Talk to me about prescription sunglasses, clip on shades, and transition lenses

[ang79]

I posted awhile back about trouble with my contacts. I've worn Frequency 55 for astigmatism since I was in high school and now I can't keep them in my eyes for a full day, they are just uncomfortable. My eye doctor has been great working with me and I've tried about 5 different sets of trial lenses and 3 different solutions, but I'm still not 100% satisfied. As much as I hate wearing my glasses (I wore glasses exclusively from like age 3 til 10th grade), they are just more comfortable to wear now (though after wearing them all day they start to feel weird on the bridge of my nose). So, when I'm home, I've been wearing glasses, and when I go out I put in contacts for part of the day. Now that the weather is nice and we're outside more, I need to wear sunglasses though (my eyes are super sensitive to sunlight). And I need sunglasses when driving. So, I'm trying to decide if I should just break down and order a set of prescription sunglasses. My insurance only covers $120 every 2 years on either glasses, sunglasses, or contacts, so I'll have to pay out of pocket for either the sunglasses or contacts (my prescription hasn't changed much since I last got glasses, so my doctor said I can keep using my old glasses).

Not sure if I can get clip ons to fit my frames, are they cheaper? Would they make me look like an old person (the only person I know that has them is my father-in-law and they are very old looking on him!). Do insurances cover the transition lenses? I thought I read they won't help me while driving though because it isn't dark enough in the car?

I keep seeing deals come up on our local Groupon for Lasik, but even at the reduced price, its still out of our price range :( And we have so many other things like home improvements that we want to do, I'd feel bad putting that much money towards my eyes :(

[Momit]

Last time I was ready for new glasses, I took the ones I was using and had them made into sunglasses - I think they just tinted the lenses for $50 at Costco.

[rlu]

AFAIK the knock still on transitions is that they don't work for driving cars. I never had them on my own glasses (lasik five years ago) but we do have transitions for DS (driving not an issue) as he spends so much time outside. In pictures his lenses do not darken and they seem to change fairly quickly when he comes back inside.

Insurance does not cover transitions for DS.

I did wear the clip-ons for many years (glasses age 5 - 27), but I was/am a geek. Once I got contacts at age 27 I did happily switch to regular old sunglasses (but kept the clip-ons for my glasses when my eyes were tired of the contacts).

I never had the money for RX sunglasses, although pp mentioned an alternative at Costco I had never considered.

eta: what I did have that weren't quite so geeky as the clip over the nose were these clip-ons that were spring-loaded and clipped on with two little hooks on each side. Like this (not the ones I had, but an example)http://compare.ebay.com/like/330694039876?_lwgsi=y&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

[ang79]

Last time I was ready for new glasses, I took the ones I was using and had them made into sunglasses - I think they just tinted the lenses for $50 at Costco.

Never thought about that, I'll ask my eye doctor (where I've gotten my last few pairs of frames/lenses) if they can do that for me. Thought my older glasses are wire frames and I am now preferring plastic ones.

I'm not a Costco member but do have shared memberships to BJs and Sams and I did see Sam's had prescription sunglasses for $95 this month, which is cheaper than what they had at my eye doctor's office. I really wish I could wear my contacts comfortably, but for now they are just not working out as I'd like and I'm about ready to give up on being a full time contact wearer for awhile at least.

[zag95]

I have a pair of prescription sunglasses I got at Costco- they are with black plastic frames that kinda wrap around on the sides, so I don't get glare. I don't really care how terribly stylish they are, as long as I don't have alot of sun creeping in on the sides. They are also polarized, so I don't have so much car glare (you know, from the car in front of you driving along). They are great!

[Smillow]

I recently bought glasses (my first) at Zenni Optical (http://www.zennioptical.com/). They were having a buy 2 pair, get one pair free promotion, so I got 2 pair of prescription sunglasses and one pair of regular glasses with a clip-on polarized sunshade (all progressive lenses - I only need distance). Three pair ended up costing me $100. I like the clip-on shade, as I am new to needing glasses, I don't always remember to keep both the sunglasses & the regular glasses with me (I do need to wear them for driving). I have even clipped them onto the sunglasses when it is really bright out. HTH!

[Gracemom]

I had transition lenses but did not like them. I too have sun sensitive eyes, and they just didn't get dark enough for me sometimes, especially while driving. I have prescription sunglasses now, and I love them! I live in them in the summer. I got them pretty dark and I'm glad I did. I just always have to have my regular glasses in my purse for when we go indoors. I did one of those 2 for 1 deals at the local eyeglasses places. We don't have vision insurance.

[ang79]

Sounds like the Transitions won't help me then if I can't drive with them. I looked at some sites to order online, but I'm afraid to order without trying on first to see how they look! I thought I saw someone mention here before a site where you can pick 5 frames to try on and then send them back? Anyone know what site that is?

Has anyone had glasses from Sam's Club? They have polarized sunglasses for $95 total right now, which is a lot cheaper than my eye doctor had. Not a huge selection but there were a few that were OK when I tried them on. I also saw a commercial for Lens Crafters if you take in an old pair, they'll give you up to $200 off a new pair, but I don't know if it counts sunglasses and I don't know what their prices are like, but I think we have one in our mall. I have several old pairs of glasses so I could trade one in.

[Momit]

$95 for prescription polarized sunglasses sounds like a good deal if they have a style that works for you at Sam's.

I tried the clip-ons (both the really cheesy generic ones and glasses that came with a set of clip-ons that matched up with my frames perfectly). I much prefer the prescription sunglasses. I've used them for years since my prescription hasn't really changed.