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!
Miguelina
January 19, 2009 at 3:07 pmI wear disposables, and from the sounds of it so should you. :)
(Seriously, being able to throw them out when done – or every couple of weeks is priceless.)
kat
January 19, 2009 at 3:10 pmi use accuvue hydraclear at the recommendation of my eye doctor (who i love). i had other ones but they were making my eyes pretty dry. i think it’ll just depend on your eyes and how long you wear them. i also have the two-week ones which seem to do pretty well so far. i’m like you – i wear them when going out or on the weekends but stick to my glasses most of the time – i’m lazy!
in terms of solution though! i use opti-free and i got my boyfriend to switch. he was buying the target generic brand until he started to use mine and realized how much less his contacts would bother him.
Amy
January 19, 2009 at 3:10 pmThe choice of contacts is very personal and determined by what your eyes need – how sensitive are they, do you have large or small eyeballs, etc. So all those factors, plus any budget considerations you might have, are going to take precedence over any comments or suggestions we might have. Let your eye doctor direct you to the best brand and type for you. Good luck! xo
Gillian
January 19, 2009 at 3:16 pmAs someone who works in an optometrist clinic, I’d echo what a lot of people have said about your optometrist picking the best ones for you. Probably what will happen is you’ll go in and your doctor will evaluate your CL prescription and fit you with a couple different lenses by different companies. You may have to wear them for a week or so then go back to have them evaluated. Sometimes it takes a few weeks to get the best fit. All of the lenses mentioned before me here are great lenses that have fantastic track records. The differences lie in the size and shape of the lenses and the length of time you are able to wear them. Simply put, some lenses will feel better on your eye than others just depending on the shape.
That being said, if you’re going to wear them fairly infrequently, your best bet is probably a daily disposable because you wear them once and throw them away. Then you don’t need to worry about open CLs drying out and going bad after you’ve worn them once and put them aside for a couple weeks. As long as the package is unopened, they will stay fine.
You could also go the Night and Day option where you can leave a pair of lenses in for 30 days or so without taking them out (even for sleep) and then get clear lenses put in your glasses so you can still wear glasses… :) I have “fake” glasses like that which I wear to work and its great fun.
Laura
January 19, 2009 at 3:31 pmI’ve been wearing the same brand of contacts for 15 years – Prescription UV. Not fancy, but they’re easy to put in, protect your eyes, and don’t dry out easily. My doctor always tries to get me to switch to the more expensive brand, but why fix what’s not broken? I’ve tried other brands, but I always come back.
Deva
January 19, 2009 at 4:17 pmI just found out at the ripe age of twenty-two that I am slightly nearsighted, I started wearing contacts that day, and switch between those and my glasses semi-regularly. I wear Acuvue Oasys, and Acuvue Moist daily lenses, I got the dailies for days that my eyes feel drier or days that I’m out of town, and they are great. I really recommend that you get samples from your eye doctor if you go the daily route. A lot of people LOVE the focus dailies, but i found that they were harder to tell if they were right side out or not, and dried out quickly. Acuvue lenses have a right side out indicator on them (123 printed on the lens) and really are comfortable. I’ve only been wearing contacts for about six months now, but I have to say that I love mine. The commercial was true for me too: You can’t even feel them! (were literally the first words out of my mouth. I felt like a tool)
Jenny
January 19, 2009 at 4:18 pmHello lovely –
So I have dry eye syndrome. And not just dry eyes … my optometrist told me I have the driest eyes she’s ever seen. Ever. Yeah, I’m special.
I wear Acuvue Oasis contacts, use only Blink eye drops (which are pricey, but are THE BEST.), and use only Opti-free Replenish solution — with that combo, not only am I not bothered with dry eye symptoms, but I don’t even feel the contacts at all! Of course, finding that combo for me took about a year and all were suggested by my eye doctor. I tried a few different kinds of contacts and a few different solutions and finally settled on this combo about a year ago and haven’t looked back since!
Amanda
January 19, 2009 at 4:29 pmI do the glasses/contacts switch myself, and like you I use the contacts on nights out and glasses for typical daily use.
My doctor has always picked out my specific brands of contacts. I’ve never been able to go in and suggest or request one (don’t know if I have an option, actually). I tell him my concerns and he comes back into the office with a pair for me to try on. If I like them, I wear them home. If I don’t, we try another pair in the office.
IMHO: Tell your doctor you are concerned about the comfort of the contacts and ask to have a pair that is as thin as possible for your eyes. I use disposables that are to be thrown out after two weeks of heavy use. Because I don’t wear mine that often, I can wear the same pair comfortably for months, as long as I have stored them properly.
Good luck!
Kaleigha
January 19, 2009 at 4:30 pmI just use your run of the mill Acuve 2, but no matter what I do, I have to take those suckers out by about 6 pm. DRY EYES galore. And it doesn’t matter the brand of contacts. Just make sure you get the little contact cleaner mill thingy. I’ll try and find a link for you, it’s SO MUCH cleaner than the dishes.
Angella
January 19, 2009 at 4:43 pmI had Lasik eye surgery three years ago, but before then I used disposables. My eyes caused a lot of buildup on the lenses and they would start to really bug me.
Shayne
January 19, 2009 at 4:44 pmDelurking here (always hoping for a Wito fix. That sounds creepy, doesn’t it?) – you might want to consider progressive lenses, although some people just can’t get used to them. I’ve recently started with the whole middle-age can’t read anything close up business. I thought you had to be at least 40 before that started. Like that’s a rule or something.
whoorl
January 19, 2009 at 4:48 pmShayne – I posted a photo of Wito in the Grace in Small Things post right before this one. (You can click on it for a larger size).There you go, a little Wito fix!
JG
January 19, 2009 at 4:48 pmI like the Focus Night & Days. I wear them nonstop for a month and then throw them away, so I only put contacts in twelve times a year. I know you said you wanted to wear your glasses sometimes, but here’s the thing: the FNDs are the only contacts I’ve ever worn that I can’t feel at all most of the time. I forget I can’t see naturally!
SleepyNita
January 19, 2009 at 5:03 pmI can second what JG said, I wear mine non stop for about a month and then get a new pair. Once in a while I take them out – store in solution and wear my super cute glasses.
mommymae
January 19, 2009 at 6:40 pmi don’t wear contacts, so i don’t have any help there, but i do love your specs. my 6-year old, scout, has worn glasses for 2 years (and needed them for 4) and i never know where to fin cute kids glasses.
any ideas?