Anyone else "surprised" after the mandatory eye exam for school?

[sunlover13]

$618 worth of surprises here!

Yep, apparently, DD is far-sighted and needs glasses for reading, writing, art, or anything else she is doing up close. She does not need them for everyday playing, etc.

I had no idea!!!!!

$618 later, she's got glasses.

UGH! Not an expense I was ready nor planning 22 days before our Disney trip & a day before a Labor Day weekend short getaway!

Anyone else surprised by the eye doctor????

 

[crisi]

We had that happen with preschool screening. Our son - who we thought was a very visual kid - turned out to be extraordinarily nearsighted in one eye. Fortunately, I have vision insurance through work, so on a bad year (the insurance only pays for frames every other year, but we still get frames every year), its a $250 bill. He is now ten, so its been years of this.

DO insure your glasses, DO spend more to get the anti scratch.

 

[lntsmom]

My son had the year from heck in Kindergarten. Evil teacher. Evil principal. They called me a liar when I said that the behavior they saw from him in school was nothing like what I saw anywhere else. That year, the school nurse screened him and pronounced his vision 20/20.

Last year we moved cross country and he had a wonderful teacher and principal. Oddly, the teacher saw some of the same things he was doing in K, but other teachers, those who worked with small groups, didn't. I agreed to have him tested and, again, after all the testing the nurse said his vision was 20/20.

I took him in this summer because it was the first time I've had vision insurance for him. The doctor freaked out because his vision is so bad! He is so farsighted that even with glasses he sees 20/30 in one eye and 20/40 in the other. It was suggested that next year, when he's just 8, I consider moving him into contacts because his glasses are so thick.

I guess I was lucky...the eye exam was a $60 copay. I got the glasses at WalMart's back to school sale and they were just $90.

I went with the cheapies because with the way our insurance year runs, I can have his eyes retested after October 1. I figure I'll wait and see...so far school is going really well this year. None of the complaints of the past. This doesn't surprise me, as he couldn't see anything in the room. I'm sure life is much easier for him now that he can actually see the book and the teacher and the board!

If problems pop up, I'll take him to a private doc and get a better quality of glasses.

I'm sorry your experience was so expensive, and I hope the glasses make a world of difference for your daughter!

 

[sunlover13]

I guess I was just shocked that 1) she needed glasses 2) the price!!!!

She is under my DH's insurance and apparently his vision insurance is not the greatest. He said they would have only covered like $50 so he made the appt for his eye doctor (family friend) who is not under his plan. He didn't think she would need glasses at all so he figured $115 eye exam, no biggie.

I guess I'll be looking into my vision plan at work for next year.

They didn't say anything about insuring the glasses to me. Is this done through the eye doctor????

 

[Tam1067]

We had a similar experience. I felt like a horrible mom because I hadn't noticed my poor kindergartener couldnt' see! He also ended up having to patch because of a lazy eye.

I never spend that much on glasses and exams though. We get our glasses at Costco, and the prices are quite reasonable. Our pediatric opthalmologist is just a regular $20 copay because certain vision problems are considered medical and not vision issues.

Good luck!

 

[licountrygirl]

My son had a regular eye exam when he was younger (now 12) and the optometrist at the store said he needed glasses to read. Being the type of person my mom is, she insisted she pay for all the upgrades. Bullet proof lenses, scratch guard, the nicer frames that the union wouldn't pay for...... etc. I was shocked that he needed glasses, there were no signs that he had a hard time seeing.

He wore them for about a year until he went to a real eye doctor. The ophthalmologist he saw after a severe concussion. After the exam, I was told he was fine. I asked about the glasses - he said - there was no indication that my son needed glasses now or in the past! His vision was excellent.

So now I am very leery about going to the eye dr. in a store that sells glasses like General Vision, etc. I am very fortunate to have awesome insurance that will pay for the more experienced doctor, so I have that option, but for all of the parents out there who get a very surprising diagnosis that the child needs glasses - you might want to have a second opinion.

I know my experience might be something that only happens once in a while, but I was taken and so was my mom's money!

And as a side note - I am not saying that all optometrists out there are acknowledgeable or only out to sell a pair of glasses - or that you're less important than an ophthalmologist, it's just that people do make mistakes and it's OK to question a diagnosis.

 

[aspcamhreditor2]

We had the same experience. I was shocked & skeptical when a teacher recommended we take our DD to the eye doctor. Of course, she needed glasses! I, too, was shocked. It was the far-sighted thing for her as well. She basically doesn't wear her glasses except at school.

We are setting things up for a new screening ... I realize now taking her to a "store" that sell glasses wasn't the best idea.

Will handle things differently the 2nd time around.

PS to the OP ... go Illini!

 

[Alex&Evan'sMom]

I feel your pain.....We were very surprised at my son's eye exam....but not the one at school. I had noticed that he was having some problems seeing from a distance so I asked the school nurse to screen him(he was in the middle of the 1st grade) and she said that he was "slightly nearsighted". We took him to my husband's opthamologist sister-in-law and after examining him declared him to be 20/400!! Needless to say we felt horrible and wondered how long the poor child had not been able to see any farther than right in front of his face. I started wearing driving glasses about 4 years ago(vision is 20/40) and hubby's vision is perfect so we just didn't worry about it and figured any problems would be picked up during screenings. Luckily his vision with his glasses is 20/20 but such a strong prescription at such a young age(6) is a little scary! We do not have vision insurance so our bill with exam and glasses was $250. I would suggest to everyone to get scratch resistant lenses and frame insurance! Ours has already paid for itself in repairs. Good luck!

 

[sunlover13]

WOW! Hearing all your stories does not make me feel so bad. I guess I'm happy they passed the law here in IL to make it mandatory for those entering school to get an eye exam. Not sure if that is all states or not. They really should make it a yearly thing since their eyes can change.

We did take her to an eye doctor, not a store that sells glasses so I'm pretty sure they weren't pulling my leg kind of thing. My husband and his entire family go to that same eye doctor. I'm going to check my vision insurance to see if I should add her next year so we will have insurance. DH's health insurance is really good so I just assumed he had vision, apparently not.

PS to the OP ... go Illini!

I'm heading to St. Louis in the morning for the big game!

I would suggest to everyone to get scratch resistant lenses and frame insurance! Ours has already paid for itself in repairs. Good luck!

Talk to me about this frame insurance. Is this through the eye doctor? They didn't mention this to me.

 

[deedeetoo]

$618 sounds very expensive to me for glasses. Its probably too late now, but next time I would try going somewhere else. As others have mentioned $250 is a much more normal type of charge.

 

[Tam1067]

I would really only go to an opthalmogist who is also a physician and therefore can do surgery at the hospital, prescribe medications, and really treat diseases of the eye in a medical sense. That's different than an optometrist. Both could be called "eye doctors" but there's a huge difference in the training and expertise. I'm not knocking the optometrist (I go to one for my basic old near sightedness), but with kids and far-sightedness, you should see a true medical doctor. Ours is an MD just like pediatricians and surgeons are.

When you're dealing with children, there are so many things and you want someone who really knows about the medical conditions. Often, far sightedness in children is associated with the proverbial "lazy eye" which is not always visible to observers until it's really bad. This condition really needs to be treated early. Both my boys have had it (my oldest son's is much improved now), and we have to go for checks four times a year.

And with my insurance, the opthalmologist is cheaper because he's a medical copay whereas the optometrist falls under the vision plan, and kids get one of those exams per year with a deductible.

Again, I'm not sure which the OP's "eye doctor" is, but there is a real difference.

The Chicago area has quite a few really good pediatric opthalmologists; I know because we have a great one in the South Suburbs!

 

[crisi]

Talk to me about this frame insurance. Is this through the eye doctor? They didn't mention this to me.

We get it through our eye doctor. Or we buy frames with a two year guarantee on them. Ideally, you want two things - though this year that may be a financial stretch:

You want a spare pair for "Mom, I lost my glasses" - we use last years pair - my son's eyesight has IMPROVED over time, but last years pair is better than nothing (he's never LOST his glasses, but I have one of those kids who doesn't loose things).

You want them replaced if the lenses get scratched, the frames bent or broken. You'll be surprised at what kids can do to glasses - our worst was "run over by bike."

 

[kacaju]

That is very expensive for one kid, one pair of glasses.
I took all three of my girls to get their eyes checked today, no vision insurance at all and it was $644 for three exams, 1 pair of glasses and a 3 month supply of contacts.

 

[Alex&Evan'sMom]

WOW! Hearing all your stories does not make me feel so bad. I guess I'm happy they passed the law here in IL to make it mandatory for those entering school to get an eye exam. Not sure if that is all states or not. They really should make it a yearly thing since their eyes can change.

We did take her to an eye doctor, not a store that sells glasses so I'm pretty sure they weren't pulling my leg kind of thing. My husband and his entire family go to that same eye doctor. I'm going to check my vision insurance to see if I should add her next year so we will have insurance. DH's health insurance is really good so I just assumed he had vision, apparently not.



I'm heading to St. Louis in the morning for the big game!



Talk to me about this frame insurance. Is this through the eye doctor? They didn't mention this to me.

They told us about it when we were ordering his glasses. It was mentioned at the same time as the scratch resistant lenses. Hubby's sis in law said that both were necessities and I have to agree. DS had glasses for a week when he woke DH and I up in the middle of the night and told us one of his lenses were missing! He had snuck downstairs to sleep on the couch and fell asleep with his glasses on the arm of the couch. I searched for about 10 minutes until I found the lens.(it was waaaay down inside the couch lining so I can't even imagine how scratched it would've been.) And after about a month he left his glasses on the floor where his little brother stepped on them. He has bent his frames 5 more times since then. Luckily the frame adjuster at the doctor's is a magician and we haven't had to get new frames yet. But on our last visit(this past Tuesday) we were told they were on their last leg! If your child is anything like mine(he is a very active little boy and wears everything out) I would definitely contact them and see if it can be added. It is totally worth it!

 

[mjantz]

Neither of my kids were 'caught' by the yearly eye exam. DS started saying he had trouble seeing the board at school so I decided it was time for an eye exam anyway so we took him to the same Dr DH & I use. He did need some minor correction & got his glasses in about a week. A few weeks later, DD was looking through DSs glasses & said 'Wow, everythings really clear!'. Cue another trip to the eye dr & another pair of glasses.

It was a big shock but I'm glad we were able to get them what they needed.

 

[sunlover13]

They told us about it when we were ordering his glasses. It was mentioned at the same time as the scratch resistant lenses. Hubby's sis in law said that both were necessities and I have to agree. DS had glasses for a week when he woke DH and I up in the middle of the night and told us one of his lenses were missing! He had snuck downstairs to sleep on the couch and fell asleep with his glasses on the arm of the couch. I searched for about 10 minutes until I found the lens.(it was waaaay down inside the couch lining so I can't even imagine how scratched it would've been.) And after about a month he left his glasses on the floor where his little brother stepped on them. He has bent his frames 5 more times since then. Luckily the frame adjuster at the doctor's is a magician and we haven't had to get new frames yet. But on our last visit(this past Tuesday) we were told they were on their last leg! If your child is anything like mine(he is a very active little boy and wears everything out) I would definitely contact them and see if it can be added. It is totally worth it!

Thanks! I'm going to call them tomorrow. You would think they'd try to sell me everything they can & they didn't mention either of these things. Just the anti-glare which they suckered me into. I hope they are open. If not, it will have to wait until Tuesday which I hope it's not too late by then.

I already checked my vision plan and that doc is listed in mine so I'll be getting vision insurance next year for DD and I! I don't need it so I opted out of it this year.

 

[LisaNJ25]

Holy Crap.. I have never spent that much on the eye dr and glasses. 4 out of 6 us wear glasses. I hope that also includes insurance for them if they break. My kids average $150 and under. That includes $15 for the insurance so if the break in a year they are repaired/replaced.

 

[holly7347]

Gosh now I feel bad that I haven't gotten around to getting DD#1's eyes checked. I was told she needed to have an exam before starting Kindergarten but we had a crazy crazy summer and I never got around to making an appointment. We also had a change of insurance which complicated matters. I called to make her an appointment with my eye dr. only to be told they didn't accept this new insurance. I printed out a list of approved dr.'s but then never made the appointment I can't believe the school hasn't realized yet that I didn't turn in the paperwork for the eye exam they started back Aug 13th. I must remember to call Tues and make an appointment.

That price does sound high. My mom has featherweight bi-focals and doesn't spend that much. But lots of it really depends on the frames you choose she gets cheapys.

 

[sunlover13]

Alright, you guys are killing me about the $$$ thing.

Here's my breakdown:

exam - 118
fundus photography - 40
refraction - 35
lenses - 118
polycarbonate - 48
frames - 141
anti-reflective - 118

Total - $618 (1/3 of my Disney vacation expense )

 

[Shagley]

For those of you with kids in glasses, www.zennioptical.com is GREAT. The glasses are really cheap so that makes it easier to have a couple of spare pairs for "just in case". There are quite a few threads on the budget board about Zenni Optical and everyone seems to be really pleased with their glasses. The glasses start at around $10.00 a pair, and that includes frames and lenses. Yes, I said $10.00