Contacts

[Brikenjon]

A friend at work recently got some contacts that you're supposed to be able to leave in your eyes for a month without taking them out for sleeping, showering, or anything.

I dislike glasses for the sheer inconvenience, which is also why I've avoided contacts. I don't want to have to worry about putting them in every morning and doing the whole solution ritual. I've considered laser surgery, but the slow degradation, possible night vision affects, and the fact that I'd still end up needing reading glasses are my main concerns there. With contacts, you can update your prescription to keep up with the degradation of your eyes.

Anybody have any experience with these new contacts? Are they too good to be true?

[CzarCastic]

Nope. No glasses for me yet. I'm sure I'll need them eventually, I mean, everybody does at some point, right?

[Canis Firebrand]

I know a lot of eye doctors recommend against leaving contacts in for extended periods of time on your eyes. They make you more prone to eye infections and such.

You are basically keeping something on your eyeball and if anything gets in your eye and somehow trapped under the lens, you have it being held in place by the lens.

I wear contacts and have had no problems with my eyes, other then prescription changing occasionally. I have disposable contacts which I take out each night and clean them to reinsert them in the mornings. I don't sleep in them or wear them for days in a row without taking them off and cleaning them.
I do shower in them in the mornigns after putting them in. But as long as I am careful, I don't have any problems there either.

The lenses are disposable that you wear for 2 weeks, taking them out each night, and throw them away. Then wear a new pair after that 2 weeks. Luckily both my eyes had the same prescription, so I when I got a years supply of lenses, I had like 12 boxes each with 6 lenses in them. i still have 5 boxes left. I wear them longer then the two weeks recommended and usually get about 2-3 months out of a pair, unless one of the lenses rips. then I'll start with a fresh pair.
A friend had a friend that was an eye doc and said the disposable lenses are the same as normal soft contact lenses that you buy one pair and use them until your prescription changes. He said as long as you clean them good each day, you can wear them longer.

[Brikenjon]

From Internet research, the name for the thirty day contacts are silicone hydrogels and are termed "continuous wear" under the "extended wear" category.

[Cappin Mike]

When I wore contacts last I did the same thing as Canis. It's not too much work pulling them out and in and I just gave them a quick squirt before I put them in solution for the night and another squirt in the morning before I put them on. It's easy to take care of them that way and I'd get about a month out of them before they got any build up on them.

[Shlugendah]

I use AccuView Extended wear, and boy are they extended. I don't take mine out until they get dry, because I don't have problems with my eyes being dry. Mine usually last 2-3 months per pair.

I know, every dr. has told me blah blah blah, but my perscription is the same that is was 10 years ago, give or take .25, so I am not worried. Maybe by the time my eyes get worse, the super duper laser surgery or eyeball replacement, ala Minority Report will be real cheap, without using any coupons, like Doug did for Carrie in King of Queens.

[Brikenjon]

I use AccuView Extended wear, and boy are they extended. I don't take mine out until they get dry, because I don't have problems with my eyes being dry. Mine usually last 2-3 months per pair.

So you wear your contacts for two or three months straight without taking them out at all?

[Shlugendah]

I may take them out once if my wife tells me to. Then I soak them and put them back in in the morning.

[Lady Brik]

There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to how contacts affect people. I wore contacts for almost 8 years and followed the directions verbatim. I never wore them for more than 8 hours a day, never slept in them; I changed them every 30 days and used clean saline nightly. I still wound up with a tear in my cornea. I was told not to wear contacts for at least 2 years for it to heal, and although that time limit is up and the doctor said the tear has healed, I haven't bothered with trying them again. I've gotten so used to glasses, although I think I'm gonna look into these new ones, too.

I really miss sunglasses.

[Jennos]

I have contacts the acuvue oasys! OMG they are awesome!!! My doctor recommended them since I am always near a computer and playing games late into the morning (staring at screens for a long time)! I take them out nightly unless I sleep over somewhere or don't have my cleaning solution with me!

I have had no problems and I am looking into Lasik as soon as my eyes level out on a prescription, it changes by .25 of a point each year. Lame! Paul has just recently had Lasik done on him, he has the worst eyes in the world! He had the really thick glasses and a lazy eye on top of that and he hated glasses and contacts. So he did the surgery and yes later in life he will be needing reading glasses and have some night problems but over all he says its worth the 30 to 40 years of not having to worry about anything!

[mendicantbias00]

OMG JENNOS!

[Slitt Vicious]

I basically follow the same ritual as Canis et al. I just throw them away when they start to feel less comfortable, probably about a month per pair. When I first had contacts c1992, I kept them in for weeks at a time. It took one eye infection to never have any interest in doing that again.

The only complaint I really have is that my eyes will dry out during extended gaming sessions. Nevertheless, we put aside a few thousand dollars in our HSA this year for me to have the surgery done.

[Jennos]

awwww Mendi! HI!!!

[Canis Firebrand]

I basically follow the same ritual as Canis et al. I just throw them away when they start to feel less comfortable, probably about a month per pair. When I first had contacts c1992, I kept them in for weeks at a time. It took one eye infection to never have any interest in doing that again.

The only complaint I really have is that my eyes will dry out during extended gaming sessions. Nevertheless, we put aside a few thousand dollars in our HSA this year for me to have the surgery done.

Same here... My eyes dry out during long gaming sessions and long drives. I have taken to never wearing my contacts if I need to drive more then a few hours. I will wear my glasses only. On weekends and holiday days I don't work or need to really go anywhere, I leave my contacts out and just wear glasses to give my eyes a break.

I'd love to get the surgery done to never wear glasses/contacts again and be able to see the alarm clock from the bed. But cost and fear have kept me from doing it.
I've heard many horror stories where people have worse vision after the surgery or the rare case where a person is rendered blind as a result of a complication or slip up.

[Jennos]

Yeah there are horror stories out there but I haven't heard any pop up recently! I figure technology and science is changing more and more as time goes by and while I will not have complete trust in some stranger messing with my eyes, but I think it will be worth it!

And the dryness look into the Oasys by Acuvue! Really its great for the long nights and all!!

*(side note: I use way too many exclamation points!) sigh*

[Lady Brik]

I don't think I could handle the procedure, simply because I'd have to be awake to have it.

I feel sick just thinking about that.

[Canis Firebrand]

I don't think I could handle the procedure, simply because I'd have to be awake to have it.

I feel sick just thinking about that.

yeah.. that too.. being awake as they do everything to your eyes and you can see it all.

It's weird.. I have no issues touching my own eyeball to put in contacts. But a Dr doing an eye exam just really makes me uncomfortable.

[Lady Brik]

It's weird.. I have no issues touching my own eyeball to put in contacts. But a Dr doing an eye exam just really makes me uncomfortable.

Me too. I taught myself not to squirm when I have to touch my eye, but I'm very flinchy when someone else does.

[Music]

I don't think I could handle contacts, so I just stick with glasses.

I can't have anything in my eyes.

Just putting in eye drops is a chore as I have to basically put the drops in the side and let them move into the eye area... I can't willingly let something hit me in the eyes.

Same thing when I go to the eye doctor, glaucoma tests have to be tried several times as I always blink right as they are firing the air. Last time they had to put drops in my eye because they gave up with the air pressure test. That didn't work well either... something going into my eyes is bad.. mmmmkay!?

[xmiyux]

I don't think I could handle the procedure, simply because I'd have to be awake to have it.

I feel sick just thinking about that.

Are you fucking kidding me!? I didn't know you had to be awake to have it.

I'm with you Lady Brik - screw that noise.

I had contacts in the mid 90s for a couple years and hated them. I enjoy having glasses and getting a new style every few years. I also enjoy not having to do the whole cleaning thing, worrying about infections, and certainly not a surgery where my eye is carved up while i'm awake.


I will admit though, it would be nice to be able to run the rivers without worrying about glasses. I am just not willing to pay any of those costs.

[Music]

Are you fucking kidding me!? I didn't know you had to be awake to have it.

I'm with you Lady Brik - screw that noise.

Hey!

Clean it up potty mouth!

[xmiyux]

Hey!

Clean it up potty mouth!

I didn't know you had to be awake for the surgery. The shock brought the language!

[Music]

Yeah, that fucking sucks!

[Lady Brik]

This is sort of embarrassing to admit, but in college I was watching that Newlywed reality show when Nick Lachey & Jessica Simpson were still married and they video taped Jessica's Lasik surgery.

They literally make a cut and (gag) lift part of the eye and then scrape scrape scrape and NO NO NO.

Etc.

[Music]

TMI!!!!!!!!!!!!