Blind as a Bat

[Mregor]

crosscountry - Thanks for the detailed response. I better try out contacts now so I get used to them by season start. Not sure I would go with surgery. Eye's a re kinda sensitive to me. I could watch all the gore in the world, but go near the eye and I can't handle it. Don't even like the puffer test. Plus the military recently started PRK and I know several who did it and have the halo effect.

[so cal lurker]

I was also in the small group of folks that started needing distance glasses post maturity. (Apparently it is most common in folk who read or work up close a lot, and may be a "weakness" that was always there that gets harder to force away, but I digress.)

My guess is that (once you get past the creepiness of putting the contacts in your eyes) you will prefer the contacts to the frames as they aren't on your face and give yuo better peripheral vision. But you may find that you need the readers more once you have the contacts in for distance -- though there are odd contact solutions for that, too.

(I wore contacts almost all the time for a number of years, but then my eyes seemed to get tired of them -- now I wear them mostly to referee [soccer, not hoops; I just lurk hear from interest].)

[NDRef]

My guess is that (once you get past the creepiness of putting the contacts in your eyes) you will prefer the contacts to the frames as they aren't on your face and give yuo better peripheral vision. But you may find that you need the readers more once you have the contacts in for distance -- though there are odd contact solutions for that, too.



Couldn't agree more with the first statement above....once you get used to putting in and taking out contacts...you will wonder how you ever had a problem to start with....kind of like learning to drive with a clutch and manual transmission. I wear bi-focal contacts....with little or no "regular" correction. I was getting headaches at work trying to read with "readers" and look over the top for computer screens. They are absolutely awesome!!! I would highy recommend for anyone.

[HokiePaul]

I had PRK many years ago, but before that I wore contacts. If you only want contacts for sports/activities (i.e. you plan to keep your glasses most of the time), you should look into the daily use soft contact lenses.

Very similar feel to the 30 day soft lenses, but you don't have to worry about cleaning them, carrying solution, etc -- very convenient. Just open, put them in, and throw away when done. They are a bit more expensive "per contact", but if you aren't using them daily, it might be less expensive than the 30 day soft lenses anyway.

[griblets]

I wore soft contacts for 18 years. Never had a problem putting them in or taking them out, but there were definitely irritable to my eyes. Still, they were more comfortable than glasses. For many years, I wanted Lasik, but couldn't get over the fear of "eye surgery." I, too, hate the puffer glaucoma test. 10 years ago, I put my fears aside and did it. I had to have PRK instead of Lasik because of a thin cornea. The recovery was miserable for a couple weeks, but I would do it over again because of the quality of life improvement it made for me. While my vision isn't perfect, it's very good, and it hasn't deteriorated since the surgery. I would recommend eye surgery to anyone considering it.