Contact lenses

zaly

I was hoping to get a idea about what people pay for their monthly contact lenses. I'm with a smaller independent optician at the moment and feel like I may be paying over the odds. I pay £9.99 per month then £25 on top of this for my lenses. The £9.99 covers all aftercare and future tests.
I'd assumed the price was high because of having dailies but was told I'd only save £5 switching to monthlies. I'm trying to save a bit and £35/£30 per month is feeling quite hefty.
I don't want to buy online having had quite serious eye problems in the past. I prefer the security of knowing I have someone to go straight to. However my prescription these days is fairly straightforward and I've had no difficulties for quite awhile now.
With thanks :0)

pmduk

I pay £18 for 30 pairs of daily disposables which last me 2-3 months as I don't wear them daily. Aftercare and assessment me £15 initially (at Asda) but has been provided free of charge since

zaly

Thanks pmduk! Looks like there are better deals to be had out there then, and that's with dailies too.

AbbieCadabra

are you a member at Costco at all? (not too sure if you can use if you're only a guest of a member?) i pay £15'ish for a yearly contact lense check & after care & £80 for 6 months worth of monthly astigmatism lenses, normal ones are cheaper.

browneyedbazzi

I paid £15 per month to specsavers which includes my lenses and aftercare - I use all day all night monthlies.

AbbieCadabra - your post might have been just the push I need to get a costco membership. I've been debating whether it's worth doing or not for ages and if I can get my lenses there that will certainly make it worth the cost of a card.

AbbieCadabra

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

I paid £15 per month to specsavers which includes my lenses and aftercare - I use all day all night monthlies.

AbbieCadabra - your post might have been just the push I need to get a costco membership. I've been debating whether it's worth doing or not for ages and if I can get my lenses there that will certainly make it worth the cost of a card.

good stuff! if possible it might be worth getting an existing member to just phone up & double check the price of the lenses that you use. you can get similar prices online & Asda were comparable last time i looked, i just like the convenience of Costco (& the opportunity to spend more money in there! it really is money saving, honest ).

InsideInsurance

I pay £80 for a pack of extended wear lenses that are supposed to last 6 months however I am known to wear them a lot longer than I am supposed to and so it lasts a lot longer.

You can get the cheaper but the place I use allows you to self certify your prescription and so I can get away with just having a checkup every few years

nedmundo

InsideInsurance wrote: »

I pay £80 for a pack of extended wear lenses that are supposed to last 6 months however I am known to wear them a lot longer than I am supposed to and so it lasts a lot longer.

You can get the cheaper but the place I use allows you to self certify your prescription and so I can get away with just having a checkup every few years

That's not a good thing - by over wearing your lenses and not having frequent check ups, you're significantly at higher risk of serious complications and probably haven't got optimal vision, even if you're not aware of it.

Sometimes, cutting costs can be taken too far.........

anniewoo

I get monthly lenses from Boots Opticians and I pay £12 a month which includes after care and all checkups.They post me 3 months supply of lenses at a time.

InsideInsurance

nedmundo wrote: »

That's not a good thing - by over wearing your lenses and not having frequent check ups, you're significantly at higher risk of serious complications and probably haven't got optimal vision, even if you're not aware of it.

Sometimes, cutting costs can be taken too far.........

I wouldnt advocate it however each checkup I've had has all been fine and the opticians have even commented that the lenses looked good for the age I claimed they were even though they were actually much older than that.

zaly

nedmundo wrote: »

That's not a good thing - by over wearing your lenses and not having frequent check ups, you're significantly at higher risk of serious complications and probably haven't got optimal vision, even if you're not aware of it.

Sometimes, cutting costs can be taken too far.........

I'm a bit of a cautionary tale when it comes to that! I wasn't over wearing lenses but I did buy them online and only an annual check with no ongoing optician. My eyes were uncomfortable for awhile but I continued wearing the lenses. When I did finally get a check up I discovered that I had quite a severe infection. As a result I was unable to wear contacts for 18 months and have permanent scarring on my retina. I'm lucky in that due to where the scarring is it doesn't affect my vision. The whole thing was a real wake up call to me and I've not been without an optician since. It's so tempting to try and save money, especially when you've never had a problem, but it was scary to discover just how bad things can get. I'm cautious Clara these days!