Quick glasses for astigmatic eyes in London?

August 3, 2015 2:02 AM

I have an order in for some new ones, but they'll take up to a week to be delivered. And I just can't deal with the blinding headache and blurriness until then. The issue: my prescription is stronger than the lenses opticians have in stock.

After a long night in Whitstable, I woke up to find my glasses (which I desperately need to see) completely gone. They're not going to be findable, unfortunately -- at least, not any time soon.

I have an order in for some new ones, but they'll take up to a week to be delivered. And I just can't deal with the blinding headache and blurriness until then.

The delay is because none of the big chains (Specsavers, Vision Express, Boots) stock lenses with as much astigmatism correction as I need. Here's my prescription:

R: -3.00 SPH, -3.25 CYL, 166 AXIS
L: +0.50 SPH, -2.50 CYL, 20 AXIS

Is there any place in London that might stock lenses like this? Any advice on what I can do to help make the next few days less painful? I'm not sure I'll be able to work without vision correction.

posted by harperpitt to Shopping (6 answers total)

this is just from random googling over breakfast, but roger pope and lauder & rees both claim to have on-site glazing labs. that doesn't guarantee anything, but might imply they have a larger stock of lenses.

have you tried contacting the optician you ordered from? they might be able to hurry things up.
posted by andrewcooke at 3:19 AM on August 3, 2015

If you're American, is there an optician back home who could make them and overnight them to you?

FWIW, this is why I always bring a spare pair of glasses when I travel. The slight extra weight is well worth the peace of mind.
posted by brianogilvie at 4:59 AM on August 3, 2015

Have you considered contacts? Some places might stock sample contact lenses that you can use instead. They won't completely correct for the astigmatism, but might be good enough to allow you to see until you get your glasses replaced.
posted by the_wintry_mizzenmast at 5:31 AM on August 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

With an astigmatism, options for contacts are limited. I had contacts with an astigmatism and was forced into what they call monovision (basically one eye is the reading prescription and the other is for distance). Unlike progressive lenses you get 1 distance to read. It is supposed to take 2 weeks to fully acclimate to the monovision contacts and the acuity was not as good as the cheapest pair of glasses for me. YMMV.

contacts are not a solution to this problem.
posted by prk60091 at 5:55 AM on August 3, 2015

I think it's unlikely that anywhere offering same-day glazing only (which is the same as the big chains will offer) will have lenses with your cylinder value in stock. If nowhere has them in the stock, then you need the lenses to be surfaced; I'm surprised you're being quoted up to a week, I would have thought somewhere had a partnership with a lab that could surface the lenses that day, and have the glazed spectacles to you the day after.

This is a bit of a long shot but you could try calling Jai Kudo or Hoya to ask if they have any stockists near you, and if they could provide the lenses to that shop next-day. (These are two companies who manufacture lenses, so they might not be set up to deal with calls from the general public.) Then you could call / visit the shop and explain the situation and get them to order the lenses.

Another option is Stotts Opticians, who are based in the north-west and claim to do same-day surfacing: if you have your exact PD, they might be willing to take a phone order and post the glasses to you.
posted by smcg at 5:56 AM on August 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you for the tips -- I ended up finding an optician in London who could get the lenses couriered over and in frames the same day.

For anyone else who might find themselves in this position later, I went to Hodd Barnes and Dickens on High Holborn: http://www.hoddbarnesdickins.co.uk/. It wasn't cheap, but the service was outstanding and I should be able to see the world again normally some time this afternoon. (Phew.)
posted by harperpitt at 6:32 AM on August 3, 2015