View Full Version : People with contact lenses in here…
Just wondered if anyone else did this, and if you don’t, then do it. Its saving me a bomb.
I've been wearing daily disposables for about 5 years now, they were set up on a DD for £22 a month, so do the math. That’s over £1300 on nothing but lenses, erk :(
I was told to never EVER reuse them as they can damage your eyes yadda blah etc, but I have had to cut back on my outgoings lately so something had to change. I don’t like wearing glasses and I cant afford to have my eyes lasered, so what do I do now? I reuse my dailies :D
3 months supply would last just short of three months, I always managed to drop some, break some. And I would have to buy an extra box to cover the shortfall. But now, a box that normally used to last me 2 weeks, has lasted over three months, just because I clean them every night instead of binning them. They will last ages, but I tend to wear them same pair for a week before binning them. I am saving loads of dollar.
Just wondered if anyone else did this? Its all about saving the pennies :)
Have you looked at buying them from the USA? I did that and even taking into account the fact that the optician then started charging me on a yearly basis for my checkup I was still quids in. They're much cheaper when bought in bulk from overseas and I was getting exactly the same lenses.
I used to reuse dailies for three or four days with no problem and all I did was soak them in saline overnight.
Monthly contact lenses are about half the price of dailies. Switch to them. I don't know why everyone demands dailies. It's not like putting them in a pot of liquid every night is much hassle. I wore them for best part of 15 years with no problems. Don't make a habit out of re-using dailies. You will have to clean them properly like a normal lens and the solutions will bulk the cost back up so false economy.
Go for a branded lens rather than a Specsavers own brand. I had trouble-free contact lens wearing until I got their cheap £10/mo ones which don't breathe very well.
Then when you can afford it you may as well get them lasered. 2 days 23 hours left until I get mine done ;)
Just wondered if anyone else did this? Its all about saving the pennies :)
I wouldn't risk it as Kitten has said.
Mine are GP lenses and I have to clean em every night they cost £120 per time I get them and the solutions cost £25 every quarter. Right PITA but can't use soft lenses or stomach the laser op :(
That reminds me I need to get some more done.
BB x
Why? I am having no problems reusing dailes at all.
And its not about demanding dailies, I cant wear monthlies because my eyes are too dry apparently. I am saving money this way, thought other people might want to try it :(
I wear two week disposable contacts, but I've never worn them for only two weeks. My insurance at home would cover two boxes for each eye (a total of 12 lenses each) so thats how much I had for a year:-P
It isn't the best thing for your eyes, granted, but it hasn't caused me all that much trouble either. I make sure to clean my lenses really well (rinse/rub morning and night) and I take them out and wear glasses for a few hours at night time so my eyes can relax.
Some people can't wear contacts for more than one day because their eyes produce more proteins than other people, and the contacts start irritating their eyes after a few days because they have gunk on them. If that isn't the case for you, I'd say don't worry about it.
Yay for saving the moola.
LeperousDust
28-04-2008, 16:34
I wish i could wear daily disposables :( :p my eyes are so crap i have to wear tri-monthly and it costs a bomb too, i *really* *really* need to find a cheap way to work this...
Sorry! I thought you were looking for alternatives!!!
I'll go back to insulting you on my FB updates! :p
BB x
If your eyes dont produce enough tears (like mine) I can only wear dailies. Monthlies could irritate my eyes if I leave them in for too long.
I clean them in solution every morning and store them in solution every night. I have never had a problem so far, and its working fine. Guess its not for everyone :)
Oh god I dont know! Just forget I was ever in here, its giving me a headache :p
If your eyes dont produce enough tears (like mine) I can only wear dailies. Monthlies could irritate my eyes if I leave them in for too long.
That's the thing, they are made out of the same stuff and from my experience they are almost identical. Whoever told you that about them being too dry is misinformed because they come in different compounds and if you're finding your eyes are drying out then you're not wearing the right lens for you. Unfortunately a lot of the chain opticians push their own brand lenses (presumably because they make more money on them) but I've found the lenses and definitely the solutions way inferior. Example: I reckon in 10 years of wearing Precision UV monthly disposables I had maybe 3 duff lenses. Less than I can remember. Specsavers £10/mo disposables probably every 3rd month or more I'd have a lens that would continually irritate my eye.
You need to try a few out is what I'm trying to say and I mean try them out for a full month to see how you get on. And bear in mind the solutions are all different. The peroxide solutions always irritated my eyes and the only one I ever got on with really well was a Bausch and Lomb all-in-one.
LeperousDust
28-04-2008, 20:00
That's the thing, they are made out of the same stuff and from my experience they are almost identical. Whoever told you that about them being too dry is misinformed because they come in different compounds and if you're finding your eyes are drying out then you're not wearing the right lens for you. Unfortunately a lot of the chain opticians push their own brand lenses (presumably because they make more money on them) but I've found the lenses and definitely the solutions way inferior. Example: I reckon in 10 years of wearing Precision UV monthly disposables I had maybe 3 duff lenses. Less than I can remember. Specsavers £10/mo disposables probably every 3rd month or more I'd have a lens that would continually irritate my eye.
You need to try a few out is what I'm trying to say and I mean try them out for a full month to see how you get on. And bear in mind the solutions are all different. The peroxide solutions always irritated my eyes and the only one I ever got on with really well was a Bausch and Lomb all-in-one.
I'd love to try this out, where does one search around for independant contact lenses? Can't remember my prescription atm, but i'm awfully longsighted, and have a crap astigmatism, and the few places i've found don't accomodate both of these :(
You just need to go to an independent optician where they aren't going to try and palm off their own brand. So avoid Specsavers/Boots/Optical Express or jump straight in there and say I want to wear *this* lens and unless they can give you a damn good reason why you shouldn't wear it other than it's more expensive or it's inferior (which it wouldn't be otherwise it wouldn't be on the market) there's no reason why you can't try it out.
Get an idea of the branded lenses here: http://www.contactlenses.co.uk
I've worn the following: Focus dailies, one day Acuvue, 2 week Acuvue, Precision UV one month disposable (loved them and wore them for about 10 years, probably the cheapest lens out there and really high water content but they wouldn't do them at Specsavers) and a number of one year lenses but it was a long time ago and I can't remember which ones they were. Specsavers £10/mo were comfortable but did my eyes in, Specsavers £13/mo a so called superior lens ripped my eyes to shreds and were continually dry. Solutions: Specsavers one step peroxide stung my eyes like hell, Specsavers one step complete I got used to but it was uncomfortable to put the lenses in and I needed a lot of saline, Renu all in one / multi purpose I loved, Complete was ok, Opti Free I really didn't get on with, and there was an old one that you used peroxide and put a little pink pill in it that I liked but you can't get it any more.
It's all down to the individual though, my friend hated the solution I used because it irritated his eyes but yet the one he used I couldn't put the lens in my eye afterwards it was so dry.
LeperousDust
28-04-2008, 21:56
Sounds good, but the last time i tried the switcheroony, the harped on about how much it costs to make my lenses and how they're only available in very few (well they said one i didn't believe this) brands :( Where do i go from there (i'm with specsavers) or do i just go to an independent on the side and see what they say? Really need to get a grip on these contacts, i really can't live without them because i do a fair amount of biking, and this involves moving quickly and my eyes are VERY crap without lenses and tbqfh i don't trust my crashes with glasses :D But i'm pay £30 a month on lenses =/ via direct debit and i'd LOVE it if i could even just knock a fiver off! :(:(
Del Lardo
29-04-2008, 00:32
I have an anstigmatism that means that I can't use daily disposables (or at least I couldn't a few years back) and pay £25/month for my monthlies. I really should investigate the situation.
With regards to lasik, personally I'm not so sure, I know of lots of people who say it's the best thing they have ever done but we still don't know what long term effects it may have and when I had my consultation the Dr was wearing glasses and told me he had no intention of getting lasik.
Still my plan is to treat myself for my 30th birthday so take my negativity with a pinch of salt.
I just ordered from here:
http://www.daysoftlenses.com/GB/CountryHomepage.aspx
2 months worth cost me under £20. They're the comfiest lenses I've ever had.
That's the thing, they are made out of the same stuff and from my experience they are almost identical. Whoever told you that about them being too dry is misinformed because they come in different compounds and if you're finding your eyes are drying out then you're not wearing the right lens for you. Unfortunately a lot of the chain opticians push their own brand lenses (presumably because they make more money on them) but I've found the lenses and definitely the solutions way inferior. Example: I reckon in 10 years of wearing Precision UV monthly disposables I had maybe 3 duff lenses. Less than I can remember. Specsavers £10/mo disposables probably every 3rd month or more I'd have a lens that would continually irritate my eye.
You need to try a few out is what I'm trying to say and I mean try them out for a full month to see how you get on. And bear in mind the solutions are all different. The peroxide solutions always irritated my eyes and the only one I ever got on with really well was a Bausch and Lomb all-in-one.
Arse. I've just given up on contacts. Specsavers said I needed 30 day disposables due to my astigmatism. I found them to be too uncomfortable over a period of time, constantly drying my eyes out (even with liberal use of "Blink", thanks to Tak's recommendation, which helped.) I figured it was because I'm working with PCs all day and in an aircon'd environment. After a while I just couldn't be bothered with the hassle of it. Might be worth me trying other sources then I guess.
That looks interesting! will have a proper look later
They're great!
I'm not sure if this is really a good idea, but hey, they're your eyes :D
Short term you might not hit any problems, long term, you might. Actually, I'm off to the opticians in a couple of weeks for my 6 month checkup, if I end up with the nice optician bloke I'll ask what the problems might be if you want me to.
I'm on the monthly wears and at £15.50 a month I'm happy enough with that.
Ive had no problems so far, and I know other people that do it as well. Its prob not worth asking, because of COURSE they will say its a bad idea ;)
And I cant switch to monthlies cos Ive been told I cant, its not out of choice! :)
They're great!
Isn't that Frosties?
Its prob not worth asking, because of COURSE they will say its a bad idea ;)
I know they'll say not to anyway, but they might give a reason and it might give you something to at least look out for :)
Personally I wouldn't use dailies repeatedly... in the short term in may not apparently do any damage to your eyes, but in the long term you could be building up protein deposits which then brings the capillaries out to supply more oxygen, which then can lead to infection. Obviously this is an extreme case, but for something as important as my eyes I wouldn't risk it. £1300 over 5 years isn't much really though is it? £260 a year is not really worth risking your eyes is it?
There are a lot of soft lenses which work for people with dry eyes, some hard lenses work for people too have you ever tried them? Semi permeable ones may help you, and if anything just carry some eye drops on you - you can get this little capsules that fit in your pocket, purse, handbag which really help revitalise your eyes if ever they go dry.
I seldom use contacts except for nights out, sports and summer holidays.
Don't skimp on looking after your eyes Dee it's not worth it!
Oh...I have heard such bad things about hard contacts. My mom and dad both had them when they were younger (my whole family needs glasses or contacts) and they are both so much happier with soft ones. I think it would be hard to go from comfortable contacts to hard ones, but it IS cheaper.
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