Online ordering of contact lenses

i want to order contatcs online from lenscatcher or something because they seem cheap and a fe ppl have mentioned them... basically i dont want to pay 180€ for contatcs if i order them fromt he eye doctor.. i think thats a rip off.

so my question is... how do u know if the contacts u order will fit right? like they measured the shape of my eye or sumfin at the eye doctors, but i looked on lenscatcher and the different types of contatcs usually just come ina standard size. do i hafta order the same brand that i got from the eye doctor to make sure they fit or somethign?
i'm just not sure how it works.. all i got from the dr. is sumfin saying the cylander measurements, the achse (axis?) and something bout the sherical measurments. is this enough info to order them online?

I ordered from lenscatcher, and all they wanted was the power correction and the radius of the lens (big or small eyes). My i'll-never-reward-you-with-my-insurance-card-again-you-bastard-augenarzt who made me wait for an hour, and then gave me the 5 minute machine prescription did not include the radius - so I guessed. At least on lenscatcher, they're only two options for radius anyway.

So if you don't have the radius (for certain you have the power correction); then pick a cheap lens and guess - see how it works

i ordered mine also from lenscatcher, but i used an old box to order the right ones. you just need the PWR=power, DIA=diameter and BC=curvature (basic curve). was prettty straight-forward. i have an astigmatism so have one box of toric lenses so i just had to pay attention that i was getting those. if i remember correctly, a BC of 8.9 is a pretty standard value.

standard BCs are 8,6 or 8,9. I am not sure if there is much difference between the two. Ialways have 8,6.

ok well i dont have the diameter or the bc... only the things i mentioned and my bf just called them to see bout gettng the other info cuz he said i wanna order them online and they said that they cant be ordered anywhere else and i hafta get them at an optician so i can be fitted properly! thats bullshit.

The diameter and BC are ALWAYS indicated on the lense package.

Like Elfenstar & Co. mentioned, you CAN order online ... if you have:

Power - Diameter - Base Curve

If you don't have the above, bite the bullet, and get a simple contact fitting (and a general assesment of your optic health) ... you will then be given a prescription (which I believe is valid for 2 years) ... you can then order online.

@willy...
well i already got a fitting at the eye doctors only 2 weeks ago! i was just gonna order 3 months worth.. but yesterday when i went back to order them she said they can only do 6 mos worth.. and thats too much money... so i had my bf call to get the other info and apparently they wouldnt give it to him. so i dont have the diameter or bc... but i have everything else.. like the strength and other things i need to know for my astigmatism.
but i am gonna try fielmann cuz elfenstar said she got hers there for not too much and they didnt charge anything extra... so yea we'll see.

hi erdberre ... hmm ...

if i'm not mistaken IT IS YOUR LEGAL RIGHT to have a copy of your optical prescription (including contact fitting info), given you've paid for it.

is this true Toytowners?

thats what i thought.. i think someone mentioned it here before... i mean i paid 65€ for it.. geez.

does anyone else order their contact lenses online? i regulary use lenscatcher.com, but their prices have gone up 10% since the last time i ordered (september). seems a pretty general thing as far as i can tell, but now lenscatcher doesn't offer any lense solution & i like to have it delivered all at once.

i browsed these guys www.lensmile.de & their prices are inline with lenscatcher.com

also, the lenses are SO much cheaper in the u.s., but i can't order them straight from the u.s. due to customs. also, once, my mom sent them to me & customs opened both boxes.

I just used www.mdw.de. Not sure how they compare.

thanks BB. they offer free delivery; however, the lenses are €1 more expensive per 6er box than where i used to be, which is not much of a difference IMO, but i can order solution with it.

Well, thats because there is actually a demand for lenses in the US. Here, even people with absolutely perfect vision wear glasses. It makes them feel clever. It goes in tandem with their bizzare penchance to call every single job with a very slight technical slant an 'engineering' job.

Seriously though, the number of men who wear glasses here is freakishly high. Perhaps its true what they say about playing with yourself too much..

-Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad (1880)

i know you're being cheeky, but sadly, glasses in germany are also so much more friggin' expensive. these things i lug around wrapped around my ears cost enough to probably feed one small village in africa for a year! there must be some prehistorical advantage to being near-sighted?

I'm thinking about ordering some contacts online. I found my old contact card, which lists the measurements, but I need some help figuring out what the letters stand for. I have 3 things, BK, dpt, and circle with a line through it. I'm guessing the dpt is dioptrin and that the circle with the line is the diameter, but I'm not sure about the BK. Anyone else out there know? And is this enough to order lenses with?

Burger King?

These are the standard measurements:
- Durchmesser (gängige Bezeichnungen: DIA; DM; øT)
- Krümmungsradius (gängige Bezeichnungen: BC; BK; ro)
- Stärke/Dioptrie (gängige Bezeichnungen: DPT; SPH; PWR; P.; F`v)

BK is whatever-"kreise" so most likely the radius of the pupil and seems to come standard as 8.4 or 8.7.
This seems to be standard lense speak for camera's, microscopes and telescopes as well.

Thanks eurovol. I had guessed that's what it was, but nice to have it confirmed.

has to do with curvature, so if you have an astigmatism.

Base curvature (BC) is the radius of the lense curvature, as shown here. I don't think it relates to astigmatism.

This seemed to be the thread with the mosts astigmatics on it, have any of you tried the Focus Dailies Toric? US info
As I'll need refitting, I won't be able to order online but am wanting to try disposable torics. Thanks.

Daily disposable torics? I have 3 month disposable torics and I love them. They're Coopervision Prefererence Torics. 1 pair is about 120€ but, for me, insurance pays for them.

http://www.mdw.de/switch.php?page=artikeldetail.php&nr=1243 these ?

That's the ones. I've had monthly disposables before but at the time had very dry eyes so they would fall out - literally. My eyes seem less dry now and so I'm considering daily disposable torics as they seem to be a bit more moisturising? My insurer will cover dailies (and even lasering but that's a big step to take, especially for astigmatics).

I use Volens.de and cannot praise them high enough. I use daily disposables and Volens get them to me the day after I order online. Superb service and lenses.

Cost 95 euros for 3 months supply.

Raffles.

Katrina - you might try a different daily cleaning solution. I have the ReNu with MoisturLoc and that made a big difference with the dryness (which was never a huge problem). It made them more comfortable for longer periods of time.

Bigger question - your insurer pays for the laser surgery? Which insurer do you have?

Those of you using ReNu MoistureLoc should read the Bausch&Lomb Website :

It was just announced Monday that they removed them worldwide. The MoistureLoc was only removed from the US and Japanese markets at first. I'll keep using it until I'm finished with the bottles I have. The report said that most of the people that had the eye problems were sleeping in the contact lenses.

I just ordered some daily lenses from www.volens.de. They were inexpensive, and were delivered to my office the next day. Now that is kick-ass service.

I've been using meinelinse.de for a while. I wear Soflens daily disposable and get 90 for €44.55 (they come as 3 boxes of 30) (volens was €46.95). The price per box of 30 goes down the more boxes you buy with the same prescription. One box on its own is around €17 so it's best to bulk buy. Delivery has always been quick, 1-3 days.
Must admit that I have never supplied a Basiskurve or Durchmesser, just my Dioptrien: I haven't had a problem but I don't wear them every day and I guess I just have bog standard shortsightedness with no funky stuff.

I get the Focus Visitint monthly lenses from Linsenplatz.de
I do not need toric lenses but you can buy the same kind, just that they say Toric.

Have any of you checked the prices against sites outside Germany? I still get mine from www.postoptics.co.uk who have free delivery to Germany - 3 months of Cibavision Dailies (6 packs of 30) is 59quid ie 90euro. On meinelinse.de that would be 120euro! Not sure if this goes for all brands, still worth checking...

www.linsensuppe.de have been great. No complaints from me...

I get dailies from apollo optic by rotkreutzplatz, and they always have a deal on. Last time it was 3 for 2. Worked out about 50 EUR for 90 days worth. They are 44 EUR on lenscatcher, didn't check the cost of postage though.

HATE HATE HATE Apollo Optik - with a passion! Would never go near them again. The woman got pissed off with me when I paid my 15 EUR for my sight test and then told her that I would order my lenses online as they were 20 EUR cheaper per box (and I have two different strengths - i.e. 40 EUR cheaper every 6 months).

That is a great tip! I would save 25 GBP on my lenses using postoptics!!!

Don't get me wrong, I hate them as well, but I am not walking over the road and paying 50% extra for 3 packs of lenses. Have to catch them at a quiet time, or you can wait forever!!!

I have been wearing contact lenses for almost 25 years now and I have lenses that I am very happy with (CooperVision Preference Torics) but there seems to be a problem with the supplier and the speed at which they are supplying the online sites. I ordered 2 boxes for each eye (4 boxes total) in October and Lenscatcher.de is still waiting for the last box (they did send me the first three) since then. They said there is a problem with the supplier.

Now I'm thinking of just plain changing the lenses to something difference (same strength, curve, etc). Is that possible without going to an optician and getting fitted for a specific lense?

I have just had a new eye test & even though I said I wanted a contact prescription too, I can't see it on the card, so my question is do I order contact swith the same prescription or a bit higher or lower? I have -2.75 in one eye & -3.00 in the other, I have the BC & diameter from an older prescription & assume that stays the same??
Also does anyone have a recommendations for a good contact for dry eyes? I normally only wear them for skiing & and shortly after I am back inside my vision starts going blurry.

Thanks

Hey leky,
I wear my contact lenses all day every day and for all sports (even swimming) and the only time I have a problem with dry eyes is when I am skiing. If you are not wearing goggles, you need to. Even just wearing sunglasses will dry them out from all the air going behind the glasses. Plus, with most contacts, the more you wear them, the better adjusted your eyes are to them. So, if you are just wearing them for skiing, it's probably not enough for them to be comfortable.

Hi KitKat,

Thanks, I do wear goggles when skiing, but the doc said I have dry eyes, which is why I find them uncomfortable, I have tried them many times but after a few hours my eyes blur & they are uncomfortable, skiing seems to be the only time I can wear them for longer than 2 or 3 hours. I have noticed some ads for lenses that are meant to be especailly for dry eyes & wondered if anyone else has the same problem or has tried any of these lenses.

Before I needed toric lenses I used Extreme Extreme H2O lenses which were brilliant. My boyf still uses them. They don't to torics though

So, what kind of toric lenses do you have now?

Proclear Toric Toplinse. They are also ok for my dry eyes but not as good as the Extreme H2O

Well I'm now testing Focus Toric 14-day lenses and frankly I'm not getting on well with them at all.
Can only stand to wear the things for a max 4hrs at a stretch, today I haven't got them in at all.
Has anyone else used these? Will I get used to them? Currently have them out and Visine in.
Solution being used is Amo Complete Moisture Plus.

And that is good stuff, so it's not your solution. I can't tell you anything about the lenses though. I am extremely happy with my Focus Preference Toric 3 month lenses. They are hard to find - most of the online sites do not have them. I can wear them forever on most days. Have taken short naps in them (1-2 hours), gotten up, blinked a few times and they are fine, without extra moisturizing drops.
I must be very lucky with my eyes or I have found the ideal lenses.

Yeah...they are like saucers! I hated them. You're lucky that you manage to keep them in for four hours! I didn't get out of Apollo Optik with them in. I was blinking so hard and fast that I felt like there were strobe lights in the place. Not nice...

As I said above, I now use Proclear Toric Toplinse and they are much much better.

They feel massive - glad I'm not the only one.

I have -4.25 in one eye and -4.50 in the other. I was told by the eye doctor that I should be wearing contacts that are lesser in power i.e. -4.00 and -4.25. Is that really so?

I have always been told that my contacts should be 0.25 stronger than my glasses (which are for my normal prescription)