Confused over contact lens types, advice wanted

Angilion

Angilion

Angilion

Man of Honour
Joined
5 Dec 2003
Posts
21,063
Location
Just to the left of my PC
I've been wearing glasses for ~35 years and I'm looking at trying contact lenses again. I tried them years ago, but they didn't properly correct my very bad vision and they were expensive. Times change, so I'm going to have another go.

So...Specsavers. I'm poor, they're cheap.

9 different packages, from £5 a month (standard monthlies) to £30 a month (ultimate dailies).

I will of course ask the optician, but I expect to be pushed towards paying as much as possible. I want to know a few things in advance so that I won't be an easy mark.

i) My vision is dire. On my latest test, the optician said that my vision without correction qualifies as "functionally blind". Compound myopic astigmatism. I can't see anything clearly - if it's close enough to see clearly, it's too close to focus on. Could be much worse - my vision is perfect with glasses. Apart from all the floaters, but I'm stuck with those and I'm mostly used to them. Does this affect which contact lenses I need?

ii) I need vision correction all the time unless I'm asleep. So contact lenses would go in as soon as I wake up and stay in until I go back to bed. I expect that will affect what contact lenses I need, but how much?

What's the difference in specsavers packages anyway? Star price, standard, premium, elite, ultimate...huge variation in price (e.g. standard monthlies are £5, ultimate monthlies are £15) but is that reflected in performance? I'll pay triple if it's worth it, but I've no idea if it is.

Specsavers solution for the monthlies is £3 a month. Is it any good? Would I be better buying some other solution instead?

Does another optician offer a better product at the same price point?
 
I've been with specsavers contact lenses scheme for 5 years, i'm not that up to date with there latest offers/prices etc, but i think there great value/quality.

I get the £15/m monthly torric lenses, they come every 3 months, along with 3 bottles of the orange solution (the good stuff). With this you get free contact lens check-ups and can go in and whine at them whenever you want free of charge. I think you need to be on direct debit to get all this though, otherwise its pretty much pay-as-you-go.

I wear mine pretty much every hour I'm awake, sometimes I get issues with them being dry/itchy, usually during nights out etc.

A while ago i tried different lenses which were meant to let more oxygen get to your eye, they were £10/m more, and after a month trial i noticed no difference. I think they're really good with letting you trial the lenses before you sign anything so make sure you try as many as you can before committing.

Just make sure you have no issues with touching your eyes daily!
 
I've worn them for the last 15 years and in that time have tried about every brand/type on the market. Started with monthly but got sick of having to look after them so switched to dailies. Made life much easier especially during my teenage years when I never knew where I was sleeping half the time ect. A spare pair of dailies is much easier to carry about than a bottle of solution and case. Also if you go swimming/spill a pint in your face and lose one, you haven't just wasted a whole months supply.

Of the dailies, my eyes can't tell the difference between the cheapest and most expensive types whatsoever, although they are noticeably more comfortable that most of the monthly ones. I think most of the expensive ones are just rife with marketing gimmicks and just have no real world value to warrant the price. I use the "Focus Dailies - All day comfort" as they're fairly cheap and have given me no problems at all. I've on occasion worn them for a few days straight and they've still remained moist and clear.

Any optician worth their name will give you a few different types/brands to try out so you can see which fit your eyes best and also to give you a feel for whether you'd find monthly/dailies easier to live with.
 
Last edited:
The best lenses I have used and he easiest for me, are daily disposables. Really soft put them in at start of the day, throw them away at the end of the day. Although optician did say I could get away with wearing them maybe one night and the next day if I really had to.

Best option is to go to the opticians and get some to try, then take it from there.
 
I wear daily disposable ones. 30 pairs for £30 a month, no need to worry about cleaning and I've worn pairs for around 16 to 17 hours without any problems. However, go to the optician to see what they say.
 
OriginalJonty said:
I wear daily disposable ones. 30 pairs for £30 a month, no need to worry about cleaning and I've worn pairs for around 16 to 17 hours without any problems. However, go to the optician to see what they say.
Click to expand...

Agreed, daily disposables.....with a view for laser treatment. I have been with dailys for 5 years with very few problems, the sleep through the night lens got me an infection :(
 
Oh I will add - I have had 2 quite serious eye infections using monthlies, make 1 mistake with them and your in trouble. Since the solution pot is shared both eyes will be infected also.

Injections into the eyeball are not to fun to say the least!

Specsavers will replace any that you damage though which is useful if you drop one or something (happens more than you think!).
 
If you've got a significant astigmatism it will narrow your choices a lot and may rule out daily disposables (which IIUC only offer the 'popular' prescriptions). TBH I'd go to an optician which can offer trials with all the main manufacturers of lenses (not sure if Specsavers do) and see what they say. If you find a lens that suits you, then you can shop around online and only pay the optician for the checkups and aftercare. I've worn lenses on and off for years and never noticed any 'upselling'.
 
I used to wear rigid gas permiable until i started getting dry eyes.

I now wear the monthly disposables from Specsavers. £18 per month all in.

I put them in at the start of the onth and dont touch again until the next month. No hassle and I forget they are in.

I love waking up in a morning and being able to see straight away again.
 
i wear monthly disposables, but they are the 24 hour lenses, go in on the 1st come out on the 31st. I tend to give my eyes a rest from them if im off for a few days. i find them great, very little worries about them, worn them for over 10 years like this and my eye checks say that my eyes are fine.


rotters
 
Your choice will be severely limited by your vision, stigmatism is not corrected by the cheap daily disposables, as has been said go and see an optician and ask for one of thr free trials!
 
fidget said:
I used to wear rigid gas permiable until i started getting dry eyes.

I now wear the monthly disposables from Specsavers. £18 per month all in.

I put them in at the start of the onth and dont touch again until the next month. No hassle and I forget they are in.

I love waking up in a morning and being able to see straight away again.
Click to expand...

I suppose you guys using the monthly disposables do not have astigmatism? I would love to not have to worry about taking them out to soak in solution every damn day!

Even after 5 years waking up to stick pieces of rubber in my eyes is still pretty annoying.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom