Contact Lenses and $$

[ute]

you guys in the States are lucky to have this place


Very Highly recommended


http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php

[capt steubing]

Dunno about contacts (only have 1 eye, no doctor will let me get contacts), But if anyone here wears glasses, Zenni optical is the shit,  I have been paying $250-$450 for glasses for years, you know the routine, getting the exam for $50-$100 and then picking out the frames and options, and then paying the $250-$400 for the frames and lenses even though my prescription hadn't changed.  Then I'd wear the glasses either until I totally destroyed them even if they were scratched and gouged and hard to see through because I didn't want to spend the money on a new pair.  Then I ordered a pair from Zenni, I think the first pair was about $16 with shipping, and since then I've ordered 6 or 8 other pairs, they are great, for $50 you can get 3 or 4 pairs and they are just as good as any I'd gotten at an optometrist, I love them, and if they get too scratched, make the beast with two backs it, I'll throw them away and get another pair.  I'm a huge Zenni fan, I've told all my friends and family about them. 

[mbalmer]

Let us know how you adjust to the monovision setup. I personally wouldn't use that because on a moto, I'd want my depth perception to be as good as possible. Good luck though, and ride safe.

I haven't felt like my depth perception is affected at all. The biggest issue is close-up. I can't really read what I'm writing on the computer without putting my face within inches of the screen. Distance and depth are okay. I hope the changes they make to the reading contact will fix the problem.

I was very unhappy with the service I got. It was $149 for the seating. I was shown how to put the contacts on but not shown how to take them off. I asked how to do it and was told to pinch them out. Last night I had to call the advice nurse because I couldn't figure out how to get them out. My money is supposed to give me 4 45 minute sessions. So far my sessions have been 25 and 20 minutes each. I wonder if I can ask for some reimbursement for the crappy service. The advice nurse was really good. She was surprised that I didn't get shown how to take them out or to get some rewetting drops. All I was told was to buy solution and was given a case.

[mbalmer]

Why did you get a new user name?

I didn't even notice that. I originally signed up with this name and had trouble with it so I created a new name. I didn't even know that hmbalmer existed. How weird. I'lll have to log out of this one.

[mbalmer]

Why did you get a new user name?

Fixed.

[somegirl]

I was very unhappy with the service I got. It was $149 for the seating. I was shown how to put the contacts on but not shown how to take them off. I asked how to do it and was told to pinch them out. Last night I had to call the advice nurse because I couldn't figure out how to get them out. My money is supposed to give me 4 45 minute sessions. So far my sessions have been 25 and 20 minutes each. I wonder if I can ask for some reimbursement for the crappy service. The advice nurse was really good. She was surprised that I didn't get shown how to take them out or to get some rewetting drops. All I was told was to buy solution and was given a case.

I had gas-permeable contacts for many years but had to switch to soft contacts for a few months before my Lasik surgery (to prep for the surgery).  I too had lots of difficulty getting them out of my eye, even though I had lots of experience with the hard contacts.

If I hadn't had the surgery, I would have given up on the soft lenses anyway, I hated them.   Besides the annoyance of how difficult they were to put in and remove, they tended to dry out easily in a way that affected my vision, it was just never as clear as with the gas-perms.  I'd rather wear glasses.

[mstevens]

I wear a custom RGP scleral lens on one eye. It's $600, but it lets me see. I wear a toric hydrophilic lens in the other eye. I just get them all from my optometrist. Saving a few bucks on the hydrophilics is trivial compared to the cost of the RGP, and there's really no way to save on that lens. My optometrist specializes in the weird corneal abnormality I have and I drive across the state to see him (on referral from my ophthalmologist, who's a friend and colleague and doesn't really want to mess with my corneas at all). I'd just as soon he stay in business.

I understand the desire to save money, but people underestimate some of the risks associated with contact lenses. My wife gets her lenses through her optometrist until she's satisfied with the fitting and prescription, then sends off for cheap internet ones. That seems like a good compromise to me.

[mbalmer]

Is the RGP the implanted lens? I would be interested in that for one eye. I am having some allergy difficulties with my lenses and some days they are torture. Other days they are great. Right now I won't put them in as my one eye has been in pain all day from putting the lens in this morning. Took 10 minutes to dig it out and then I had to close my eyes for an hour. After that my eye felt hot and like it was full of salt. Tonight it just feels tired. About twice a week it is painful. I'm ready to throw them away so maybe the RGP thing is an option. My HMO won't do the implant unless it's for cornea problems. Can you explain it?

[mstevens]

Is the RGP the implanted lens? I would be interested in that for one eye. I am having some allergy difficulties with my lenses and some days they are torture. Other days they are great. Right now I won't put them in as my one eye has been in pain all day from putting the lens in this morning. Took 10 minutes to dig it out and then I had to close my eyes for an hour. After that my eye felt hot and like it was full of salt. Tonight it just feels tired. About twice a week it is painful. I'm ready to throw them away so maybe the RGP thing is an option. My HMO won't do the implant unless it's for cornea problems. Can you explain it?

RGP = Rigid Gas Permeable. The "scleral" bit means that it extends well beyond the cornea and rests on the slera (the white part of the eyeball).

You're probably thinking about Intacs, which is a set of two implanted bits of plastic that distort the cornea in hopes of improving refraction.

[He Man]

RGP take a bit of getting use t, they are as the name states rigid, so your eye needs to get use to the feeling. they have custom made ones, or just generic general sizes if you can fit them. I think 1 pair lasts for a whole year.

They are MUCH more gas permeable then regular soft contacts, HOWEVER, the newer Silicone hydragel lens are up there in oxygen permiability compared with RGP lenses.

There arent too many brands AFAIK, maybe 4-5 brands that make Silicone hydragels. One of them is Acuevue Oaysis, and Coopervision something something.

I have acuevue oaysis in my eye right now and i cannot tell you how much better they feel in comparision to regular biomedicals or regular acuevue advance 2. they are more than 60% water, however they cost about 1/3 more than regular contacts. i just picked up a year supply for $230 bucks -$30 mail in rebate.

The regular contacts used to last me about 4-5 hours before i wanted to die. my eye would burn and itch hours after that, so i went back to glasses. then i tried the silicone hydragels. now i can wear them for about 2-4 days straight without drops ( without going to bed). you might want to try those. they are freaking awesome.