Tell me about contact lenses

[Jayems]

About 6 years ago I got glasses. I wore them for a bit, but now only ever wear them out of necessity: night time driving. I despise wearing glasses.

Either way, I need a new prescription and am gearing towards getting contacts as I hate wearing glasses, and I'm tired of squinting to read stuff. I have an appointment at an eye clinic and have requested a contact fitting (is that necessary? I'd assume so, but at $85, that seems steep). Can anyone recommend some things to discuss with the optometrist regarding contacts?

Are the daily ones of much benefit?
Are brands all the same, pretty much?
What type of cost am I looking at?
What's the up-keep like?
Itchy, dry, irritated eyes all the time?
Do you wear them for sports? IE: Hockey? Or take them out?
Do they fall out easily?

As someone who has never worn contacts, what can CP tell me about wearing them on a daily basis.

[Boblobla]

I can tell you that I do not wear contacts so I am of no use to you.

[OILFAN #81]

I'm not sure if this is an option for you, but Lasik is your friend.

[Jayems]

I was so excited about the first response coming so quickly, and then equally as disappointed once I read it. Stop toying with my emotions!!!

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Go to Costco for all your contact lens needs. I wish I could wear them but I have a real aversion to touching my eyes.

[worth]

I wear contacts probably about 95% of any given year. I can't see without contacts or glasses so I have to wear something.

Contacts have come a long way. When I used to fall asleep in them I would wake up with my eyes glued shut and it would hurt. Now, they are breathable and I can sleep in them overnight without much discomfort. My eye doctor said I shouldn't sleep in them all the time, but every once in a while is OK with the brand I have.

I have Acuvue Oasis that I switched to about a year and a half ago. I switched because I had lenses that I could sleep in every night if I wanted to, but I was always taking them out so I didn’t need that particular aspect.

I think I’ve always had Acuvue’s so I can’t say about other brands.

I think I pay around $300 for a year supply. I change the lenses out every 2 weeks.

Up keep is minimal. I take my lenses out every night. I probably wear them for 16 hours a day most days with no real problems. Just rub them with solution every once in a while and they’re good to go. I don’t get eye infections or anything.

I don’t really fell dry or itchy eyes ever. I mean, you have those days where you don’t want to wear your lenses cause you’re tired or your eyes just feel weird, but for me those days are minimal. My oftentimes complains that she gets stuff in her lenses. But I guess the experience is very subjective.

I wear them for everything. They don’t fall out. I play inline hockey with them, I work out with them. I run with them etc.

The only time you have to be careful is when you’re swimming. I went to the wave pool in Edmonton in Feb and didn’t even think about my lenses and I had a tough time when I got water in my eye. There are some moments when the lense gets knocked around in your eye from the water. When I swim I usually wear goggles. If you try to open your eyes under water with lenses, that’s probably not a good idea.

If you rub your eye sometimes it can jar the contact loose. But all in all they’re not that much trouble and a huge benefit of not having to wear glasses all the time. I recommend them. I don’t really want to do laser surgery, and I wear my glasses sometimes, but I’d prefer no glasses so contacts are the way for me.

[FlamesPuck12]

Are the daily ones of much benefit? No idea, I wear the biweekly ones.
Are brands all the same, pretty much? I've only used Acuvue but I switched from Acuvue 2 to Acuvue Oasis and I felt the Oasis one was more comfortable than Acuvue 2.
What type of cost am I looking at? 1 Box of Acuvue Oasis is about $30 at Walmart. You need 2 boxes (one for each eye) and 1 box has 6 lenses so it lasts about 3 months.
What's the up-keep like? Just take them out when you sleep and put it in your lense case with the solution and put them back in your eyes in the morning.
Itchy, dry, irritated eyes all the time? Almost never. Only time I notice them drying is when I'm infront of a computer and when I stare at the monitor for a long time. Oh and when you fall asleep while wearing it.
Do you wear them for sports? IE: Hockey? Or take them out? I always wear them for hockey.
Do they fall out easily? I never had them fall out yet.

[Grunt]

I've worn contact lenses for about 14 years now. My vision is pretty bad without glass or contacts (prescription is -6.00 in both eyes), and like you, I really don't like wearing glasses. I wear them from pretty much the time I get up until a few hours before bed... sometimes not until right before I go to bed.

At this point I barely even think about the fact that I have contacts, because I'm so used to putting them in and taking them out every day. They only very rarely bother me (if dust gets underneath them or something), and are only really a nuisance if I find myself not going home after a night out or something, or if you're camping and conditions aren't always totally dirt/dust free, or if you're swimming.

I like wearing contacts, and although it'd be nice to get laser eye surgery, I personally don't have a big enough problem with wearing them that I think it's completely necessary. I'm sure I'll do it eventually, but they really aren't that big of a deal.

Are the daily ones of much benefit?:
I've never tried the daily ones, but I suspect they are more expensive. I guess the benefit is that you don't have to upkeep them. I wear 2 week disposables... usually wear then for about 4 weeks (optometrist says this is fine), and the upkeep is minimal.

Are brands all the same, pretty much?: No. I found some brands bothered my eyes quite a bit, whereas with others, you can't even tell you're wearing them.

What type of cost am I looking at?: Depends if you get contacts to correct an astigmatism or not. I don't and probably pay around $300 / year in contact lenses.

What's the up-keep like?: Soft lenses... so I just put them in solution every night. That's it.

Itchy, dry, irritated eyes all the time? Rarely. Usually only irritated if it's really dusty, or you get dirt or something on your lens.

Do you wear them for sports? IE: Hockey? Or take them out?: I don't play hockey, or any full contact sports on a regular basis. I do play a lot of other non-contact sports though and always wear them. I'd suspect that you'd probably be fine wearing them, with an outside chance that one could pop out.

Do they fall out easily?: No. I've had a couple of close calls while swimming with them though, so I could see that happening. Probably best just to not swim with them.

[starseed]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

Go to Costco for all your contact lens needs. I wish I could wear them but I have a real aversion to touching my eyes.

I used to get freaked out when I saw other people touching their eyes, I thought I could never wear contacts, but after the first week it became second nature to me. Its amazing how quickly you get used to putting them in.

[Jayems]

Thanks for the replies.

So if I got to walmart or costco and buy a box for $30, do they have to send them away to make it right for my prescription? Or do i go to the counter, give them my prescription and they do it there? How long does that take?

What's the cost of eye surgery?

[Jayems]

Also, I work 1 day a week for a landscaping/irrigation company. Lots of dirt, debris and crap flying around in the air. Will that be an issue?

[worth]

Uhh..you need to visit an optometrist and then they will verify your prescription and they will most likely have stock of your lenses. If not they will order some and it takes a couple days. Maybe it's just me, but I have an eye doctor that I go to who looks at my eyes. I don't really want the $10 Costco special when i'm gonna be sticking something in my eye every day.

[Jayems]

Originally Posted by worth

Uhh..you need to visit an optometrist and then they will verify your prescription and they will most likely have stock of your lenses. If not they will order some and it takes a couple days. Maybe it's just me, but I have an eye doctor that I go to who looks at my eyes. I don't really want the $10 Costco special when i'm gonna be sticking something in my eye every day.

I have no idea of the process to get replacement lenses.

So how do the lenses differ from Costco or the optometrist?

[worth]

They don't. An acuvue lense from Costco is the same from an optometrist, all i'm saying is i'd rather go to an optometrist to get my eyes checked out rather than costco. Maybe the people that work at costco are just as good as my eye doctor, i'm not sure, but i'd rather go to someone who I know actually has experience in looking at people's eyes.

[Jayems]

Originally Posted by worth

They don't. An acuvue lense from Costco is the same from an optometrist, all i'm saying is i'd rather go to an optometrist to get my eyes checked out rather than costco. Maybe the people that work at costco are just as good as my eye doctor, i'm not sure, but i'd rather go to someone who I know actually has experience in looking at people's eyes.

Oh, I get you. Yeah, my appointment is already booked at an actual optometrist clinic.

I was wondering how walking into wal mart and getting a box of lenses works. Are there pre-made prescriptions? Do I have to go to my optometrist every time I need replacements?

[FurnaceFace]

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.

[Jayems]

Well, I printed out that Acuvue free trial thingy they have on their website. So I'll try them out too. Now over to FurnaceFace's suggested site to have a gander.

[FlamesPuck12]

Originally Posted by Jayems

Oh, I get you. Yeah, my appointment is already booked at an actual optometrist clinic.

I was wondering how walking into wal mart and getting a box of lenses works. Are there pre-made prescriptions? Do I have to go to my optometrist every time I need replacements?

Get your prescription from your optometrist then go to costco / walmart and give them the prescription. You'll have to do contact fitting session with them. After that, if they have your lenses already in stock, you can get the right away, if not, they'll just have to order some and it'll take about a week.

[Jayems]

Originally Posted by FlamesPuck12

Get your prescription from your optometrist then go to costco / walmart and give them the prescription. You'll have to do contact fitting session with them. After that, if they have your lenses already in stock, you can get the right away, if not, they'll just have to order some and it'll take about a week.

The eye guy I'm seeing on Wednesday is already doing a fitting. Do I have to do one at each store? That doens't seem right.

[Mad Mel]

Originally Posted by Jayems

I was wondering how walking into wal mart and getting a box of lenses works. Are there pre-made prescriptions? Do I have to go to my optometrist every time I need replacements?

Yeah, they're pre-fab. Your optometrist won't want to give you a prescription, because he'd rather rip you off for lenses himself. But if you ask, he will give you the prescription, and you can get it filled elsewhere, usually much cheaper.

I've been wearing contacts for about 20 years. I get the feeling of tunnel vision when I wear glasses, so I really do prefer contacts. As well, for those of us living in Australia, really good sunglasses are your friend, and I don't want some shyte precription sunglasses, nor do I want to carry two pairs of glasses around all the time.

Mine are the "leave 'em in" kind of contacts. They're really comfortable, I can leave them in for two weeks at a time, give them a quick clean, and carry on. I have noticed that my eyes don't seem to build up the grunge on contacts as badly as some other people, though. The optometrist I used in Calgary gave me a free pair when I first tried that kind of contact to see if they worked out for me before buying two boxes worth - I would guess that is standard practice. I highly recommend that type of contact over daily wear, they are much more comfortable and takes away the need to jam your fingers into your eyes twice a day.