Contacts Kudos
So I convinced the wife to get her eyes checked, in hopes of curbing the incessant headaches and migraines that plague her once or twice a week. I decided after four years or so I was due at the eye doctor as well.
I decided to ask some questions about contacts. Having been severely disappointed with my last set, I was a wee bit pessimistic. I could only wear the old ones for two or three hours at a time before they started driving me nuts. They'd go out of focus due to getting turned, or sliding down my eye, or off to the side. Eventually it felt like I had a hair stuck in both eyes and I couldn't wait to get them out. Inebriation sometimes helped prolong this, or alleviate it altogether for a couple extra hours...but I can't live most of my life that way.
The optometrist told me he used to think the same thing about his. Being astigmatic (having an astigmatism in both eyes, meaning they're not perfectly spherical) previously meant that we had to wear toric contact lenses. Said lenses are "weighted" on one edge (they're actually just thicker on that edge) to keep them turned correctly in relation to the cornea. That meant if I tilted my head in any fashion, to the side, looking down, or even sitting in front of a computer screen, They'd slide around on my eye, or turn wrong, distorting everything around me. They were more of a nuisance than anything else.
I was pleasantly surprised when he told me there was another type of lens I could try. These lenses are thicker across the middle, so each time you blink they're aligned properly. Feeling I had nothing to lose by trying them, I popped one in and couldn't believe my eyes (you can slap me later for the pun). They're like a breath of fresh air compared to my previous lenses. I can lay on the couch and watch TV and not worry about the world going out of focus in a few minutes. I can sit in front of a computer screen without looking overly emotional as I try to get them to sit properly so I can see. I can drive across town and not worry about having to spend each red light going crazy trying to get them to sit right. A couple blinks when things do get fuzzy, and I'm good to go.
I just retired my trial pair to the storage case for the day, after 15 hours of wearing them. I can wear sunglasses again, without weighing the cost of prescription lenses! I'm sold.
The bad news is that if my astigmatism gets much worse, I won't have much hope unless something new comes along. I'll be stuck with the goggles or surgery. But for now, I couldn't be happier. I picked up some "trendier" glasses while I was at it, too.
The wife has had one headache so far, but nothing debilitating enough to put her out of commission for the entire day/evening.
I decided to ask some questions about contacts. Having been severely disappointed with my last set, I was a wee bit pessimistic. I could only wear the old ones for two or three hours at a time before they started driving me nuts. They'd go out of focus due to getting turned, or sliding down my eye, or off to the side. Eventually it felt like I had a hair stuck in both eyes and I couldn't wait to get them out. Inebriation sometimes helped prolong this, or alleviate it altogether for a couple extra hours...but I can't live most of my life that way.
The optometrist told me he used to think the same thing about his. Being astigmatic (having an astigmatism in both eyes, meaning they're not perfectly spherical) previously meant that we had to wear toric contact lenses. Said lenses are "weighted" on one edge (they're actually just thicker on that edge) to keep them turned correctly in relation to the cornea. That meant if I tilted my head in any fashion, to the side, looking down, or even sitting in front of a computer screen, They'd slide around on my eye, or turn wrong, distorting everything around me. They were more of a nuisance than anything else.
I was pleasantly surprised when he told me there was another type of lens I could try. These lenses are thicker across the middle, so each time you blink they're aligned properly. Feeling I had nothing to lose by trying them, I popped one in and couldn't believe my eyes (you can slap me later for the pun). They're like a breath of fresh air compared to my previous lenses. I can lay on the couch and watch TV and not worry about the world going out of focus in a few minutes. I can sit in front of a computer screen without looking overly emotional as I try to get them to sit properly so I can see. I can drive across town and not worry about having to spend each red light going crazy trying to get them to sit right. A couple blinks when things do get fuzzy, and I'm good to go.
I just retired my trial pair to the storage case for the day, after 15 hours of wearing them. I can wear sunglasses again, without weighing the cost of prescription lenses! I'm sold.
The bad news is that if my astigmatism gets much worse, I won't have much hope unless something new comes along. I'll be stuck with the goggles or surgery. But for now, I couldn't be happier. I picked up some "trendier" glasses while I was at it, too.
The wife has had one headache so far, but nothing debilitating enough to put her out of commission for the entire day/evening.