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My Eyes Need Your Help!

in Makeup, Skincare

I love wearing glasses, I really do. I love finding bold and unique glasses that make an impression. My pink glasses are one of my very favorite accessories (God, I love that photo of HB), my Buddy Holly-inspired ones come in a close second, but the truth is, I don’t want to wear them ALL of the time.

I started wearing glasses when I was about twelve or thirteen years old. I was diagnosed as farsighted, so I really only needed to wear glasses while reading. Fast forward twenty years, add in several hours on the computer daily and my forgetfulness to take them off otherwise, and you’ve got a person who can’t read a damn thing anymore. Who am I kidding, if ANYTHING is within two feet of my face, it’s a big blurry blob.

One of the great things about being farsighted is the ability to see distances perfectly. I can drive without my glasses, read billboards, see leaves on trees, etc, however I have recently had issues with my night vision while driving. Signs are starting to get blurry, I get headaches, well, IT SUCKS.

While we’re on the subject of suckage, whenever anyone tries to show me something, I have to hold it as far away from my face as possible to see it. Like I’m eighty years old. My husband is constantly taking photos and when he tries to show me on the LCD display, I just pretend I can see it. “Yeah, honey! That’s a great photo!” (UM, WHAT IN THE HELL IS IT?)

OR the other thing that sucks? I don’t have prescription sunglasses, so if I’m driving and lost and trying to use my GPS on my iPhone, I have to pull over, take off my sunglasses, find my real glasses, put them on and figure out what’s going on. Or if someone texts me while in my car? Same thing. Wait until a stoplight, do the switcheroo, etc. Highly annoying.

Don’t even get me started on nights out – I have to use my glasses to read menus or even see my food. If I happen to forget my glasses, my husband has to read me the full menu like I’m illiterate. That’s fun!  (Frankly, I would rather people think I can’t read than assume D reading the menu is some sort of romantic gesture. BLECH.) Last week while having martinis with this lovely lady, she had to complete my tab for me, including showing me where I had to sign. I couldn’t even see the line to sign on! It was like looking at a piece of white toilet paper!

This has to stop. And it will! This Thursday, I have an appointment to get contacts. Wheeeeee!

This is where you come in. I know choosing your type of contacts is highly personal, but I’m wondering if you all have any opinions on the matter. Some things to consider:

1) I will still be wearing my glasses most of the time.

2) I will only wear the contacts on nights out, special occasions and such.

3) I don’t have an astigmatism. Run of the mill farsightedness.

Help me! Do you just love a certain brand? Should I get disposable ones? What about that dry eye biznass? THE QUESTIONS.

I’m officially in your capable hands!

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57 comments

  1. pickles & dimes

    January 19, 2009 at 10:36 am

    Well, I’m nearsighted and wear my contacts 90% of the time vs. my glasses, but I can vouch for the Acuvue Oasys Hydraclear contacts.

    I had a hellish time last year where I had to try six different brands of contacts in 3 months before finding the one brand that didn’t feel like I was walking through a perpetual sandstorm.

    Good luck!

  2. vague

    January 19, 2009 at 10:48 am

    First of all I have to say I just LOVE both your pairs of glasses, especially the Buddy Holly ones. Fabulous!

    Anyway, I’ve needed glasses since about 3rd grade, and I started with contacts in about 7th grade. One problem I had starting out was that I got the regular soft, non-disposable lenses and then immediately lost one! Of course, I was only 12 or 13 and very clumsy, so that may not happen to you, but I still recommend to anyone that they try out the disposable ones first. If you lose or accidentally tear one, it’s not a big deal, ’cause you’ll have a veritable army of replacements in the little box.

    Also, it will always be a pain to put in, wear, and remove the lenses when you first start out, but if you give it a little time you’ll get used to it and you won’t even know you’re wearing them. Good luck!

  3. Mia

    January 19, 2009 at 11:07 am

    Hi Whoorl – Ok first of all – I, too, love the Buddy Holly glasses, who makes them? And secondly, I’ve worn contacts, well, forever it seems. So I would definitely recommend disposables, they cut down on the dryness, risk of infection, and are just all around more comfortable, in my opinion.

    I started out with the kind you change about every month, and they sucked. My eyes constantly bothered me. Then I went to the kind you throwout after 2 weeks, which were fine, but still a pain in the ass with the whole case, saline, cleaning, etc. I currently wear Focus Dailies, and they are wonderful. I even have bad allergies that sometimes affect my eyes and the dailies still work well. But the best part? You can just throw them out at the end of the night, and sometimes I even fall asleep in them with no problem at all.

    So there’s my novella about contacts – hope that helps!

  4. Kristabella

    January 19, 2009 at 11:11 am

    Ahhh, something I know a lot about, since I’m like probably legally blind without my contacts.

    I would go with the disposable dailies. Because then you can throw them out when you’re done for the day. And since you’re not going to be wearing them every day, then you don’t have to deal with storing them in solution, etc.

    But obviously, ask your eyecare professional.

  5. whoorl

    January 19, 2009 at 11:11 am

    Thank you! The Buddy Holly glasses are by Oliver Peoples.

  6. Gretchen

    January 19, 2009 at 11:20 am

    I cannot live without contacts. I’m near-sighted though, so I don’t think my advice counts for much if anything. I started out wearing Acuvues for a long time, but fairly recently switched to O2 Optix and I like them loads better. I needed them though because I wear my contacts CONSTANTLY and I was having problems with my eyes not getting enough oxygen. They’re hard at first (I had all these elaborate rituals and special towels to dry my hands with to minimize dust). Now they’re second nature and so fast and easy.

  7. Janssen

    January 19, 2009 at 11:23 am

    I am extremely near-sighted, so I wear my glasses/contacts all the time.

    I’ve worn disposable contacts for the last 11 years and I really like them. I just recently switched to CopperVision ones and they are a lot better than the previous ones I’ve used (I can wear them much longer without my eyes starting to feel itchy and dry and a headache coming on). I also have the bad habit of wearing them MUCH longer than I ought to (like, for months, instead of one month). But I’m so cheap! And yes, I know my eyesight should be worth it and all.

    I also FINALLY have a pair of glasses I like (for the first time in a decade) and so I switch back and forth between my contacts and glasses much more frequently and that has made a big difference.

  8. Molly

    January 19, 2009 at 11:30 am

    I wear Acuvue Oasys disposables and have mostly been very happy with them. However, I did develop horrible dry, red eyes when I wore them after my baby was born — and was amazed to discover that switching cleaning solutions solved that issue. I highly, highly recommend using an overnight solution like ClearCare and preservative-free saline. Made a huge difference for me, the difference between switching to glasses and being able to wear my contacts for more than an hour at a time.

  9. Stephanie

    January 19, 2009 at 11:30 am

    I have worn contacts since I was 12, glasses since I was 7. I have had about a billion different kinds of contacts. Basically you want a pair with a lot of permeability (sp?) in order to keep your eyes from feeling dry. That allows more oxygen to get to your eyes. Out of all the contacts I have worn, Cibavision’s Night and Day are a little pricier but at the same time offer some of the best permeability out there. I don’t imagine that nearsighted versus far sighted makes much of a difference in regards to contacts. These contacts are meant for people who wear their contacts a lot, which it seems like most of the contact wearers out there are, but it is a great lense that is super comfortable.

  10. Rachel

    January 19, 2009 at 11:30 am

    of all the many brands of glasses I’ve worn (blind as a bat since…forever…) I love my Nine West pairs. Durable and cute. :)

  11. keri

    January 19, 2009 at 11:44 am

    I’ve been wearing contacts occasionally for the last 14 years or so… I like the kind you throw away after a couple weeks. I usually wear glasses, but it’s nice to wear contacts for special occasions, sports, photos, etc.

    I can’t wear mine for a whole day without feeling super dried out by the end of the day, even with using drops. I could probably try different brands, but I’m too lazy to mess with it right now. But I don’t wear them all the time anyway, so it doesn’t really bother me.

    I’m farsighted too… and one of my eyes is much weaker than the other. I used to wear bifocals as a kid! Now I’m in single vision, but if I had to go back to bifocals, I’d get progressive lenses. They make them way better than they used to. That might be an option for you to consider also…

    Ask if you can sample various lenses to see what works best for you. Also, I tend to get really dry eyes in an artificial environment, so walk around a mall for awhile or something to see how that feels.

    Good luck!

  12. BethanyWD

    January 19, 2009 at 11:47 am

    I will be turning 33 in a few weeks and have worn contacts for 12-15 hours a day since I was 11 (that’s right, ELEVEN!!!). I wore gas permeable hard contacts for about 18 years – and finally my ear couldn’t take it any longer, and I switched to Focus Dailies. LOVE THEM. Probably an overkill for you to have a new pair of contacts everyday – but Focus makes two week and month disposables as well.

  13. Sarah

    January 19, 2009 at 11:53 am

    One very important word of advice to consider before getting contacts. If you start out with one-a-day contacts, your eyes will hate you if you switch to the two week ones.

    I really like Acuvue Dailies, but I’ve also heard excellent things about the Acuvue Oasys lenses.

  14. Camels & Chocolate

    January 19, 2009 at 11:56 am

    You should get LASIK! I did it in November and it CHANGED MY LIFE. Buttttt…if you’re determined to go the contact route I would do the disposable one-wear ones since it doesn’t seem like you’ll be wearing them too often. Also, if you have dry eye problems (I did), they can put these plugs in your tear ducts that don’t hurt, you never feel, but they prevent that from happening. I also have had those in for the past 10 years and completely forgot about them until they reminded me when I had my LASIK done!

  15. whoorl

    January 19, 2009 at 11:59 am

    LASIK sounds awesome, but from what I’ve heard, it has not been perfected for hyperopia (farsightedness). I’m not sure I want to chance it just yet.

    (Although, does anyone have any new information on this?)