Eyesight too bad for prescription sunglasses, does this sound right?

[AnthonyCrowley]

My eyesight is about -10 and i enquired at Tesco optician yesterday about the cost of getting sunglasses into prescription sunglasses and also to be thinned.

I normally have the highest level of thinning. She said for sunglasses they recommend really only the lowest level of thinning, possibly mid level. But the more thinning you have the worse the tint will be.

She slowed me what a -6 would look like at mid level thinning and Even at mid level of thinning it was quite thick and she said that a -10 would be quite a bit worse.

Is this going to be the same everywhere? I do wear contacts and non prescription sunglasses but I can't read in my contacts.

Yep I have the same problem and have tried many places. It's a big issue for me because I'm not wearing contact lenses either at the moment so I'm totally stuck for sunglasses.

It's really frustrating having bad eyesight I empathise!!

I have very thinned glasses (my vision is only -6, but I have astigmatisms and prisms which make the edges very thick) and Asda opticians made me lovely sunglasses. And didn't charge any more for that as tints are included in their single cost lenses (ie, nothing more for thinning, varifocal, prisms etc)

It can depend massively on the style of glasses how they will look. I’d try another opticians.

I have also been told it's thinning or tint but not both. I chose chunky frames to disguise the thickness.

When I worked for an optician 20 odd years ago, it was definitely the case. It's to do with the darkening.
I had very similar prescriptions as you and laser treatment has changed my life.

She said I'd picked the best style of frame.....I'm really used to that to be honest as even with normal glasses I'm quite restricted on frame choice to try and make the lenses as thin as possible.

So I don't want to pay loads of money for something which will probably be thick and look daft and be too heavy, and has a not very good tint on it so be pointless as sunglasses.

I swear sometimes when reading on the sunlounger I actually wear my normal glasses and put sunglasses over the top! 😁

I can't have laser surgery. My corneas are too thin, and the worse your eyesight is the more cornea they need to shave off.

Maybe get your next set of glasses with a clip-on sunglass as part of the package? Some frames do come with this

Ive always worried about scratching my sunglasses with clip ons but will ask at specsavers next time I'm passing.

I think your best bet would be to go for a hi index polarising lens, iirc they are only 1.6 index(maybe 1.59 if we are being strictly accurate) but again iirc they are a laminated lens so the issue with the thickness of the lens affecting the tint is not relevant since the tint is evenly distributed in the laminated section only

Another option would be a zeiss glass 1.8/1.9 photochromic lens...again laminated, but they can be heavy due to being glass, and are pricey AF (not a technical term!)

been out of the trade for a few years now, but I really prefer polarising lenses over any standard tint or reactions type.

I use over-glasses sunglasses and they are brilliant. They were only about £15 and fit rather like safety specs, but they just look like big sunglasses when worn. I prefer them to prescription sunglasses because I can take them off and still see, rather than have to carry my normal glasses around and swap.

I did get a pair of prescription glasses with a -11 prescription and they are very thick which gives me distorted vision - fine in the centre but the edges are terrible. They were from Specsavers, who did warn me the vision wouldn't be great, but I didn't think I had any choice. I haven't worn them since discovering over-glasses.

Try Asda opticians if at all possible they do thinning as part of the package. Glasses start at 45.00 with better choice at 80.00 or two pairs for 120.00.
They include tints as well in the original price to just need to take in your prescription Specsavers appear cheaper but when you go in they load extras on.