To think nowadays you need a mortgage if you need glasses?

I didn’t realise you had to pay for all that in other parts of the UK. All those tests are free in Scotland. I just pay for my glasses.

Sorry, but you went in and selected every extra going, of course it's going to cost a bomb.

I'm -11 in one eye and -12 in another, astigmatism is both. I don't go for any thinning or scratch resistance or extra tests because we simply can't afford it, so my lenses are heavy and look like jam jars. It is what it is. Normally get everything for under £100.

As the optician technicians spend an age adjusting the arms. If I did this myself, I would break the frames

I have one ear nearly half an inch higher than the other. I've watched them do this many times. All they do is warm them up and bend them. They often take them to a back room so nobody can see how basic the procedure is.

Most people don't need private hearing aids either, Specsavers do NHS ones free. For big hearing problems the NHS does them free.

Yes @LarryForPrimeMinister , my DH is the same, he has really tricky, awkward, rather fragile eyesight, and he can't just send for some glasses off the internet for £12 as people often suggest. His prescription is rather intricate. He also has to have the lens thinning, as his prescription is strong, and he would look like he was wearing milk bottle bottoms otherwise.

Last time we went to Specsavers - only optician in our little town - he took up the buy one-get-one-free offer, but of course that only includes the frames and lens, and not the lens thinning, and the extra coating to prevent scratches, and the 'polarising,' and UV protection, and tints, and all that jazz.

Cost him £615 for 2 pairs of glasses this summer.... One distance pair and one reading pair. (Because all the bells and whistles that he needed were on both pairs...) In fact it costs a similar sum every time, and the amount goes up and up each time too! Sad thing is, this prescription/the glasses will be no good within 1.5 to 2 years, so we have to fork out a similar sum in every 1.5 to 2 years.

We do factor it into our finances, but it makes me quite cross that we are having to pay so much when he has no choice but to have them. It's not an option for him to just have one pair, as he needs reading glasses and distance glasses. Varifocals (1 pair) is an option, but they don't work out much cheaper with his prescription. and everything he needs. Plus, he has tried these and they make him nauseous.

Fortunately, I only need reading glasses and have very good eyesight apart from close up reading, so I can get a £69 pair, and another one free, and need nothing fancy doing, so I just pay the £69. (For 2 pairs.)

Yes I know other countries probably have it worse, and I should be grateful we have an NHS. I am still entitled to be pissed off with the price we have to pay for my husband's glasses.

.

Glasses Direct - I spend about £20 a pair

I tried this but ended up with headaches so now stick to the high street but avoid all the extras they offer.

It’s easy to circumvent high street opticians prices.
Get the eye test, ask for the prescription, find an online opticians and buy your glasses from them. I used to pay about £30-£40 for my glasses, and if you already have a couple of pairs you like you can send a pair off and have just new lenses fitted quite cheaply.

Get a prescription and then uses glasses direct - much cheaper

I was shocked at the price of my last pair (£500 ish which was cheap frame but very expensive lens due to my prescription) but even so it is cheap compared to the cost of private hearing aids which are extortionate.

I paid £250 last week for advanced eye test and two new pairs of glasses with upgraded lenses. I thought that was pretty reasonable.

I can’t use those online opticians as my ears are different shape where the arms sit. Plus one sticks out. As the optician technicians spend an age adjusting the arms. If I did this myself, I would break the frames

I buy frames which suit me. Not frames that are in fashion as most frames look stupid on me.

Do you use VDUs visual display units for work? Including handsets, tablets as well as computers? You may need to seek out your employer’s policy re eye care.

I get free eye tests once a year- should be every other year but got to submit evidence of my eye condition. I voucher for £50 towards a pair of frames.

Yeah I'm plus 5 and plus 4.5. I have varifocals from glasses direct that cost under £100. Eye test was a tenner at specsavers on a special offer

I’ve got glasses from Vooglam (the UK site not the USA one).

Two pairs with -6.5 prescription (you just upload your prescription details) and they’re always great frames.

There’s always discount codes and I used a 30% off plus half price second frames and, including paying for £14 quicker delivery, they’ve come to about £79 each pair.

Really happy with them and always get compliments when wearing other specs from them. In comparison, I got some glasses from Specsaver last year and, with the cheapest frames, they were still about £120 and they had a limited selection too.

These are my favourite and ordered a second pair with my new prescription
m.vooglam.com/goods-detail/2408

It’s bonkers isn’t it - imagine thinking you know more about someone’s needs than they do 😂

Me too. People don't seem to understand that others might have eye issues that aren't the same as theirs and may need different solutions. I don't know why.

OK it was a few years ago but my small, independent optician in the UK used to change the thinned lenses in old (or bought elsewhere) frames for hardly anything (albeit this was in my pre-varifocal days). Maybe worth shopping around?

Agree with this ^
replacing lenses in the old frames costs ridiculously expensive. I sent out mine online once and it was significantly cheaper.

No - I need to have then super thinned or they give me migraines and I can’t function at all. Even on the thinnest option my lenses are still ridiculously thick.

Yes, I paid £350 last time at the optician. It’s ridiculous!

You don't NEED to have them super thinned. That's a WANT rather than a need.

I will add my tip which is not for the fashion conscious.

When I go to specsavers I always get the same frames. That way I can swap parts from an old frame to a new frame if something breaks.

Also, if you get silver frames they mark up a lot less than other colours, which scratch to reveal the bare metal. The silver frames look the same whether they are scratched or not.

Just to say don’t rely on the additional scan if you have retinopathy- had a scan at my eye test, told eye health fine.
Within 3 months of that scan, I had my diabetic eye screening and needed urgent laser surgery to save my vision. So if you are diabetic please attend any eye screening appointments even if one of the optician scans says your eye health is good

Really? I find Specsavers very expensive so I dread to think what others might cost.

You can’t always get them cheaper - I’m not sure what people are failing to understand about this 🫣

Yes, if you have a fairly basic prescription you can go online or to ASDA but many of us can’t do that. I tried ASDA once but their “thinnest” lenses were still far too thick for my frames and they gave me such bad migraines I had to go back to my old pair.

Yes, I do think the NHS should pay - they pay for all kinds of other things, why not glasses so that people can work and be functional members of society.

I’m incredibly lucky that my family can help pay for mine, but I suspect a lot of people are stuck wearing glasses that are broken or not powerful enough simply because they can’t afford a replacement.