I recently had my spectacles made online, however when I received them the lenses seemed rather thick I did enquire about this and found that they had made up the whole prescription in one go, the prescription was for distance with reading glasses as well surely they should have known to keep the two separate, when I wear them I seem to get a headache could this be the cause

How should they have "Known" this? Most people get bifocals or progressive lenses, rather than having two pair of glasses. Its more convenient.. and practical.

Unless they were specifically told in writing to make two separate pairs... they did exactly what is typical and customary.

What were they told to do when the prescription was written? Because certain measurements would have been made at the exam for the bifocals above and beyond the centerline of your eyes and bridge of the nose. Particularly with the progressive lenses. One can never assume anything.

I wear progressive lenses for a few years now, and have had single vision lenses for decades... thats why I am aware of that.

This is very confusing as you're being very vague. What do you mean "they made them all in one go."? You can't just combine two prescriptions into one single vision lens. Either they made you bifocals or made the distance or the near glasses. The thickness of the lens would be because of the lens material not somehow combining two prescriptions. Do you have your prescription? Did the website verify this prescription? Do you have a receipt? Do they have a return/exchange policy?

Smoothy is correct, they could have also been made into progressive lenses, again, which would not explain the lens thickness. Have you had glasses previously? If you can post your prescription and the name of the site that you used to order the glasses, I could help more.

Lense thickness is determined primarily by the lense material... certain high index lenses materials can be made thin... but those cost far more.

Again... If you want thin.. its going to cost you, and it has to be specified as there are several different options...

I am nearsighted, in my case that means the bulk of the material is at the outer edges... therefore there is a substantial weight penalty for the cheaper materials than there is for people who are far sighted.


Basically the 2 pair for $99 specials means you AREN'T going to get the lighter weight options.

The Last Pair of Zeis lenses I had.. (the lightest non-plastic lenses)... several years ago had a cost of $600 for the pair (I dropped and broke one on a ceramic tile floor)... BEFORE they were cut and mounted in frames. In the USA... retail. I ended up getting them Wholesale in Europe from a Doctor I know there where they were originally bought from. Just had to deal with shipping and customs fees. And a month to get them back.

Smoothy, Zeiss is a brand, not the type of lens. The prescription and some eye conditions will dictate the type of lens needed. High index, mid index, polycarbonate, or some aspheric lenses.

Yeah... A high index Glass ones... Lightest I could get.

I hate the polycarbonate ones because even with the coatings... they still scratch far easier than the glass ones. THe plus side they are the lightest of all of them.

Glass is much heavier than polycarbonate. I know there are many people with that issue. Have you tried a polycarbonate safety lens?

The Polycarbonate lenses.. even with all the fancy treatments will still incure scratches inside a year no matter how careful I am cleaning them. Because I have to wear these every waking hour if I expect to see anything clearly... I get the far more expensive high index (thinner) glass ones as while they are a bit heavier than polycarbonate, they are still far lighter than the cheaper glass ones.

I can usually get two years wear out of those without incurring any scratches. Any pair of the polycarbonate ones even with ALL the available treatments, inside of 2 years would gather a significant number of small scratches.

And yes I do run the glasses ander warm running water to carry away dirt particles and use microfiber lense cleaning cloths.

Not wanting to hijack the OP's thread... but wanted to point out ways to get more life out of their glasses.

Never use paper towels to clean them.

Well, the OP hasn't returned. And that's good that you are using proper cleaning techniques. That's unforunate that lenses don't last very long for you.