It's time for me to get new glasses and I'm thinking about going back to contact lenses. I haven't worn contacts in several years so I'm out of the loop on what is the best way to go. I've Googled and there is so much information! I know I want soft lenses, but do I want them to be conventional soft contacts, extended wear, or disposable contact lenses?

For those that wear contacts, what kind do you wear? Why do you like them? How much do they cost? Where do you buy your lenses at? How much does all the cleaning solutions cost? Any other info on the subject will be very much appreciated.

I wear the two week soft contact lenses, I've heard the daily wear were the same contacts, so why pay for that. I get a couple bottles of cleanser per year, you just take them out and night - no rinsing or anything else.

If you get the Costco/Sam's Club solution brand its even cheaper.

You can see how much they are on 1800contacts.com and the eye doctors will usually make you wear them for a week before they fill the whole prescription. They are great. I have VSP vision insurance and it is accepted at a lot of eye doctors but even if I paid out of pocket it wouldn't be too bad. Once I even went to Wal-Mart. They are the cheapest.

There are many, many types of contact lenses. The availability is also dependent on your perscription. DAILY WEAR CONTACTS ARE NOT THE SAME AS DISPOSABLES!!! Patients will buy a box of 2 week lenses and drag them out over a year, wearing them every day. Disposable are usually preffered because they are easy to take care of, economical, come in colors, toric, and bifocal and if one rips or you lose it, you can go to the next one in the box. The differences are based on how much protein builds up on the lens, and how long the integrity of the lens stays. a 2 week lens is not meant to hold up like a yearly lens.

As far as solutions go, solutions are not created equal and generics/store brands are not the same as name brand solutions. Most solutions are no-rub solutions, which are hassle free, but if you do choose to go with a daily wear lens( one you wear the whole year), you may want to look into different cleaning solutions.

Prices of contacts vary based on where you're getting them and what they are.

Contacts are pretty much foolproof, but the biggies are don't share them with other people, don't put them in your mouth (Nasty!!), don't mix solutions, like have one kind at work and one kind at home, don't sleep with them in, don't shower or swim with them in ( easy way to lose the lens, also soft lenses absorb everything, so if you swim in a chlorinated pool, you'll get chlorine in your lens)..

There are contacts that you wear one new pair every day and throw them out, 2 weeks, monthlies, two months, yearly. There's bifocal lenses, toric for astimagism, color, and nearsighted/far sighted Rx's. How long you wear them depends on what's comfortable to you, what is best for the health of the eye, and what the FDA approves them to be worn for.

I take this whole thing very seriously...

Your eyes should look good, feel good and see good, with and with out contacts.
If you have any questions about contacts or vision, you can pm me and I'd be more than happy to answer anything.

Thank you so much for the information!

The other issue besides which type of contact to get is rather I will really like having them in. Right now I don't wear my glasses while at the computer or when I read. I wonder if I have the contacts in will that make my vision feel distorted when I look at things up close?

As far as how contact lenses feel, with the soft lenses you can't even feel them when they are in.

If you wear your glasses for close/ intermediate ( reading/computer), contacts may not work for you.

Generally, if a pt wears correction for near/intermediate they remove it for distance work, or wear a bifocal or progressive ( line and no line bifocal) that has more magnification for near/intermediate and less or none for distance.

Bifocal contact lenses do exist, and there is also a method of correction called monovision. With monovision you have one eye corrected for near and one for far. Some pt's love it, some hate it. With actual bifocal contacts, they work like bifocal glasses, with correction for both near and far on the same lens. However, many pts' report that they have either stellar distance and tolerable near or they have fantastic near and ok distance, not optimum clarity in both areas.

pt's who put thier glasses on to see distance for the most part are able to wear readers over thier contacts for specific tasks like reading or computer use, and then remove them for most other things. However, if the contacts are worn for near/computer, you would end up having to wear glasses to correct your visionn for distance because the cl is corrected for near. Does that make sense?

I would talk to your OD about it. S/he will give you thier opinion on what would work the best for your vision andn your life. Dr's also know that it may not work right away, and that a few different lenses/ perscriptions may be in order to tweak to find the right one.

Putting soft contacts in is very easy. Biggest thing is to be comfortable around your eye. It helps many pt's to wash your hands w/ anti-bacterial non-lotion soap, put some water in a glass, put your finger in the water and touch it to your eye. That is kind of what it feels like. THe contact is bigger than the aperture ( openning) of the eye, so you will have to hold your lids open.. being comfortable around the eye, and able to touch with with out your eye ball rolling off the side or behind your head makes it so so much easier.

I hope I"m not going way overboard w/ information, but I'm glad I can help... each patient is different and thier needs are differet so there are no blanket answers.

The only comfort issue some patients have is when they use the computer most ppl don't blink enough and htier eye gets dry. Just blink more or use wettenning drops ( make sure it is safe for contact lenses )....

OG

Optical Goddess, I'm sorry for my delay in thanking you for your very helpful response.

Considering my lifestyle of sitting in front of a computer or reading textbooks most of the day I think that I will most likely stick with glasses. I go to school in the morning, workout afterwards, and then it's home for a shower. I don't want to be taking contacts in and out while I do different activities.

Plus, my sweetie seems to think that I look very good in my glasses and that they give me a professional appearance.

i have Acuvue Clear I believe and I absolutely love this brand, I tested out the Bausch and Lombe and they felt scratchy in my eyes. I have an astigmatism and these work perfectly, they don't slide around and I can wear them a whole day before my eyes start getting dry.

I'm glad I could help.
There are so many types and brands of contacts out there. Acuvue and Bausch and Lomb both make a variety of lenses themselves. The trick is matching them w/ the pt and the patient's lifestyle. As with anything,, contacts aren't for everyone...

Answering optical questions keeps me sharp, so I enjoy doing it.

Love love love my contacts. I wear them for distance (don't understand why you'd wear contacts for reading/up close) and wear soft 2-week disposables. I usually wear them for 3-4 weeks and have no problems. I like kind of wearing them in a little, but find at some point at 3-4 weeks I can tell when they are falling apart, other than that wearing them longer just helps for the effort/expense portion. I think they cost me $85 for a 2 week supply, which was at a time when i was NOT covered by the HMO's eye thing, so should be near full price.

I was like you, preferred my glasses (and like you, hubby liked glasses as well) but it bothered me to be laying on the couch and have my glasses running into things, or my hair getting caught in the glasses. To each his own, but I really adore switching over (been about a year now). I haven't noticed a problem with up close (i work on a computer all day, surf a computer all night, and often read a lot) but that might just be particular to my vision not yours. Good luck with it, i think either way, glasses are cute and contacts are easy, so each has its own (though I'd probably rather have perfect vision, but hey can't have everything).

Contacts work well for a lot of people. Generally, the only ones who have issues are people w/ dry eyes, people who abuse them, and some Rx's. There are bifocal contacts, monovision, soft, rigid gas perm/ hard, toric, disposable, daily wear... an optometrist or ophthalmologist would be best at determining if contacts are for you... I wear rigid gas permeable lenses, and I find the sight to be much better than soft....but it's me.

Because I hate wearing glasses! I can't even see well enough to read a book without glasses or contacts. I've had monovision contacts for about 5 years now and they're great for me. They are "programmed replacement" which means I should use a new pair after a month. Some last longer, some rip sooner, but I pretty much get a month out of them. I do wear them swimming, but with googles over them, and seldom get water in my eyes.