Guaranteed Contact Lens Success
The Guaranteed Contact Lens Success Program
A large number of people have decided they cannot wear contact lenses. In our experience most of them can, and the reason they concluded otherwise is that a lens was dispensed, it was uncomfortable, and nobody worked through why.
There are only a handful of reasons a lens fails, and they are all identifiable. The base curve does not match the cornea, so the lens is too tight or too loose. The material does not suit your tear chemistry. The replacement schedule does not fit your habits, so lenses get over-worn. Or there is dry eye that nobody diagnosed, and the lens is exposing it rather than causing it.
The programme is not complicated. It is a commitment to iterate until it works, rather than to sell you a box and hope.
How the programme works
The key difference from a standard fitting is that you take trial lenses away and live in them. A lens that feels fine for ten minutes in an exam chair tells us very little. A lens worn through a full working day, in air conditioning, at a screen, in Phoenix air, tells us everything.
You come back and tell us what actually happened, and we change what needs changing. Material, base curve, replacement schedule, or the underlying tear film. Then we do it again if needed.
- Full contact lens evaluation including corneal measurement and tear film assessment
- Trial lenses taken away and worn in real conditions
- A structured follow-up where we ask specific questions about when and how comfort changed
- Changes to material, parameters or modality based on what you report
- Treatment of any underlying dry eye, which is frequently the actual problem
- Handling training for as long as it takes, with no rush
- Further trials until we find a lens that works or we conclude honestly that lenses are not right for you
Why lenses fail, and what we change
- Untreated dry eye
- The most common cause. A contact lens floats in your tear film, so a marginal tear film that causes only mild symptoms without lenses becomes a real problem with one. Treating the dry eye first often resolves everything else.
- Wrong material
- Silicone hydrogels transmit far more oxygen than older hydrogels, and different materials interact very differently with individual tear chemistry. The same lens can be perfect for one person and unwearable for another.
- Poor fit
- Too tight and the lens restricts tear exchange and feels dry and stuck. Too loose and it moves excessively and feels gritty with every blink. Both are corrected by changing base curve or diameter.
- Wrong modality
- Someone who cannot maintain a nightly cleaning routine should not have a monthly lens. Daily disposables remove the entire failure mode. Matching the modality to the person's actual life rather than the ideal version of it matters.
- Deposits and allergy
- Protein and lipid build-up makes lenses uncomfortable and can trigger an allergic response. More frequent replacement usually fixes it.
- Environmental factors
- Phoenix air conditioning, single-digit humidity and dust are genuinely hard on lens wear. Sometimes the answer is a different material, and sometimes it is moving an air vent.
Who this is for
Anyone who has tried lenses and stopped. Also anyone who has been told they cannot wear lenses because of astigmatism, which is usually out-of-date advice, or because of dry eye, which is usually a treatable condition rather than a permanent exclusion.
It is also for people currently wearing lenses who have quietly accepted that lenses are uncomfortable by late afternoon. That is not how it should be, and a lot of people have normalised something fixable.
When we say lenses are not right for you
Occasionally the honest answer is that contact lenses are not a good idea. Certain corneal conditions, some severe ocular surface disease, and some occupational environments make lens wear genuinely inadvisable.
We will tell you that rather than keep trialling lenses. The point of the programme is to exhaust the solvable causes properly, not to persist past the point of sense.
Who this is for
- Anyone who tried contact lenses and gave up
- People whose lenses become uncomfortable by the afternoon
- Patients told they cannot wear lenses because of astigmatism or dry eye
- First-time wearers who want to get it right rather than guess
- Parents of teenagers starting in lenses
- Anyone whose lenses were fitted years ago and never reviewed
Our process
Every patient goes through the same sequence, so you always know what happens next.
- 1
Full evaluation
Eye exam, corneal measurement and tear film assessment. We find out why it failed before changing anything.
- 2
Treat the underlying cause
If dry eye or lid disease is driving it, that is treated first. Fitting a lens onto an untreated ocular surface repeats the original failure.
- 3
Trial lenses in real life
You take lenses away and wear them through a normal day. This is the part standard fittings skip.
- 4
Structured follow-up
Specific questions about when comfort changed and under what conditions, which is what identifies the cause.
- 5
Iterate
Change material, parameters or modality and try again. Repeat until it works.
- 6
Ongoing review
Annual checks on fit and corneal health, with changes as your eyes and circumstances change.
Related care
- Contact Lens ExamsA contact lens exam is more than a glasses prescription. Corneal measurement, tear film assessment and a fit that stays comfortable all day.
- Dry EyeBurning, gritty, watery or tired eyes in the Phoenix desert climate. We diagnose the actual cause of your dry eye and treat it, rather than handing you drops.
- Scleral and Specialty LensesScleral lenses for keratoconus, irregular corneas, post-surgical eyes and severe dry eye. Fitted in Phoenix by optometrists who fit these routinely.
Guaranteed Contact Lens Success questions, answered
What does guaranteed actually mean here?
It means we commit to working through the solvable causes properly rather than dispensing once and leaving you with it. It does not mean every person can wear lenses, because a small number genuinely cannot for clinical reasons. Where that is the case we tell you honestly rather than continuing.
I was told my astigmatism was too high for contacts. Is that still true?
Probably not. Modern toric soft lenses correct most astigmatism well, and rigid or scleral lenses handle high and irregular astigmatism. If you were told this more than a few years ago, the advice is likely out of date and worth revisiting.
My eyes are too dry for contacts. Can you help?
Usually yes, and this is one of the most common reasons people come to the programme. Dry eye is a treatable condition, not a permanent exclusion. Treating it first, then choosing a material suited to your tear film, gets a lot of people back into comfortable lens wear.
How many trials do I get?
As many as it reasonably takes within the fitting programme. We would rather try three materials and find the right one than have you give up again. The fitting fee covers the process, not a single attempt.
Is this more expensive than a normal contact lens fitting?
It is a contact lens fitting, billed as one. It is more work on our side, and that is the point. We tell you the fee before we start and it does not change based on how many trials it takes.
Book an appointment with a doctor who has time for you
We schedule 2 patients an hour, so your exam is unhurried and your questions get answered. Most patients are seen within a few days.