the eyes (don't) have it

[anotheranon]

After seeing that my eyesight was still bad on vacation and little computer use, I finally decided to go back to the eye doctor and my appointment was today. They did the whole deal - pressure, dilation, fitting, measuring, etc.

Turns out I've been doing my vision several disservices: wearing daily lenses instead of disposables was an economic move I made in an effort to not have to buy new lenses every year; turns out that in order to have clean "breathable" lenses I'm going to have to replace them every year anyway, and disposables are actually cheaper and wetter (part of my blurry vision has been dry eyes). Also, I wear my contacts every day, all day, and the doctor gave me a stern talking-to about wearing my glasses more often :P

My prescriptions for both have changed; they had disposables at my new prescription for me in stock (the difference between old and new is remarkable) and I'm having my old glasses fitted with new lenses at their lab, complete with UV/Anti-glare filter so hopefully I will wear them more often. D. has promised to tell me what a cute geek girl I make so I won't feel bad about spending more time as a "four-eyes" ;)

So, all better, but I wish I'd done this sooner. I always preach that one shouldn't take chances with their vision, and here I was skimping on new, clean lenses in the hopes of saving a buck, when disposables are not only healthier but turn out to be cheaper :P

Comments

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

D. has promised to tell me what a cute geek girl I make so I won't feel bad about spending more time as a "four-eyes" ;)

I've always found glasses extremely attractive. ;-) And you remind me that I need to get mine checked again soon...

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

You are kind :) I've always found glasses on myself to be extremely annoying - I hate having a frame around my world! But if I must I must...

[jlsjlsjls.livejournal.com]

Good!!!!! I'm glad you went and got things checked out.

I AM astonished that your optometrist didn't tattoo "replace contacts yearly" on your forehead (in reverse for mirror reading, of course) when you bought the so-called permanent lessons ... that is a health necessity, simply because the material the lenses are made from loses its flexibility and breathability as time passes. When I got my first contacts, that was repeated over and over in my 1/2 hour "introduction to contacts" session, along with cleaning, handling, etc. (I had to wear permanents back then because disposable torics didn't exist yet ... now I wear one-month disposables and love 'em!)

And I'm doubly glad that you got the lecture about overwearing 'em ... a co-worker at my former job nearly lost her vision and can never wear contacts again because she did that. You are one lucky girl!!!! And if you start feeling like a geeky four-eyes, just remember that giving your eyes at least an hour of unobstructed breathing time prevents white canes! ;-)

(Gee, ya'd never guess that I'm an eye health fanatic, wouldja? ***grin***)

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Well, last appointment the doc suggested that I wear my glasses more often, but I took that as a suggestion, not well-thought out medical advice that I really should have followed :P Now I'm going to make an effort to be better about it. While my "regular" glasses are in the shop I have an older pair I can wear - they're ugly and rather weak, but good enough for reading/up close work. D. is going to be reminding me...

[jlsjlsjls.livejournal.com]

Bad optometrist!!!! Should have scared you silly at that time. Soft contacts aren't oxygen permeable and eyes NEED oxygen (interestingly, the old hard lenses were oxygen permeable, but we're traded breathability for flexibility and better fit). I was told that there should be at least a half hour between waking and inserting lenses and about an hour between removal and going to sleep (I'm under orders to try not to exceed 14 hours of wear, so that's not too difficult to follow ... if I stick to that, then it's okay to wear 'em longer once in a while). These lens-free times not only let the eyes get some oxygen exposure, they also give you a chance to clear the protein accumulations on your eyes that are caused by lens wearing.

A tip that makes for really happy eyes ... try to give them a lens-free day once in a while (I do it on the occasional Sunday when I have no intention of setting foot outside my front door, so don't care whether I can see or not) ... you'll be amazed at how rejuvenated those li'l orbs feel after a day of freedom. :-)

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

D. is encouraging me to leave the lenses off all together on weekends, unless we're going out somewhere. I am considering it. Ultimately it will depend on how strong and comfortable my newly-refurbished glasses turn out to be - I'm wearing my old prescription right now and I have to shove them right up next to my eyes for my vision to be sharp enough!

[jlsjlsjls.livejournal.com]

D. is a very wise man. :-) You'll find that those weekend "vacations" help make your eyes less prone to tiredness and dryness when wearing the lenses during the week, even after staring at the blinkin' monitor all day. I, too, loathe wearing glasses and having "a frame around my world" (very apt ... my frames are fairly large and I still find it distracting to be able to see the edges in my peripheral vision. But I'd rather put up with that for a couple of hours a day than not be able to see the edges at all. =o

[psquelly.livejournal.com]

If she didn't scare you outta your contacts, I can.

My sis wore her contacts pretty much 24 hours a day Monday to Saturday every week. Sleeping in them and everything. That was when they told you you could do that? Remember those?

She was also a gymnast at the time, 16 or 17 I think. One day at the gym she got off the bars and wiped her eyes, which seemed to be watering a lot and wiped away blood. Seems everytime she went upside down her eyes would bleed.

And of course, being who she was at the time, she thought it was cool...

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

Ouch! I would think that would have been a serious wake up call! It's odd your sister was told it was ok to wear her contacts to sleep in; I was always told it was absolutely forbidden!

Lasik looks better all the time!