Blind as a Bat
 

Seems as some of the coaches/fans over the years were right. I am blind as a bat, or at least on that path. I've always had 20/10 vision. Last 2-3 years I got readers just for up close reading. I still see good in distance but close to mid I'm getting worse quick (far sighted). My eyes are getting worse and I need some correction but am worried about contacts. Anything with the eyes is very uncomfortable for me. Last year, I didn't need any continuous correction but I've noticed difference and am about to go to appointment with optometrist so just wanted to see what others thought before I go. I don't even know if contacts are an option but will find out soon. So what I'm wondering is if any of you had to deal with this how did you do it? Do you wear a special sport glasses that stay on easier? Would you wear glasses while reffing? That will be my first choice over glasses but we'll see. I'm afraid in basketball that I won't be able to keep glasses on easily and would most likely be picking at them a lot. I don't really notice a lot of officials wearing glasses but never really thought about it. What's your take?

Roger

This is right up my alley based on recent experience. I had PRK surgery in 2003 and by 2009, due to my big-time astigmatism, I had already started to lose my 20/20. Anyway, I digress. My point: if your stomach (they give you valium) and your wallet can deal with PRK or LASIK, it might be an option. Especially if you don't have a big astigmatism like me and you've had historically very good vision, which might mean you could get 10 years of good vision instead of just 6. It all depends on your age and your vision's rate of change. You're just getting older....nothing you can do about it....so it might be something worth looking into. But it is $$$.

If this isn't the way you want to go, then glasses will be ok for JV and below basketball and maybe some more rural varsity games. But if you strive for a level above that, then contacts are a must. If you go to a college camp with glasses....trust me from first hand experience....it will be on the top of every evaluation sheet you get. Glasses and facial hair = taboo at the next level. C'est la vie.

After the camp mentioned above, I went straight to the optometrist and explained my predicament. I was nervous, but I wanted to move up so I swallowed my trepidation. Explained my predicament to the doc, and she said for athletic use, 30-day soft lenses were the best option (I use Biofinity Toric but there are several good brands out there). So after an exam she fitted me with trial lenses and after about a week we did a follow-up exam and she tweaked the prescription. After a brief tutorial and a few weeks of practice, I learned a technique for getting my lenses in and out pretty easily. Now it's almost second nature. So you get used to it. No big deal.

If you do get lenses, recognize that, at least the first few years, there may always be some slight difference between what you're accustomed to seeing through your glasses and what you're accustomed to seeing through lenses. The optics will never be an exact match. But close enough is more than good enough to see a basketball game (or the 10K finish line, or the pin on the 14th green) just fine. Update your prescription annually (your eyes will keep changing because you won't get any younger), then order a new 12-month supply of lenses. And then deduct the cost from your taxes as a business expense, because you probably wouldn't wear contacts if it weren't for officiating basketball.

Hopefully this helps. Just went through all of this very recently. I feel your frustration.

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.

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].)

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.

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.

Eye Surgery
 

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.