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!
Melissa
January 19, 2009 at 8:34 pmHmm… Are you doing bifocal contacts? Because otherwise, if they only correct your near vision, they might blur your distance vision. Bifocal contacts work just like bifocal glasses: the top part is for distance vision, the bottom part is for near vision. Some people like them, some people don’t. But wearing ONLY near vision contacts would definitely make it harder to see road signs, especially at night, so you’d probably be doing a lot of taking them in and out… possibly a different kind of hassle.
Other people are able to do “monovision,” meaning you leave one eye for distance and one eye for near (so in your case, you would leave your distance-dominant eye alone and just wear a contact for near vision in the other eye). It takes some getting used to, but if your prescription is pretty mild, that would be another option.
There’s another type of surgery for farsightedness (it’s called conductive keratoplasty, or CK, which produces the monovision effect I mentioned above), but I doubt you’d need to go that far – you’re too young. :)
Your eye doctor will recommend the right type of contacts for you, but the most important thing is the fitting. Contacts that don’t fit correctly can actually be very irritating to the surface of the eye, so make sure you say something if you have any discomfort.
I work for an ophthalmologist and we constantly see people for dryness issues. I’ve worn contacts myself for 13 years and I have to use drops once or twice a day. Wearing the contacts occasionally should not be a big issue for you, though… if you need to, just use OTC moisture drops made specifically for contact wearers. (The regular kind can blur your vision while the contacts are actually in your eyes – I speak from experience!)
Anyway, that’s my two cents. Good luck! :)
whoorl
January 19, 2009 at 8:42 pmThese are all such awesome comments, I’m taking notes over here.
Melissa, I won’t need to get bifocal contacts because I can see distance very well with my glasses. At my last eye exam, my distance vision was just as good with my glasses as it was without. ( I guess I’ve just worn them so long that my eyes have adjusted to my prescription. Scary.)
Beth
January 20, 2009 at 3:49 amI used to be an Acuvue girl, but my doctor switched me to ProClear and they’ve been fine. They’re twice the price, but they’re intended to wear twice as long, so it’s a wash.
Like others have said, your doctor will decide what’s best for you and/or fit you with several types in the office.
One bit of advice if you have any aversion to sticking things in your eye: When inserting lenses, look to the side but put the lens on your eye where your iris would be if you were looking straight ahead, then look forward and the lens will place itself. When the nurse was trying to fit me for the first time, I kept blinking. She was getting frustrated. I apologized but said, “Hey, it’s a reflex.”
My handsome eye doctor came in to check on us, she told him, in a huff, that I kept blinking, so he took the lens, told me to look to the side, put it on my eye, told me to look forward, and voila! And I thought, “Why doesn’t your nurse know that trick?!”
Katie
January 20, 2009 at 9:23 amAcuvue Oasis disposables are THE best! Along with Blink brand rewetting drops, I never have probles with dry eyes, and I work third shift in a hospital, which is tough on the eyes/contacts because 1) when you’re tired your contacts tend to feel drier and 2) hospitals are pretty dry places. I use OptiFree solution to store them in when not in use. Also, they’re approved for overnight wear, which is excellent if you ever take naps- that way you don’t have to take them out just to lie down for half an hour.
Lara
January 20, 2009 at 1:05 pmWell, I can’t wear contacts much anymore. Still – whether wearing them all the time or wearing them only occasionally, I am a big fan of the Acuvue Daily Disposables. I have no idea if that is their official name or not. My point is that throwing them away after each use makes me feel like I don’t have to worry about germs anymore, and that is a good thing. Because germs? In my EYE? No thankee.
Caleal
January 20, 2009 at 1:48 pmMy Dr. decided on my brand because I have a slight astigmatism. But when I was using acuvue, I did love them. Especially the… kind that started with an O. I’m helpful, yes?
All I know is I’m in love with contacts, but I hated wearing glasses. The only problem I’ve had arise from my contacts is the Dr. telling me I need more breaks from wearing them, because I basically will not be seen in any way shape or form in my glasses, so I would only wear them for the first and last 10 minutes of a day. So you shouldn’t have an issue.
I have monthly disposables. If you’re really only going to wear them rarely, you might be able to get away with the daily disposable types.
Dry eye will be more of a problem in the beginning- make sure to carry around those little eye drops for contacts.
Gia
January 20, 2009 at 6:48 pmI agree with the hype for Acuvue Oasys for 2 week lenses. I have a few contact lens wearing tips if you are interested:
to prevent awful, dry contacts (especially with these Santa Ana winds!!) it is imperative to use anovernight hydrogen peroxide lens solution–(Clear Care by CIBA is fun to use, almost like a science experiment!), NEVER sleep in your contacts (even if they are labeled for it-trust me, me and my hubbie have YEARS of experience in ophthalmology and have seen dastardly results from this practice:painful abrasions, oxygen-starved eyes, infections, vision alterations, even permanent damage, etc), and always have tears for contact wearers in your purse. Multiple bottles.
Or, to avoid most of the hoopla, get Focus dailies, or Proclear 1 day. The curvature of your eye will also decide which contacts “fit” your eye shape, so not all options may be available to you. Good Luck!
Courtney
January 20, 2009 at 9:34 pmI wear Accuvue Oasis and I love them. I sleep in them, I wear them for up to two weeks straight and then I toss them and grab a new pair. Or sometimes I take them out and rinse them and wear glasses for a few days. I’ve never had any problems with them and I’ve worn contacts for almost fifteen years.
Trenches of Mommyhood
January 21, 2009 at 9:51 amI wear Accuvue 2s. Not the Oasys tho. I tried those and they actually made my eyes feel drier.
The good thing about the Accuvues is that they’re 2 week disposables, but I can stretch wearing mine out to at least 4 weeks w/o any problems. Saves $$$$.
Emily
January 21, 2009 at 2:21 pmI will add my name to the chorus for Acuvue Oasis. They are awesome, they don’t make my eyes feel dry and my doctor actually moved me to them because your eyes can breathe through them which helps you feel (this may be all mental) like they aren’t a shield over your eyes.
I have been wearing contacts for like 19 (EEEKS!) years and these are the best I have had.
Emily
January 21, 2009 at 2:23 pmOh, my eye doctor (who I love) also says Opti Free in the green bottle is the best stuff for cleaning/storage.
MommyTime
January 21, 2009 at 7:02 pmI’ve worn contacts for over 20 years, and though I’m nearsighted, I have no astigmatism or anything else. The best BY FAR that I’ve ever had are the ones I have now which are the the Focus Night and Day lenses. They are thin but durable, let my eyes breathe really well, and are super comfortable. They are also 30-day lenses, so you replace them often enough to ensure (hopefully) that you don’t get infections. If you wear them infrequently, you can also keep them a bit longer.
Good luck!