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This. I went recently and something about my eye axis(?) or something was off a bit (which somehow most Americans have?) and mentioned how it’s causing eyestrain. There’s special lenses that correct for this that is… SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS more just for the lenses. Mind you, my glasses are usually really affordable because I have a weak prescription. I was dumbfounded when I heard the price.

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That sounds, to my utterly unprofessional ass, like an astigmatism? Basically your eye is deformed slightly like a football, giving your prescription a strength, cyclical value (a cylindrical bias to the lens, as I understand it) and a rotation of that cylindrical bias for the eye.

It does require small stores to order them custom (larger stores can often grind them in-house), but $600 seems... off. Perhaps if it's a high refraction material (thinner lenses) with all the various coatings?

The nice thing is if you have your prescription, you can order glasses from anywhere (including online), your prescription is not tied to one provider.

"Axis" is a term used with respect to astigmatism, but correcting for astigmatism is a basic part of lensmaking, and even the cheapest pair of glasses can do it, so this is either something else, or an astoundingly bare-faced rip-off.

To basically +1 the sibling comment, you likely have astigmatism. $600 is pretty high but lenses are quite a bit more expensive than standard spherical lenses.

It is incredibly common, but essentially your eye is elongated in one axis meaning that your lenses need to correct differently in each axis. It also means that despite having a low prescription, you may have focus issues across the spectrum of depth.

I have astigmatism (-3.75 diopters of it in one eye), and there has never been any extra charge for making my lenses. Where are you getting this idea that astigmatism-correcting lenses are quite a bit more expensive?

For that size of astigmatism I would think there was an extra price you don't get the price of a lens broken down like that (bi focals and the blue filter will show up as extras) So how do you know there is no extra.

I just had to pay more as my prescription on astigmatism went from 2 to 2.5

I go to https://www.goggles4u.co.uk/

There are frames advertised, with prices, before they have any idea what my prescription is. I add to cart, and give my prescription. The price is the same. So, they can't be adding extra for my astigmatism.

You likely had to pay more to get the thinner "high index" lenses. Otherwise lenses get pretty thick at that power, but they don't cost much more as long as you're willing to live with that thickness.

Ah - they all look thin to me.

I had my cataracts replaced and before that astigmatism was the least of the issues -20 diapotre for short sight are quite thick

I’ve seen some glasses manufacturers charge me more for astigmatic lenses specifically. Never to the magnitude the other person mentioned but also not at the same cost. It was part of the cost breakdown on the receipt, but likely they’re just fleecing people. I didn’t end up buying from them.

But in general, it’s been the same cost as non-astigmatic lenses.

What I meant to say is, lenses “may” be more but I accidentally dropped the “may ”. Too late to edit now

Yep, it does sound like astigmatism. I have it. It only got detected when i was around 30 but apparently I've had it since birth. My first pair of glasses basically eliminated any eye strain / fatigue for the first few years in spite of having more cylinder than dioptries.

However, my lenses were never more expensive than my wife's who doesn't have any (astigmatism. she does have dioptries). Only difference is they're never in stock and I have to wait a couple days.

That’s real - you have some astigmatism.

When it’s not severe it’s hard to correct and annoying. For me, I have a hard time with night driving in the rain because of it. But I found the correction annoying in normal circumstances.

For astigmatism they’ll add cylinder to the lens, this could also be prism which is for when your eyes like to point in different directions.

Do you mean prismatic lenses? I had awful headaches at one point and the optician added prism to my prescription, I don't think the cost changed at all (UK optician).

I believe prismatic lenses are normally used to correct muscle weakness which may cause eye strain (and double vision in severe cases). My prescription was changed back to no prism after a few years.

Edit: siblings are likely correct after reading your comment again. It's likely astigmatism which I also have. But $600 is still ridiculous.

My prisms aim to make me not cross eyed all the time, but I'm pretty sure my brain just compensated to make my eyes even more cross eyed to keep the double vision

Costco in-house optometrist test costs $60. No membership required.

At least then you know you're not being scammed.

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