Getting new Eye Glasses

[Lori]

Okay, all you helpful folks.  I need to get a new pair of glasses.  The ones I have are 'progressive' lense (no idea what they call those in French - will need to research that). 

I have the prescription, but it is from 2019 (from the USA).  The only reason I need to replace these glasses is because I've dropped them so many times, they are now heavily scratched, etc. 

Can the eye glass store just do a vision check and make a new pair or do I need to see a Doctor to obtain a new prescription?

As always thanks for any advice offered.

?

[EuroTr@sh]

I thought lunette progressive was the French, and varifocals in English!

If you have the prescription you may find it cheaper and quicker and more convenient to get a pair made up online.

But I think any professional would recommend a new eye test if you haven't had one for two or three years. Your eyes may not have changed a lot but if you keep the next pair for another 3 years, that'll make it six years between eye examinations which is quite a long time.

But it's up to you. I'm not the one to talk, I can easily go five years between eye tests but I know I shouldn't.

[Lori]

Thank you ET.  Most helpful.

So, can I just see an Optometrist or must I see an Opthalmologist?  I HATE seeing the Opthalmologist.  Those drops, those gadgets SO close to the eyeball that make the puff into the eyes nearly send me into heart failure - all those crazy tests they do.  I have a thing about any messing with my eyes.  It is just something I dread more than COVID. 

What's the minimal I can do???

THANK YOU.

 

[Judith]

Lori,  as a poor sighted creature, I would suggest you get your eyes checked.  Progressives in France, varifocals elsewere, do need to be corretly fitted and whilst optometrists can now test, it is still very useful to get your eyes checked up by a opthalmologist.  The puffs etc are nasty, but that is checking for glaucoma and such, and quite honetly, the older we get, it probably best done in spite of your disllike.  The drops a necessary evil to look at the back of the eye .. to see the health of your eye..  They check for disease also.

Since I've worn glasses since I was 3 years old, I got very used to having my eyes poked at etc .. better safe than sorry.

If you were any where near to me, I would recommend my opthalmologist ... a caring person, he did both my cataracts, and understood my fear during the ops .. all happily perfectly done.

The minimal you can do is to go to an optemistrict, or optician, and see if they will make a new pair to your old prescription, but he might recommend you get a test, and quite honestly, it's not the route I would chose to go with a prescription so old.  Frankly, your sight is precious, it's not worth messing around with.

 

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by Judith

[alittlebitfrench]

A few months back I got my eyes tested in the UK. It was the first time in 20 years. 

 

It took two weeks to get an appointment in the UK. In France it can take....6-8 months...possibly longer. I would say the UK test (25 squid) was more thorough than what I have experienced in France.. 

I think this is all about your French mutellle and the costs it covers to get you eyes tested and get a new pair of glasses.

But how long do you want to wait ?

From now on I will always my eyes tested in the UK. They do their stuff and you get a pair of glasses.

It is that simple.

France ? It is a nightmare. And a rip off to be fair. 

 

BTW..... I have (had) glaucoma. So don't mess around with your eyes. 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by alittlebitfrench

[cajal]

I agree totally with Judith. Had I not visited the ophthalmologist, I quite possibly would have been unaware that I suffered from glaucoma and that both my eyes were in the process of sprouting cataracts.

This was a couple of years ago. He immediately prescribed daily drops for life, to counteract the glaucoma, which is now totally under control.

Regarding the cataracts, he recommended waiting till they were both large enough for ease of removal. However, Covid delayed the removal procedure last year, but he has been  able to remove the left this February, and he will be removing the right during the second week of June.

It's always easy for others to tell someone with a particular dread of a medical procedure to overcome that dread, but think on, the effects of a few drops and a 'puff' into your eye usually only last seconds. Blindness lasts for life.

[Lori]

52 minutes ago, alittlebitfrench said:

A few months back I got my eyes tested in the UK. It was the first time in 20 years. 

 

It took two weeks to get an appointment in the UK. In France it can take....6-8 months...possibly longer. I would say the UK test (25 squid) was more thorough than what I have experienced in France.. 

I think this is all about your French mutellle and the costs it covers to get you eyes tested and get a new pair of glasses.

But how long do you want to wait ?

From now on I will always my eyes tested in the UK. They do their stuff and you get a pair of glasses.

It is that simple.

France ? It is a nightmare. And a rip off to be fair. 

 

BTW..... I have (had) glaucoma. So don't mess around with your eyes. 

 

 

 

 

Thank you ET.  Most helpful.

So, can I just see an Optometrist or must I see an Opthalmologist?  I HATE seeing the Opthalmologist.  Those drops, those gadgets SO close to the eyeball that make the puff into the eyes nearly send me into heart failure - all those crazy tests they do.  I have a thing about any messing with my eyes.  It is just something I dread more than COVID. 

What's the minimal I can do???

THANK YOU.

 

[Lori]

38 minutes ago, cajal said:

I agree totally with Judith. Had I not visited the ophthalmologist, I quite possibly would have been unaware that I suffered from glaucoma and that both my eyes were in the process of sprouting cataracts.

This was a couple of years ago. He immediately prescribed daily drops for life, to counteract the glaucoma, which is now totally under control.

Regarding the cataracts, he recommended waiting till they were both large enough for ease of removal. However, Covid delayed the removal procedure last year, but he has been  able to remove the left this February, and he will be removing the right during the second week of June.

It's always easy for others to tell someone with a particular dread of a medical procedure to overcome that dread, but think on, the effects of a few drops and a 'puff' into your eye usually only last seconds. Blindness lasts for life.

52 minutes ago, alittlebitfrench said:

A few months back I got my eyes tested in the UK. It was the first time in 20 years. 

 

It took two weeks to get an appointment in the UK. In France it can take....6-8 months...possibly longer. I would say the UK test (25 squid) was more thorough than what I have experienced in France.. 

I think this is all about your French mutellle and the costs it covers to get you eyes tested and get a new pair of glasses.

But how long do you want to wait ?

From now on I will always my eyes tested in the UK. They do their stuff and you get a pair of glasses.

It is that simple.

France ? It is a nightmare. And a rip off to be fair. 

 

BTW..... I have (had) glaucoma. So don't mess around with your eyes. 

 

 

 

 

Thank you ET.  Most helpful.

So, can I just see an Optometrist or must I see an Opthalmologist?  I HATE seeing the Opthalmologist.  Those drops, those gadgets SO close to the eyeball that make the puff into the eyes nearly send me into heart failure - all those crazy tests they do.  I have a thing about any messing with my eyes.  It is just something I dread more than COVID. 

What's the minimal I can do???

THANK YOU.

 

[Lori]

55 minutes ago, alittlebitfrench said:

A few months back I got my eyes tested in the UK. It was the first time in 20 years. 

 

It took two weeks to get an appointment in the UK. In France it can take....6-8 months...possibly longer. I would say the UK test (25 squid) was more thorough than what I have experienced in France.. 

I think this is all about your French mutellle and the costs it covers to get you eyes tested and get a new pair of glasses.

But how long do you want to wait ?

From now on I will always my eyes tested in the UK. They do their stuff and you get a pair of glasses.

It is that simple.

France ? It is a nightmare. And a rip off to be fair. 

 

BTW..... I have (had) glaucoma. So don't mess around with your eyes. 

 

 

 

 

Thank you all.  Very wise replies.  I have posted on the town (Ste-Cécile) Facebook site requesting a recommendation for an Opthalmologist.  We are new to the area, so don't know one.  You are right.  My eyes are invaluable.  Must follow proper procedure.  It is not pressing, so if I have to wait 6 months for an appointment, so be it.

Thank you for your replies.

 

[ssomon]

As far as I know, in France you have to go to an opthalmologist.

I needed urgent attention to my eyes a couple of years ago. I checked the lists on the Ameli site for opthalmologists within about 50 km, phoned them all, and made an appointment with one in Narbonne, 40 km away, for 2 month's time.

I then checked for a hospital with one available in Urgences, found the nearest one is in Castres, about 80 km away, and drove there the next morning. After a rather long wait the problem, a chalazion, was diagnosed, and treatment prescribed.

Because of all this sort of performance we usually go to an Opthalmic Optician with a clinic in Figueres, a couple of hours away, where we go a few times a year for shopping. If we need new specs we usually drive down again to collect them, and on the couple of occasions when I needed an operation this was done in Girona.

The cost used to be less then in France, but I haven't bothered to compare prices since the improved payments came in here, as I think it's worth the money to use the guy in Spain every few years.

Edited May 7, 2022 by ssomon