Tell me about contact lenses (not too off-topic)

[BigBadBetty]

I've worn contacts for a little less than 10 years. I wear multifocals so I can see far, middle, and near even though I am old. I couldn't stand the on and off of reading glasses.

I understand that a lot of people can't adapt to them. I heard it is much easier to adapt if you start when you don't need so much help to see close up. I love them because unlike progressives I don't have to be at certain angle to see things. It is really helpful while working.

The biggest con is the price, and they also don't work well in the dark. I don't see as well close up as I do with my glasses. I can easily read my phone or a book, but I wouldn't be able to read the fine print on a medicine container.

[CabCalloway]

I've been wearing contacts since I was 18. Always had soft lenses.
Now I buy the daily wears. There are some days where I don't get enough sleep and don't feel like wearing them in the morning. I wind up skipping those days and stick with glasses.
Like some other posters, I too need reading glasses when I wear the contacts.
I am extremely near sighted I had hoped there would be some improvement with age (as I'd been told to expect) but the improvement was minimal.

My glasses are progressive but that technology for contacts isn't good enough for my liking.

I had a detached retina in 2013 which led to a cataract. This required an implanted lens. Had I been "brave" enough, I could have had a lens implanted that would corrected my vision. Unfortunately due to my near-sightedness, it was not feasible to do this unless I had the same procedure done to the healthy eye. I balked at removing a "good" lens. So they implanted a lens slightly better than what was destroyed.

Anyway, sorry to be so long-winded. Give the contacts a try. They are so much easier to deal with nowadays.

[kittybug]

I've worn contacts for...oh my goodness, 37 years or more now. My vision is quite bad and I can't stand the 'fishbowl' feel of glasses, so my money goes to contacts when needed and rarely to glasses. In just the last few years I've had to switch to a multi-focal contact which took a few to get used to, but I left my glasses at my old Rx because I only use them to read at night.

I finally just recently got multi-focal glasses and wow, I've discovered they correct much better than the contacts but almost too much, and there are some hiccups for me (like walking down stairs, yikes, could never work out in those!) to where I still would wear my contacts all the time, even if the vision correction isn't as clear. Everything BigBadBetty said is my experience as well.

The eye doc also told me it's hard to predict between multi-focal lens brands how people will respond or achieve correction, which is why they give you free trial pairs to wear before committing to a purchase. I trialed two new-to-me supposedly higher-end brands than what I was used to and found I didn't like them at all!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[kat999]

I've been a contact lens user (and fan!) for almost 35 years now. Over the past couple of years, I had to make some adjustments to them based on vision changes that tend to happen after 45 (fun), but what works for me now is daily disposables for distance and then reading glasses for close up/computer, etc. I have soooo many pairs of cute readers and keep tons on hand just in case I lose a pair (which actually happened not long ago, so I'm glad I have spares!). I'm kind of at the point where I should probably try bifocals, but the specific combo of bifocal contacts plus astigmatism correction plus dailies apparently don't exist for my prescription. But reading glasses work just fine for me right now, and I love not having to have ten different pairs of sunglasses or wear glasses for workouts. I do have a pair of backup glasses that work okay, but I don't update the prescription in them very often and they don't fit very well, so working out in them would be super annoying.

[prettyinpink]

Progressives took a long time for me to get used to, as well.
I’ve been wearing contacts daily for many years and have loved the convenience of them.

The past few years I have worn them less often, have found that i don’t feel like dealing with them some days. And then more recently I’ve developed dry eyes and can’t wear them much at all. I know there are other options to try, including specially fitted lenses, but I need to find a doctor who is skilled at prescribing them. Some eye doctors are better at some things than others.

[kat999]

Originally Posted by prettyinpink

Progressives took a long time for me to get used to, as well.
I’ve been wearing contacts daily for many years and have loved the convenience of them.

The past few years I have worn them less often, have found that i don’t feel like dealing with them some days. And then more recently I’ve developed dry eyes and can’t wear them much at all. I know there are other options to try, including specially fitted lenses, but I need to find a doctor who is skilled at prescribing them. Some eye doctors are better at some things than others.

My dry eye was cured by switching to dailies, so talk to an eye doc about whether that might be an option.

[Malinda]

Originally Posted by kat999

My dry eye was cured by switching to dailies, so talk to an eye doc about whether that might be an option.

This has been my experience as well. I love my dailies!