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Disabled (not sight) Contact lenses advice




Hope you are all having a nice day, I am going to trial contact lenses for the first time today (through Specsavers free trial) I am on high rate mobility and daily living as well as high rate pip, although I am not disabled due to my sight, I was wondering if anyone had any money saving tips or advice for when this trial is over? I was actually born cross-eyed and have had eight operations on my eyes and have worn glasses most of my life as I dont like the idea of things against my eyes but have decided to bite the bullet and see what happens. Any advice on saving money as I hear these can be very expensive would be greatly appreciated.
thank you all.
Comments
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This is a bit of a worry because we on this site are not allowed to give or receive medical advice to/from anyone else.
And when we are discussing eyes, that's even more of a worry as sight is very precious.
What I would recommend - and I'm not giving any medical advice or even any hints or tips at all - is that you go to see your GP and ask to be referred to specialist consultant opticians/ophthalmologists/eye people, preferably at a proper eye hospital. You may even be able to have the lenses free of charge or at a reduced rate if a consultant recommends or prescribes them for you. (I don't know that for a fact so please don't quote me!)
There's also a thing called Help with Health Costs that you can apply for (but which not many people tell you about). You need to complete a form (of course, there is always a form!) and it's really easy, you can do it online. If you are on a low income it's very helpful.
The link is here : https://services.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/apply-for-help-with-nhs-costs/apply-online
Specsavers, with the best will in the world, are NOT consultant optical specialists and with the ops you've had in the past and your optical history, you will probably be better served by a specialist.
Any other advice on here will probably be removed by moderators but you can get lots of help from the experts (and I don't mean Specsavers).
Take care.
Please note - taken from the Forum Rules and amended for my own personal use (with thanks) : It is up to you to investigate, check, double-check and check yet again before you make any decisions or take any action based on any information you glean from any of my posts. Although I do carry out careful research before posting and never intend to mislead or supply out-of-date or incorrect information, please do not rely 100% on what you are reading. Verify everything in order to protect yourself as you are responsible for any action you consequently take.0 -
im sorry i didnt realise i wasnt aloud to ask for money saving tips to do with eyes. thanks for your suggestions0
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MalMonroe said:This is a bit of a worry because we on this site are not allowed to give or receive medical advice to/from anyone else.I think you should have another read of the OP question because i can't see anywhere at all where they've actually asked for medical advice.OP with regards to cost after your free trial, do you claim any other benefits other than PIP? Some benefits allow free vouchers which will help with the cost. See link. https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/opticians/free-nhs-eye-tests-and-optical-vouchers/Failing that there's the NHS low income scheme, details here. https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/nhs-low-income-scheme-lis/Other than that i'd advise to speak to specsavers regarding the cost after the trial.
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In terms of money saving, I would not choose the very cheapest CLs that are offered. Although supposed to last a month, I often found they ripped after just a few uses and were a false economy.
Daily disposables are a huge luxury in comparison to the monthly ones where you have to put them in solutions each night and might be good if you have any dexterity problems. But of course they are more expensive.0 -
I have daily contact lenses which are great for me as I wear them once and then dispose of them. Previously I had the ones where you had to store in solutions etc which I found fiddly. With regard to cost it depends on your prescription and the the type of lenses you want to wear/your eyes feel comfortable with. Mine are usually about £18 for a box of 30 which gives you 15 days usage however I have toric lenses which are more expensive compared to "normal" ones.
ITV Winners Club #87 :eek:0 -
What pattern of contact lens wear are you hoping for? All day every day or less often for some special activity?
But a banker, engaged at enormous expense,Had the whole of their cash in his care.
Lewis Carroll0 -
i get universal credit too and high rate mobility on both parts of pip but use some of it for a disability car. i have never used contact lenses but i break too many glasses and they give me headaches, i have had an Eyesight test in the last 6 months and they havent changed much since the last test, i was hoping to change them as little as possible. i am longsighted in one eye and twice as long sited in the other, ive asked for another copy of my prescription so cant tell you it currently sorry.
thank you for re-reading my first post, i thought i was going to be removed.0 -
daniel-2412 said:i get universal credit too and high rate mobility on both parts of pip but use some of it for a disability car.Your PIP award and mobility car has no bearing on the free NHS eye test and voucher.Your UC may depending on circumstances.
You qualify if, on the date you claim help with health costs:
you receive Universal Credit and either had no earnings or had net earnings of £435 or less in your last Universal Credit assessment period
or
you receive Universal Credit, which includes an element for a child, or you (or your partner) had limited capability for work (LCW) or limited capability for work and work-related activity (LCWRA), and you either had no earnings or net earnings of £935 or less in your last Universal Credit assessment period. See link. https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/help-with-health-costs/help-with-health-costs-for-people-getting-universal-credit/
daniel-2412 said:
thank you for re-reading my first post, i thought i was going to be removed.
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daniel-2412 said:i get universal credit too and high rate mobility on both parts of pip but use some of it for a disability car. i have never used contact lenses but i break too many glasses and they give me headaches, i have had an Eyesight test in the last 6 months and they havent changed much since the last test, i was hoping to change them as little as possible. i am longsighted in one eye and twice as long sited in the other, ive asked for another copy of my prescription so cant tell you it currently sorry.
thank you for re-reading my first post, i thought i was going to be removed.
https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/opticians/free-nhs-eye-tests-and-optical-vouchers/
(poppy posted that link before, but I'm just repeating it in case you missed it)
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thank you all0
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