contacts for astigmatism

[Nayner]

I'm mildly near sighted and have an astigmatism (not quite so mild, but not severe). I'm needing to wear glasses most of the time now and have been thinking about contacts. I've always heard astigmatism contacts are expensive, but have never been given a dollar amount. Can someone give me an idea of what they cost?

[Lisa R.]

I've had contacts for an astigmatism. They're called toric lenses. Basically they're soft contacts that are weighted at the bottom. Regular soft contacts were fine until the astigmatism grew worse. If you're astigmatism isn't too bad, you should be fine in the regular soft lenses.

[Mom22ns]

My toric lenses are about the same price as my daughters regular lenses. We both wear disposables. I wear monthly lenses and she wears 2-week lenses.

 

It is true that if the correction is minor, they won't put you in a torics anyway. I wore regular lenses until the astigmatism got too strong, then torics, then they got better again and now I wear one toric and one regular (night & day).

[Samiam]

Contacts over the long term are CAN be more expensive that glasses. It all depends on what kind of frames and lenses you choose. You can get glasses for $100, or as much as $600 (designer names) but then you are done for at least a year.

 

My husband wears contacts for astigmatism (spelling??), and they are slightly more expensive that what I paid for my contacts. It also depends on the brand.

 

But here is an example:

Our vision insurance will pay up to $135 a year for contacts.

I ordered six month supply, and it was around $125.00 total, so no out of pocket for me.

My DH's six month supply was around $150.00 total so we had to pay the difference for his.

 

hth

[Nayner]

Thanks! That doesn't seem too bad.

[apmom]

Well, to answer your direct question, I wore Acuvue Oasys for Astigmatism (toric lenses). They are $36 for a box of 6 lenses on lens.com. That is a 3-month supply for one eye, plus add shipping to that.

 

I didn't find them terribly expensive (they are more than regular contacts, but not outrageous, imo).

 

However, I never found them terribly comfortable, either. I have finally switched back to wearing glasses almost exclusively (except for swimming and beach days).

 

HTH!

[mims]

I wear gas permiable with a fairly severe astigmitism. I really can't remember the cost because it was about 5 years ago. The ones before that lasted about 7 years. They are considered hard contacts so they are a little harder to adjust to but so much easier to clean and really no hastles at all. Dust may bug my eyes a little more than some but that is about it. I wear them swimming and in all sorts of situations.

[abreakfromlife]

I was confused until I saw the last poster. Weighted lenses? I've never heard of toric and I have astigmatism in both of my eyes....I was starting to worry :D I have hard contacts - I've had them for 17 years. Wow. They're only about $100 a pair.

[susie in tx]

I've had a lot of trouble finding a toric lens that fits my eye. I finally found a doctor who could fit my eye. It took several, because I have pretty severe astigmatism. My contacts are $100 every 6 months.

[gardening momma]

Make sure you ask if there is a rebate available on the contacts. Last year I bought 4 boxes (2 regular, 2 toric, although now I wear toric in both eyes--the astigmatism in the other eye finally got bad enough for a toric lens) and after my insurance paid their portion, and my rebate paid part (about $30??), my cost was $9 for a year's worth of lenses!

[kat19]

I have Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism. I think I paid about $36/box.

[skaterbabs]

I have severe astigmatisms, my doctor worked with me until I found a lense I found reasonably comfortable. Took five pairs of lenses, but th eones I have now are pretty good. :glare: They're not terribly expensive either, about $130 for six months. I use Frequency 55 Toric lenses.