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Medical Forum / General / Vision / September 2005Question about contact-lens prescription
Hi. I currently wear Sunsoft toric lenses. I have a high degree of astigmatism, especially in my right eye, which has a prescription of Sph -1.25, Cyl -3.50, and Axis 015. If I want to try another brand of contact lenses, do I need to have my eye doctor give me a different prescription, or is my current measurement good for all other toric lenses as well? Thanks for any info. -sj You should ask your eyedoc for trial lenses suitable for your eyeball(s). Your eyedoc will examine the lens(es) while they're in your eye(s) to ensure proper fit, after which you can get a different brand. >Hi. I currently wear Sunsoft toric lenses. I have a high degree of >astigmatism, especially in my right eye, which has a prescription of [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > >-sj +++++++++++++ Reply to the list as I do not publish an email address to USENET. This practice has cut my spam by more than 95%. Of course, I did have to abandon a perfectly good email account... Now I'm confused. I already have a regular pair I'm wearing that the doctor gave me. My question is whether I can use this same prescription for a different brand? You can't, because changing the brand WILL change the fit of the lens. If you want to try another brand, you have to get trial lenses of that brand first, to see how they orient on you eyes. BTW not many manufacturers make strong torics like that, so your choice is VERY limited, unless you want to seriously undercorrect your astigmatism. w.stacy, o.d. > Now I'm confused. I already have a regular pair I'm wearing that the > doctor gave me. My question is whether I can use this same > prescription for a different brand? To be even clearer-- no, you cannot use the same prescription for a different brand. A contact lens prescription is brand-specific. The identical lens power in a different brand of contacts will not fit the same (different plastic, different edge design, etc.). A doctor must try you in a trial pair in a brand to make sure it fits first-- if it does then the final prescription is given. There are several high-astigmatism lens brands that you might try that are affordable and of good quality made by CooperVision. I would recommend trying Vertex Toric XR, Frequency 55 Toric XR, and/or Preference Toric XR. Your eyedoc can arrange trials pairs. Fitting high astigmatism toric soft contacts can be difficult. Vision is usually not perfect and can fluctuate. Have you tried rigid gas permeable contacts (aka hard contacts)? --------- > Now I'm confused. I already have a regular pair I'm wearing that the > doctor gave me. My question is whether I can use this same > prescription for a different brand? > There are several high-astigmatism lens brands that you might try that are > affordable and of good quality made by CooperVision. I would recommend [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > usually not perfect and can fluctuate. Have you tried rigid gas permeable > contacts (aka hard contacts)? Thanks, RM. Your list of specific brands is really helpful. No, I haven't tried hard contacts at all, but maybe it's something I should think about. -sj > doctor gave me. My question is whether I can use this same > prescription for a different brand? Not lawfully, in the US and many other countries. In reality, you can find retailers who will sell you anything you want. It's a good way to waste a hundred bucks. Or two. One brand of toric usually fits different from another, when the numbers match exactly. You paid the guy to find a lens that is comfortable and clear. If these aren't comfortable and clear, go back and let him earn his fee. He can order trials at no charge, so you know what you're buying. -MT > You paid the guy to find a lens that is comfortable and clear. If these > aren't comfortable and clear, go back and let him earn his fee. He can order > trials at no charge, so you know what you're buying. Thanks for the advice, Mike. Oh, I didn't realize that the trials don't cost them anything. -sj Oh, one more thing. I assume it's acceptable to go and say something like this to my optometrist: "I'm currently wearing this brand of contact lenses, but I would like to get Vertex Toric XR instead"? This question may sound rather silly, but doctors and the like can be so arrogant in general that I was just wondering if it's a reasonable request. :) -sj > Oh, one more thing. I assume it's acceptable to go and say something > like this to my optometrist: "I'm currently wearing this brand of > contact lenses, but I would like to get Vertex Toric XR instead"? This > question may sound rather silly, but doctors and the like can be so > arrogant in general that I was just wondering if it's a reasonable > request. :) At the least, you're entitled to another attempt if your lenses are not comfortable and clear. There will be some time limit. He or she will doubtless want to know your reason for wanting Vertex, but then should listen to any good reason. Most companies don't "charge" for trials but they often allocate trials based on units sold. If your doctor doesn't use many Cooper lenses, or doesn't have an account with Cooper, you may meet some resistance. Generally I'd advise you concentrate on what you ultimately want: lenses that are comfortable and clear. If your doctor recommends some other brand, it should be because he has more experience with them. If he insists, you might suggest a compromise, ordering Vertex for one eye and his favorite for the other. -MT how long ago did you get your original prescription for Sunsoft Toric. personally, i do have a problem when a patient whom i fit in a brand of contact lens and already checked comes back 6 months later and says they are having problems with their contact prescription. i wonder why they didn't tell me about their problems sooner and why they are coming back after so long. some docs I know will charge them a contact lens fitting fee if its been a long time since their exam. i am generally a softy and i won't charge them again (unless this is a repetitive problem). >how long ago did you get your original prescription for Sunsoft Toric. >personally, i do have a problem when a patient whom i fit in a brand of [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >softy and i won't charge them again (unless this is a repetitive >problem). It's been a few months. The reason I want to change isn't that I'm having problems, but rather that I want a disposable monthly lens instead. He never told me at the time that I could get a monthly toric with my high astigmatism--I just found that out from you guys. In fact, he made it sound like I could *not* get one. Speaking as someone who has fairly high astigmatism (-3.00) - I've found that in wanting to wear monthly contacts, I've had to compromise on my astigmatism correction. Since the monthly toric lenses with the highest powers available here are Bausch and Lomb's SofLens 66 (-2.75), Focus Toric (-2.50), and Biomedics Toric (-2.25), and only Biomedics Toric fits my eyes, I've had to compromise by wearing a -2.25 toric even though I have -3.00 of astig. > Speaking as someone who has fairly high astigmatism (-3.00) - I've > found that in wanting to wear monthly contacts, I've had to compromise [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Toric fits my eyes, I've had to compromise by wearing a -2.25 toric > even though I have -3.00 of astig. Thanks for the info. What about the Vertex Toric XR? See: http://www.aclens.com/displaylens.asp?L4ensID=272 I'm thinking about these lenses for myself. Frankly, I can live with undercorrecting my astigmatism a little. I did that in high school when I wasn't even wearing toric at all, even though I had astigmatism. Those lenses aren't available where I live, if I'm not wrong, so I wouldn't quite know about them (sorry). Well it's best if you check with your optometrist before doing anything - I thought the SofLens 66 would be best for me, but turned out not to be so after the trial lenses turned out too flat. And errr... I thought I could live with undercorrecting astig (my right has has -0.75, and I got a normal lens at first), but ended up getting a toric lens for my right eye in the end. I suppose I'm spoiled by the fact that my glasses give me insanely good vision, so any difference is very noticeable with my contacts. So get trial lenses before you do anything? I went through 3 prescriptions for each of my eyes before I finally settled on a prescription that I liked. Hope this helps. |
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