New Glasses & Contacts for Sportsguy & Me

I have had bad eyesight for almost as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, getting older hasn’t helped the situation any. Three years ago i got my first pair of bifocals. I really couldn’t believe I needed bifocals before I turned 40!

Then, as you all know, I was diagnosed with diabetes, which is known to hurt vision. So now more than every, it’s important that I stay on top of my optical health.

This week, the powers that be at Walmart wanted the Walmart Moms to check out the Walmart vision center. That was really no big deal for me, as I’ve been getting my glasses at Walmart for years. My husband was interested in trying contacts, so he jumped right on board the opportunity to try a contact exam and daily contact lenses.

Sportsguy’s Exam

Sportsguy was the first to go for his exam. When he came home to tell me about it, he mentioned how knowledgeable the eye doctor seemed. Sportsguy said Dr. Breeden told him a lot of things he didn’t know about eye health.

Sportsguy was sent home with 10 days worth of trial contact lenses, which he has, unfortunately, yet to get into his eye. Sportsguy has a strong blink reflex. It’s nice that he got the 10 day trial, so he can see if contacts will work for him before he has to shell out money for a longer supply of lenses.

If Sportsguy does get to the point of ordering contact lenses, he’s going to look into Equate 1 Day contact lenses. They’re about the same annual cost as premium two week lenses (plus contact lens solution), and they offer UV protection. If I were ever to go back to contacts, I’d definitely pick daily wear lenses. The calcium buildup from longer wear lenses really irritates my eyes, and since he suffers from allergies, I think Sportsguy will do better with daily wear lenses, too.

The Equate 1 Day lenses come in a 90 day supply for $30, and with a current prescription, you can order them directly from Walmart.com.

My Exam

My appointment also went well. I was actually surprised by how knowledgeable Dr. Breeden was about diabetes and eye health. He went over all the things I need to look out for with diabetes, what the general prognosis is for the eyes of a diabetic (even a well controlled diabetic), and he took extra time during the eye dilation part of the exam to look for damaged blood vessels. I’m happy to say that my diabetic eyes are just fine.

At the end of the exam, Dr. Breeden made sure to let me know he’d be forwarding my exam results to my general practitioner, so he’d have a record of my eyes for my diabetes management.

When it came time to purchase my glasses, I found some great frames for $58, which is a lot less expensive than I used to pay at the stand alone optometrist’s office. There were frames priced as low as $9, but many of them were too small for someone with progressive bifocal lenses. They were cute, though! If I needed single vision lenses, I would have gone with less expensive frames. $58 is still a great deal for eyeglass frames, though.

AND, another bonus for me, Walmart was offering a special where if I bought one pair of glasses, I got another pair for 20% off. So I picked up some sunglasses too. No more sun induced migraines for me!

Will We Go Back?

I’m obviously very happy with the Walmart Vision Center, as I’ve been going there for years. It’s affordable, for someone like me who doesn’t have vision insurance. Sportsguy’s contact exam was $105 (including the 10 day supply of contacts), and my eyeglass exam was $74. My frames were $58 (and they look nice!), and lenses, of course, vary in price, depending on what kind of lenses you need.

Finally, at my eyeglass fitting, the associate made sure to point out that Walmart offers a 1 year guarantee on glasses (excluding normal wear and tear, like scratching of lenses). So if your dog chews on your glasses or your toddler steps on them, you’re covered for a year. As someone with a dog and a toddler, I’m always happy to hear that!

It goes without saying that I will continue to use Walmart for my family’s eye care needs.

Stay tuned for pictures of me in my new glasses. It will be a week to 10 days.