Contact lenses

[Jer]

I was hoping to get laser eye surgery but unfortunately I had a corneal ulcer back in '01 that has left permanent scarring in my eye.  It has no effect on my vision but it means that now I can't get the surgery done.

I'm back to wearing contacts again now for the past year, and I absolutely love the ones I have.  They are CIBA Vision Optrix 2's.  They are monthly disposables that you can sleep in as well.  I take them out once a week to clean them but aside from that I have no problems with them even when I wake up.  Some people have said that they have problems with dryness after sleeping in some of the contacts that you can sleep in but I haven't had any with these.

[SBG Math Guy]

I remember 5 years ago I went to my optometrist to get contacts.
It was supposed to be a session where I would try some and were taught how to
put them in and take them out.
It was a disaster.    I didn't wear contacts ever since that first day I tried them on
at the optometrist....too difficult for me.   So I will stick with my glasses, but hey it sucks
to play sports with glasses on..

Same thing happened to me the first time I tried contacts.  It took forever to put them in.  It was right before I went to Ireland for a vacation, and on my first morning there, I ripped one -- and they weren't the disposable kind.  So I kind of gave up on them for a while.  Eventually I tried again and got the disposables; for some reason they were much easier to take in and out.

Exactly as you say.  The optometrist made me try on some that were non-disposable and I didn't like it.   He said he would order a pack of 180 disposable ones.  A few days
after trying the non-disposable ones I called to say cancel the order.   Maybe I should have given the non-disposable ones a chance.   
He wanted me to use  gas permeable contact lenses.   In the beginning he said they will not be comfortable at all.   Sigh.  I never got to try those.  Gave up too soon.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

There is a learning curve to putting them in, taking them out, cleaning, etc.  For multi-focal lenses it takes a week or two for your brain to figure out what's going on, but after that--it's wonderful.  No reading glasses--except to put the buggers in and take them out.  But, there's a learning curve for about everything in life--I never did very well at the learning curve for calculus--but I got out with my life.  Take away--you can do anything you set your mind to

[SlyHigh]

I used Acuvue 2 contacts for years and they were great.  I used to be able to sleep in them (with my doctor's ok, of course).  I changed to Acuvue Advance, and they are a little better at night (when I got tired the old ones would get cloudy).  But they weren't all that different.

I recently went to the eye doctor for the first time in over a year.  I have astigmatism in my left eye that was getting worse.  He tried three different contacts for it.  All were great, and the last one is the best.  Now in my left I'm using Acuvue Oasys for Astimatism, and the right is still my Advance.  He tried me with Oasys, but there were the same as Advance.

Everyone's eyes are different.  One lens may work great for one person and terrible for others.  That's why we need to take the advice of the doctors.

[flatdave]

You guys should try getting your eyes fixed. I had Lasic  done almost 9 years ago and love it. Of course now i'm getting to the age where I need reading glasses.

I have considered that, however, my last name isn't Gates, unfortunately. 

[Hook'Em]

Actually if you look at the savings i've had not having to buy either glasses or contacts the last nine years, It paid for itself in a few years. Back when I had it done it was pretty new and cost me $900 an eye. I think you can get it done cheaper now. But in no way would i go to the lowest bidder. I actually had mine done by one of the Doctors who helped develop the laser procedure.