Contacts: The Saga Continues....

[Phoenix84]

Okay, so I previous posted about my contact woes, losing them then having to wait three weeks for walmart to get new ones, and then the contacts not being right and me going to lensecrafters.

So I go to lensecrafters, and the doctor orders new contacts. They arrive 5 days later, and guess what? Not only do they not fit right but they aren't the right perscription either

So I go back the next day, and there's a different doctor who basically says she can't see me because I should stick with one Doctor with my case for consistency, and that Doctor won't be in until Monday. Okay... so I go back in today (monday) and see my original doc and she says she can't handle this special case because she doesn't have the right equipment, and sends me to yet another doctor.....

So yeah, I might get these contacts when I'm an old man. This has already gone on for more than a month....

All of you with 20/20 vision, thank your lucky stars.

[susanb]

Sorry to hear that, Phoenix. I don't have 20/20 vision by a long shot, but after reading about how difficult it has been for you to get contacts I feel lucky to just have astigmatism.

[midjd]

Sorry, Phoenix

I don't have your exact eye problems, but I'm a -8.0 in my right eye and a -7.5 in my left so I am SOL with no contacts! I feel your pain. Do you have good glasses, at least?

[taz157]

Sept 17, 2012 17:58:15 GMT -5 susanb said:

Sorry to hear that, Phoenix. I don't have 20/20 vision by a long shot, but after reading about how difficult it has been for you to get contacts I feel lucky to just have astigmatism.

[Cookies Galore]

One word: nomorechains.

I hope you eventually get your contacts. Before your prescription changes.

[Sam_2.0]

Sept 17, 2012 18:11:58 GMT -5 midjd said:

Sorry, Phoenix

I don't have your exact eye problems, but I'm a -8.0 in my right eye and a -7.5 in my left so I am SOL with no contacts! I feel your pain. Do you have good glasses, at least?

Mid - are you sure you are not my alter ego?

[Apple]

Sept 17, 2012 20:44:28 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

One word: nomorechains.

I hope you eventually get your contacts. Before your prescription changes.

Agree! Can you find a local, been there for many years, optometrist? Yes, they're usually a little more expensive, but in a case like yours I'd think it would be worth it! I've been going to mine since I was 15, my older sister had been going to him since she was three. We were able to do lasix, but if not, we'd still be going to him.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sept 17, 2012 20:44:28 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

One word: nomorechains.

I hope you eventually get your contacts. Before your prescription changes.

If you have an uncomplicated prescription, then chains are good. But realize, you are getting what you pay for. And for what you have lost in time, you could have paid to see someone where you don't get the run around.

When I moved the last time, I asked around as to who was good and the same name kept popping up. My optometrist is almost impossible to get into, but she's good. The only time I have had issues with my contacts, they had to reorder them and I had my new lenses (which had to be ground specifically) in 4 days.

You get what you pay for.

[Phoenix84]

The lensecrafters doc referred me to a local guy who's supposedly really good with contacts and has specialized equipment to "map" the topography of my eye (if I understand her right). She said my eye is slightly mishapen so the contacts need to account for that

So we'll see if the no chain policy works. The only problem the guy isn't in the office until next week

[Deleted]

Do you wear rigid contacts or soft? Disposables? If you have a disposable rx then try hitting different doctors offices and chains. If you show them your rx and explain your problems a lot of them will give you a sample to tide you over. At a high RX you might have to try a few places before someone has one.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sept 18, 2012 10:34:24 GMT -5 @anne81 said:

Do you wear rigid contacts or soft? Disposables? If you have a disposable rx then try hitting different doctors offices and chains. If you show them your rx and explain your problems a lot of them will give you a sample to tide you over. At a high RX you might have to try a few places before someone has one.

It sounds like Phoenix has some pretty unique problems, which is where his problem lies with the chains.

However, as he has an appointment with a 'new' non-chain optometrist he could probably throw himself on the mercy of the office with his old prescription and ask if they could give him a refill until he can be seen.

I wouldn't try this without having a scheduled appointment though and imagine that they will provide just enough lenses to get you to the appointment. I would not try to screw them over either.

[Deleted]

When you are as blind as Phoenix sounds they tend to have mercy on you. I used to wear -10 and -11 in contacts. Occasionally one would rip and if I didn't have a spare then a local store would help me. It's been a year and a half since I got lasik and I'm still tripping over emergency contacts in odd corners.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Sept 18, 2012 11:08:53 GMT -5 @anne81 said:

When you are as blind as Phoenix sounds they tend to have mercy on you. I used to wear -10 and -11 in contacts. Occasionally one would rip and if I didn't have a spare then a local store would help me. It's been a year and a half since I got lasik and I'm still tripping over emergency contacts in odd corners.

That's where my eyes are, so I know where you're coming from. But I have other issues and no doctor will touch me for LASIK though.

My optometrist recommends a lens implantation procedure, similar to what happens when one has cataracts. I don't have cataracts, or it'd be covered under insurance so if I decide I want to go in this direction, it'll be all out of pocket for me.

As I have had substantial medical bills this past year, this has been put onto the back burner......

[Deleted]

I was shocked and thrilled to find out that I was a candidate for lasik. I wasn't 5 years ago. When I went to the surgeon I wanted to talk to him about the Phakic IOL's. Hope you are able to get your implants soon!

[Formerly SK]

I have 20/20 so I can't specifically relate, but I definitely feel for you.

[Phoenix84]

"Hope you are able to get your implants soon!"

Well, this whole experience doesn't exactly build my confidence in the surgical implants. I mean, it's one thing for a doctor to mess up contacts and then you just order new ones and they come in a week later. I don't want to get surgical implants and then find out the doctor screwed up and I can't see. It's different when they have to cut you open again to put new ones one. Ordering contacts 5 times is bad enough, going in for an eye operation 5 times while they "get it right" doesn't sound like a good idea.

I do think my insurance would cover it though, the surgical implants.

[Phoenix84]

"When you are as blind as Phoenix sounds they tend to have mercy on you. I used to wear -10 and -11 in contacts. Occasionally one would rip and if I didn't have a spare then a local store would help me. It's been a year and a half since I got lasik and I'm still tripping over emergency contacts in odd corners."

hmmm, maybe, I guess there's no harm in asking. I am pretty blind (legally blind without correction). With correct the best we can usually get is 20/30 in my right eye and 20/60 in my left. I am fortunate I see good enough to drive with corrected vision, my cousins with similar issues aren't so lucky.

In practice it normally hasn't been much of an issue. However, sometimes at work people will express concern over my vision, complaining that I read things too close and want to know if I can do anything about it. It's like they think I can't manage my own condition. Seriously, I wish people would mind their own business and accept I've done everything I can with my eyes, they aren't getting any better.

I'm not a pilot or a sniper, so why does it freaking matter if I hold things closer than most people to read them.

[Deleted]

I think you are going to have to pony up for a great independent eye doctor - ophthalmologist or optometrist - and for a second set of contacts as a back up pair. I can understand being concerned about the lens implants not being the perfect rx. Frankly, it may not matter. When I went in for lasik I knew the odds of being 20/20 were low. I just wanted to wear a more regular rx than the extreme one I had and be able to find the bathroom at night.

We had a guy who used to come to our office. He wore a -25 in one eye.

[Cookies Galore]

Sept 18, 2012 12:55:13 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

"Hope you are able to get your implants soon!"

Well, this whole experience doesn't exactly build my confidence in the surgical implants. I mean, it's one thing for a doctor to mess up contacts and then you just order new ones and they come in a week later. I don't want to get surgical implants and then find out the doctor screwed up and I can't see. It's different when they have to cut you open again to put new ones one. Ordering contacts 5 times is bad enough, going in for an eye operation 5 times while they "get it right" doesn't sound like a good idea.

I do think my insurance would cover it though, the surgical implants.

Luckily, Walmart does not offer surgery. Yet.

[taz157]

Sept 18, 2012 13:12:43 GMT -5 @anne81 said:

We had a guy who used to come to our office. He wore a -25 in one eye.

I didn't even know it would be that low.