Contact lenses.... Do I? Don't I?

[VRS_Dan]

Been wearing glasses for the last 10 years or so now and I'm finding them more and more of a pain and a few friends have said why don't I try contacts.

 

I don't think ill be a fan of putting my fingers in my eyes by maybe something I could learn to live with.

 

Has anyone else made this reluctant choice and turned out to be a god-send?

[skomaz]

best thing I ever did - about 25 years ago.  I an slightly short sighted but mostly astigmatic and found glasses a pain - especially for sport (badminton and squash) and because, at the time all those years ago, I was spending a lot of time sat at a drawing board.

 

I have had gas permeable hard lenses ever since and yes they took a few weeks to get used to and can be painful if I get something behind them but I wouldn't go back to glasses now (in fact I hate it when I do and generally try to manage (the lenses, being hard, pull my cornea into a better shape so I have good vision for a day or so without them).  I can apparently get soft lenses now which my wife has and are apparently much more comfortable but they are more hassle to get in and out and need more looking after.

[mattlad]

I don't think ill be a fan of putting my fingers in my eyes by maybe something I could learn to live with.

 

You get used to it. I don't wear my contacts all the time but I wouldn't be with out them. I actually tried them because at the time I was doing some clay shooting and I thought it would improve my aim. Ironically I have not done a lot of shooting since!

 

As far as getting them in, you have the lens between your eyeball and your finger so you don't "put your finger in your eyes" like wise when taking them out, if you are careful your fingers won't come into contact with your eyes.

 

Have a chat with your optician. They will give you an assessment to make sure you are okay to use them, they will perform an eye test and measure your eyeballs for fitment. I've never had any problems with my contacts.  

[YetiVRS]

Go for it, I nearly gave up on them because I was struggling with putting them in, it would sometimes take an hour to get them in.

I can now put them in in seconds and I really hate it when I have to wear glasses.

If you can afford them go for daily disposables as it's a whole lot less trouble than the ones you have to clean

[JohnRS]

They weren't for me. Cycling was a nightmare with them and they irritated me after 6 hours or so of normal wearing. I tried daily, monthly, cheap, expensive for around 18 months and gave up. I ended up getting laser eye surgery 2 years ago and wouldn't look back.

[BenjiC]

Best decision I made. Again, for sport and work it made life so much easier wearing contacts. Putting them in/taking out becomes second nature too. Once you work out a way that's easy you really can do it in seconds.

[wharferat]

I've got gas permeable lenses. I tried soft lenses for a few months but didn't get on with them, basically the environment I work in. If any dust or grit got under the lens it would be held in place & end up scratching my eyeball, then a couple of days without lenses for it to stop being sore. At least with the gas permeable there is a good chance grit could wash out as it wouldn't bed into the lens.

[gadgetman]

They weren't for me. Cycling was a nightmare with them and they irritated me after 6 hours or so of normal wearing. I tried daily, monthly, cheap, expensive for around 18 months and gave up. I ended up getting laser eye surgery 2 years ago and wouldn't look back.

I was the same and have Acuvue Daily Moist as I can't get on with normal silicone ones. More expensive but worth it for me for the freedom it offers.

Can manage 12 hours easily. Get some supermarket own brand drops if you have hayfever is the best advice by my optician (specsavers).

Specsavers or your usual opticians should do you a month's trial.

Once you've mastered the knack of getting them in, it's a doddle. My trick is remove from packet using one hand, transfer to the other index finger then put in.

As above you don't touch your eye, but getting over the blink reflex can take a few days. Once close enough the moisture sucks it onto the eye.

If they hurt, go back to your optician as you may have the wrong size, or need to try a different brand. Specsavers were brilliant because I went through about 5 different types before settling on the moist ones.

You will still need glasses just in cases, and legally you should have these with you when driving. I also carry a spare set of lenses just in case.

If you have a Costco card, you can save a fortune especially on the more expensive ones.

[JohnRS]

Costco was where I ended up going as my local specsavers were useless and they were a load cheaper. The acuvue monthly ones were the last set I used and the only ones I actually paid for but after the 6 month supply finished I booked the laser eye surgery. As you say I had a month trial of loads and these were the best ones, but I couldn't last 12 hours. As said 6, maybe 8 at a push but if I was somewhere with air con probably less. The Costco optician also got the strength bang on, something specsavers never mastered and something worth mentioning, your lenses won't have the same strength as your specs, well mine didn't anyway.

[999pooch]

Short answer is - it's a very personal thing. Some people love them, some hate them. No matter how much someone raves about contact lenses, if you can't get on with them, it's pointless.

My recommendation is to get a free trial from your optician.

Most will give you at least a weeks worth of lenses for free, after an initial consultation.

Nothing to lose. If you get on with them, great

[VRS_Dan]

Seems that generally it's a good move but still personal choice.

 

There's a couple of factors for this change of heart; I play a little paintball and my glasses fog up all the time in the mask. I also cycle a little and end up looking over my glasses so I may as well not bother wearing them! One of the main reasons though, my prescription has recently changed so my trusty old Oakley prescription sunglasses are null and void but obviously if I get contacts, standard sunglasses will suffice. Rain on my glasses also drives me mad!

 

Thanks all, I think I'll book myself an appointment and see where that goes.

[Aspman]

Get a free trial from the optician of your choice.

 

I tried them a while back but I just couldn't get on with them.

Tried various types of weekly and daily lenses but they would always dry out and split.

 

Gave up after a few weeks. But I seem to be the odd one out, most people seem to be able to find a type that works for them.

[XLBaconDoubleCheese]

I've been considering them too, might take the plunge next week and go opticians. 

[alltorque]

They weren't for me. Cycling was a nightmare with them and they irritated me after 6 hours or so of normal wearing. I tried daily, monthly, cheap, expensive for around 18 months and gave up. I ended up getting laser eye surgery 2 years ago and wouldn't look back.

".....wouldn't look back". Classic.

[Jimnotjon]

Tried them a few months back. I have been wearing glasses a few years now and I went in to get my eyes tested routinely and I enquired about them, more for a vanity thing than anything else although doing a lot of photography, looking through the view finder with glasses on is a pain.

They were very good, checked everything in detail for free (days after my initial eye test) and ran through my options. One of my eyes has a stigmatism so the lens had to be more egg shaped. They sit you there and watch you take them in and out several times until you can do it or you are bored to your back teeth. I found getting them in and out, after 10 mins, not an issue at all. For me it was feeling them on my eyes, especially when I moved my eyes, the one with the stigmatism kept feeling like the lens would fall out my eye.  My eyes got irritated an I gave up on them. To me they were more hassle than they were worth. I may go back to them in due course but for now I'll stick to being four eyes.

[gadgetman]

For those that struggled with normal silicone ones, ask your optician to try either of these:

https://www.acuvue.co.uk/contact-lenses/1-day-acuvue-moist

Dailies Total 1 https://www.wearlenses.co.uk

And for astigmatism

https://www.acuvue.co.uk/contact-lenses/1-day-acuvue-moist-astigmatism

They're the only type I can wear.

[GentleGiant]

It can take dozens of different makes and types before you find you that suits you; I never did, the best I found were merely OK; after about 18 months of swapping around I gave up and went back to glasses; sadly, laser treatment only works for certain eye issues, and n my case it isnt an option.

 

My eyes kept drying out and the contacts would "stick" after a few hours use; the opticians tried increasingly more expensive lenses, but the issue never fully went away; when they worked it was great, but never for long enough to complete a working day.

 

As for putting them in/taking them out - it takes practice, at first it is a nightmare, but after a week or so, you suddenly start to become proficient.

[gadgetman]

Dry eyes is a treatable condition. Again your optician can help.

Bad hydration also plays a part. If you're not drinking enough your eyes dry out before your mouth. It's more noticeable when wearing contacts.

You should be drinking 18ml for every 1lb bodyweight every day.

[999pooch]

SWMBO recently ditched her contact lenses after opting for Replacement Lens Surgery. She needed glasses for both near & distance and was using multi-focal contacts up to her surgery.

She weighed up over several months the pro's & cons of Lens Replacement against Laser. The biggest benefits being that as you grow older one of the main reasons for your vision deteriorating is the lens itself degrading. Thats why quite often the optimum results for laser surger only lasts 5-15 years, especially as you get older.

She was also advised laser surgery for her would probably result in dry eye, as they would make the shape of her eyes more conical (they dry out quicker at the tips).

All in all the results have been phenomenal. After having her natural lenses blasted (yikes!!), she had Tri-focal lenses fitted. She can now see near / middle / distance perfectly, way better than 20/20. In fact she read the very bottom line on the chart.

The surgeon reckons she should have at least 20/20 sight without any aids for life, and zero risk of cateracts as a bonus.

I'm definitely going to have the procedure when the time comes (when both near & distance fail), but hopefully not for some years yet.

She would definitely recommend Replacements Lens Surgery, obviously not without risk, but choosing you surgeon carefully reduces it quite markedly. Quite happy to pass on the name if anyone interested, it took us months and months of research to find the guy we were happy with & came with glowing recommendations

Edited 25 September, 2016 by 999pooch

[VRS_Dan]

SWMBO recently ditched her contact lenses after opting for Replacement Lens Surgery. She needed glasses for both near & distance and was using multi-focal contacts up to her surgery.

She weighed up over several months the pro's & cons of Lens Replacement against Laser. The biggest benefits being that as you grow older one of the main reasons for your vision deteriorating is the lens itself degrading. Thats why quite often the optimum results for laser surger only lasts 5-15 years, especially as you get older.

She was also advised laser surgery for her would probably result in dry eye, as they would make the shape of her eyes more conical (they dry out quicker at the tips).

All in all the results have been phenomenal. After having her natural lenses blasted (yikes!!), she had Tri-focal lenses fitted. She can now see near / middle / distance perfectly, way better than 20/20. In fact she read the very bottom line on the chart.

The surgeon reckons she should have at least 20/20 sight without any aids for life, and zero risk of cateracts as a bonus.

I'm definitely going to have the procedure when the time comes (when both near & distance fail), but hopefully not for some years yet.

She would definitely recommend Replacements Lens Surgery, obviously not without risk, but choosing you surgeon carefully reduces it quite markedly. Quite happy to pass on the name if anyone interested, it took us months and months of research to find the guy we were happy with & came with glowing recommendations

Something to look at when the time comes.

 

How roughly much are you talking for that, not cheap I'm sure!

[GentleGiant]

Dry eyes is a treatable condition. Again your optician can help.

Bad hydration also plays a part. If you're not drinking enough your eyes dry out before your mouth. It's more noticeable when wearing contacts.

You should be drinking 18ml for every 1lb bodyweight every day.

 

There does appear to be something (else!!) wrong with me, I can drink water until I need a pee every 10 minutes, but those body analysis machines still all say I am dehydrated. If I drink less than 3 litres a day I am prone to blinding headaches,

 

Ré my eyes, they ONLY get dry when wearing contacts, the optician initially thought it was a reaction to a specific lens type, but after trying dozens, it seems to be a reaction to anything in my eye. I used to know a girl who had to wear the daily disposables because her body started laying protein layers across the top of the lens, with a weekly or monthly lens, it would be so badly coated after a few days, she couldnt see through them, even with a full nightly "clean".

[Robjon]

Apologies OP - off topic

 

GG - Just a thought on the dehydration thing - I experienced something broadly similar until I discovered there was insufficient salt in my diet.

 

Back on topic...

[GentleGiant]

Apologies OP - off topic

 

GG - Just a thought on the dehydration thing - I experienced something broadly similar until I discovered there was insufficient salt in my diet.

 

Back on topic...

 

I am salt intolerant, amounts the rest of the family used to consume give me headaches; I cook with it, and eat salty foods like bacon, but I dont add salt on top of anything.

 

I am not sure it doesnt have something to do with my ITP, my urine is nearly always dark with ITP destroyed blood cells;  the only time it is clear is after drinking a litre or so of cola - cola being a known immuno-suppressant.

[VRS_Dan]

Apologies OP - off topic

 

GG - Just a thought on the dehydration thing - I experienced something broadly similar until I discovered there was insufficient salt in my diet.

 

Back on topic...

No worries, possibly not off topic until I have tried them I guess.

 

It's all good reading this in advance so if I don't get on with them, you all may have highlighted why in advance.