korfhage@ucla-cs.UUCP (11/08/84)
As it is time to update my glasses prescription, I am also considering
getting some contacts. The question then arises where to get them, and there
is a continuum of possibilities.
At one end, I have visited a hot-shot contact lens doctor - consultant to
lens manufacturers, expert in the field, etc. Without doubt, he knows his
stuff and going to him would be quite safe. And at $600, quite expensive -
he's in demand and he knows it.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are the dispenseries. They sell
lenses for much less than the doctor (~$200), and the quality of the doctors
at such places is unknown.
In picking a place to go, the immediate reaction is go to the best, because
these are your eyes that your fiddling with and they're hard to replace. And
yet the $400 difference is considerable for a student like myself, and I have
yet to find anyone who has been harmed by a dispensery. I have even been
given a number of recommendations, and cannot find any evidence that a good
dispensery would endanger my eyes.
So it all comes down to a search for Truth :
Is it dangerous for someone with normal (albeit nearsighted),
healthy eyes, who does not require any special lenses, to get the
lenses from a good dispensery rather than a special doctor?
Common wisdom has it that the answer is yes, but I cannot find any supporting
evidence. Can anyone out there provide evidence one way or the other?
---------------------------
Willard Korfhage
ARPA : korfhage@ucla-ats
UUCP : {ucbvax,ihnp4,randvax,trwrb!trwspp,ism780}!ucla-cs!korfhage
--
---------------------------
Willard Korfhage
ARPA : korfhage@ucla-ats
UUCP : {ucbvax,ihnp4,randvax,trwrb!trwspp,ism780}!ucla-cs!korfhageherbie@watdcsu.UUCP (Herb Chong, Computing Services) (11/10/84)
The problem, as I see it, is to find a good optical place to buy
your lenses. I think that you're going to have to rely on the
experiences of your friends and any other sources, like the net.
When I got my contacts, I got them through a doctor because of the bad
experiences of my brother. He only paid $149 CAN (about the going rate
in Canada) but had all kinds of trouble with them. They kept bothering
him and the technician where he bought the lenses couldn't seem to help.
Now he barely wears them. I paid $280 for mine through the optometrist
and had a year of followup appointments. Except for the first week or
so, I have been wearing mine all the time for about 12-14 hours a day
and have had no problems that were not my fault. A good technician
can do most of the right things too, but unless you can find one,
your eyes may be better off in the long run. BTW, $600 for contacts from
the doctor? Is this typical in the US? About $200-$300 was what I
would have expected.
Herb Chong...
I'm user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble....
UUCP: {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!watdcsu!herbie
CSNET: herbie%watdcsu@waterloo.csnet
ARPA: herbie%watdcsu%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa
NETNORTH, BITNET: herbie@watdcs, herbie@watdcsumarie@harvard.ARPA (Marie Desjardins) (11/14/84)
I bought my contact lenses from a place called "Vision Center" (or something like that). A licensed optometrist examined my eyes. I have Bausch & Lomb soft contact lenses and have never had any trouble (except that I don't clean them with enzyme solution as often as I should, but this is my fault). They cost around $150 (the last time I bought a new pair, I got a pair of glasses with them for a total of $210 including the eye exam -- they were having a special). I've worn contact lenses for nearly 8 years. I think $600 is ridiculous; I wouldn't spend over $200 (unless I was getting extended-wear lenses, more about which below). By the way, I am thinking about getting extended-wear lenses at some point. The last time I went to the optometrist, I asked about them and he said he didn't like to sell them because they didn't stay clean, etc. etc. I found this hard to believe, but didn't really care too much one way or the other so I bought regular lenses. Does anyone out there wear EW lenses? If so: have you had trouble with them? Can you really wear them for a month? Are there situations (besides swimming) when they really shouldn't be worn? Thanks. Marie desJardins marie@harvard
andrew@orca.UUCP (Andrew Klossner) (11/14/84)
[If column one of this line is blank, they'll eat my dog.]
"At one end, I have visited a hot-shot contact lens doctor -
consultant to lens manufacturers, expert in the field, etc.
Without doubt, he knows his stuff and going to him would be
quite safe. And at $600, quite expensive - he's in demand and
he knows it ... At the other end of the spectrum, there are the
dispenseries. They sell lenses for much less than the doctor
(~$200), and the quality of the doctors at such places is
unknown."
At the third end of the spectrum is the ophthalmologist, especially one
who isn't flashy and in demand. An ophthalmologist is an MD who
specializes in the eye; this is as opposed to an optometrist, who can
prescribe lenses but isn't trained in other aspects of eye problems, or
an optician, who dispenses lenses but normally can't prescribe.
When I needed contacts, I looked at the yellow pages and picked the
ophthalmologist closest to my home. I got a long overdue eye checkup
for $50, which included the glaucoma test. (Health insurance would
have covered it had I been employed at the time.) After that, I took
his package deal: for $200 (separate from the $50 checkup), a pair of
soft contact lenses and all necessary follow-up visits. And I even got
to try the contacts for an hour to decide whether I could stand to have
them in my eyes; if I had turned them down, I wouldn't have owed
anything.
The price was competitive, and I wanted someone who really knew all
about eyes. Maybe I got lucky and stumbled onto a gem of a doctor.
But my recommendation is that you check out what the local
ophthalmologists have to offer.
-- Andrew Klossner (decvax!tektronix!orca!andrew) [UUCP]
(orca!andrew.tektronix@rand-relay) [ARPA]herbie@watdcsu.UUCP (Herb Chong, Computing Services) (11/16/84)
Although I went to an optometrist, my experience is similar.
The part that comforts me most are the followup visits and checking
to see that I could stand them. He had lenses that were pretty close
to what I would need, so I got to see some of the improvements that
contacts would make.
Herb Chong...
I'm user-friendly -- I don't byte, I nybble....
UUCP: {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!watdcsu!herbie
CSNET: herbie%watdcsu@waterloo.csnet
ARPA: herbie%watdcsu%waterloo.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa
NETNORTH, BITNET: herbie@watdcs, herbie@watdcsu
POST: Department of Computing Services
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, ON
N2L 3G1 (519)886-4733 x3524jlg@lanl.ARPA (11/20/84)
$600 for contact lenses?!? I paid about $200 for mine from an opthalmologist (not an optometrist - a real M.D.). And my lenses are the new extended wear kind (I haven't taken them out for about 3 weeks now). The $200 covered six months of follow-up appointments as well. I wonder what you could get extra for $600?