Thinking of Getting Contact Lenses

[bob99]

I've been wearing glasses for the past 15 years, but lately I've been thinking of switching to contacts. Can some of you contact-wearers chime in with your experiences, as well as the brand / style of lenses you wear?

I'm a bit squeamish about putting them directly into my eyes. I know that's a silly / irrational fear, but I still have it. If I buy them at a legitimate place, I've been told they'll instruct me on how to properly put them in / take them out.

For those wearing disposable contacts, how often do you switch them? Do you leave them in for long stints at a time? I've heard of people sleeping with them, and leaving them in for a month at a time. Is that something you can actually do?

Do they ever fall out, leading to the "I'm looking for my contact lens" moment we've all seen in sit-coms? What about when you're exercising, or playing sports, or showering?

Thanks for your help kissing these glasses goodbye!

Bob

 

[Flambeur]

Yes, they will instruct you. Yes it will be a little weird at first, and it will take you weeks to comfortably put them in and take them out - but you will get used to them quickly. It's totally worth it, man.

There are plenty of options with disposables - there are some you can take off every night, there are some you can safely leave in for weeks at a time.

And soft contacts don't really fall out unless you rub your eyes hard or something. And usually they just get dislodged and slide to the corner of your eye or something and you just have to adjust.

 

[breakdown]

I have been using contacts since I was 13, so that makes it about 15 years now! For the past 5 years or so, I've been using 2 week disposables (though, i tend to forget when the 2 weeks are up and it ends up being longer). Right now I'm using acuvue Oaysis. I only sleep in them if I'm having a one night stand or something.

I love contacts. The first few times, it'll be weird putting them in your eyes, but eventually you can do it without looking in the mirror or flinching at all. Just give it a chance once you get them, you'll appreciate being able to run around without something on your face, and you'll save your glasses for your tired days, or when you just wanna change up your look.

My father used hard contacts for 20 or so years, and those were a beast to deal with. The technology is great now, so it's pretty painless and you won't regret it.

 

[Lone Wolf]

I say do it - you'll be glad you did.

Mine are Focus Softcolors Monthly. As implied, you're supposed to change them out every month but I get a lot longer than that out of them. OTOH, I only have them in when I'm out of the house so I don't leave them in 24/7 which saves some wear and makes them last longer. I think it's important to let your eyes breathe so I don't wear them as much as I could.

I get mine from CostCo, which is less expensive than getting them from a glasses store or optomotrist. Mine are green (another benefit to lenses is changing or enhancing your eye color) because the color makes them easier to see when I'm fishing them out of the cleaning solution and because my eyes are naturally on the hazel side.

My first lenses were before soft lenses were available, i.e., hard lenses. It took a long time for me to get used to them - I remember the recommendation was to start wearing them for like a half hour a day for a week and increase it by 15 minutes every week or something like that. Even so, it always felt like there was something in my eye, which of course there was. When I got my first pair of soft lenses I barely knew they were in.

These days I'm starting to need reading glasses, although my optometrist told me he could hook me up with a prescription for near sight in one eye and far sight in another which would eliminate them. At this point the reading glasses don't bother me enough to spend the money for the lenses, exam, and follow up visits. Maybe if I get on a Vision Plan that covers it.....