Soft contact lenses . . .

[BumbleBeeDave]

I had cataract surgery several weeks ago that’s left me farsighted in the corrected left eye (20/25 for distance) and very nearsighted in the right eye (-7 diopters).

I see the doc on Monday to get a final updated prescription and he suggested getting a soft contact for the right eye to eliminate problems with differing magnifications and double vision off to the right. Then I could get away with reading glasses, or wearing bifocals with no Rx on top and close-up on the bottom (which would work fine with me.)

Thoughts on wearing soft contacts? I’ve never had them before. I’ve seen several recommendations that daily disposables are best for allergy sufferers—and that’s me. There also seem to be soft ones that you can leave in for weeks? What about sleeping with them on?

How much of a pain are they to take in or out, and how often have you had them screw up and get folded up under your eyelid or other problems, particularly while out riding?

Thanks for any advice based on experience.

BBD

[chuckred]

I've been wearing contacts for more than 40 years, starting with the old hard plastic and now daily disposables. I've surfed, skiied, biked and pretty much everything else with them and have lost maybe 3 in that time.

I'm very near sighted, but with contacts in, need reading glasses to see anything closer than the end of my arms, so now I only use them for either cycling or skiing. (Now only 1 -2 times a week).

Once you get used to them, they take about a minute to put in, and about 10 seconds to remove. My eyes are less sensitive to wind when they're in than when they're out. Not sure why.

Basically, they are a non-issue - once you get passed the learning curve - which should be pretty short with disposables. Wash your hands, put them in, take out when done, throw away. That's about it. Drops are helpful if you are sensitive to dust, but generally I don't even bother with them.

[veloduffer]

I've been wearing soft contacts for 30 years (-9.0 diopters, yep blind) - initially with the regular wear (clean daily and throw them out after a couple of weeks) and now daily wear ones. The daily ones are much better - less chance of infection and you don't have to worry about cleaning them. Keeping them in your eyes 24/7 isn't a good idea for that reason.

Putting anything into your eye takes some practice - it's a bit like putting drops in your eyes. I look up and then put the contacts in. With soft contacts you need to make sure you're putting the correct side in. If it is the wrong side, the contact floats around and you take them out, flip inside out and start over. It currently takes me about two seconds to put each one in. They stay in place until I take them out; they are fitted to your eye.

You will not feel them in your eyes. However, if you suffer from itchy eyes during allergy season, they will become itchy and you should take it out. Using lubrication drops every few hours can help if you have dry eyes - the key is applying them before your eyes get dry (kind of like hydrating on the bike).

If you have itchy eyes, Naphcon eye drops work best but you are not supposed to use them with contacts in.

There are several brands and some may fit you better than others. Try a couple of brands at a time. I like and use 1-Day Accuvue from Johnson & Johnson.

[BumbleBeeDave]

I've used Naphcon drops in the past, but this past spring a friend gave me a sample of Pataday drops and they make the Naphcon look pre-historic. One drop of Pataday in each eye when I got up and I was good for the day--no itching whatsoever. They are amazing!

Sounds like the softies disposables would work for me, especially since I'd need only for one eye. If you don't mind my asking, how much do you pay for a month's supply of the softies?

BBD

[benb]

Just hope you are lucky and they work.. I'm not sure but I think the disposables can be cheaper then glasses, they are no big deal. IIRC my glasses are usually about $500 before insurance kicks in.. I know harder prescriptions are more. That buys a lot of contacts.

I can never get them to work.. maybe I'll try again as I'm due for an exam.. but I have basically had allergic reactions to just about every pair of contacts I've tried.. I had one Doc try out about 6-7 kinds on me about 8 years ago. Basically dry/stinging eyes + headaches.. I have astigmatism though.. so I never actually got to try the "wear once" ones, I was trying the 7-day ones.. but even brand new they would eventually drive me insane.

[BumbleBeeDave]

I also have astigmatism, so I guess I better ask the doc about what effect that would have on contacts. But it was the doc himself who suggested contact lens. I would hope he;s already accounted for that in his recommendation.

BBD

[crownjewelwl]

I also have astigmatism, so I guess I better ask the doc about what effect that would have on contacts. But it was the doc himself who suggested contact lens. I would hope he;s already accounted for that in his recommendation.

BBD

re: astigmatism...you have to get toric lenses which are weighted on the bottom to keep the lens from shifting on your eye...it is a more complicated manufacturing process so daily disposables weren't available...but now (depending on the amount of astigmatism) they make dailies!!

i have really bad astigmatism and sadly they don't make daily disposables strong enough for me...

and 800contacts is a good place to start...will generally have the best prices...although you can usually get your local guy to match prices...the margins in contacts are ABSURD (kinda like chinese made carbon frames)

[profkrispy]

I have worn the soft, extended wear contact lenses since 1985. Years ago I would leave them in for up to a month at a time. Over the years, however, the time I could leave the lenses in has dwindled such that now I take them out every night. An infection in my right eye last year, perhaps caused by a dirty lens, left me with an ulcerated cornea. It healed but I'm a little more cautious these days.

If I take the lenses out daily, they last for approximately 10 days to 2 weeks. They cost $180.00 for 24 lenses or $7.50 each. So I pay $1.50 per day to wear them with another few cents thrown in to account for the cleaning solution. That's $547.50 per year for the lenses. They're a little more expensive than glasses but very worth it.

[Louis]

About 10 years ago I gave up on contacts (I'd been wearing gas-perms forever) and just switched to glasses. It was nice to no longer have to deal with the intermittent pain issues and the cleaning. And I found them to be a hassle on the bike. For me glasses have just been simpler.

[benb]

If they have daily disposable torics now I will definitely have to try them after my overdue exam.. Mine is pretty slight.. 1.0 or something. It seems like they are supposed to get more comfortable each year as they figure out how to make them more bio-compatible.

When I just looked today it was like $40 for 6 pairs of torics which you were supposed to wear for a month and clean each night.. that is easily less then my glasses even if you only wore each one for 2 weeks instead of a month.. and no contest if you had to buy a pair of prescription sunglasses every 2 years too. Prescription glasses for cycling are way more expensive then just about any non-prescription cycling glasses.

I would be psyched even to just wear contacts for sports, hiking and photography.. I could deal with using glasses at the office, etc..

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . the glasses route because I would still have the magnification and double image problems. The doc said my brain might sort it all out and i wouldn't need the contact, but it's been almost 3.5 weeks now and there's still this borderline disorientation--two images and the yjust don't sync together perfectly. No headahces, but it's disconcerting and not what I signed up for with this surgery.

BBD

[Ken C]

I have been wearing soft lenses for over twenty years. It seems like lens technology has really imrpoved the last few years. I used to have really bad dryness when wearing them and would have to use eye drops frequently.

Recently I switched to Accuview Oasis and the difference is amazing. They are two week lenses that I take out every night. They are gas permeable enough to wear all day without eye drops. I don't even notice they are in.

[Louis]

..I would still have the magnification and double image problems.

In that case, just go with what will fix the problem.

[Liv2RideHard]

Been wearing soft contacts for years. Just switched to the daily's. I was wearing disposables that I would wear for 10-14 days then toss but they began to give me troubles so my doc suggested I try the daily disposables. Much better. The daily disposables gave me relief on and off the bike. Good luck with whatever route you go with. The daily disposable will be a tad more expensive but by the time you factor in cost of solutions, it is a wash.

[maunahaole]

I wear regular contacts. As a rule, they are cheap and not much of a problem as long as you change them out periodically. You will get lots of them when your prescription is filled. They will feel gritty when it is past time to change them. As was said, the astigmatism will require a special lens, but your doc will know to get you the toric lens. Putting them in and taking them out is easy. Taking out is easier - putting in requires that you have clean hands - and that means no dust, lint or hairs. Any of those will make it very uncomfortable and irritate the hell out of your eye. You learn to make sure that does not happen. You also learn what soap to use (antibacterial liquid soaps are bad for me, ymmv). I sometimes have problem with wind, esp. when the air is really dry, so glasses with some side coverage may be in the cards for you. You will also get very accustomed to sticking your finger in your eye in a hurry. It is difficult at first, but that goes away.

[benb]

Recently I switched to Accuview Oasis and the difference is amazing. They are two week lenses that I take out every night. They are gas permeable enough to wear all day without eye drops. I don't even notice they are in.

How new are these.. ? The two times I tried soft contacts was 1997 & 2005.. I can't really find much history.. I think I must have been using Hydrogel lenses both times but maybe not this newest silicone hydrogel stuff.

[2LeftCleats]

I wear a toric lens in 1 eye. Not a big deal. I use the dailies but end up re-using them about 3 days each without problem. Makes them a lot cheaper.

[Jangles13]

I'm 10yrs in, switched from glasses mostly because of skiing (fogging in goggles issue).

My left eye has an astigmatism and thus a toric. I wear Coopervision Proclear monthly disposables. At the time, they were known to be superior for dealing with dry-out and allowing your eye to breath. Run me about $12/mo. Depending on how long of days and the environment I can go a little longer, or a little shorter on a pair.

I don't have dry-eye issues, but sitting in a car with A/C or heat in my face will make them feel sticky and bothersome. Sitting too close to fires can shrink them too. I work in an industry that involves a lot of dust and haven't dealt with much issue in that regard.

Clean hands are pretty important, I always put them in immediately after showering, and do my best to always wash my hands before removal (though I'm not always in a position to do so). I've gotten in the habit of carrying a lens case with solution, in my pocket in case I need to take them out unexpectedly.

Definitely satisfied with them, though I am researching laser surgery because I spend a lot of time on the water and it would be great to go swimming without dealing with the contacts first.

[roydyates]

Just hope you are lucky and they work.. I'm not sure but I think the disposables can be cheaper then glasses, they are no big deal. IIRC my glasses are usually about $500 before insurance kicks in.. I know harder prescriptions are more. That buys a lot of contacts.

I can never get them to work.. maybe I'll try again as I'm due for an exam.. but I have basically had allergic reactions to just about every pair of contacts I've tried.. I had one Doc try out about 6-7 kinds on me about 8 years ago. Basically dry/stinging eyes + headaches.. I have astigmatism though.. so I never actually got to try the "wear once" ones, I was trying the 7-day ones.. but even brand new they would eventually drive me insane.

I recently started wearing the astigmatic 14 day soft lenses. Like veloduffer, I'm also -9 diopters nearsighted. Now that I'm almost 50, I also need reading glasses. The astigmatic soft lenses are very comfortable but, with or without reading glasses, they are way worse than progressive bifocal eyeglasses in terms of vision clarity. However, i do like the lenses for cycling and sports in general.

[thashicray]

I've been using Acuvue Oasys for the past eight yrs and love them. My doc recommends this brand as it really allows for more O2 to the eyes. For me it helps reduce any redness that I get after 10+ hrs of wearing them.

[tkbike]

At my advanced age I wear a multifocal contact lens. I wore the Air Optix multifocal for years without problems and switched to the CooperVision Biofinity Multifocal this year do to a new prescription which I could not get to work with the Air Optix. I wear the monthly lenses and have never had a problem with them, I normally wear them for about 16 hours per day but wind up sleeping in them a couple of times a week. I'm a systems analyst and stare at a laptop for up to 12 hours a day so I always have a bottle of rewetting drops with me, I use them a lot less since I have switched to the new lenses. The only time I have lost a lens is while swimming and being hit in the face with a branch while mtb'ing.
My daughter has a astigmatism and has worn the 1-DAY ACUVUE MOIST Brand for ASTIGMATISM for years without a problem.

[wc1934]

I have been wearing soft lenses for over twenty years. It seems like lens technology has really imrpoved the last few years. I used to have really bad dryness when wearing them and would have to use eye drops frequently.

Recently I switched to Accuview Oasis and the difference is amazing. They are two week lenses that I take out every night. They are gas permeable enough to wear all day without eye drops. I don't even notice they are in.

+1 on the accuview - i take them out every nite - soak them in a peroxide solution - (clear and care? ) and change them every MONTH - most people change them every 2 weeks, but my doc said monthly is ok for me as I have very little protein build up - I am VERY nearsighted - can not see far away. If both lens's were set up for distance, I would need reading glasses - doc set up my lens's so that the left eye script is strong - for distance and the script for the right eye is much weaker for reading - somehow the brain adjusts and i can see distance while at the same time being able to read upclose.

Good luck - hope everything works out for you.

[deechee]

My optometrist gave me free contacts to try out, I'm sure most do.

Personally I only wear my contacts when I'm working out. I'm fairly blind (-5) and have allergies and dry eyes. Wearing contacts at work in front of the computer is impossible - my eyes dry out and I can't focus on the screen. Taking them in and out is a learning process, I was never comfortable with poking things into my eye, but now I can usually do it in one shot (a few seconds to open the case, figure out if its inside out or not, and plop it in).

I know in Canada we have clearlycontacts.ca who sell contacts cheap. Costco also is cheap.

[TomP]

Hi BBD,

I'm an optometrist. The difference between your eyes causes a magnification difference called Aniesokonia. It will be quite disorienting if the magnitude is too large. A contact lens by being placed on your cornea reduces the magnification difference.

I agree, see your regular optometrist, or ophthalmologist to be fit for a soft contact lens. They are readily available in toric, or bifocal. The combination of toric and bifocal however does not work well.

Most doctors will go through a fitting with you using sample lenses to determine the one that is best in terms of health, comfort, vision and wearability.

Good luck and I'm sure you will do well.

[Ken C]

How new are these.. ? The two times I tried soft contacts was 1997 & 2005.. I can't really find much history.. I think I must have been using Hydrogel lenses both times but maybe not this newest silicone hydrogel stuff.

I changed from different Accuviews to the Oaysis model maybe two or three years ago. Big difference.