Contact Lenses and Laser Eye Surgery Discussion Area

Kernow_Kid

joner wrote: »

Please let me know your thoughts or any success stories with D&A.

With kind regards

My Girlfriend has just had a similar event with D&A.
She wasn't happy with her contacts from Specsavers, so went to D&A to get another opinion. Once the test was done (she needs aspherics instead), she asked for the perscription.
The examiner said she would have to wait till after the trial and then sign up for 3 months at £30 per month.
She said no, and he got funny so she left.
When she went back for the trial lenses, he wouldn't let her leave until she signed up. Again she said no and tried to remove them, he said Ok, she could trial them. The perscription was obviously wrong as everything was blurred, but he said it would settle. It didn't, even after changing left to right.

He has said that it is Law that they are not allowed to give out the perscription until after 3 months.
I think this is rubbish but have no way of checking. I know that after an eye test they must hand over the perscription, but is it the same with a contact lens test?

I've said to use the Data Protection Act to get the info, but as the contacts were blurry, would it be worth it?
Any help will be great.
Ta, KK

coolio_2

Has anyone used second sight? 4 weeks on and no reply to emails, etc. No money taken but order shows 'processsed'

lightways

hi, does anyone know what i'll need along with the contact lenses, is it just the cleaning solution? and is it called saline?
first time buying

jennynoo

Saline is just salt solution which is the same as the fluid in your eyes so can be useful if you find that your contact lenses sting. They did with me when i first got lenses - several years ago - but I don't bother with saline now and the lenses are fine. If you are getting daily lenses you wont need solution but if you are getting monthly you will need a monthly solution. You can get 'complete' solutions for monthly contact lenses that you can clean you contact lenses with and store the lenses in. Your optician should explain all this and give you a trial. Nothing else needed

OverlordKain

I've just ordered a set of FreshLook colour lenses from Tesco Direct. I had tried to book an appointment with Tesco opticians, but they had given me the same line, that I would have to return 2 weeks later after a trial period. (As the nearest usable Tesco opticians to me is in either Glasgow or Warrington, this is a bit of travel.) Is this then the deal that every time you move house and have to change opticians, you have to go through the whole lens trial lark all over again?

So I just went ahead and ordered the lenses off Tesco Online anyway, and provided them with my prescription (having worn the same lenses for 18 years) and the details for Optical Express in Belfast. I know, I know, but Optical Express doesn't give out prescriptions, and what's more, they told me they write out their prescriptions in a "non-standard format" (whatever that means). Of course now I'm at the mercy of Optical Express getting the phone call from Tesco and just saying no. :wall:

Annoyingly, Tesco Opticians don't accept Clubcard Plus as payment! :mad:

I've also been told by an optometrist that you can get two months out of monthly lenses, if you take good care of your lenses, ie. don't leave them in the eyes too long, clean them thoroughly, etc. For cleaning, he recommended hydrogen peroxide solution - this comes with a special lens case with a platinum neutralising disc in the base.

echos_mum

I've been wearing contacts for well over 15 years & can buy my Acuvue2's at half my current cost tho' this DOES include a quick check-up twice a year. I thought that I would still be able to make a saving.

I also have rung round loads of opticians in my area to ascertain what it would cost for me to have the contact lens check-ups and get a prescription I could use for a year as well as the cost of a standard eye test. I have been amazed and horrified both at the variety of responses as well as the very off-hand attitude of the people I have spoken to.

For a standard eye test - £13.75 to 30.00
For a contact lens consultation - £19 to £35.00 - and the validity can be either 6 months or 1 year, with no explanation as to why some are only for 6 months, thus forcing me to have to have 2 consultations pa.

I also discovered that, if an optician does not supply the Acuvue2 lenses that I wear, they will not provide any prescription! I find that amazing as I believed that the prescription showed the power, base curve and diameter, NOT the manufacturer or lens type. - AND I got the stuff about having to go back for 3 months before they will give me a prescription, even though I've been wearing the same lenses for years!

I think that this is GROSSLY anti-consumer, (monopoly-like / cartel?) and extremely unfair, & I have written to several optician "bodies" to find out if there are any guidelines, or indeed laws, covering the issue of contact lens prescriptions and the costs, or whether there are moves to put some in place before the Office of Fair Trading steps in to stop this very unfair practice. The British Veterinary Assn did it to stop just this very practice in issuing over-priced prescriptions for my dog's medicine, so let's hope that opticians do the same.

WHY NOT GET EVERYBODY IN THIS SITUATION TO WRITE SO SOMETHING GETS DONE. I DON'T BUY THE EXCUSE ABOUT HIGH STREET SHOP COSTS - THEY'RE ONLY LIKE DENTISTS & DOCTORS - THEY DON'T HAVE HIGH STREET SHOPS!

nedmundo

Echo's Mum - I think that last post warrants an explanatory response. I think you have undone your own argument as a cartel/monopoly would mean every practioner colludes to charge the same amount and issue specifications valid for the same period.

The fact that you got varying replies goes to show that market forces are very much in play and that you do have a choice where you go and how much you pay. Therefore, by definition, it is not anti-consumer. Some practices would have higher overheads (e.g. better equipment or more experienced, qualified and therefore more expensive practitioners) and some will be more desperate for extra business - hence the difference.

As to how long an issued specification is valid for, this depends on a variety of factors, including the degree of contact lens induced changes to your eyes, your attitude to contact lens wear and how much you wear them for.
The practitioner is responsible for the lenses during that period of specification and is not obliged to issue them for any longer than he/she feels confortable, before reviewing your eyes again. It would be a brave practitioner who says they will give you a specification valid for a year before they have even seen your eyes and the lenses in situ!

Patients do not have an automatic right to contact lens wear. Practitioners have the right to refuse to prescribe contact lenses if they have any concerns about the health of your eyes. They also have the right to charge as they see fit.

Hope that helps.

emsywoo123

I feel absolutely compelled to post a note on this subject, aimed at all those who say they have worn lenses and so should not need the check ups.
I had successfully worn lenses for 12 years, daily replacement, and was confident and careful in using them. Something more interesting was always happening in place of my check up, so I was late for 1 and missed another.
One day my eye felt a bit itchy, and the light hurt my eyes. As I was in town, I popped into my opticians who saw me right away. Next thing I know, bish bash bosh I am in an ambulance being whisked off to the eye hospital.
Essentially, my eyes had slowed down tear production, leading the lenses to act as sandpaper, and I had an ulcer on my eye. Great!
I now cannot wear lenses, I hvae lost some sight, which will never return. All because I was too cocky about my appointments.
So yes, money save, but please please let this be a lesson that some things are just better being paid for.
Lecture over!!!!! I hope this helps someone xxx

nedmundo

There you go Folks. Proof that even the safest modality of contact lens wear still has it's risks. Don't get complacent!

Rammstein1

appologies if this is elsewhere - i have looked but cant find anything (could be down to the following )
i currently get my contact lenses from vision express at £26 per month and
that includes all solutions and home delivery
the ones i get are acuvue advance for astigmatism
iv had a scoot around the net and found them cheaper but the price doesnt include solutions which i would have to buy seperately
my vision express deal also includes up to £80 off frames (currently get oakley) and also free eye tests, replacement if i rip/damage contacts and all eye tests
does anyone get their similar lenses online and whats the cost including all solutions and eye tests etc and where from ?
i have considered laser correction as it has had excellent views from everybody i have spoken to but as im now 44 and trying to save money i dont want to spend upwards of £800 in one hit
i really only wear my contacts when i go out and for concerts and in the summer i wear my prescription lens oakley sunglasses
any views/help mucho appreciated

Rammy