RGP contact lenses

Stella

Hi, guys.<br><br>Anyone wear those lenses or know a good optometrist for fitting? I think Specsavers do fitting, has anyone had experience with them?<br><br><br>

miss annie

I go to Boots (was D&A), in Muswell Hill and would highly recommend the optometrist there. Been a patient for fifteen years and never had a bad experience. I go twice a year as I have extremely bad sight and have been wearing strong glasses (-8.5), since I was five. Only been able to wear contacts for a few years now, and I have daily disposables but the optometrist and the staff there have all been excellent with guidance on how to fit and use them. A few people I know are also patients there for glasses and lenses. Specsavers won't make my prescription, I'm sure they're fine if you have fairly normal eyes.

kittygal

Hi Stella - I use them, vision express oxford circus stock & fit them. Used the lenses & the optician for years. I get on fine with both.

kittygal

Sorry meant to add my prescription is high too & vision express can accommodate this

Stella

Thanks, guys. Very helpful. Been wearing glasses for the past few years, but they annoy me when working and I would love having a choice. RGP, in my experience, are far easier to deal with and rather forgiving when handling them. I have a few eye issues, but was assured that technique and lenses have improved. Glad to hear that. <br>Guess I'm in a fairly 'normal' range at +3.75 (or so), even though on the blind-as-a-bat side. <br>A bit confused about your prescription too high comments. Do you mean that Specsavers don't stock those?<br>

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miss annie

They just won't make up my prescription, too complex apparently. They really cater to the 'need glasses but not almost blind' end of the market and because they are cheap they don't want to waste time with fiddly things like mine. Yours is pretty normal, you'll be fine pretty much anywhere I'd say.

Idoru

I'm probably being silly but I don't like the idea of trusting my eyes to an opticians that's all about cheapness. When it comes to my eyesight I want good quality rather than a good deal. <div><br></div><div>I've used D&A for years - in Cambridge, Richmond, Greenwich and now Wood Green - and had no problems. As miss annie says, it's been taken over by Boots but I've not noticed any change in service or quality.</div>

TheMimsy

I used to go to the 20/20 Optical Centre on Tottenham Court Road, but they have closed down and all the clients have been referred to Vision Express Oxford Street (near M&S).<div>I have not been yet for my yearly check up and fitting and was thinking about going to the one near Angel, just because it's nearer...Don't suppose anybody here knows what the Angel one is like?</div>

conformable_kate

Mr Lim in Crouch End, under the clock tower. He is great. He explains what he is doing with every test, and exactly why he is going for a particular prescription (under/ at strength, to do with how you use your eyes, drigcing, reading, computing, etc). I have had contact lenses and glasses from him for years, and he has also prescribed for family members with more complicated needs than mine, always helfpully. I have been in denial about needing reading glasses for several years now, and he is coaxing me gently towards varifocals, but I can forgive him for that because he is probably right in the long run. It costs more than the chains because you pay for the tests, but you can be flexible about how often you need to renew lens prescriptions rather than being tied into monthly direct debits. 

conformable_kate

"driving" - not driving. Another mark of dodgy close vision in relation to laptop screen...

checkski

Right as ever, Kate. Mr Lim is a wonderful man - and that is before we begin to discuss his optical skills.

Stella

I won't be needing lenses on a monthly basis. That's one of the perks when wearing RGPs. I think I had my last ones for three years or so. All depending on how look after them. <br>Only downside with them is that if you get something in your eye, it hurts. A lot. Interesting how it works here. With my specialist I went every half year or so for a check up, polishing the lenses and that's about it. I only got new ones when I found it's time. No subscriptions or whatever.<br>

conformable_kate

Checkski - I like <span style="font-size: 10pt;">"as ever"! Typos excluded, clearly.</span>

conformable_kate

Stella - yes, it's true it's for the soft ones that they try to tie you into contracts. Not sure what RGPs are - are they the same as hard contact lenses? I had more or less the same prescription for ten years or so, first with subs then without. Enjoy it while it lasts...

quince

I'd recommend Robert Linsky in Muswell Hill.  He's a brilliant contact lens practitioner and an evangelist for the hard gas permeable variety.  I've been seeing him for 30-odd years (out of 40) and wouldn't go anywhere else.<div><br></div><div>My eyes have stopped tolerating the hard lenses but I always found them comfortable, easy to wear for extended periods and simple to care for - once you've got used to having them in... Good value too.</div>

Stella

conformable_kate: yes, I'm talking about hard lenses. Never wore soft lenses, don't want them.<br><br>quince: I'm also an advocate of hard lenses; wore them for 15 years or so and always got on well with them, bar two or three incidents where I got something into my eye and scratched my cornea so badly I needed some ointment and wear glasses for a few days. But the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. And, yes, they're good value, too.<br><br>Only downside of contacts (for me), is that I only reached 90% instead of 100% with glasses, but with the recent developments in them, I'm sure I can get my 100% with them, too. I wish I was brave enough and could believe enough in surgery. A life without glasses or contacts would be (almost) perfect.<br>

sharybo

I can recommend Boots/D&A in Muswell Hill too. I have monthly soft lenses and although my prescription is fairly straightforward, I have quite complicated eye problems (acute angle closure glaucoma) which means I've had an operation to replace the lens in one eye and am highly likely to need the other one doing at some point if the pressure in my eye increases.<div><br></div><div>I have annual check ups at Moorfield anyway, but it's reassuring to think that the optician at Boots is very knowledgeable and I'm confident she'd pick up any issues during my check ups.  </div>