Specsavers contact lenses/presciption

crube

I think I'm probably gonna go with Specsavers, mainly because it's the best thing for my eyes with what the woman told me yesterday.

butterwouldntmelt

grex9101 wrote:

similar thing happened to me, i told specsavers to get to f***, now i have to order my contacts from the us as they dont ask for a prescription (yes i know this isnt a good idea). i use daily disposables though.....

I can't believe I am reading this... I am a Locum Optometrist so that means I work freelance and can offer completely unbiased advice... Last week I sent two people straight to hospital with sight threatening problems. Both of them had lenses off the internet and had not had regular check ups... If you go to a regular optician they will be able to ensure the health of your eyes... many times problems develop and can be detected before you develop any symptoms. If we can detect them early enough usually you can alter your regime and still continue to wear contact lenses.
I understand that various opticians charge different prices so I would advise you shop around but you should never skip follow up appointments.
What your calculations are also presuming are that you only need one check up... quite often patients are seen 6 monthly but sometimes if there is a problem they can be seen weekly, monthly etc.
Some specsavers stores offer 50% discount off their specs if you are a contact lens patient of theirs. Vision Express offer £79 off and I think Boots offer 25% off... so you need to add this into your calculations... And for those that think they don't need specs if they wear contact lenses.... WRONG you must give your eyes a rest from lenses if you are to be successful and wear them long term. If you have an eye infection you can;t wear you lenses and then how are you going to drive/Read?
You really do only have one pair of eyes... once they are scarred through contact lens problems they will not give you a clear vision again...
So ask yourself .... save money by all means but go to an optician for follow-ups.... PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
(p.s. If you can't be bothered shopping around go to specsavers they are the cheapest!)

VictorMeldrew

crube wrote:

She also told me not to buy Saline solution from Boots etc, as it is pretty much just water.

Saline from anywhere is pretty much just water - it's meant to be! Saline for contact lens use is pure water with around 0.85% Sodium Chloride (salt). This is around the same salt content of the tears. Some contain preservatives and so last longer, and some don't and so are better for people who develop sensitivities/allergies to the preservatives.

Also, opticians are not legally required to hand out contact lens prescriptions until they are happy that the lenses are fitting properly, and are not causing any problems (unlike spectacle prescriptions which are required to be handed out once the sight test is completed). The time period which is normally accepted for fitting can be anything up to three months from the initial consultation.

crube

^^^^^^^

You're both absolutely right, infact I wear my lenses way too much and am having a few days off them(I'm obviously wearing glasses instead) before I go and sign up for the Specsavers lenses next week. I'm now relieved I wasn't able to easily get the proclears from Tesco, because the way I'm doing things now, my eyes will be better off and that's more important than my bank balance. Thanks for all your replies everyone. :beer:

Littlemiss-lotsofdebt

Having suffered problems with my eyes, I would much rather pay my £11.00 a month to Specsavers and get my aftercare, solutions and lenses all in. I've actually being having fortnightly aftercare appointments (now moved to monthly) due to the problems I've been having, so I've more than got my money back. I have had £8.00/month lenses from them but they don't seem to suit me anymore so I've moved the £11.00 ones.

lisyloo

Vision Express offer £79 off and I think Boots offer 25% off...

Dolland & Aitchison do 50% off their glasses if you sign up for their contact lenses by post scheme.
I was told you can cancel and restart as many times as you like (if you wear dailies occasionally for example).

It's not particualarly a recommendation as I haven't used them (couldn't find glasses I liked) but might suit someone.

MrsTinks

lisyloo wrote:

Dolland & Aitchison do 50% off their glasses if you sign up for their contact lenses by post scheme.
I was told you can cancel and restart as many times as you like (if you wear dailies occasionally for example).

It's not particualarly a recommendation as I haven't used them (couldn't find glasses I liked) but might suit someone.

And don't forget that you get Tesco clubcard points there too With the lenses by post I mean

The cheapest provider of glasses etc isn't actually Specsavers... It's Costco. Unfortunately they are membership only I have been for my eye check up and contactlenses fitting through them and have my follow up on thursday and I'll let you know the total cost when I come back. Just a normal check tho is about £10

dinglebert

I found costco to be more expensive than specsavers for my toric lenses. My contract is £15 a month with cleaner, checkups and insurance. I've found the insurance part invaluable as so far I've managed to lost one lense and snip the corner of another (if round things can have corners!), both replaced after quick phonecall with no hastle.

However LLoyds chemists are doing an interesting offer at present. They will give you £5 voucher if there contact lenses are more expensive than my current contract. Going to try this tomorrow.

DEMO_3

a question for "butterwouldntmelt"

maybe you can help me out on this one. i need to wear specs and have got stigmatism, but i went abroad and broke my specs on the beach so bought a pair from t local eye-centre (optometry). tho they are my own prescription strength , they do not count for stigmatism!

so will these new specs effect my eyes in any way, i have been wearing them for 3monts now, and seem to be ok ?? but like you said, i may not be symptomatic just yet??!!

2ndly (quick Q) like goggles4u which is a US site supplying specs, say they want the prescription details and INCLUDE A SECTION FOR STIGMATISM ETC, would these lenses be the "same " as UK specs then?

pls reply! thanx

grex9101

butterwouldntmelt wrote:

I can't believe I am reading this... I am a Locum Optometrist so that means I work freelance and can offer completely unbiased advice... Last week I sent two people straight to hospital with sight threatening problems. Both of them had lenses off the internet and had not had regular check ups... If you go to a regular optician they will be able to ensure the health of your eyes... many times problems develop and can be detected before you develop any symptoms. If we can detect them early enough usually you can alter your regime and still continue to wear contact lenses.
I understand that various opticians charge different prices so I would advise you shop around but you should never skip follow up appointments.
What your calculations are also presuming are that you only need one check up... quite often patients are seen 6 monthly but sometimes if there is a problem they can be seen weekly, monthly etc.
Some specsavers stores offer 50% discount off their specs if you are a contact lens patient of theirs. Vision Express offer £79 off and I think Boots offer 25% off... so you need to add this into your calculations... And for those that think they don't need specs if they wear contact lenses.... WRONG you must give your eyes a rest from lenses if you are to be successful and wear them long term. If you have an eye infection you can;t wear you lenses and then how are you going to drive/Read?
You really do only have one pair of eyes... once they are scarred through contact lens problems they will not give you a clear vision again...
So ask yourself .... save money by all means but go to an optician for follow-ups.... PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
(p.s. If you can't be bothered shopping around go to specsavers they are the cheapest!)

hmmm, my point is this-i DID all the aftercare etc, they still refused to give me my prescription!

If you tell me that i can go to an opticians, pay twenty quid or whatever for a contacts prescription, then go online and get them cheaper then fair enough.
But, strangely, opticians ain't too keen on doing this!

BECAUSE THEY HAVE A CAPTIVE MARKET!!!!


and, as for giving your eyes a rest....

what sort of timescale are we talking about for dailies? I tend to take sundays "off", but my mate wears his monthlies for pretty much a whole month, takes one day off, then starts again......

soooooo?!