use and
pay for them entirely out of my own pocket. I want to use my old
frames, which I am wearing now, with the prescription from 2 years ago
since I have given up on those Fendis. I also want transitions and
progressives. I am so tired of having to change glasses when I go
outside. I live in San Diego so the sun is an issue almost every day
of the year. I liked the transitions (which the Fendis did have), and
progressives. Now if I can just get both features in one pair of
eyeglasses without having to pay an arm and a leg, by which I mean the
$300+ I had to pay just a few months ago!

I am exploring buying something online. I just want things
straightforward with the hype (like what I got in connection with
those Fendi's).

Questions:

Does anyone know anything about the lense replacement programs at
39dollarglasses.com (website name notwithstanding, they charge $187.90
to $226.90 for that combo of Transitions/Progressives, depending on
which brand you choose). They offer VisionEase Outlook Tegra
Transitions Progressive Lenses at $187.90, or Varilux Polycarbonate
Transitions Progressives, at $226.90. Does this pricing seem
reasonable? What about these brands: are they about the same, or is
there a real difference (other than price)? I have seen a lot of
positive comments about Varilux, but nothing yet about VisionEase.

Another company, Eyeglass Lens Replacement (www.8004glasses.com) has
some Thin Transitions for $75 and Progressives (Varilux comfort or
Carl Zeiss, which both seem to cost the same, at $90. So that combo
would be $165 unless I added Anti-reflective coating (which I don't
seem to have needed on my old glasses), which is $50, or just scratch
and ultra-violet protective coatings for $25, which I would want, for
sure.

The more I read about the many choices, the more confused I get.

For what it is worth, here is my current prescription.

Sphere Cylinder Axis
Distance O.D. or R +50 -25 100
O.S. or L +50 -50 080
Reading O.D. or R P.D. Measurement
O.S. or L +200

I imagine that the P.D. measurement they'll be able to get from the
old frames, which fit fine.

I worry a little when I see a disclaimer (on some sites) about them
not being responsible if they damage my old frames. My old frames are
metal, so I don't think they would be that easy to break. But I don't
want to be tricked into having to buy new frames, either. I have two
pairs of these frames. The original pair I had tinted into sunglasses
which is what I'll be using for the replacement.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

DAF

 

I am sorry, I got halfway through and decided that I cannot finish reading
your long winded post without some sort of financial compensation.

 

Advice? Never fill a progressive rx online. Never fill a progressive
without a monocular PD measurement being taken (if they don't know
what that is, or say you don't need it, walk out). Until insurance
kicks in, maybe get a cheap frame in single vision w/ Optx stick-on
readers. Read this forum. Ask question of fewer than 5000 lines.

 

My advice- don't. Mail orders may be okay for replacement contact lenses
but it's a different story for spectacle lenses and frames. The company needs
a pd and seg hgt measurements (the company can get the oc- optical center
but not the pd from current lenses) and I think you're just asking for trouble
to go this route. Plus, unless you match the progressive lens design you currently
have, you may be in for a big shock with adaptation. What happens if you can't
see out of them (lens flaw, rx not within ansi standards, etc)??

You're much better off finding an actual on-site optical store where you have access
to a knowledgeable optician in case a problem does crop up.

frank