For those of you with Contact lenses?

I had my eyes tested Friday as I have difficulty reading small writing thses days. The optometrist (spelling) says my eyes are fine but my near vision needs a little help and reading glasses are fine for me - even the ones just from the drug stores - no need for a prescription. However wearing glasses is a nuisance to me as I am always losing my reading glasses and now I have a string around my neck like an old lady. It is a particular nuisance if I forget them while shopping because I can't read labels. So today the optomostrist is going to try and fit me with special contact lenses - I forget the name - but it is where one eye sees far vision (which I have 20/20 vision there) and one eye sees near vision. He says they are very popular if your brain can get used to them and would prevent me having to wear glasses for reading. He says 95% if people respond to them. DOes anyone hear wear contact lenses for this and do you have any advice for me. I am so hoping this will stop me having to have 20 pairs of reading glasses and still not be able to find a pair when I want one. Thanks Jackie

Jackie I had to laugh when I read your post because when my dad dies we litterally found 35 pairs of cheap drugstore reading glasses in the house. He was forever misplacing them! I ended up donating them to the free clinic. As for the contacts. I tried the bifocal ones and hated them. It was just realy weird. But that wa a few years agao, so hopefully now they have improved somewhat. My vision has actually improved since I lost my weight. Good luck with the contacts. I wear them and love them, just make sure you clean them regularly, even the disposable kind.

Hi Jane, Something like my house lol! And the opticial said these drug strore glasses are just fine for me! I was sure they were ruining my sight but he said they weren't. Glasses also mark my nose badly...so I hate having to wear them! These lenses he is talking about are not bifocals - he said that would be a second option but not one he would recommend as I do not need them and they are much harder to get used to. My eyes are actually better than they were presurgery. I used to have diabetic retinopothy (spelling) and now that has all cleared up...... he says my eyes were in really good shape..... so I was relieved to hear that....just hoping the contact lenses will work for me - if not I am no better off than my 35 pairs of glasses in the house lol!! Jackie

Hey Jackie, You are talking about Mono-vision. I wore those lenses for a year before I had lasik to make it permanent. Your mind will adjust in about 1 week. If it does not, than it is not for you. Very similar process as learning to wear bifocals. When I had the lasik, they gave me 5-10 years for reading before I would have to go back to wearing reading glasses. I made it 5 years. I am considering going back to see them in thehopes that they have made progress in the last 5 years and maybe can readjust my lasik to give me a few more years. CathyA

I will consider surgery too - just want to see what the contact lenses will do for me first. If they do it once and your eyes readjust surely they can do surgery a second time? No? Jackie

not always. The eye they adjust for distance will not change - I will noever need glasses again to drive. However, the eye adjusted for close does change as you age. The collegen in the muscle that helps you focus closely detererates as we age so the muscle cannot focus as tightly. They have been working on ways to compenste that this.

Jackie, You are asking about monovision correction. I tried it once, then changed to bifocal contacts and went back to monovision ones. The difference in how they worked (for me) was minimal and monovision lenses were dirt-cheap compared to the bifocal ones. I did it for several years altogether, and finally saved my money and got lasik. I did not get the monovision lasik, but had my distance corrected in both eyes to 20/20. It was my choice because I wanted to be able to see perfectly in at least one way. I was never able to get 20/20 with monovision or bifocal. Now, that was just me.....others do fine with it. Give it a whirl and a few weeks to decide. And yes, I do have to use reading glasses to see fine print. I hope they one day have a surgery to correct this problem (presbyopia). It sucks, huh?! Gail

Hi Gail I have 20/20 vision for distance but not for near sight. The optician said that the surgery for near distance is not all that good and only lasts a few years and may not even be re-correctable once they have done it once so he advises against it while waiting for them to perfect something better. Which he says they should do in a few years because they have made terrific advances in the past few years. He advises against bifocals at this point because he says they are much harder to adjust to and not everyone can. If I can make monovision work for me he says that will be fine for years until my distance vision deteriorates. And of course they have a contact lens for that lo!! Thanks for your advice Jackie

Hi Jackie, My optician said I have "over 40 eyes." She would prefer I not use the garden variety readers regularly because there are very little standards in manufacturing them. I do use them occasionally to read a recipe or label real quick or to thread a needle. However I do have prescription reading glasses I wear to read a book or music. But what we also did several years ago which you may want to ask about was to fit me for just one contact lens for my right eye. That works very well at times when I don't want to wear my glasses like when I sing or if I go out to dinner all dressed up and need to be able to see the menu. Good luck, I know this is something that can be frustrating! Amy

Hi Amy, Well they fitted me with mono lenses yesterday. I got the ones that stay in 30 days and so far they work just fine for me. Of course it takes me so long to take them out and put them back in again that I need the 30 days lol! I do not know why he suggested two contact lenses when I am thinking I only really need one for close up. My far vision is 20/20. So far I do like them though and seem to have adjusted pretty well to them. It is so good not to have glasses damaging my nose again as I needed to wear them most of the day to read the computers I have on my desk. I was surprised that I could sleep in them with no discomfort.... So, so far so good - I know it is still early days... Jackie