contact lens discussion thread (merged)

03022242

...again? it got pulled a coupla years ago and i was "advised" to throw a coupla bottles away... ive been using optifree since then..

petergavinblack

For cheap lenses, including GAS PERMEABLE, as well as glasses, sunglasses and eye vitamins (my mum-in-law gets Macushield off them) try eyebuddy.com
The website is a bit clunky, especially the contact lens bit, but it has a novel theme - if you recommend friends you get more discount - 5% for giving them 5 valid email addresses, then a further 10% if your "buddies" register too, and a massive 40% in total I think if they all purchase. Plus there's free delivery over £40 at the moment.

There's a really good deal on Bausch & Lomb Soflens 1-Day at the moment - 6 months for the price of 3 - in addition to any eyebuddy discount you get. Don't worry about having a copy of your prescription - just fill in the details from your current boxes and complete your optician's details then they'll confirm your prescription for you

To maximise your discount upfront you should register with five email addresses, but then get your buddies to register using the same email address you gave before you place an order - won't cost them anything and you'll get an extra 10%. They say this saves them advertising so they pass on the discount to you!

shailesh

Hope someone can help, just finished my trial with Boots. I've been told that for a full prescription I have to wait til I've had my 3 month check up, so that they are 100%. Right now I would only get a temporary prescription and they would make comments that they are not responsible as this is only from a trial.

Is this all correct, I thought I could get a proper prescription now? They've got me to sign up to 30 pairs for 3 months for £15 per month because of the above.

GlasweJen

hi shailesh, boots can't issue a temporary prescription, they can issue one for 3 months though. If you're wearing daily disposables then this shouldn't be a problem taking the prescription elsewhere but I know we wont supply any lenses beyond the date that the prescription expires so if someone comes in with a prescription for a monthly lens which only has 2 months left on it we'd make them get a check up before ordering boxes (though we would usually order trials to tide them over) because most monthly lenses come in boxes of 3 or 6.

OrangeProse, asda still fit gas permeables, so do some specsavers and some D&As. It depends on the individual optom's experience with them, if you can get hold of an old school optom/contact lens fitter then getting the RGP lenses wont be a problem. And to answer your question about vision with softies, it's a lot better now, on a level with RGPs but some RGP wearers can't get used to wearing soft lenses. It's personal preference really.

stormcloudgathering

Specsavers do my RGP lenses with no bother at all. My eyesight is so poor (-11 and -13) that disposables or soft lenses are no good for me.

petergavinblack

High prescriptions are now no problem with disposable lenses. The new Mark Ennovy Saphir Monthly lenses are from -23 to +23 with cylinders to -8 (for astigmatism) and about 8 different adds (if you need extra help for reading) and also 7 different sizes to fit different shape / sized eyes! They also let more oxygen to the eye and are more comfortable but you won't find them online.

As regards the prescription being issued after 3 months at Boots this is correct - it is important to assess the longer term affect of the lenses on the eyes after a few months before finally issuing the prescription - this is to protect a tiny minority of people who develop serious problems caused by allergic reaction to lens / solutions, or whose tears are such that they cause the normal fitting characteristics to be altered. If a lens doesn't fit correctly the lens may not transmit sufficient oxygen to the cornea which could cause long term problems. This is why it is important to have a check up every 3 to 12 months depending on the recommendation of the optician.

want2bmortgage3

i went to tesco opticians and explained the problem and the optician thinks the latest air optix day/night have something in them which my eyes are rejecting. so i had a new check done for contacts and have moved on to daily disposables (focus daillies) which i have to say i am very impressed with. just seems a bit of a waste throwing a set of lenses away every day, but i'll get used to it. at least my eyes can recover in the extra hours and night i dont have them in any more! plus i can use the MSE guide now as before it didnt really cater for continuous lense wearers.

brinky_2

Bitterwallet are continuing to run articles on exclusive eyes and associated companies.

Prospective buyers might want to read the following articles before reaching their decision of which company to use.

http://www.bitterwallet.com/eyeexper...32235#comments

http://www.bitterwallet.com/eye-eye-...-sighted/25000

http://www.bitterwallet.com/why-ther...ive-eyes/31871

I have used goggles4u, eyebuydirect and glasses direct recently.

Goggles4u and eyebuydirect have been excellent but glasses will take 2-3 weeks to manufacture and ship.

studio_two

Unity wrote: »

How long ago is it since you had contacts? Unless it is within the last year, you will need a test - because your lens prescription will differ from your specs prescription and the fit may well have changed.

Oddly, I have a VALID Contact Lens Prescription, but my Specs Prescription has just run out.

As a result, my optician would not order me a new box of lenses until I have another sight test.

I asked them about getting a new sight test PLUS a contact lens test (in order to get them both "in sync") and they quoted me £23 + £25.

Does this seem reasonable? It sounds expensive to me.

I have a feeling the Contact Lens "test" will be little more than a checkup because they started dithering about the amount of time it would take.

I only wear my toric lenses for leisure (my work environment doesn't suit them), so I just buy them when I need them.

Has anyone managed to get a reduction for taking BOTH tests at the same time?

TIA,
Stephen

minimoneysaver

Go to ACLENS. It's an American site in Ohio. They get them shipped out in a week. No prescription needed and they are so cheap for all of the really good brands. You just type in your prescription and there you go! I've used them for a couple of years now and not had any problems.