Once you have gone through all the tests and checks to update your eyeglass prescription, you may want to look into filling your most recent prescription if it has changed. We have already gone into some depth on choosing your new glasses, if you want to check that out you can right here! For now we will just touch briefly as it is generally one of the last steps in the process of your Eye exam.
Determining if you need to update your Glasses
Once you have finished with the doctor and you eye examination, you may want to discuss your options with the optician. The optician is like a
pharmacist for eyeglasses, they can take your prescription and measurements and make all kinds of different optical solutions, depending on your most pressing visual needs! If you prescription was pretty stable and did not change, you and your optician may decide you do not need to make any changes to your existing eyewear. However, if there was a change, your optician is likely to suggest an update to your newest prescription. You may also find that your existing eyewear may not work as well for certain situations, for example - many people find that the reading portion in a progressive lens may be too restrictive for the avid reader who likes to read for hour at a time. These patients may decide to add a dedicated reading pair of glasses, just for those times when the progressive lenses are too limiting. You may also find that if your prescription has not changed but it has been a long time since you had updated them, your lenses may not be in the best condition. This alone may be enough for you to decide to update your lenses.
Determining the best Lens Option
As discussed above, your optician will guide you through the process of deciding which style of lens technology would benefit you most. As mentioned, we have already gone over in some depth all the lens options in our past series on choosing glasses. If you read that previous blog series, you know now that there are all kinds of options and it can certainly get confusing! Your optician is there to help you understand what your personal visual needs may be, and which lens solution(s) are best for you. This is why having an optician is so important! You will not get the same kind of personalized help with lenses, technology and measurements as you would with an optician if you purchase glasses online!
Helping you chose an Appropriate Frame
As noted in our previous blog series, there may be certain shapes and sizes of frames that would be better for your prescription, especially if your prescription is stronger! After determining which lens is most appropriate for your personal visual needs, your Optician will help you choose a frame that not only fits your face, but also works for the prescription. Some may require smaller, or rounder lenses than others. This can also be a confusing task, so having someone to help you who also knows the technicalities of the lens technologies is once again very important! We have seen many glasses purchased online that just do not fit the patient or the prescription well, but how would they have known without having this wealth of information at their fingers? Leaning on your optician for this important task will help to be sure you have the nicest, most comfortable and clearest vision that you can get.
Taking Measurements
Once you have chosen your lens and frame styles, your optician will next need to take some measurements to create those lenses custom for you and your prescription. Pupillary Distance is needed for every lens made, and sometimes more than once! Our eyes converge differently when we look at far distance compared to when looking at something up close, so depending on what lenses you are doing, you may need to have a far PD, a near PD or both! The next most common measurement will be the heights. This measurement is needed for any and every multifocal lens and some very customized single vision lenses as well. This will set up the lenses to be in the optimal position for you. The heights can vary from patient to patient, and can also vary significantly depending on the frame choice. For a more customized style of lens technology, your optician may ask to do some more in depth measurements. Pantoscopic tilt is how much the front of the frame tilts on the face, vertex distance is how far the lenses sit from the surface of the eye ball, and the wrap measurement is how much curve the front of the frame has. All of these measurements can have a serious impact on how customized your lenses will be, as they are not just customizing for your prescription, but also to the specifics of the frame choice. This is most important for the progressive lenses, because all these measurements can affect the varying width of the usable corridor in the progressive lens, making it easier to adapt to when more lens customization is utilized.
Pick up and Adaption time
Depending on if the clinic has an edging lab or not will determine how quickly the lenses can be made. Many people will fit in with some average
prescriptions that only need a stock lens, this is a lens that is already made in the right prescription that just needs to be cut into the chosen frame. These lenses tend to be very quick, and are the most used option in a 1 hr optical style of business. If your prescription or frame choice negates the use of a stock lens, you may be waiting 2 weeks or more for a custom surfaced lens. Your optician will double check your glasses when they arrive to be sure they are ordered and then will inform you when you can pick them up. At your pick up time, your optician will check to make sure they are working well for your vision, as well as check the frame fit for any needed adjustments. If you had some significant changes to your prescription, you may find the glasses feel a bit wrong at first, and this is not unusual. Often our brain does not want to accept new vision, it can be very stubborn at first, but most people find within 2 weeks of constant wearing of the new prescription, their brain is able to adapt and adjust to these changes. Certain extra sensitive people may take even longer than that, but 2 weeks is the average time it takes for the brain to adapt. As long as you are adamant, and do not go back and forth from old prescription and new prescription, you should find that adjusting to your new glasses is not so difficult after all.
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That pretty much sums up the process of an eye exam with your optometrist all the way to sitting down with your optician at the end. If you have any specific questions regarding this process, feel free to leave a comment or send a message to us!
