I've had contacts for....23 years. They are way different now then back then. The lenses today are super comfortable and allow lots of oxygen into your eyes which helps with the comfort. TBQH I haven't had a problem with my lenses at all for at least the last 20 years, I hardly notice I have them.
For the last...4 or so years I've been wearing new lenses which you can wear overnight as they allow enough oxygen through to your eye to keep them healthy. They are wear for a month and toss and I can get a good 10-15 days of wear before I need to pop them out for a night. The eye doc says I'm one of the better wearers as some can't last more than a week before they need them out. Mrs. Furnace has tried them and she can't wear them overnight so they aren't for everyone. To me, they are a better alternative to laser as they don't bother me at all. If Laser was nearly 100% permanent I might be tempted but as it isn't a guarantee, I'll stick with lenses.
As far as buying lenses I've been getting them from clearlycontacts.ca. Just put in your numbers for left and right eye. Next day shipping, and they carry all the brands. My lenses are B&L Purevision.
I would recommend the yearly visit to the eye doc to have your eyes checked out, it's especially important for contact wearers so you could have more eye issues.
You should also get some advice from Helsa, I believe he's our resident eye care pro.