Some of you may or may not know that I wear glasses. Usually, it’s just for driving, or seeing things that are far away. My vision is something that I take very seriously. Without it, I wouldn’t know what I’d do. Vision is something that everyone needs to be concerned about. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 8.2% of Americans with self-reported vision problems did not have health insurance. Only 4% of Americans without health insurance reported having optional vision insurance, compared with 58% of Americans with private health insurance and 44% of Americans with public health insurance.

Vision care is not cheap, but it doesn’t have to be extremely expensive either. Did you know that Walmart has a Vision Center? I knew it, but I had never been to it before. Sure, I’d walk past it, but I had never thought to stop in there.

Walmart gave me the chance to check out their in store optometrist and get contacts and/or glasses. I figured this was a good chance to make the jump to contacts. I’ve always been scared of them, but have been considering them for some time now. Why not? If I didn’t end up liking them, then it would be easy to go back to my glasses.

My Walmart’s in-store optometrist had a sign that said they accepted Walk-ins, but when I tried, they didn’t have any openings. I was informed that this just happened to be the busiest time of year, but we easily made an appointment for a couple of days later. When it was time to be seen, everything went super smoothly. The appointment started off with a couple of easy diagnostic tests, and moved into the exam room. The Dr. asked me several questions about my vision history and asked what I was looking for, i.e. glasses or contacts. I explained that I wasn’t looking to wear contacts full time, but definitely wanted to give them a try. Once she got a good look at my eyes, she went and got a couple of pairs of contacts for me, and showed me how to properly put them in and take them out. She explained that since I wasn’t planning on wearing them every day, she suggested the disposable daily contacts since they would remain sealed and have less risk of collecting bacteria, as opposed to the ones that you wear more long term. She didn’t want them to sit in a solution and potentially cause problems for me later on.

I was taken to a well lit room, with a magnifying mirror and one of the assistants came in to help talk me through putting on and removing the contacts. It was such a hard things for me to do. I absolutely hate having things come close to my eyes, so being able to see my finger coming up to my eye, and feeling something touching it was crazy. Of course, once I had them on for a little while, it wasn’t so bad. I was advised not to wear them too long that day, and given all the rules for when I can put makeup on, and how I couldn’t sleep with them in. There was a lot to remember, but I think I got it.

Once I was able to work the contacts on my own, I headed back into the exam room so the Dr. could double check the fit of the lenses. She was happy with them, and that was it! I checked out and paid for my exam and then the real fun began. After ordering my first 30 day supply of contacts,  I then got to pick out some glasses. I checked out the selection of frames at the Walmart Vision Center, and I was very surprised with the amount of styles that they had, and their prices! I ended up choosing a set of frames that cost only $18! The technician that helped me out asked me a variety of questions regarding my habits with glasses. We went through the various coatings that lenses could have. I ended up opting for the anti-glare coating, which would help me when driving, especially at night. With frames, lenses and anti-glare coating, my new glasses are only $90. While it was super easy to order contacts there at the Vision Center, I can also order them myself online at walmartcontacts.com! I’d recommend checking with your optometrist, but you can also find savings online with the Equate 1 Day Disposable Lenses!More information here: [wpdm_file id=2]

All in all, it was a very productive day. I finally broke through my fear of contacts, which I know is going to help me out in a few of my hobbies, and I can’t wait until everything arrives so I can update you with more pictures!!! Stay tuned!!!

UPDATE!!! I got my order of contacts and my glasses in today!!! It only took a week! I love my glasses too!!!

What do you think???