Just had my eyes retested today after getting new glasses last week because they weren't correct.

I found out that my glasses were 2 degrees of rotation off correct and that was causing my headaches and sea sickness whilst wearing them.

You mean, the lenses were literally 2 degrees rotated in the frames? Were they round lenses, or were they ground incorrectly?

I think I can understand the effect - it would skew the world in the wrong direction every time you moved your head, which would lead to a disorientated effect where you eyes don't agree with your inner ear. A bit like being dizzy.

It's good you took them back. I'm not sure I'd have thought of it!

The lenses were made to the prescription but the prescription was wrong.

When the optician found my prescription today she turned a little dial between what it is in my new glasses and what it should be and the difference (2 degrees rotation) was enormous.

You are right about the effect though. I have very strong astigmatism. Imagine a hall of mirrors in which a mirror stretches everything top to bottom. If the angle was off slightly then everything would be stretched on a diagonal. That's what the glasses are doing to my vision but only very slightly.

Unfortunately I have to put up with them until I pick up the new ones.

Has anyone ever bought glasses on-line?

Obviously you need to get an accurate prescription from a professional optician first, but some of the on-line prices are just numbing compared to the high street. I'm considering getting a second pair. Obviously, I'll need to "fit" them myself, but I think I can manage to bend them to shape. If not, my ex used to do such things professionally - although given the manic grin she usually has when saying "eye goo!" that will be a last resort.

Tbh I've always used Specsavers. I buy from the 'designer' range and get a free pair of sunglasses. Its cheap enough and there's a shop on the highstreet if anything goes wrong.

I have bought a spare pair from Select Specs and they are absolutely fine. They only cost £8.50 delivered including lenses and various coatings.

Even though they were shipped from Hong Kong and took several weeks to arrive, they are certainly as good as glasses from the high street.

Peter.

I tend to go to Dolland & Aitchison who seem to have done a good job with my eyes so far. I have three pairs of glasses now - ones for reading, ones for general use and a pair of prescription sun glasses. I’m not in the mood for varifocals, nor am I in the frame of mind for bifocals. I’d rather swap glasses around than have odd zones of focal changes.

My sister buys hers from Glasses on Spec and is always pleased with them. Most online suppliers ask for your pupillary distance (the space between your pupils!) which normally isn't included on your prescription unless you ask specifically.

I'm after a spare pair to leave in my car, so I'm going to try them out too. I went into SpecSavers last weekend to ask for my pupillary distance and they supplied it no questions asked as I had bought my glasses from them in February. I just explained that I wanted a cheap pair and they had no problem giving me those details.

Glasses on Spec have a nifty little way of "trying" the glasses on, just upload a picture of yourself and select the frames you're interested in. Of course, it's purely an indication, but useful all the same.

The only problem is that you don’t feel how the glasses are. I have a sensitive nose, and I have to be sure that glasses don’t agitate a nerve, so online glasses aren’t really something I could do.

Thanks to being very short sighted with astigmatism, there's no such thing as a cheap pair specs, as far as I'm concerned. Unless I want to peering through bottle bottoms. Certainly the free pair offers never work out the right way.

Specsavers mis-sold me varifocals To be fair they gave me new 'computer' lenses but I had to use an old pair of frames to put them on. The hassle I had with Specsavers means I'll never shop there again - they seemed hell-bent against helping sort the situation out that was their bad guidance in the first place. My colleague at Trading Standards is currently on the case

So, 'tis now time for new specs and, like you Paul, I need a pair for distance, a pair for reading and a pair for the puter. I think I'd much rather have the 3 pairs but should I opt for sunglasses on the distance ones as well????

Al

I've always dealt with Specsavers and never had a problem. I moved to contacts earlier in the year and the service is excellent. I've just recently found out that you can buy contact lenses in Hong Kong, just over the counter without a prescription (as long as you know what it is) so I'm considering asking one of the girls in our Hong Kong office to buy me a years supply (about HK$400 or £40) and post them over. I have glasses as a back-up which I got free when I joined the lensmail programme.

I don't need glasses.
I'm not afflicted with that disability.
(8+)

Mark

Ditto. With eyesight as bad as mine glasses are very expensive and I make a pair last until they fall to bits. The glasses I'm wearing now are over 20 years old (and Coke Bottle thick) so it's a good job my eyesight hasn't declined noticeably from when I was at school! I've been wearing contact lenses for many years now and found them very convenient once I got used to them.

Let's hope it stays that way. The disability is hard to cope with, after all. (8+P