To contacts or not to contacts??

[Peaches2018]

Hiya Mumsnet,

I'm stuck now for a few months with my contact lenses. I've got astigmatism so my contacts don't come cheap with my prescription. I switched optometrist due to customer service and tons of mistakes from one to another. Got current lenses and they're not comfy at all leaving my eyes irritated and very dry. There's another option (a whopping 75 per 3 months ) but that one I tried before I the contacts weren't comfy either!! The next best option will be a staggering 90 quid per 3 months!!! Way too much to my experience. Currently I'm wearing my glasses more but my LO thinks it's the best game ever to constantly pull them off and see it as his new favourite toy. And to be frank I haven't worn any glasses full time for the last 4 years either.
I'm thinking of going back to glasses again (saves a ton of money too) but I'm still hesitant. Anyone switched from contacts to glasses full time with a Little one? Did you get used to wearing glasses full time again quite quickly? Any tips or help is really appreciated

Well that price is about what I pay per 3 months.

Only thing is I get 6 months out of them!

So I wear my glasses when at home, at weekends etc.

I absolutely hate them but contacts are too expensive to wear everyday and tbh opticians seem to be wary of anyone wearing contacts every day.

My kids are trained not to touch my glasses but inevitably there are accidental bumps.

But I reckon there's not a whole amount I can do about it.

My bog standard daily lenses are £30 a month.

@ElspethFlashman yours last 6 months?!? Wow!! I think if you'd wear glasses at home and weekends they would last longer indeed. I've always paid around 20 or 24 a months on the lens schemes so going up to 30 or more a month seems a lot to be honest. I've had glasses since I was 5 years old but you get used to contacts SO quickly!!!
I've never heard any optician saying to me to not wear them the whole day and every day so that's a new one for me to hear!
@inwood mine are extended range astigmatism lenses and I always got told mine are " the most expensive in the range" lenses so going up from around 20 a month to 30 is a bit much to be fair

Have you tried Biofinity lens. I can't get in with most lens, but these are so comfortable. They are extended wear ones, they used to say up to 30 days wear without taking them out, but now it's 7 days. I paid Specsavers £30 a month as they're multifocal, but on Lenstore website they're about £60 for 3 months worth, or £24 for standard lenses. With Lenstore you can also get a free checkup at vision express. I do wear my glasses quite often as I work nights, but if I didn't, my lenses would be worn 100% of the time.

@nickyschof thanks for the website! I had a look and it sounded really good but they didn't have my astigmatism prescription sadly :(
I think I just got hooked completely with contacts and it's such a big difference now wearing my glasses more!

Is laser not an option?

Have you tried these, ive had issues the last few years with lenses so wear glasses alot but tge prices on here were reasonable for dailies

I pay £38 a month for daily silicon hydrogel lenses. My feeling is that my eyes are SO important, and I would make cut-backs elsewhere to afford them if I had to. I really don’t like wearing my glasses other than at home though.

I'm at the other end, I used to wear contacts every day and now I hardly touch them, my son isn't little though.
Contacts (if I recall) should be worn for about 12 hours per day, and you need one day a week as a break day.

If I were you op I'd so a bogof deal on glasses so you've always got a spare pair and save your money (if your used to glasses).

I have really dry eyes and have the one day acuvue moist. I also have astigmatism in both eyes. They are nearly £45 delivered for 30 days. Hence I only wear them for evenings out and occasional weekends!

Have you bought your lenses online? The prescription needs to be less than a year old but you can certainly just buy whatever lens you want.

Or you not try Gas Permable Lenses? They cost £150 in an opticians (but you can can them cheaper online), but last years. More painful to wear in but healthier for your eye.

Wow thanks to everyone who replied and sorry I'm a bit late with a response!!
Laser isn't an option for me now @Mummy0ftwo12 but definitely something I'll be thinking of later on!
@Judystilldreamsofhorses I would want monthly ones not dailies but you're right: eyes / sight is SO important.
@Leflic my contacts and prescription come from a optometrist and I've been looking online but sadly my prescription seems hard to order.
The last few days I've worn my glasses more, bought a better quality eye drops (not the normal supermarket brand I normally have) but my eyes still seem very dry and not really comfy. Next week I can ring back to the optometrist and book an appointment to trial the 90£ ones as a trial set and hopefully that'll be better. If not then I fully consider going back to glasses permanently
thanks for all the advice and response

I wear contacts and have astigmatism. I buy them online and pay nearly £70 for three months. There are lots of online places and deals, so you could try a few places. I hate wearing glasses due to the lack of peripheral vision so no going back for me!

@Babyblue12 I would love to hear where you get yours from, I looked at 2 sites at the moment and I can't find what I'm looking for. If you don't mind me asking how bad is your astigmatism? I'm on -3.75 for one eye and it's hard to find good contacts

@Peaches2018 I’m -3.25 and -3.50, so similar to you. My astigmatism is only slight so not sure if that makes it easier for me to find them.
Lenson, Lenstore and Vision Direct are all sites I’ve bought from. I currently have dailies but used to have monthlys.

I have astigmatism in one eye (albeit not very bad) and pay about £70 for three months for Acuvue Oasys which are the cheapest lenses on the market that suit me. I've tried others but most of them felt like they were scraping on my upper eyelid. I tried gas permeable lenses years ago and couldn't get on with them at all.

I also have a condition that means I struggle with bright light, so I wear sunglasses all year round when I'm outside even if it's not very sunny. So I don't wear glasses outside at all. Can't be arsed with chopping and changing between prescription and non prescription lenses.