So, tell me all about contact lenses

In My Humble Opinion
21

[QUOTE=4.66]
Really? When I asked my optometrist for night&day lenses for my prescription (I need lenses with a rather big cylinder), they didn’t exist. Reason being that lenses tend to stick to the eye after a night of sleep, and not usually with the axis of the cylinder along the prescribed angle. Don’t your lenses stick to your eyes for the first hour after waking up, or is that just something that is isn’t that uncomfortable for you?
[/QUOTE]

I thought they didn’t have ones for astigmatism?? For example, the order form doesn’t ask for cylinder.

Mine don’t stick to my eyes; I take them out in the morning to rinse them but I don’t have any problem removing them.

22

I have a contact lens question: I took my daughter to get lenses a few months ago, and got her several boxes of the disposables that last for two weeks and cost an arm and a leg. I tried to get the doctor to prescribe non-disposables, but he couldn’t or wouldn’t do that, and neither would any other place I tried. I was told that the whole industry is turning to disposables now.

Is that true? I’m wondering if my daughter has to have disposables because of her astigmatism, but will I have to get them next time I replace my lenses? I have always worn regular soft lenses that last at least two years, and they cost about a hundred bucks.

If the whole industry is heading for disposables, I guess I can’t afford contacts any more. :frowning:

23

[QUOTE=Dung Beetle]
I have a contact lens question: I took my daughter to get lenses a few months ago, and got her several boxes of the disposables that last for two weeks and cost an arm and a leg. I tried to get the doctor to prescribe non-disposables, but he couldn’t or wouldn’t do that, and neither would any other place I tried. I was told that the whole industry is turning to disposables now.

Is that true? I’m wondering if my daughter has to have disposables because of her astigmatism, but will I have to get them next time I replace my lenses? I have always worn regular soft lenses that last at least two years, and they cost about a hundred bucks.

If the whole industry is heading for disposables, I guess I can’t afford contacts any more. :frowning:
[/QUOTE]

There’s still a strong market for rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses. They’re anything but disposable (they’re typically good for 1-2 years). They also correct minor astigmatism by themselves, simply because they’re rigid.

However, disposables aren’t that expensive. You can get a year’s supply (8 boxes) of Acuvue 2 (the most popular 2 weeks lens) for $120 at Costco.

24

I’m another contact lens wearer… My eye doctor started me out with Opti-Free solution, but said it would be OK to switch brands. She did mention that it’s best to do the switch with fresh lenses (ie, since mine are monthlies–which I take out every night–I would wait and change solution brands when I open a fresh pair of lenses next month). When she went over lens care, she explained that I could use the rubbing method–with the “No Rub” solution. (Because the actual “no rub” technique uses a lot of solution.)

Dung Beetle, I have a very, very mild astigmatism, and my eye doctor was able to prescribe Frequency 55 Aspheric in lieu of astigmatic (toric?) lenses to save me money. So, you may be able to discuss the money concerns with your daughter’s eye doctor.

My monthly Frequency 55 Aspherics are not expensive. Each box contains 6 lenses, and my last order from CoastalContacts.com (4 boxes–so a 1 year supply) was $90.29 including S&H. As explained above, I got a prescription from my eye doctor, then ordered them online, and they called my eye doctor to verify the prescription (because I wasn’t able to fax it to them).

Also, while I’m not a fan of Wal-Mart, their prices for lens solution are much better than any of my local grocery stores…

25

[QUOTE=WishIHadACoolName]
RGPs are usually not difficult to remove from the eye, but a rewetting drop or two doesn’t hurt.
[/QUOTE]
So RGP lenses can be slept in these days? I wore gas perms for 19 years (I got my first pair in 1985), and I remember as a teenager being warned repeatedly not to sleep with them in: I was told that they would fuse to my eye while I slept, and would have to be removed with a laser. :eek:

In '04 I had to stop wearing contacts for a year (the gas perms were hurting my eyes, and my then-opthalmologist and I couldn’t find soft lenses that worked), but for the past year or so I’ve been wearing soft lenses (Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism, your first guess for the OP). “Don’t sleep with contacts in!” is still so ingrained in me that I’m psychologically incapable of it – I can’t even nap when I’m wearing them. grin

26

[QUOTE=Misnomer]
So RGP lenses can be slept in these days? I wore gas perms for 19 years (I got my first pair in 1985), and I remember as a teenager being warned repeatedly not to sleep with them in: I was told that they would fuse to my eye while I slept, and would have to be removed with a laser. :eek:

In '04 I had to stop wearing contacts for a year (the gas perms were hurting my eyes, and my then-opthalmologist and I couldn’t find soft lenses that worked), but for the past year or so I’ve been wearing soft lenses (Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism, your first guess for the OP). “Don’t sleep with contacts in!” is still so ingrained in me that I’m psychologically incapable of it – I can’t even nap when I’m wearing them. grin
[/QUOTE]

Do NOT sleep while wearing RGPs unless your doctor specifically tells you to do so!!! I’ve never heard it recommended for anything other than Corneal Reshaping Therapy which has to be done by a CRT doctor with specific CRT lenses.

And “don’t sleep with contacts in” is still the very healthiest option. As a person who works in the field, I’m happy that you don’t :wink:

27

[QUOTE=Dung Beetle]
I have a contact lens question: I took my daughter to get lenses a few months ago, and got her several boxes of the disposables that last for two weeks and cost an arm and a leg. I tried to get the doctor to prescribe non-disposables, but he couldn’t or wouldn’t do that, and neither would any other place I tried. I was told that the whole industry is turning to disposables now.

Is that true? I’m wondering if my daughter has to have disposables because of her astigmatism, but will I have to get them next time I replace my lenses? I have always worn regular soft lenses that last at least two years, and they cost about a hundred bucks.

If the whole industry is heading for disposables, I guess I can’t afford contacts any more. :frowning:
[/QUOTE]

Yes, the industry is moving toward disposables. There are still long-term lenses available (I will refer to them as “vialed”). However, we are starting to see a rapid discontinuation of them in “regular” prescriptions. By regular, I mean anyone with a spherical prescription or in need of a toric with a cylinder lower than 3.00 diopters. Disposable lenses are available over the 3d cylinder, but if you need 5.ood or more of cyl, you’re gonna be wearing a vialed lens, or at the very best, quarterly replacement (thrown away every 3 months).

I only know of one doctor in my entire county who will prescribe vialed lenses, and I’ve not heard good things about him or the office in which he practices.

As far as the cost goes, consider this. If you can get a year’s supply of Acuvue2 lenses for $120 at Costco or WhateverMart, you’re actually NOT spending that much. Even if a pair of vialed lenses costs you only $100, you’re on the hook for $50 if you rip or lose a lens. You should also throw away any lens worn during an infection (like pinkeye). So, even if you rarely rip or lose a lens, that’s always possible, increasing the cost of wearing your vialed lenses.

Also, I don’t know how I’d feel about a doctor who would prescribe vialed lenses to a minor. Disposable is healthier, plain and simple. Like I’ve said before, we see fewer infections in people who replace their lenses frequently than we did before the introduction of disposable contact lenses.

28

[QUOTE=WishIHadACoolName]
Do NOT sleep while wearing RGPs unless your doctor specifically tells you to do so!!!
[/QUOTE]
Thanks for clarifying – I think I got confused because you mentioned RGPs at the end of a second paragraph about sleeping with contact lenses in. :slight_smile:

29

Thanks everyone, for the answers about disposables.

I said in my last post that I had always worn permanent soft lenses, but there was actually a time in my teens that I wore RGPs, and I had a bad habit of falling asleep in them. When I woke up, the damn things would be suctioned to my eyeball with an iron grip, which I would break by inserting a fingernail under the edge. Then there would be a round mark on my eyeball for a while.

30

I just came back from my follow-up. Thanks, everyone, for the info. It gave me plenty of questions to ask my optometrist.

I’m still not done with the checkups. We fine-tuned my axis measurements (the previous axes were in multiples of 5), and now I need to wait a week for the new lenses to come in.

I think I’ll go with 2-week disposables. If I keep them clean, wash my hands before handling, do the full rub treatment, not sleep with them in, and avoid pouring topsoil into my eye, I should be able to wear the disposables for much longer than 2 weeks…right?

31

[QUOTE=Subway Prophet]
I think I’ll go with 2-week disposables. If I keep them clean, wash my hands before handling, do the full rub treatment, not sleep with them in, and avoid pouring topsoil into my eye, I should be able to wear the disposables for much longer than 2 weeks…right?
[/QUOTE]

A few years back, Bausch and Lomb got some egg on their face when it was discovered that one of their 2 week lenses and one of their quarterly (i.e. 3 month) lenses were in fact the exact same lens in different packaging. More recently, Johnson and Johnson was somewhat embarrassed when it was revealed that their Acuvue 2 (2 week) and 1 Day Acuvue (daily) soft contacts were identical. Savvy customers of my old company would buy packs of 1 Day Acuvue and wear them for two weeks, essentially getting massive supplies of lenses for dirt cheap.

I’ll leave it at that.

32

I wouldn’t say “way more than” 2 weeks for 2-week lenses. As OneCentStamp mentions, the B&L debacle actually made the lens makers change the way the lenses are made in order to decrease “eggy face”. If you want to get more than 2 weeks out of your lenses, tell your eye doctor. He or she may give you some pointers on caring for them so that you can squeeze a little extra wear out of them. With some lenses, it’s actually a coating on them that will start to break down after a certain length of time.

33

I definitely notice a difference in the comfort of my lenses when I’m nearing the 2-week mark. I wore a lense for 3 weeks once, because I ripped one, but I don’t think I’d do that again voluntarily. Nothing bad happened, it just felt much better to finally put in a new lense (physically, not psychologically). I might wear them for a few days past the 2-week mark, but not for, like, another 2 weeks or something.

34

[QUOTE=WishIHadACoolName]
Do NOT sleep while wearing RGPs unless your doctor specifically tells you to do so!!! I’ve never heard it recommended for anything other than Corneal Reshaping Therapy which has to be done by a CRT doctor with specific CRT lenses.

And “don’t sleep with contacts in” is still the very healthiest option. As a person who works in the field, I’m happy that you don’t :wink:
[/QUOTE]

What I’ve heard (from an optomitrist IIRC) is that the Rigid Gas Permeable lenses are offically approved for extended wear in Europe, but not the U.S. I sleep in mine, and used to only wash them when they got uncomfortable. Last year, new Optomitrist scolded me mildly, and told me to cleanse them at least once a week. So I currently wear them 24/7, and wash them on saturdays. (same day as my hair.) I saw him yesterday, he said he could tell the difference from last year, and to keep it up. I’ve been using these lenses for three years now, and Doc says they’re good for another year, so I used my vision benefit for a new pair of backup glasses. (which I will wear late saturday evenings. :wink: )

Only twice have I lost a contact in my sleep, over the course of 10 years or so, and half the time I can find it in the bed.

35

[QUOTE=The Sonoran Lizard King]
What I’ve heard (from an optomitrist IIRC) is that the Rigid Gas Permeable lenses are offically approved for extended wear in Europe, but not the U.S. I sleep in mine, and used to only wash them when they got uncomfortable. Last year, new Optomitrist scolded me mildly, and told me to cleanse them at least once a week. So I currently wear them 24/7, and wash them on saturdays. (same day as my hair.) I saw him yesterday, he said he could tell the difference from last year, and to keep it up. I’ve been using these lenses for three years now, and Doc says they’re good for another year, so I used my vision benefit for a new pair of backup glasses. (which I will wear late saturday evenings. :wink: )

Only twice have I lost a contact in my sleep, over the course of 10 years or so, and half the time I can find it in the bed.
[/QUOTE]

This might seem like a weird question, but, when you do take them out to clean them, do you find that you can see fairly well with the lenses out? I only ask because this is how CRT works. You sleep while wearing specially fit lenses, and when you take them out in the morning, you can see well. I’m just curious…

You do know the “lights out get the flashlight” trick for finding a lost RGP, don’t you?

36

[QUOTE=WishIHadACoolName]
This might seem like a weird question, but, when you do take them out to clean them, do you find that you can see fairly well with the lenses out? I only ask because this is how CRT works. You sleep while wearing specially fit lenses, and when you take them out in the morning, you can see well. I’m just curious…

You do know the “lights out get the flashlight” trick for finding a lost RGP, don’t you?
[/QUOTE]

I know I’m not the one you asked, but my guess is going to be “no.” The reason is that regular RGP lenses (and regular soft lenses) have the corrective curve on the outer surface. For example, the inner curve (i.e. the one that meets the eyeball) on a pair of my Focus Dailies is identical regardless of whether the cylinder is a -5.00, a +2.00 or a +7.50. On a pair of CRT lenses, on the other hand, the corrective curve is on the inside, where, over the course of the night, it gently shapes your cornea to fit.

If The Sonoran Lizard King’s experience has been different, I’ll stand corrected (and be very interested).

37

[QUOTE=Subway Prophet]
I just came back from my follow-up. Thanks, everyone, for the info. It gave me plenty of questions to ask my optometrist.

I’m still not done with the checkups. We fine-tuned my axis measurements (the previous axes were in multiples of 5), and now I need to wait a week for the new lenses to come in.

I think I’ll go with 2-week disposables. If I keep them clean, wash my hands before handling, do the full rub treatment, not sleep with them in, and avoid pouring topsoil into my eye, I should be able to wear the disposables for much longer than 2 weeks…right?
[/QUOTE]

You’re wearing the same brand of soft contact lenses that I wear… -8.00 in one eye and -9.0 in another… YAY! :wink:

I wear them a lot longer than 2 weeks, but I don’t think that’s recommended either. The optometrist did tell me that if I followed all the precautions (which I try to do most of the time), I could wear them for up to, but not passing, 4 weeks (a month). So yea, you could at least wear them a bit longer, especially if you do take good care of them.

The main thing that I notice is that the lenses tend to get drier as time goes by, even if I clean them correctly. This is usually when I get them changed.

The first few months that I wore lenses I had some allergy issues and stuff. It’s gone now, but it made me go through more than 1 pack every 2 weeks.

38

[QUOTE=WishIHadACoolName]
This might seem like a weird question, but, when you do take them out to clean them, do you find that you can see fairly well with the lenses out? I only ask because this is how CRT works. You sleep while wearing specially fit lenses, and when you take them out in the morning, you can see well. I’m just curious…

You do know the “lights out get the flashlight” trick for finding a lost RGP, don’t you?
[/QUOTE]

I actually take them out in the evening, wash them, rinse them, and let them soak in the solution over night. The Boston system wants at least 6 hours in the solution after a cleansing, before you put them back in. I haven’t noticed that I see better just after taking them out. I’m immediately back to my poor vision self, and go for the back up specs.

And no, I’ve never heard of the flashlight in the dark trick. But the room where I lost that contact. We’ve moved furniture, vacuumed in there, Baby, it’s gone…

39

Flashlight trick is simply this: if you drop an RGP, turn all the lights in the room off, and crawl around with a flashlight. I suppose the logic is that your lens is quite shiny, and the light from the flashlight would reflect off the lens without interference from the other light in the room. I’ve never had to do it, but several of my patients tell me that they are better able to find a dropped lens this way. I have one patient who orders her lenses in a bold blue shade because her bathroom is blue, and traditional RGP blue just blends in with it. We get hers done in “majestic blue” and that apparently helps her find one if she drops it. And, oddly enough, I only have one patient who asks to have them done in brown.

Sucks when you lose one though. I usually advise people who frequently lose them to purchase a spare pair. You’ve mentioned that you lose them quite infrequently, so that doesn’t seem necessary for you.

40

This past spring after years of not wearing contacts I decided to get some again. Because I had no intention of wearing them daily and liked the sheer convenience I decided to go with daily disposables. They’re great. I’ve found them to be very comfortable, and maintenance free.

That said, at the same time I also got new glasses with transition lenses in them, and I like them so much I hardly wear contacts at all.