[Closed] Lens prescription falls between two measurements

Unless someone on here is an optician it might be quite hard to get an answer. The axis being off by 5° is not an issue, but the combination of sphericity / cylindricity (spelling?) is a dark art as far as I can see*. Comparing against my glasses, my optician gave me contacts that were a different combination (less cyl but more sph IIRC?).

*That's a myopia joke.

Comparing against my glasses, my optician gave me contacts that were a different combination (less cyl but more sph IIRC?).

At my eye test they asked if it was for glasses or contacts. I dunno if that means anything.

edit - great Dad joke.

For sports I wouldn't worry. If it was for all day working at a screen then it might be an issue.

Well the thing is, if I go for a morning ride, I leave my lenses in. Or if I walk the dogs first thing and its raining, then I put lenses in, and keep them all day. Also six nations all day drinking sessions require lenses.
So I want it to be right.

If they're a one-off purchase your talking £15 max? Just buy a set and take the plunge? It sounds like you may have no choice. Unless you're prepared to pay ££ then you may struggle to get exactly what you need.

Contacts and glasses do have different specs for the same pair of eyes - I think its to do with the distance the corrective lens is from the eye's lens.

FWIW my eyes are one step out from each other, but for ease I use the same power contact lens in each eye. Its not perfect for close up stuff, but its perfectly good enough for general life and riding bikes. Glasses are "correct" though, which I wear most of the time.

Talk with your optician.

Talk with your optician

Absolutely this. They do it all day and have actually looked at your eyes so really should have a better insight into this than the cast of STW.

Look at how long a "is this quote for building work too much?" thread goes on and notice how every opinion more considered than "I didn't pay that for my totally incomparable works in 1908" boils down to there's no way to know without seeing it.

I'm all for asking random questions on the Internet but this is no different from second guessing your doctor's prescription based solely on the prescription.

Optician was specsavers and I regret not using an independent. I have called and they say it was a basic sight check and now I need a contact lens fit.
Why do I feel like specsavers are rolling me over?

Yes, that's quite correct - you need to have a separate test and then trial a specific brand/model of lenses to make sure you get on with them. They'll ask you to pop back in a few weeks to make sure you're getting on with them OK before issuing the prescription.

(The prescription is different between contacts and specs because of where the lens is in relation to your eye).

You're free to shop around after the initial consultation of course...

(I'm not an Optician but I work with them).

Yeah but I already use daily contacts, and I am happy with them. I just wanted a prescription as my eyes have changed since last test. 3rd call to specsavers, I am none the wiser.

There's a pattern here, with an answer - don't go anywhere near Specsavers. I'd avoid Vision Express, too, although they aren't quite as bottom feeding. Then search for an indie that you like ('cos I've met a few odd ones of those, too....), and sign up to their monthly scheme for contacts... you will pay a little more overall, but will 99% get more service, care and attention than any other way. These are your only eyes, keep them looked after!

I'm very short sighted and have a similar problem at the other end of the scale - the lenses only go up in half diopter steps after about -8; but both eyes could really use -9.75 in contacts. I'm actually using -10 in my (dominant) right eye for good distance vision, and -9.50 in the left for a bit more comfort reading etc.
(For target shooting I will use -9.5 in both, as the front sight is as far as I need to focus).
All discussed, sorted and trialled with my long standing indie optician and nothing is too much trouble for them. They even found a NOS frame for my RayBan glasses in Italy(!) when I wanted a replacement frame to go around my (very expensive Ziess) lenses 🙂

Good luck with the hunt.

(Incidentally, I attended a training lecture given by an indie optician - he loved SpecSavers, as he reckoned their advertising push made more people aware that they needed to be using an optician, but SS's actual service meant he ended up with a lot of the new customers soon enough!)

I had good results with Specsavers for 20 years, so they aren't all bad.

Thing is, this isn't an exact science. The prescription they give you is a starting point, so you try it out and see what works and what doesn't. That's why they do contact lens trials.

Different prescriptions. My lenses are .25 different to my glasses. Aiui that because your lenses are on your eyes, you glasses are an inch from your eyes

I’ve just done a trial with Specsavers. The service has been excellent.

Your question OP. I was looking at other lenses from online suppliers to see if just buying them over the counter was different price wise vs the monthly quote from Specsavers, not all lenses are available in my particular prescription. Generally the lower cost lenses had reduced availability with bigger steps between increments. You may be able to get your prescription exactly as it’s been quoted, but you may have to pay extra for it.

FWIW. I’m not going to use contacts, my prescription for distance correction means I’m unable to then see anything for reading. Something I can do easily without glasses. So I’d go from wearing glasses for driving, cinema, TV, to wearing contacts all of the time plus reading glasses whenever I need to see anything within arms reach.

The contact for my left eye is intentionally 0.5 weaker than would be ideal for distance, in order to retain better focus at the close up end. This is quite normal and was recommended by my optician. As I understand it, for any area of your vision, provided your brain can get focus from one eye and the other isn't seriously blurred, it will show you a focused picture; the blurry bit in the other eye still helps build the 3D aspect.

So I wouldn't be worried if you're forced to be a bit out. Another way to look at it is that if people needed contacts in closer steps, somebody would make them. There's no technical reason why they couldn't.

Specsavers are individually owned so experiences can vary, I'm on my 3rd branch (for convenience/parking) and the last two were better than the first.

I'd never expect a standard sight test to transfer to contact lenses though. For one, my complete prescription is different glasses v contacts. Second, when I've changed brands I've been given free samples to tweak the prescription, often you might technically be axis 100 but they don't sit perfectly straight, so if it's settling at an angle they will offset it with a different Axis.

Sph is 0.25 different, Cyl is up to 0.5 different, Axis is 13 different. You also need the back curvature and diameter of the lens which you won't get on a standard sight test.

Have you ever had a specific contact lens appointment?

I'm not on a monthly plan with Specsavers as I only wear them intermittently, I just order a box of lenses when I need them. However I got my first set of prescription cycling glasses last year and the box of lenses I have will probably last me about 18 months now, I've hardly worn them!

As above speak to the optician. They might even give you some freebie lenses to try.

Mine is happy with me ordering a box of lenses when I need them (which apart from in the summer isn’t very often)

If you have had a sight test. You need a separate test, it’s called a contact lens check. At this appointment you wear your contact lenses to the appointment so they can be checked. This is the same for all opticians in the uk, as it is part of the mandatory guidelines which they all work. No opticians in the uk can issue a contact lens prescription or supply them without an up to date contact lens check.
Specsavers will charge you £25 for the appointment, independents will charge whatever they want.
It isn’t a complicated system.

It's a bit like buying a bike.

If you understand what you want, perhaps test ridden similar and you are happy with estimating the right size, then fine, buy unseen.

If you are new to the sport, never ridden a bike before then I'd highly recommend going to a trustworthy store and getting a demo. They'll typically even let you take it home for a few days.

Optician was specsavers and I regret not using an independent.

Specsavers are all independents working under a brand, a bit like Premier corner shops. I've never had an issue with my Specsavers branches (I use three as they're all busy) and they have been very good when I went from glasses to contacts for riding. They can get a few different types of lense to suit your prescription and the free trials are great for figuring things out. I have one brand in my left eye and another in my right to get the fit perfect, works really well. Even though I can get the one brand cheaper online I never do as I don't use huge amounts of them and they're not always in stock everywhere either.