Contact lens wearers, some questions.

[digitalwanderer]

I had an optometrist appt a week or so ago and he convinced me it wouldn't be a bad idea to try contact lenses. ("Hey, it's free and if you don't like them we can set you up with glasses and there is no additional charge", I'm a pretty easy guy to convince.) I've been wearing them only a few days and I bloody hate them! It's not that they're uncomfortable, if I'm doing something I don't notice they're in. If I'm just sitting watching/reading a PC screen though I am acutely aware that they're in.

It's not painful or anything, I had hard contacts back in the 70s and after those everything is easy! I had soft contacts for a couple years in my youth, but these are multi-focal contacts and I find that more aggravating than even the annoyance of knowing my eyes aren't as comfortable as they can be.

The focus seems to depend a LOT on lighting, which I hate. It's also inconsistent seeming to me.

I'm pretty near-sighted, I think I'm legally blind in one eye it's so bad, but with glasses I have no problems. Only thing is since I've gotten older the little stuff is hard to read, so I got the funky wave-form lenses last time that supposedly have a perfect focal distance from your eyeball so that everything is perfectly in focus.

They work, they're good; up until you readjust a nose piece or they're a little crooked and then everything is a bit out of whack. :|

I want to get just regular glasses. No wave-form, no progressive lenses, no bifocals or even baby bifocals. Just glasses that let me see past my 4-6" focal range accurately. I figure if I need to read anything small it's very easy for me to look over my glasses at it or remove them. I have amazingly good vision under 6", so why should I have my vision borked up the rest of the time just so I can read little things up close when I can do that just fine without glasses?

Sorry for the rant, I was disappointed that contact lens tech hadn't gotten as advanced as I hoped. I can't do the same trick with contacts, it's harder to look over the brim of them.

Any advice thoughts appreciated, otherwise forgive the babble as it just happens at times.

 

[orangpelupa]

How about ortho-k contact lenses? You only wear them while asleep. But it doesn't support myopia as wide as normal contact lenses afaik.

 

[AlphaWolf]

You might take a week or 2 to get used to the multifocal contacts, I found it hard to focus at first.

I have multifocal contacts and I can function just fine with them, but if I'm doing extensive reading or computer work I wear glasses. The contacts I find a lot better for doing anything physical. I also only wear the contacts for 8 to 10 hours a day at most.

 

[Davros]

In future decides to use the unfocus effect in paint dot net just to f**k with digi

 

[digitalwanderer]

In future decides to use the unfocus effect in paint dot net just to f**k with digi

ROFL!

Scary thing? It wouldn't be this in focus for me. :|

 

[nutball]

I have similarly frustrating experiences, the on-set of middle-age makes contacts a lot less appealing. I've worn glasses since my late teens. I started using contacts (daily disposables) in specific situations, eg. photography or bird-watching, as glasses make these things a ball-ache. Even then it wasn't perfect, as I have astigmatism on one eye and can't be jiggered with toric contacts.

Now the situation is worse, as the lenses screw up my short-range vision (make reading and using a computer tiring), and aren't great at long distance either. In short, with contacts any distance is more trouble than they are worth. I'm not going to have surgery, because my body reacts badly to those sorts of stimuli, so I'm stuck with swapping between pairs of glasses, and peeking over the brim when looking as small details or reading small print.

TL;DR getting old sucks.

 

[zed]

Yeah Im in the same boat, havent worn contacts for over a year now
mainly cause I hit that mid 40s thing where one loses their ability to focus close with glasses on thus now with contacts (or glasses) I cannot easily read or use the phone, the thing is with glasses I can just look over/under the lens, something you cant do with contact.
I did get a contact lens in my left eye that sorta worked for near stuff so I could sorta see close up, but the problem then is , far away is then blurry in that eye.

Im glad I did not get surgery when I was younger

Until these come out Im screwed
https://gizmodo.com/contact-lenses-that-can-change-focus-and-zoom-when-you-1836789660

 

[Arwin]

Well that looks pretty far off ...

I’m close to getting this problem I feel but I gave up on contacts 12 years ago as my eyes didn’t tolerate them well (according to the doctor I probably shouldn’t wear them, or only hard lenses perhaps). Things might have changed but now I’m getting close to the multi-focal fun, except that for now I either move the phone away a bit further with glasses on or closer with glasses off.

Glasses are less ideal in some ways but certainly also very cheap for me - I paid 100 euros or so for two pair and those last me at least 5 years, last time I even paid 70 euros for two pair.

So I probably won’t bother with lenses. Maybe laser at some point though I am worried about dry eyes and my eyesight is pretty decent so even a small risk of complications is very scary.

I did just see though that there are several additional options like Intracor and just replacing your own lens with an artificial one etc that seem to be interesting alternatives.

I will wait as long as possible as clearly technology is moving on in this field!

 

[Entropy]

I'm operated for cataracts, and cannot focus at all. My eyes are set at roughly 30-35 cm (3-3.5 diopters) without correction. I use glasses for infinity, and take them off for reading or watching small handheld screens. (Or do as zed and glance underneath them). The trouble is the 50-90cm zone, typical computer monitor et cetera distance, so I keep a suitable pair at work and at home by the stationary computer screens. It works nicely. The good part of not having multifocal glasses/contacts is that you have a large corrected field of view. I simply prefer that to having to tilt my head around, and having different focal lengths in my field of view at all times.

So my preference is for (extremely light) glasses, and taking them off when not needed or counterproductive (close ranges).

Also, not being able to focus makes you very aware of how absurd the DOF effects in games are. When corrected for infinity, just about everything from just over a meter and out is sharp. A perk from humans having eyes with a focal length of roughly 20mm (35mm eqv) and a small aperture.

 

[digitalwanderer]

Glad to know I'm not the only one who obsesses a bit about this. Not that it's a bad thing to obsess about, vision is f-ing important!

 

[Malo]

I've been wearing glasses since late twenties and now at the point my optometrist recommends I get bifocals for my next pair since I can't read any close with my glasses on anymore, have to peer over or take them off.

The last couple of years I've become a lot healthier and physically active, mainly mountain biking 3 days a week on trails. My glasses are very annoying and I've been thinking about getting contacts specifically for riding so I can wear regular sports sunglasses, but also allow some freedom in other outdoor situations.

 

[zed]

I paid 100 euros or so for two pair and those last me at least 5 years, last time I even paid 70 euros for two pair.

Nice, I got my last pair in NZ, just over 2 years ago 450 euros (much more expensive there than europe, but I also got all the extras, thin, anti reflective,darken in sunlight) the thing is after I got them within one week I could not see close range with any glasses/contacts on. Now I was the age when this happens but its a hell of a coincidence, part of me wonders did they cause me to lose my eyesight

 

[orangpelupa]

I've been wearing glasses since late twenties and now at the point my optometrist recommends I get bifocals for my next pair since I can't read any close with my glasses on anymore, have to peer over or take them off.

The last couple of years I've become a lot healthier and physically active, mainly mountain biking 3 days a week on trails. My glasses are very annoying and I've been thinking about getting contacts specifically for riding so I can wear regular sports sunglasses, but also allow some freedom in other outdoor situations.

i used to wear sunglass on top of myopia glasses. Then i bough polarized clip-on sunglass and simply clip it to my myopia glasses. Dunno there are sport-styled clip-ons or not.

 

[Malo]

i used to wear sunglass on top of myopia glasses. Then i bough polarized clip-on sunglass and simply clip it to my myopia glasses. Dunno there are sport-styled clip-ons or not.

I've had clip-ons in the past but won't do that again. For mountain biking I need frames designed for sports, which are very different than day-to-day glasses.

 

[orangpelupa]

I've had clip-ons in the past but won't do that again. For mountain biking I need frames designed for sports, which are very different than day-to-day glasses.

Yeah, they way it sticks, the way it blocks winds and dusts, are really nice to have.