r/AskAnOptician

Hello,

I’m looking for a new pair of glasses and have visited several opticians for advice.

One optician recommended Essilor E-Series progressive lenses, while another advised against them and instead recommended Essilor Comfort Max or Essilor Physio 3.0, saying they would provide the best visual comfort.

Does anyone have experience with these lenses or have any recommendations?

For reference, I’m a 20-year-old woman with the following prescription:
Right eye: -1.50 (approximately)
Left eye: -2.50
Astigmatism in both eyes.

I currently wear young progressive lenses because I have difficulty focusing at near distances due to an accommodative problem (I can’t remember the exact medical term).

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences with these different Essilor lens designs, especially if you’ve worn progressive lenses at a younger age.

Hi, question about contacts. I just dropped one of my trial contact lenses next to my toilet. My optometrist is closed on weekends and I’ve already ripped one of my trial lenses. Is it safe to reinsert after cleaning or should I wait until Monday and see if they’ll give me an extra one?

I’ll lay out the specific details below, but the tldr is that my eyes have trouble focusing properly after a shooting session.

I’ve been dealing with this issue for a while and it has taken a while for me to really pay attention and feel like I have a good idea of what’s happening, just not why or what to do about it.

When I go rifle shooting, after about 5-10 minutes I start noticing that it is harder to see my reticle and the target clearly. I was shooting a .22 with irons today and that really spotlighted the problems when I couldn’t get the front sight in focus after a bit.

After I was done shooting, I noticed that my eyes felt very strained and seemed to take a long time to adjust to different distances. It almost felt like I was having to manually focus for lack of a better way to describe it. This lasted for about 20-30 min before they returned to normal. I obviously close my left eye only but felt this strain in both eyes.

About me: I am right eye dominant but also have mild astigmatism in that eye. BC 8.70; Sph -0.50; BC -1.75; Axis 050; Diam 14.5 is my prescription and I wear a contact in that eye. No correction in my left eye. I do not currently have or use regular glasses

Any thoughts about what might be going on and what I can do about it? I’ve talked to my optometrist about it but he doesn’t shoot and I think doesn’t really understand the problem.

Anyone have a similar experience and able to help me out or help me with what to say to the eye doctor to better describe my problem and get to a solution?

I’m hoping to get some advice because I’m feeling a bit lost & I don’t want to keep bothering my local optician (who has been super nice to me, but I feel bad lol). I'm 35 & have worn glasses for about 27 years. My prescription has been on the high side for most of my life, but I have never experienced anything like this before and my old glasses (older prescription) do not have this problem.
I’m experiencing what I think is chromatic aberration, but only in my peripheral vision when I look to the side. It doesn’t happen when I look straight on. It's worse when I look at screens, and I am a graphic & web designer so I don't think I can really 'get used' to this. My old frames were thin metal, these new frames are much thicker & plastic. I thought because my prescription got worse I had to get thicker frames? The optician ordered a second pair of these glasses with some changes in hopes it would help. But it hasn't. They suggested I try them for a few days to see if I get used to it, but as a designer I’m worried I never will.

My Prescription:

OD: -7.75 Sphere, -0.75 Cylinder, Axis 162

OS: -9.00 Sphere, -0.25 Cylinder, Axis 015

I'll also paste what was on my receipt for the glasses they ordered the first & the second time, in hopes this info helps but I don't believe it lists the actual plastic material?

First Time:
"SV DST 1.67 Clear Crizal Natural(Plastic)
Digital Single Vision
Hi-Index 1.67
DST Processing
Crizal Natural Look Anti-Reflective
Crizal Backside UV"

Second Time:
"SV 1.67 Premium AR (Plastic)
Single Vision 0101 5Z
Plastic Hi-Index 1.67 PremAR
Aspheric Lens
Premium + Anti-Reflective
UV Protection"

I feel bad asking for a third pair & I'm thinking of going to a different LensCrafters to return these and just order completely different frames? I know high prescriptions have limitations but I’m hoping someone here can help. I just want to make sure I’m not just being bothersome because I believe it was mentioned the material is NOT polycarbonate which can cause this issue? I think? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

I just got my new glasses, made with Eyezen lenses, with a strong prescription for myopia, and while cleaning them, I noticed that there are three markings on each lens, near the outer edge: it says Eyezen on the top, there's an empty circle in the middle, and then it says Eye on the bottom. The markings are white and only visible under light at a certain angle. Is this a defect? Did they fit placeholder lenses with advertising on them, intended for display in the shop, instead of using new, blank ones?

I’ve worn glasses for about 10 years. My prescription is fairly moderate (I think around -5.4 in one eye and -1.5 in the other, but I might be slightly off).

I recently decided to try contact lenses because my glasses constantly slide down my face (my skin is quite oily where they sit, and the frame I have isn’t ideal but I struggled to find one I liked). Glasses also ended up being quite expensive for me overall (about R11 000 with lens thinning and coatings), so I wanted to see if contacts might be a better long-term option.

I picked up my trial lenses this week and watched the instructional videos the optometrist sent (insertion, removal, cleaning, etc.). This morning was my first time wearing them. The right lens went in easily and I couldn’t feel it at all. The left lens felt uncomfortable and “off,” so I suspected it was inside out. I struggled for about an hour trying to remove it, and my eye became quite red during that time. My boyfriend eventually helped me get it out quite quickly. I reinserted it correctly after flipping it, and it felt fine after that.

The redness didn’t really worsen after reinsertion, but it also didn’t improve much during the day. I do have dry eyes and I work in an air-conditioned office, which didn’t help.

After a few hours, I started getting intermittent blurry/cloudy vision, which would clear after blinking a few times. By the afternoon my eyes felt quite tired.

After work, I removed both lenses (right came out after 5 min, left slightly quicker). My eyes are still red, worse in the left eye, but slightly improved now that the lenses are out.

I don’t have any pain or discharge. However, I still notice occasional blur/cloudy vision even after removing the lenses.

I’ve made the mistake of reading online experiences, and now I’m VERY anxious that I may have caused a corneal abrasion or something more serious.

Has anyone else had this experience? Just want to know how long it took for your eye to return to normal.

I wanted to ask if there are any home remedies or self-care methods I could try to reduce the feeling of dryness while wearing contact lenses. I’d like to try a few things before booking an appointment with an eye doctor, as eye exams and dry eye treatments can be quite expensive.
I only experience dry eyes when I’m wearing contact lenses. So far, I’ve tried Precision1 and DAILIES TOTAL1 lenses, but both still end up feeling dry in my eyes. I use lubricating eye drops, but they don’t always seem to help.
Recently, I’ve started using a warm eye mask, drinking more water, and taking omega-3 supplements in the hope that they might improve the situation.
Other than when I’m wearing contact lenses, I don’t suffer from dry eyes at all. Does anyone have any suggestions for things I could try at home before seeing an eye doctor?

s it normal or unusual for a person to have 2 diopters less in their RX at 60? My RX has always been high, usually around -5.5 in one eye and -5.75 in the other eye, with minimal changes from year to year. I'm 60 and have been wearing glasses since before I turned 2. I also wear contacts at times. This year at my annual appt, My optometrist said my prescription changed fairly significantly, with one eye 4.75. that was March. Since then, I've been wearing the glasses at home and the contacts at work. I haven't been seeing clearly, so I finally went back to have her check again. This time, she said I went from 4.75 to 2.75 in the right eye. And that my astigmatism was worse in that same eye. There are other changes too, but I'm not at home to check the old RX . Is it possible that it changed that much?? I'm nervous now, because I'm afraid they won't be right either. I just need contacts and glasses that I can see in to do my job . Opinions and experience, please?

I just picked up my new glasses this past Monday, and after a few days of losing my mind, rubbing my eyes and cleaning my glasses over and over again, Today I realized that the "floaters"/blurry spots that I've been experiencing are actually some kind of engraving on my lenses.

I just couldn't see them until I was holding my glasses at the right level in the sunlight, but when I am wearing my glasses and my focus passes through that portion of my lens, I experience a little blurry spot.

I thought I was having some kind of strange floater situation, or that there was something in my eyes because this is in multiple sports on both lenses (3 markings per lens: a circle on the upper outside edge, a circle on the lower outside edge, and a series of nested half circles near the "nose bridge" part of my frames).

Anytime my focus passes over those spots (like when reading, how your eyes sweep from side-to-side and down with each line of text) its like I'm looking through a smudge on my lenses. It is driving me nuts...I have never experienced this before.

I looked it up online and I guess these engravings are some kind of manufacturing/company marking, so I am wondering: Are all lenses produced with this, now? Is there anything I can do to lessen their impact on my vision?

In the last three years, I've had five eye exams. For the first four, the axis for the right eye was either 35 or 43. The prescription given to me last week gave an axis figure of 180. Is this plausible or should I ask for a repeat eye check?

Hi there - I just got my new glasses and I'm not sure if the store made a mistake in the lenses (putting in progressives) or if the dr made a mistake on my prescription.

Everything on this prescription is the same, except for the axis measurements. My left eye went from 162 to 167 and my right eye went from 85 to 13...in a year?

I don't know whether I need to get my axis checked or see if store accidentally made me progressives. Help?

I've been wearing glasses since elementary school, and I just got contacts a few months ago. I see SIGNIFICANTLY worse in my left eye, but my prescription for that eye is 1.75, while my prescription for my right eye is 2.25. I feel like I see worse now than with my old prescription glasses. I'm having to strain my eyes to read my monitors at work. In fact, while wearing my contacts and closing my left eye, I see better, but when I close my right eye I can't see at all (can't even read my phone screen right in front of my face). When I took my eye exam it was very clear I couldn't see out of my left eye.

I don't know if this is normal to give a weaker prescription to the weaker eye? I bought half a year of these contacts because I thought they were working fine, and I don't want to get refitted if this is normal.

Hi everyone,

I had my first eye test in about 8 years today, and my prescription has had a bit of a glow-up (or glow-down?).

Old prescription:
Right:
• SPH: -2.25
• CYL: -1.25
• Axis: 175
Left:
• SPH: -2.25
• CYL: -1.25
• Axis: 168

New prescription:
Right:
• SPH (Sphere): -4.00
• CYL (Cylinder): -2.00
• Axis: 180
Left:
• SPH (Sphere): -4.00
• CYL (Cylinder): -2.00
• Axis: 175

My current glasses have standard lenses, and I've honestly never once looked in the mirror and thought, "Wow, these are thick." They seem completely normal to me.
When I was ordering my new glasses, I asked the optician whether I should bother paying extra for thinner lenses. They said my new lenses would only be a little thicker than my current ones and didn't think thinning was necessary. That sounded reasonable, so I ordered two pairs with standard lenses and left feeling quite pleased with myself.

Then I made the mistake of asking other people...

Now everyone seems convinced I've just committed a serious eyewear crime and that my new glasses are going to have giant Coke-bottle lenses. So naturally, I've come to Reddit to let strangers decide my fate.

I'm now considering ordering another pair online (possibly from Firmoo, if anyone has used them?) and I'm wondering whether I should go for 1.60, 1.67, etc lenses if I do.

I'd love to hear from anyone with a similar prescription or an optician/someone who knows what they’re talking about, because I don’t 😅

•	Does this prescription really *need* thinning?  
•	Was my optician being realistic when they said they'd only be a bit thicker than my current lenses?  
•	How much difference do 1.60 or 1.67 lenses actually make?  
•	And if you've ordered stronger prescriptions from Firmoo, would you recommend them?

Basically... should I trust the professional I paid for advice, or the group chat that's now living rent-free in my head? 😭😂

Thanks in advance!

I was in the same prescription for many years, daily lenses with -4.50 in both eyes. Zero issues. Saw perfectly.

I went somewhere new a few months ago for an exam, and was told my chronic migraines are because I’ve been overcorrected for years. Skeptical, I went ahead with the new prescription, -4.00, for contacts and for glasses, but the optometrist was willing to give me 3 valid prescriptions for -4.00, -4.25, and -4.50, in case I wasn’t liking the -4.00. (The brand, measurements, etc are obviously the exact same on all.) I tried all 3 strengths in the office, and felt like -4.50 was still the best for me, but I bought -4.00 contacts that day, praying it would be some miracle answer to my migraines.

It’s been a few months in the -4.00, and I hate them. I can’t see details, I’m distracted more easily because things look flatter/more blurry, I squint constantly. I should’ve bought less to start with, and now it’s about time to order more, and I really want to use the -4.25 or -4.50 prescription, but I am a) not sure which to buy, and b) not sure if it’ll be an issue that my glasses are equivalent to the -4.00 prescription.

I am leaning towards buying a small supply of the -4.25 and seeing how I feel in these. My migraines have not improved, in fact, I’ve begun having more tension-based headaches and I suspect squinting constantly is the reason. I cannot do more -4.00s. Would -4.25 be a good idea to be halfway between my “ideal” strength and my weaker glasses?

I would prefer my contacts not to differ too much from my glasses, and I am trying to hold out for my insurance benefits to change over before considering replacing my glasses (which I also cannot see well out of).

I should say that I don’t ever wear my glasses. Like, 30 mins every 3 days. Usually I pop my contacts out immediately before bed, put them in first thing in the morning, or lay around blind for a while. I’ve been doing this for 10+ years; I would like to wear them more — I just have sensory issues and I can’t stand glasses. I am nervous it would throw me off ever putting them on if they differ, though? Am I overthinking this?