"Rod" wrote in message
...
dennis@home wrote:


"Clive George" wrote in message
news:P4ednbJlVLkhN4LVnZ2dnUVZ8tChnZ2d@plusnet...
"Doki" wrote in message
...

Do **** off. Granted you can buy glasses far more cheaply mail order,
but that's because nobody checks that they fit you or fits them to you.
You need to get the correct bridge width and arm length to have glasses
that fit you properly and work right.

My current pair was bought from a proper opti-whatsits. Eye test - fine.
Fitting of frame? None of that - the frame is one size only, so you've
got to choose whichever random frame happens to fit your head, and woe
betide you if you want something unfashionable (I like large lenses) -
there's bugger all choice. And the quality of the glasses was cack too -
the first set of posh lenses lost their scratch-resist coating in little
over a year, and the frame itself is not robust at all, despite being
one of those bendy ones - I thought they'd be better at handling knocks
etc, not worse.

Grrr.

Shouldn't have gone to insert express.

They are not what I call opticians.. you can tell as they can't do
retinopathy for instance.


Partner went to pukka opticians who gave her a test and a prescription -
but did NOT notice serious disease. Despite dramatic deterioration in
sight over a relatively short period. (O - that's age.) And several
signs/symptoms which are highly suggestive of the underlying organic
disease.

We simply cannot expect them to notice signs of disease - because they
don't. Maybe they don't have the experience/training? Maybe they don't
have the time?

Mine is trained and does notice.
Maybe yours wasn't an optician?
Who were they?
Did you make a complaint?

If you live in the black country then Stokes Opticians on Carters Green is
very good.
You can even choose from catalogues if you don't like what they have and
they will get the correct size in for you to try.


To be honest, I think I would rather make do with a cheapie pair of
glasses and spend the difference on an appointment with a consultant if I
think I need more.

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

"Andy Burns" wrote in message
news:K_udnQ5kpZ0Tqb3VnZ2dnUVZ8q_inZ2d@plusnet...
On 06/05/2008 11:27, Clive George wrote:

I thought that. But when the "not scrimping" frames I got aren't actually
as robust as the specsavers cheapies I got while I was a student, and
they don't really do shaping of frames or running repairs, why should I
stick with them?

Sounds like you *shouldn't* stick with them, but have you tried another
local independant rather than the chainstore opticians?

This one is the local independent, not a chainstore...

cheers,
clive

"dennis@home" wrote in message
...


"Clive George" wrote in message
news:P4ednbJlVLkhN4LVnZ2dnUVZ8tChnZ2d@plusnet...
"Doki" wrote in message
...

Do **** off. Granted you can buy glasses far more cheaply mail order,
but that's because nobody checks that they fit you or fits them to you.
You need to get the correct bridge width and arm length to have glasses
that fit you properly and work right.

My current pair was bought from a proper opti-whatsits. Eye test - fine.
Fitting of frame? None of that - the frame is one size only, so you've
got to choose whichever random frame happens to fit your head, and woe
betide you if you want something unfashionable (I like large lenses) -
there's bugger all choice. And the quality of the glasses was cack too -
the first set of posh lenses lost their scratch-resist coating in little
over a year, and the frame itself is not robust at all, despite being one
of those bendy ones - I thought they'd be better at handling knocks etc,
not worse.

Grrr.

Shouldn't have gone to insert express.

Didn't. Proper opti-whatsits.

They are not what I call opticians.. you can tell as they can't do
retinopathy for instance.

Did the looking at my retina and everything. On the testing/examination side
of things they seem pretty good.

clive

Clive George wrote:
"Doki" wrote in message
...

Do **** off. Granted you can buy glasses far more cheaply mail
order, but that's because nobody checks that they fit you or fits
them to you. You need to get the correct bridge width and arm length
to have glasses that fit you properly and work right.

My current pair was bought from a proper opti-whatsits. Eye test -
fine. Fitting of frame? None of that - the frame is one size only, so
you've got to choose whichever random frame happens to fit your head,
and woe betide you if you want something unfashionable (I like large
lenses) - there's bugger all choice. And the quality of the glasses
was cack too - the first set of posh lenses lost their scratch-resist
coating in little over a year, and the frame itself is not robust at
all, despite being one of those bendy ones - I thought they'd be
better at handling knocks etc, not worse.
Grrr.

So given the staggering cost difference, I'm looking at these mail
order ones - worst case I lose a little bit of money for a spare set,
and I could come out quite a lot better.

Or can you persuade me otherwise? Eg recommend what I should be
looking for in a shop?

The memory metal type of glasses are a pain in the arse to fit (or repair if
you do manage to bend them), because they're made of memory metal, which
obviously has a very high elastic limit. IMO ordinary plastic or metal
frames are your best bet - all will eventually fail, usually the hinge that
holds the arms on will develop a lot of play, so you may as well buy them
relatively cheaply. There are some very long lasting titantium frames around
(Lindbergs) but reglazing these is almost as expensive as buying a set of
new cheap frames every time.

Glasses should fit your nose (bridge width) and arm length should be bent so
they hang onto your ears without pulling at them. Nose pads may also be
adjusted.

As for coatings, quality definately varies. My girlfriend used to work in a
national chain, and they had a lot of returns for failed coating. She now
works in a posh opticians, and they very rarely have a coating fail.

I can't really give you hard and fast rules about what to look out for in a
shop. Most of the variation in quality is in the actual prescription - some
chains use a lot of locums and have more glasses come back with the wrong
prescriptions. Otherwise, the construction of frames is much of a muchness
until you get to the very high end, and there's no real chance of finding
out the relative quality of the coatings applied to the lenses either.

On 2008-05-06 13:10:34 +0100, "Tim Downie"
said:

dennis@home wrote:
"Clive George" wrote in message


Shouldn't have gone to insert express.

They are not what I call opticians.. you can tell as they can't do
retinopathy for instance.

I think you'll find that retinopathy (retinal diease) is something that you
do for yourself. ;-)

I think you mean retinoscopy. (Having said that, I've had my retinas
eamined at every opticians I've ever been to, chain or independant).

Tim

I think he may mean test for retinopathy. The full tests for that are
quite substantial, and I would want to check the qualifications,
experience and equipment of somebody offering to perform it. In many
areas, this work is being replaced by dilation followed by high
resolution digital imaging and making annual comparative checks.

dennis@home wrote:
snip

Mine is trained and does notice.
Maybe yours wasn't an optician?
Who were they?
Did you make a complaint?


I am glad to hear it.

The person was working in a what has always been a respected opticians.
I do not know their qualifications.

I don't want to get into mud slinging against a particular shop. I don't
think that they were worse than others.

No. It wasn't until many months later that we found out what was really
happening. Far too late to prove anything. Our realisation of what had
happened came about as progress towards resolution of the underlying
condition resulted in less and less need to use the prescribed glasses.
Plus - much greater understanding of the disease processes involved.

Although this is not a scientific survey - merely hearsay level of
evidence - I am now aware of more people who have been prodded to see a
doctor by their hairdresser than by an optician!

If you live in the black country then Stokes Opticians on Carters Green
is very good.
You can even choose from catalogues if you don't like what they have and
they will get the correct size in for you to try.

Nowhere near! Thanks.

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

On 06/05/2008 13:40, Clive George wrote:

This one is the local independent, not a chainstore...

I did say "another" ...

"Andy Burns" wrote in message
news:_t-dnZgkruqz473VRVnyvwA@plusnet...
On 06/05/2008 13:40, Clive George wrote:

This one is the local independent, not a chainstore...

I did say "another" ...

And I did say "the" :-) I try and do my shopping in my local town, not the
one 15 miles away.

cheers,
clive

"Clive George" wrote in message
news:h-ydnYulc4Qf4r3VnZ2dnUVZ8saonZ2d@plusnet...
"Andy Burns" wrote in message
news:_t-dnZgkruqz473VRVnyvwA@plusnet...
On 06/05/2008 13:40, Clive George wrote:

This one is the local independent, not a chainstore...

I did say "another" ...

And I did say "the" :-) I try and do my shopping in my local town, not the
one 15 miles away.

Can be a mistake with that sort of thing. The opticians in the small town
where my Dad lives seems specialise in very expensive glasses of ordinary
quality for people who won't go and look at what things cost in the next
town. A lack of competition may result in similar mediocrity where you live

"Tim Downie" wrote in message
...
dennis@home wrote:
"Clive George" wrote in message


Shouldn't have gone to insert express.

They are not what I call opticians.. you can tell as they can't do
retinopathy for instance.

I think you'll find that retinopathy (retinal diease) is something that
you do for yourself. ;-)

I think you mean retinoscopy. (Having said that, I've had my retinas
eamined at every opticians I've ever been to, chain or independant).

Damn spull chucker again.

"Andy Hall" wrote in message news:482074b9@qaanaaq...
On 2008-05-06 13:10:34 +0100, "Tim Downie"
said:

dennis@home wrote:
"Clive George" wrote in message


Shouldn't have gone to insert express.

They are not what I call opticians.. you can tell as they can't do
retinopathy for instance.

I think you'll find that retinopathy (retinal diease) is something that
you
do for yourself. ;-)

I think you mean retinoscopy. (Having said that, I've had my retinas
eamined at every opticians I've ever been to, chain or independant).

Tim

I think he may mean test for retinopathy. The full tests for that are
quite substantial, and I would want to check the qualifications,
experience and equipment of somebody offering to perform it. In many
areas, this work is being replaced by dilation followed by high resolution
digital imaging and making annual comparative checks.


Yes you get pretty pictures of your retina.
This is in addition to the usual checks.