Ok, I am thinking about switching to contacts. I have astigmatism and there is a possibility (per my Dr.) that I may not be able to wear them. According to my eye Dr., they will charge about $300 just to fit me and show me how to insert and remove them. Then the contacts themselves will be about $400 per year. I find this a little high....but maybe it's just me. So for now I'd like to hear other's opinions. Is it worth it?? Do you like your contacts better than glasses??
do you have insurance? no way if you have insurance the fitting fee will be that high. at least you shouldn't pay it. the cost of the contacts will probably depend on the kind and how often you need to buy them. It probably could run you $400 if you had to buy them often, but maybe others can speak to having to pay that much because I don't.
In a previous "life" I worked in the optical field and actually dispensed contacts and handled all sales of glasses to our patients. Contacts for astigmatism are called toric lenses and they have come a long way in the last 5 years. They are more difficult to fit so the contact lens exam fitting will be more expensive. The doctor has to spend more time and sometimes it takes several tries at lenses to find the ones that work best. The lenses themselves are more expensive as well. However, you need to price shop. There are doctors who do not charge as much as others. Once you are fit correctly though, you will probably love wearing contacts, and if you take the proper care and follow the doctor's instructions, should have minimal issues.
Most vision insurance plans cover a regular eye exam for glasses and also cover a portion towards glasses or contacts. Most do not cover the separate contact lens fitting fees. For those that do, usually there is a copay but the patient is still responsible for paying any charge above a certain threshold set by the insurance company.
For that kind of money, I would investigate lasik surgery. I started wearing glasses when I was 8, contacts (the old hard ones) at 15, soft, extended wear around 25, and had lasik at 48 ( 7 years ago). Each was an improvement and step up from the last. I found a deal, which I have not seen repeated since, on lasik; $599.00 for BOTH EYES! Not only did I get a great price, I got a great story as well: I had the surgery done in a mobile lab in the back of a tractor trailor, in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn at Crabtree Valley! In at 1:15pm, out at 3:00pm (actual laser surgery about 2 minutes per eye), blurry vision on the way home, took a nap and drove to go out to eat that night. My vision has regressed a little since then, maybe to 20/40, but not enough to consider going back for 'enhancements'. If you look around, you can probably find a decent price, relative to what you've been quoted for contacts, assuming you are a good candidate for lasik. Hope this info helps.
It probably depends on how bad your astigmatism is as to how well you will like contacts. I had 97% astigmatism in both of my eyes and the best vision I could ever get in contacts was 20/50 because Toric Lenses for astigmatism tend to roll around. I couldn't wear them to the beach, at amusement parks, etc. without being blind all day. I had an incredible opthamologist who was very patient trying cutting edge technology to get the best lenses he could find. I usually paid about $450/year for contacts and still couldn't pass the driver's license test some days(would wear my glasses). About 2 years ago, I became eligible for a custom LASIK procedure that one of the docs in Cary does. I now have 20/15 vision, no dryness and no halos. Because my astigmatism was so bad, I had to have an all laser, custom procedure that ran me $5,000 out of pocket. BEST money I've ever spent.
Yep, that's the way ours works. It does not cover the fitting fees either. As for shopping around, how does that work? Will my Dr. just give me the prescription to take somewhere else? We go to Johnson Optometrics in Garner. Great doctors and I really like going there. I just feel that their glasses are very expensive. We always have to pay a good bit out of pocket every time we go too.
My son and I go to Eye Deals by the Food Lion on 42, have been for YEARS. That fitting fee sounds WAY high. I also have astigmatism, and I buy my contact lenses online for 35.00 a box or so. I use Acuvue Advance Toric lenses. Call Dr Black @ Eye Deals. The fitting session consists of putting in the lenses, him looking at them, asking how they feel, and that's it. About a 5-10 minute process.
I've been going to the same optometrist for 20+ years and I trust his opinion. I've been wearing contacts for 20 years and I have astigmatism. Actually, I'm restricted to wear corrective lenses. Now my doctor can not tell me that it is okay to wear two-week disposable lenses for four weeks, but I do and he knows that I do. I take them out every night and soak them in a cleansing solution and I have no problems whatsoever with my regiment. It saves me money by extending my wear. Now I probably wouldn't do that if I kept them in all the time, but I've never been comfortable with that since research shows that overnight wear increases the risk of eye infection. I use O2 Optix lenses and CIBA VISION solution. In the past two years I switched from regular daily wear to disposables so that I would have a fresh pair every month as opposed to cleaning the same pair and wearing them for a year or so. Like I said, I clean mine every night and use my glasses afterward until the next morning. If you've never worn contacts before, you'll have to get accustom to them, but it doesn't take that long and its nice to ditch the glasses except when needed. I'm reluctant to do LASIK. Most people have no problems, however some report minor to significant problems and with my luck, I'd be one of those to have lifelong dry eyes or halos around lights. My doc he about fifty and wears glasses. I've casually asked him about it before and he's told me "you see what I'm wearing don't you?" By that I took it to mean LASIK wasn't for him either. Besides that, he told me that I could still end up needing glasses afterward and would anyway as I got older and farsighted.
Wow, I don't know if I'm ready for surgery....I'm a chicken. I don't have to wear glasses all the time, only when reading, etc. Although I have noticed lately that I'm having problems seeing how to put my makeup on in the mornings because you can't have your glasses on and put on eye makeup! I am about half scared that I'm gonna come to work looking like Tammy Faye Baker one day!!
lol, I do two week lenses for four weeks, too. I've been wearing contacts for 22 years. Wow, I'm old. And Bren, they are cheaper if you buy more at one time.
I agree that the fitting price you gave sounds awfully high, we went to a specialist and it was $250 - ins did not cover it...:evil: my dd has to have a hard to find 'weighted' contact for one of her eyes, found them at www.visiondirect.com
heavy astigmatism here, I used gas permeable lenses, semi-rigid and can last a couple years without replacing. Good luck... bite the bullet and go lasik.. I wouldn't go to the cheap ones though. there's a reason they're $1,000-1,500 cheaper than others.
Just an FYI that you can get your contact prescription filled at BJs even if you are not a member. That is where I get mine and they have good prices. NC law says you cannot deny access to prescription medicine so Bjs (Sams also) has to fill your script even if you are not a member.
The doctor will only give you the prescription after he fits your son with the contacts and you have paid the fitting fee. Since he is a first time wearer, I would NOT recommend taking the prescription somewhere else. If the lenses don't work out they cannot be returned and you'll end up paying the doctor to re-examine him. For the first time, you need to do everything in the same place. Then once you know the brand, size and prescription of the lenses work, you can look into replacement lenses at other places.
It's not for my son, it's for me. :lol: I was examined the end of 2009 and we discussed the contacts at that time. That's when he gave me the list of fees. I decided to wait a while and think about it. Well now I'm thinking I am ready to do it but wanted to ask others who wear contacts what they thought about the prices, etc. So I should stay with this doctor until it's time to order my contacts again (not the initial visit...fitting, etc) and then go somewhere else??
Here's how it's broken down for me: $30 - Contact Lens Evaluation/Assessment $32 - Corneal Topography $25 - Care Instructions $199 - Complex Contact Lens Fitting Follow Up
sorry...I don't know why I said your son when I knew it was for you . I'm not saying you should go somewhere else for your contacts after the initial fitting etc...just that you have an option to do so if you want. Many people shop around for the contacts because they can vary so much in price. The risk that you do take is if you have a problem you will end up back at your doctor's and since he didn't sell you the contacts he will charge you to check you and also you may not be able to return the contacts to wherever you did get them if they have been opened. And because of the competition, many doctors have actually had to reduce the markup on contacts so you may find that the small difference in price in contacts elsewhere isn't worth it.
One thing I'd like to add is to not be too quick to buy a large supply of one particular brand of contact lenses (if buying disposables) because they do not all fit the same. I've tried different brands but CIBA Vision's lenses fit me the best but that doesn't mean they'll fit you correctly. Others I've tried seemed thicker under my lids, would fold up if I blinked wrong and were simply difficult to insert. I'd ask for at least three different pairs as free samples to try before settling on one that you like.
