contact lens discussion thread (merged)

petergavinblack

If your eyes get tired with monovision I'd give Multifocal contact lens a go. Although they may not give quite as good vision as each individual eye with monovision they allow the eyes to work together better and are less likely to cause the eyestrain / tiredness you complain of. Although they can be between 20% and 100% more expensive than monovision you have to ask yourself "if they solve my problem are they worth it?" There are new multifocal contact lenses coming out all the time and alot of opticians do free trials.

ellie43

Thanks for your thoughts Suki and Peter. Like you Suki I love not having to wear glasses (especially in the summer). But I find the variability in vision very frustrating - as I am writing this the focus is going in and out and I have had the lenses in for less than an hour. I also have quite a large 'floater' in my left eye (the one for near vision) which doesn't help.

Suki - do you wear reading glasses with your monovision contacts for reading a book, using the pc etc?

Peter, I will ask for a free trial of the multifocal lenses, and see what they say.

suki1964

ellie43 wrote: »

Thanks for your thoughts Suki and Peter. Like you Suki I love not having to wear glasses (especially in the summer). But I find the variability in vision very frustrating - as I am writing this the focus is going in and out and I have had the lenses in for less than an hour. I also have quite a large 'floater' in my left eye (the one for near vision) which doesn't help.

Suki - do you wear reading glasses with your monovision contacts for reading a book, using the pc etc?

Peter, I will ask for a free trial of the multifocal lenses, and see what they say.

I tried readers with the contacts and tbh they dont work - because one side is so wrong. I do use them now and then for small periods like when Im cashing up at night and reading till rolls - but to read a book - no. I just hold the books further away then if I had glasses or I keep reading for glass wearing times - like now after work.

One thing I learned to my cost - dont wear lenses when ultra tired. I slept in mine......... OUCH

Actually I dont drive long distances at night in them either as I find the vision isnt as clear as I would like

Peter, I dont care about the cost ( to a point ) I just want lenses that give me pretty good clear vision that I can wear with some degree of comfort. I think I may have tried them in the past with no joy, the axis or dia not being big enough or just the lenses themselves being too drying. I think for me atm mono are the answer and I have to say that before I slept in them I had managed to work up to a good 12 hour daily wear with no problems. As you say lenses are changing fast so perhaps in another year there will be something out there for me thats better then what i have now

stphnstevey

Daysoft seem to do 58 or 72 and I presume this is the water content - is it best to go for the ones with the most water content?

blue_monkey_2

A couple of questions please

1) Where is the cheapest place to buy Acuvue Moist - I am a cusual wearer but need 3 months supply for when we go on holiday (at least 2 pairs a day after swimming etc..)

2) I know I can wear these for 10 hours a day but does this mean I can wear them up to 10 hours or that I can only wear lenses for a max of 10 hours each day? I've always just worn them before but the Optician specifically said 10 hours. She was miserable and snotty so I did not ask too much and just got out, but when we go away I am going to be needing them for around 14-16 hours a day.

Thanks

treliac

blue_monkey wrote: »

A couple of questions please

1) Where is the cheapest place to buy Acuvue Moist - I am a cusual wearer but need 3 months supply for when we go on holiday (at least 2 pairs a day after swimming etc..)

2) I know I can wear these for 10 hours a day but does this mean I can wear them up to 10 hours or that I can only wear lenses for a max of 10 hours each day? I've always just worn them before but the Optician specifically said 10 hours. She was miserable and snotty so I did not ask too much and just got out, but when we go away I am going to be needing them for around 14-16 hours a day.

Thanks

You may have seen the same optician as me

I wear New Day for about 17 hours per day. Specsavers sell them in their own packaging. They're very comfortable and give me excellent vision.

AFAIK Specsavers are rarely beaten on price. If they were your problem, try another branch?

treliac

suki1964 wrote: »

Actually I dont drive long distances at night in them either as I find the vision isnt as clear as I would like

suki, have you tried New Day. I trialled several different brands in monovision. New Day give by far the best vision, including for night driving / long distance in artificial light.

suki1964

treliac wrote: »

suki, have you tried New Day. I trialled several different brands in monovision. New Day give by far the best vision, including for night driving / long distance in artificial light.

Sorry but I need torics and theres not many brands that fit my eyes

blue_monkey_2

Can some clear up the difference between the torics and the Acuvue moist for me please?

Also, there used to be a site where you could put in the lenses that you have and the size and they find a 'compatible' for you from their band that is cheaper, any ideas of the site?

I was having problems with double vision when I had my lenses in and the Op said it was because I had Astigmatism (0.5?) and that I would need a different lens. I assumed this was for the Astigmatism (torics) but it seems that I have been given the Acuvue moist because it has a deeper base curve (0.9) and not because of the as. I am confused, they really did not like me questioning them so much (Asda).

I have supplies of the trial packs to get me through the next holiday in a few weeks time but want to get sorted for when we go to Florida in a few months time as I do not want to be wearing specs in the sun and on the rides out there.

So would you recommend I go to Specsaver instead? Price wise they all seem the same but I think, I don't know, that maybe I need a 2nd opinion.

I'd like to wear them daily but at £30 a month it really is a no-no and I cannot justify paying this much, which is a shame. I used to wear the B&L but just one eye gave me double vision so this is why they changed them. They said I could not wear 2 different lenses in each eye and she was quite rude when I questioned why. My friend and my friends husband both do this so I know people do do it.

I did try and put it down to her being pregnant and miserable but she was just so bloody rude and spoke to me in a horrible way that I was actually dreading going back for the 2 weeks follow up to have the lenses checked. In 3 visits I saw 3 different opticians.

Unity

ellie43 wrote: »

At my last eye test I was told I need varifocal glasses and that the lenses alone will cost in the region of £450. I am -14 sph in one eye and -11 sph in the other. Plus astigmistism and I need an adjustment for reading. Not only that I like to have photo chromatic lenses as my eyes are sensitive to light due to illness and photo chromatic varifocals are not sold in my prescription.

So I have been looking into contact lenses. Spec savers have offered me a free trial of mono vision contact lenses. They have been fiddling with the prescription and I am now on my third pair. Distance vision is great, but I can't seem to get acceptable vision for reading or using a pc. The problem does not seem to be a matter of my eyes and brain adjusting, rather that the near vision is just not there in the first place, even with closing one eye, squinting and a following wind!

The optician is optimistic that we will get the prescription right but I am wondering if I am wasting my time. I would be interested in the experience of others with mono vision contact lenses.

Persevere with the monovision if you can. It has taken around 9 months to tweak my prescription to the correct level - I'm now a +7.00 in my left eye and +9.50 in my right and at last I have vision I am happy with for distance and reading. It is wonderful not having to carry a pair of easy readers for menus and things and at last I can read contents labels on food items .

I also have ME and Fibromyalgia so I find my eyes do get tired. Up until now I only wore my lenses for going out for the most part, but I'm getting such a good result now that I'm more inclined to wear them every day. I'm not wearing them just now as I've had two bouts of cranial shingles in quick succession and my face is hyper-sensitive - but once I get over this...........;)

Good luck with them.