contact lens discussion thread (merged)

Dharma_Bunny

Acuvue Advance with Hydraclear - cheap source?

DH had loads so we cancelled his DD with VisionExpress months ago. The article on the main site says it's out of date info, so who's cheap?

jd87

petergavinblack wrote: »

jd87 have you been fitted for these lenses by an optometrist or contact lens optician or are you just hoping to order what you fancy?

Just want to try them tbh. Can't be bothered with opticians. Never had a "contact lens fitting appointment" and don't particularly intend to.

pmduk

jd87 wrote: »

Never had a "contact lens fitting appointment" and don't particularly intend to.

You'll find that any reputable supplier will refuse to deal with you unless you have an up-to-date contact lens specification. It is illegal for them to do so and a foolish move on your part in my opinion. Why risk your sight as a result of self-prescribing?

penguineater

Does anyone know where the cheapest place to buy contact lense solution from is?

I just bought Frequency Xcel Torics from getlenses, 3 month supply for £22.36 with a 20% discount code (SAVERM if anyone wants to use it!). Next cheapest was from specsavers which was surprisingly cheap at £26.25 for the same.

The last contact lense solution I bought over a year ago was from Asda that was reduced. I'm wondering, does it matter which solution ingredients for my lense type or will any do and where might the cheapest place to buy any from be?

willihe_2

I'm tring to join the Boots Direct Debit contract lens scheme, and have previously used Ciba Vision Aqua Comfort Plus, but at the trial and follow up appointment today, they keep trying to give me 'Boots Premium Dailies' which seem to be the same as Ciba 'All Day Comfort' which are cheaper, but I stopped using them a few years ago. Aqua Comfort Plus are supposed to be better/ more comfortable, and I don't mind paying for this, but I can't seem to get Boots to put me on these and can't work out why? Is it just confusion of matching Ciba to their own make, or do they make more profit on their main line of Premium Dailies.

They also seem to have an odd arrangement whereby if you sign up for Direct Debit, you have to wait 3 months before they send you any lenses through the scheme, so you have to purchase lenses separately for the first 3 months... I can understand having to pay a deposit up front, but why not pay a deposit, and then start supplying the lenses immediately...?

Any ideas from anyone in the business why this is proving so difficult please?

AbbieCadabra

penguineater wrote: »

Does anyone know where the cheapest place to buy contact lense solution from is?

I just bought Frequency Xcel Torics from getlenses, 3 month supply for £22.36 with a 20% discount code (SAVERM if anyone wants to use it!). Next cheapest was from specsavers which was surprisingly cheap at £26.25 for the same.

The last contact lense solution I bought over a year ago was from Asda that was reduced. I'm wondering, does it matter which solution ingredients for my lense type or will any do and where might the cheapest place to buy any from be?

i get mine from costco, i use opti-free replenish & the last time i bought some it was 4 x 300ml @ £24, Asda was £48 for the same. when i was shopping around, lenstore, getlenses & amazon were coming up cheapest dependant on the brand.

i tried 5 different solutions before i settled on the replenish which really suited me. very trial & error though, 1 solution left my eyes all bloodshot & sore & most of the others only gave limited comfort. my left eye suffers with dryness but with replenish i can wear my lenses anything up to 10 hours (purevision continuous wear but i use them on a daily basis).

NaughtySpot

willihe wrote: »

I'm tring to join the Boots Direct Debit contract lens scheme, and have previously used Ciba Vision Aqua Comfort Plus, but at the trial and follow up appointment today, they keep trying to give me 'Boots Premium Dailies' which seem to be the same as Ciba 'All Day Comfort' which are cheaper, but I stopped using them a few years ago. Aqua Comfort Plus are supposed to be better/ more comfortable, and I don't mind paying for this, but I can't seem to get Boots to put me on these and can't work out why? Is it just confusion of matching Ciba to their own make, or do they make more profit on their main line of Premium Dailies.

They also seem to have an odd arrangement whereby if you sign up for Direct Debit, you have to wait 3 months before they send you any lenses through the scheme, so you have to purchase lenses separately for the first 3 months... I can understand having to pay a deposit up front, but why not pay a deposit, and then start supplying the lenses immediately...?

Any ideas from anyone in the business why this is proving so difficult please?

If they let you have the lenses without paying in full for them it's giving you credit and you'd have to sign a credit agreement. They would have to be registered as a lender or something like that.

LouLou

zappa121 wrote: »

Forum noob here, this seems like as good a place as any to start my search for answers regarding monthly disposable contact lense availability.
After some tedious to-and-froing with specsavers, I've finally got the greenlight to order a supply of PrecisionUV which are highest water content (most comfortable) for the price. Guy at Specsavers is saying that line is being discontinued, and the industry as a whole is turning to silicone hydrogel lenses. These cost 47 for 6 months supply compared to 27 for the Precision UVs! That would price me out of wearing contacts completely!
Is this the end of affordable contact lenses?

I thought, too, that the higher the water content in a lens the better for dry eyes. It's often the other way around!

The more water in a soft contact lens, the more water your eye absorbs, apparently. On lens101 forum they even recommend Gas Permeable Lenses (zero water content) for those with dry eyes who can't tolerate soft lenses. The thicker the lens the better for some too.

http://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/lenses-dry-eyes.htm

I have dry eyes too (using up the last of my Daysoft lenses) and use Hypomellose drops to keep them comfortable. My optician told me that it's too thin and "just saline", so I'd be interested to hear of any recommendations for drops to keep in my handbag

Trying Crystal One Day dailies to see how they are, they haven't arrived yet (which work out around the same price; though Daysoft have a "Silk" version out now).

Also got the free trial month of Acuvue TruEye (the silicone hydrogel lenses) thanks to MSE, via a voucher. Just waiting on them appearing at my optician's.

LouLou

I'm a dailies/glasses user but going to try coloured contact lenses for the very first time. The one-day options for colours are very limited and only made by Ciba Vision (Freshlook) so I've went for (monthly/30 use) Freshlook Colorblends, True Sapphire. Quite exciting as I've wanted colour contacts for years!!

However, I'm back in the murky waters of solutions, cleansing, lens storage, which is something I haven't done for around 20 years! (I used the old LC-65/Oxysept 1+2/protein tablets system back then).

What is the best all-in-one solution out there? I was going to go for Sauflon Synergi but can't see any reviews. Bausch And Lomb's Bio True seems to get good feedback...And what about the "own brand" all-in-ones? Are they all pretty similar?

What about barrel cases versus the newer flat ones?

Also, I've seen vial (one year in this case, the six month option is more expensive for some reason) coloured contacts on a US site that are super-cheap, apparently the US users aren't as keen on them as we are in the UK/Europe. I'll add the link to them if anyone is interested.

LouLou

I've been told the Specsavers Easyvision All-In-One Preservative Free bottles (Green/Turtle Illustration) are Sauflon's Synergi repackaged. Just bought myself a contact lens case from there.