contact lens discussion thread (merged)

angel4_2

now i dont want to suggest anyone does this, its more of a thinking out loud exercise... but, how does the daily & monthly lens differ? is it just a money making thing, or are they different? or could you wear the dalies for a month?

like i said not suggesting anyone tries this, just wondering.

ange x

s@sha

Well, I asked my optician about this when i went for my contact lens check about 2 months ago, as I have started to suffer with dry eyes sometimrs when wearing my monthly disposables. I thought the daily disposables had a higher water content & might be more comfy.

The optician suprised me by saying there is very little difference in their make-up. If she's correct I suppose in theory you could wear the dailies for a month. But would there be any point, as you'd then have to buy cleaning solution & care for them just the same as monthly ones?

I confess that I have sometimes worn my monthly disposables for two months without any ill-effects, basically because I have forgotten when I needed to change them. I got told off by the optician for doing this though, as she said they are not designed to last that long & start to deteriorate...don't know how true this is, though.

stanmoresaver

condyk wrote:

Ok ... I am only used to the 2 step approach as haven't worn lenses for quite a few years. Maybe that's a solution then ... to go for monthly lenses atvery best online price, but also to chuck them as soon as they start to get itchy. When I had monthly ones years ago direct from opticion (expensive) then they never lasted a month: too itchy, too quick! Had to replace them every 10 days or so. If I can get them cheap as possible then I can get rid without too much expense.

Hi, I've just gone back to lenses- toric ones just like you it would seem.

How did you get on with the on-line prices as I think this is the route that I will go.

:beer:

SlayerKat

I used to be on the direct debit aftercare plan with vision express. Had to pay for lenses monthly but all other care was free.

I cancelled this in january because I could no longer afford the direct debit payments.

I have now run out of lenses and need to sort something out. I wanted to buy them online but all of the retailers require approval from your optician which would mean I would at least have to spend out another £20 for a new site test plus another £25 for a contact lense consultation even though I know what my prescription is from a previous pair.

The question is do I return to vision express and start buying my lenses again on direct debit. Are they are good deals around?

I tried boots opticians but they are a real rip-off. On top of the sight test and contact lense consultation, they also want you to pay an additonal £25 for each subsequent aftercare appt. At least Vision express were FREE!

Thank you for any suggestions

Squidgy

I've never had that with boots.

I pay £15 a month for their monthlies and soultions. Included in this price is all subsequent appointments.

As I pay monthly I also get 33% discount on all eyewear I purchase (inc sunglasses).

Plus I also get lots of lovely advantage card points each month.

I expect you can probably get cheaper, but I've never had better service any where.
(BTW the 1st appt I ever had at vision express the optician wrote an invite to the pub to his mates on the back of my details so suprisingly I never went back)

Squidgy

Becles

Try http://www.lensway.com/uk/

I've bought from them before and you don't have to send a copy of your prescription in. Just make sure you enter the details from your current one accurately. The lenses arrived from Stockholm within a week. I would recommened them for both good service and cheaper prices than UK suppliers.

nancy_2

I used to buy my contact lenses from costco's as they were by far the cheapest.Tesco's have just started selling contact lenses and they work out slightly cheaper then Costco's ,just under £30 for 6 months supply(monthly disposables)

Millie_2

I wondered if anyone could help me.

My son has just started wearing contact lenses and ive signed a direct debit with the opticians to pay £20.00 per month for 'Aucuvue advance' two weeklies.
After doing a search this morning i am going to cancel that as Tesco only charge £33 for three months supply.

My question and confusion lies with the contact lense solution.
Ive been supplied with 'mirage light for sensitive eyes' which i have to pay £7.99 for or £4.99 if i sign up to a direct debit with the same opticians.

I want to buy he solution online as i feel it would be cheaper but i cant find it anywhere to compare.
What i need to know is can i use any other solution at all?
Is the type of solution that you use relevant to the type of contact lense?

Many thanks for any replies

KleptisV

I should probably start off by saying I'm not an optician!

I've been wearing contact lenses for several years, and I come from a long line of lense wearers! As far as I know, you only have to match the solution with the type of lenses (soft, torics, etc) Acuvue are soft lenses, and the most popular, so the solution is easy to find.

The only thing to be weary of, is that the optician has suggested 'sensitive eye' solution, and this may be for a good reason, so try any new brand while you've still got sensitive solution left, so you can rinse the lenses again should it cause any irritation!

gundo

SlayerKat wrote:

I wanted to buy them online but all of the retailers require approval from your optician

Sorry to contradict you but no they don't.



Try Coastal Contacts

http://www.coastalcontacts.co.uk

Probably not the cheapest but certainly cheaper than VisionExpress and they didn't ask me for approval from the optician.

Hope that helps and good luck with getting some.