Zenni progressive lens glasses - where did I go wrong?

[WorriedNoodle]

Hi,

 

I recently decided to try ordering a set of progressive lens glasses from Zenni optical as prices are much cheaper than Top Charoen where I got my current set from. But there was a problem with the order I received from Zenni as unlike my Top Chareon glasses that gave progressive in focus views from close up to infinity on horizon the set I got from Zenni only seemed to focus from close up to about 3 meters away.

 

So where did I go wrong? I had a previous older 2014 prescription for the  Top Charoen progressives but since then my eyes have changed so I used a more recent 2016 reading glasses prescription I had made from another Thai optician and then used that to order progressives from Zenni this year.   This more recent 2016 prescription was also used by me to order reading glasses from Zenni and they were just fine, so what am I getting wrong when ordering progressives?

 

Below are the two prescriptions if this helps.

 

Latest 2016 prescription from Thai optician for reading glasses: sent to Zenni to order Progressive lens    
          (SPH)        (CYL)    Axis    ADD
OD - Right 2.25         0.00    0       +1.75
OS - Left  3.00        -0.50    10
PD  66

Previous 2014 prescription from Thai Top Charoen optician for progressive lens glasses 2014:    
          (SPH)        (CYL)    Axis    ADD
OD - Right 0.50         0.00    0       +1.5
OS - Left  0.75         0.00    0       +1.5
PD  66

 

[KhonKaenKowboy]

Where you went wrong was using the prescription from 2016.....which is dramatically different than the 2014 .  Reading glasses are a very simple matter, that is why they worked.  You sound like you're having cognitive problems, TBH.  Zenni has saved me thousands over the last 10 years....

Edited March 6, 2017 by KhonKaenKowboy

[lopburi3]

Are you far sighted or near sighted?  Is your distance vision almost normal without glasses?  It appears you told Zenni to progress from a normal reading glasses plus doppler rather than your distance vision prescription so the +2.25 and +3.00 are the distance vision?  

[partington]

 

Your  previous prescription (2014) shows much less distance correction (Sph) than the 2016 , which suggests in the last two years your distance vision has got much, much worse, or the 2016  prescription is some kind of mistake and the Sph value is too high. If the Sph value is mistakenly too high then you will have trouble focusing nearby.

 

When you order reading glasses the Sph value is 0.0, that is they ignore it in filling the prescription, so it is not surprising that the reading glasses are fine. 

 

I suggest the Sph value in the prescription is wrong, or Zenni have made a mistake in grinding the lenses - (it does happen- I have ordered 9 pairs from Zenni, and one pair had an error in one lens, for which I was refunded ).

 

The easiest way to check the glasses is go to any optician- the machines they have can read the lenses and tell you the prescription. 

 

If the Sph value is not what you ordered then you can get refunded; if it is, then your original prescription was wrong.

[WorriedNoodle]

Thanks to both lopburi3 and partington for your considerate answers. So I need to order correctly next time with the old sph values provided by Top Charoeon that provided the original progressives. Appreciated. I should qualify my situation by stating I have starting suffering from presbyopia as I get old and am relatively new to glasses having never used them most of my life. I have only ever needed glasses for close up and reading since turning 50 years old so normally just use reading only glasses and these have changed since my presbyopia started from +1.5 to about +2.5-+3 now where it may have steadied at(?) so see clearly very close up. 

[partington]

You should get one more eye test.

 

At this stage it is not easy to tell whether your 2016 eye test is wrong or the glasses are wrong.

 

I would be worried if an eyetest in 2016 gave you Sph values so completely wrong- if this is the case it was performed by someone incompetent!

[lopburi3]

The 2016 seem to be for reading glasses only (quite strong + numbers but normal for those of us older folks) but admit do not know why they have indicated add 1.75 to the OD

 

So when you order progressive you would want 0 (zero) SPH if your distance vision is still good and then use add +2.25 for OD and +3.00 for OS if you want to get progressives to that 2016 Rx.

 

But suspect it would be best to have a new test done - hospital can do cheaply. 

[partington]

9 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

The 2016 seem to be for reading glasses only (quite strong + numbers but normal for those of us older folks) but admit do not know why they have indicated add 1.75 to the OD

 

So when you order progressive you would want 0 (zero) SPH if your distance vision is still good and then use add +2.25 for OD and +3.00 for OS if you want to get progressives to that 2016 Rx.

 

But suspect it would be best to have a new test done - hospital can do cheaply. 

I think you are confused about these numbers. In the 2016 version there is a  prescription for distance

2016
          (SPH)        (CYL)    Axis    ADD
OD - Right 2.25         0.00    0       +1.75
OS - Left  3.00         -0.50    10

 

Here in the 2016 prescription the right eye has a -2.25 distance correction and the left a -3.00 distance correction. These are quite strong corrections! Sph values are negative, and are the distance correction numbers - if they were positive the lens wouldn't also have a positive ADD value for reading.

 

To get the correct reading prescription you adjust the bottom of the lenses by adding the ADD value +1.75, (that's why it is called ADD!) - this is a positive number. It is  the same for both eyes so that is why there is only one ADD number in this prescription: it does not mean the ADD number is only for the right eye (OD)

 

So in this prescription the reading correction for the  right eye OD is  -2.25 + 1.75  that is   -0.5 and the left left eye  OS is   -3 + 1.75   that is   -1.25 

 

So to make reading glasses only with no distance correction they would make lenses that were only these values:
          (SPH)        (CYL)    Axis   
OD - Right -0.5       0.00     0      
OS - Left  -1.25      -0.50    10
 

I was incorrect before in saying they ignore the Sph value to make reading glasses-they simply add the Sph to the Add number and make the lens power over the whole lens equal to the arithmetic sum of these two values.

 

Something is wrong with the glasses or the prescription, and only testing the glasses or your eyes will tell you what has gone wrong here.

Edited March 6, 2017 by partington

[WorriedNoodle]

Thanks to both lopburi3 and partington for your further helpful answers. I think best I take the Zenni progressive glasses and get them tested with my eyes again locally somewhere.

[dddave]

I've had a very good experience from Zenni Customer Service and suggest you give them a call before your return period runs out if it already hasn't.  Get a return authorization now so you can use it if you need to once you get your eyes checked out.