hi after 18 1/2 years of wearing glasses (aged 1 year and 6 months when fell out of walker  against corner of  firepace and broke cord in my eye while dad was reading a wait for it dobermann book when he should have been watching me ) 20 in 16 october i have decieded that i want contacts i cannot get the disposibles as i have an oval shaped eye (i think that is what it is ) typical so i have to get the other ones

one thing i dont like the idea of is that i have to touch my eye to put on contact guess i will get used to it

so what are the pros and cons of contacts
will i eventually get used to them

georgina

Did not have any problems putting in or taking out my lenses but did have trouble with drying eyes and had to give up in the end.

I also have astigmatism (rugby ball shape eyeballs) and I wear monthly disposables. I have worn them for 4 years now and I LOVE THEM!!! I couldn't live without them. Go to Specsavers and ask for toric lenses. Mine are very thin and I barely know I have them in. They take a bit of getting used to, but I wear mine for 15 hours a day every day and I have no problems :) You just have to set your mind to it. My vision is so much better too. Did I mention I LOVE THEM!!! :D

I agree i couldn't go back to glasses! I wear monthly contact lenses and i find that generally i hardly ever notice they are there. YOu wuickly get used to putting them in, they aren't as difficult as you think. THe only drawbacks i have found for me is the cost, £17.50 from boots per month is a lot for me! Also i tended to suffer from dry eyes, usually cos i wore them too much, but my optician changed them and they are much better. (He also advised me to drink more water.) I also find they tend to get dry when i am in a smokey area and when i am tired. But despite all this i wouldn't stop them! I'd say go for it!

I have astigmatism too.  I started wearing soft contacts when I was about 17 or 18 (30 years ago!!!) whyn you have to use a little heat steriliser machine each night.  the optician was initially unsure if my eye shape would allow the use of the soft lens, but I have had no trouble at all.  For about the last 10 years I have used disposables, first weekly and now daily.  Wear them all day, every day, and LOVE them.

You have to get used to the idea you are not actuallly touching your eye ball, as the lens is between your finger and the eye surface.  It soon gets to be second nature and you dont think about it at all.

bye
Gwen

Both my boys have had glasses from the ages of 3 and 4 yrs, when they were 11 and went to secondary school, they wanted lenses, I went and got them on a monthly plan, they are checked yearly and the lenses come through the post.  they hardly ever wear their glasses now and they get on fine with lenses and have done from a very early age.  It's given them both the confidence to do lots of things, my youngest swims in his, diving in! and plays every sport you can think of, yeah he's the one with the broken leg right now from playing football! My sons eyes are bad and their glasses are very very thick, you can have the lenses ground down but they would rather have contact lenses.

when i get new glasses i get the lenses chopped as they used to look like bottle tops
definelty going to get them

thank you for advice

georgina

Hi all

By coincidence I posted about eye surgery at the same time as this post. I have followed it and it has helped me make up my mind. I am going down the contact lens route thanks to all your posts. I'll let you know how i get on and look forward to hearing how you get on too Georgina
:) annieee :)

got the tests done about three years ago in specsavers i assume i will have to get those done again
and i am going to get them i can honestly say i hate wearing glasses what do you do about sun glasses as i was going to get perscription sunglasses so i guess i can not get them now

georgina

Hi
At the moment, as I wear specs full time, I buy the 'clip on your own glasses' type. They look ridiculous and scratch the lens but I find them more efficient than the prescription sun glasses - also as i wear separatee specs for reading, I can't afford to buy 3 pairs (4 if I want prescription reading glasses as well!) Presumably, when i get lenses i will buy normal sun glasses. When I walk the dogs with my specs+sun shades clipped on top, my nose gets really sore down one side as they become quite heavy and slide down my nose when i get hot. I am quite badly long sighted and so my spec lenses are quite thick. i had a call on Saturday to say my contacts are in. I'm now waiting for Boots to open so i can go and get them. They are called Proclear compatible toric (as i have astigmatism also) They are monthly lenses and will cost about £25 per pair. I really hope i get on with them as i will have to cponsider the eye surgery if i don't. I really am sick of wearing specs.I put up with them for about 35 years without being too bothered. Then came the day when I had to have a separate pair for reading. That did it, i just can't be bothered with the swapping and changing. I'll keep you informed :)
:) Annieee :)

I use to have contacts but now I just wear my glasses with magnetic shades and I love them...Iam hoping to get contacts again maybe the ones that you can wear for a month (sleep in also), they are suppose to allow your eye's to breath better...I always had a problem with them drying out if it was windy, fans, smokey and dusty. I hated trying to put them in when I was tired, think disposables would be better for me. the one's I had had a line on them and when you put them in the eye they automatically the line went to the bottom and I could always feel them rub :(

My sister got the op done and she was suppose to have it done again but to much scar tissue on her eye so they cannot do the op again. She will probably end up wearing glasses again in 2 years. Guess thats the chance you take :(

I tried the daily contacts last year - these were the ones recommended because of the shape of my eye but I can't get on with them.  Putting the in and out is little problem but retrieving them from way up under my eyelid every time they slip (generally within a couple of hours) gets very tiresome and they are not good enough to drive in and I found I was wearing both contacts and glasses so I could see to drive.

Hi all
Phew! what a palaver. I got to Boots to try my lenses on/in. Apparantly the chap who did the original eye test sent away for the wrong prescption so I can't see perfectly in the lenses :( They went in OK and were immediately comfortable. After a nice chat and making an appointement for next week when i'll have the correct prescription. I went to see a nice lady to teach me how to put them in and take them out. First problem - I have a cut on my right thumb so they wouldn't let me have them until I promised to use only my left hand:) No probs. Then I had to teake them out as i couldn't drive in them as they are not the correct prescription. I can actually see quite well in them but they are not strong enough. Eventually I went home with lenses in a little case. Today I had to wear threm for 4 hours. No probs I thought. At 8am the stage was set - mirror, tissues, special liquid, case of lenses.......
Could i get the little buggar in!!!!NO. It prefered to stick to my finger. Eventually i thought it was in, then realsied it wasn't. Where was it ????
I put my specs back on and the search began. I eventually discovered it - in the pot with the other lens. OMG - which lens for which eye???
Well I took pot luck, concentrated hard and got them both in. I then had to ring Boots to ask if I would know if they were in the wrong eye - as I couldn't see perfectly with them in the first place :D They said my eyes had almost identical prescriptions so if they felt OK they would probably be OK.

4 hours later and they were still comfortable. It was a bit traumatic getting them out as I could hardly feel them in my fingers. Still so far so good (ish) :D
tomorrow I have to ry 6 hours. I'll keep you posted.
:) annieee :)

Does anyone else find it easier to put their lenses in without a mirror?

Now I'm getting the hang of things, I find it easier without the mirror . I was having trouble removing them but after a lesson from son's girlfriend quote " Annie - you've got to just go for it"
Well I did and hey presto - out they came. I was being far too gentle and i was tring to put my finger nail under the lense to take it out. Now I realise you have to just pull them out!!

I'm delighted so far. 6 hours yesterday with no discomfort at all. Went out with daughter to buy normal sun spex :D

:) Annieee :)

I've been thinking about getting contacts again for ages now - I've been wearing glasses for about 18 years now apart from for about a week when I was 16 and tried contacts but didn't like them.  I had gas pearmeable (or something like that) and suffered with dry eyes and they really did scratch me the whole time I was wearing them.  I gave up after a couple of days and never tried since!!

However I am told that they have really improved in the last 10 years and so I think I may book myself in for an appt again.

One question - do they still do that horrible test where they pull your eye lid round over something??  That left me with nightmares and is the only thing putting me off of going again!!

Hi Charanda.  Like you I tried contacts 13 years ago and the only kind I could get were gas permeable.  I found them very uncomfortable and lasted only a couple of months before reverting back to my glasses.  However, for the past five years I've been using very comfortable soft lenses which are now available for my eye type (astigmatism).  These are great, I don't know how I've managed all these years without them!  :)  The ones I wear now are monthly disposables.

As for the eyelid test, in the 26 years I've been wearing glasses / lenses, I've never had it done (I was very young when I started wearing glasses!!!), so I think you should be ok!

I can confirm they still do eyelid tests!

Soft contact lenses are MUCH better than the old ones; I have been wearing CL for 30 years now and have tried them all; disposable ones are great and even if you use monthly disposables the solutions and care regime are much better, easier to use and friendlier too.

Go for it.

Hi

When i went for my tests, I didn't notice any eyelid test other than  a slight pull on my eyelashes - was that it? If so, it was nothing to worry about. I thought he was trying to lift my lids slightly by pulling on my lashes. It really didn't hurt at all. I don't like the puff of air on my eyeball. it always makes me jumpy and i blink like mad even though i try not to :D I originally had the gas permiabl;es but they were horrid.

As a matter of interest - how old are all you contact lens wearers? I was a bit worried they'd not take me seriously at 51 but they didn't make any comments :D
:) Annieee :)

Charanda - I went to Boots in Milton Keynes and they were excellent.
:) annieee

Thanks annieee - I think I may well nip down there and make an appointment at lunchtime, strike while the iron is hot as it were!!

Will have to be brave if the eye lid test comes up - all I remember is them pulling it up and wrapping it round something, it was horrible!!!

Still worth it if I can get on with the contacts this time round!!  :-)

Have worn gas permeables for 20 odd years, they are easy to look after and the great thing is you can have tinted ones so your eyes look stunning.

I realise this is quite an old thread, but I just wanted to recommend Bausch and Lomb monthly disposables.  I have astigmatism and I've found these lenses absolutely brilliant, and I've tried quite a few other makes.  They have a higher water content than most other brands and are very comfortable - I've worn them for 24 hours before with no dryness or irritation.  I've even slept in them (naughty), with no ill-effects.

My last eye test was about a year ago, but I've had many and I've never experienced anything like the eyelid test described.  I'd ask the optician???  There's no need to be nervous about the exam, and age should be irrelevant, but it's easy to say that.  I used to be utterly terrified of dentists, to the point where I had a toothache for a month before a friend literally dragged me to a surgery, and I found it really helped if the dentist explained exactly what he was doing as he was doing it.  I still don't enjoy going to the dentist (who does?), but I can do it now, and I even had a root canal and deal with it OK.  Maybe you could ask the optician explain all the procedures.  Of course, other people prefer to shut their eyes and not know what's happening, but that's not really an option with an eye test!

Lastly, lots of people feel funny about putting their fingers near their eyes, but I think many people consider the eye much more delicate than it actually is.  I've seen heaps of operations involving eyes (I'm a vet nurse), and they're pretty tough organs!  It might help to try touching them very lightly at home (with very clean fingers), and building up a sort of DIY de-sensitising programme!

Good luck!

PS - I've read the posting guide, but is there any sort of board procotol involving answering old threads?  I hope it's OK.  If it's considered bad form please tell me.  Thanks.