I Can See Clearly Now!
Today I am wearing soft contacts again. I can't feel them! Hallelujah!
Here's the story....when I first got contacts back in the 10th grade I opted for gas permeables as a couple of my friends had them and really liked them. They were more expensive in the present but lasted longer than soft contacts and therefore a better long term option price wise. Oh and my sister kept ripping her (non-disposable) soft contacts so my parents agreed that it was a good option.
I had problems throughout high school with the contacts. Some days they were great - some days they caused me eye squinting shut agonizing pain. Some days they'd just pop out in the stairwell between classes. That was fun.
My first year in Los Angeles I again was having contact/eye problems (It's an ongoing "theme"). I couldn't wear them so took them out at work and Lo and Behold! I could see! It was amazing. No glasses, no contacts for the first time since 3rd grade and I could see wonderfully!
I immediately went to the eye doctor.
The gas perms had warped my corneas giving me a temporary "fix" to my sight problem and that's why I could see. They gave me drops to relax the corneas back to the shape they should be. Bastards. For a couple of hours I thought I had been touched by the hand of God and cured!
Fast forward to the fall of 2004. My eyes were hurting. Bad. They were incredibly light sensitive - so much so that I had a hard time keeping them open on my drive to work in the morning. The burned. They hurt. It was awful. Could it be due to my stretching 2 month disposable contacts into....7 or 8 months or a year or more?
Yeah...probably.
My corneas now had infiltrates growing on them. Basically my corneas weren't getting enough oxygen so blood vessels had started growing over them (ick!) to provide them with more oxygen. Yeah, gross. My eye doctor set out to find the MOST permeable contacts out there - to let in more oxygen and the answer was gas perms.
So, that was fine. I'd been there before. I was tough. I could handle it. No biggie.
That was March of 2005. I have had my gas perms since then and been fairly miserable ever since. I would say at least once a day I have to take them out and rinse them off or I just have general discomfort adn very red eyes. In the past couple of months they've just hurt. By about 5pm I'm dying to rip them out of my eyes. I am just thankful that they behaved on our wedding day.
So two weeks ago I said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! My eyesight is too precious and life is too short to be in constant pain & discomfort! So I called up said doctor and said "I need soft contacts!"
Apparently in the two years since my eyeball veins (as I like to call them) soft contacts have become increasingly....permeable (if that's the right word) and let in WAY more oxygen. So they ordered me a sample pair and yesterday I picked them up.
They're HUGE (compared to the gas perms) and slimy but I had no problems putting them in this morning and they feel like nothing.
I'm hoping these will work out for me because I just can't spend so much time thinking about how much my eyes hurt.
Just in time for the honeymoon and so far I'm in eye ball comfort. :)
Definitely something I take for granted is my sight & how very important and precious it is! And I've learned my lesson. I'll be taking exceedingly good care of these babies and throwing them out after 30 days no matter what.
Here's the story....when I first got contacts back in the 10th grade I opted for gas permeables as a couple of my friends had them and really liked them. They were more expensive in the present but lasted longer than soft contacts and therefore a better long term option price wise. Oh and my sister kept ripping her (non-disposable) soft contacts so my parents agreed that it was a good option.
I had problems throughout high school with the contacts. Some days they were great - some days they caused me eye squinting shut agonizing pain. Some days they'd just pop out in the stairwell between classes. That was fun.
My first year in Los Angeles I again was having contact/eye problems (It's an ongoing "theme"). I couldn't wear them so took them out at work and Lo and Behold! I could see! It was amazing. No glasses, no contacts for the first time since 3rd grade and I could see wonderfully!
I immediately went to the eye doctor.
The gas perms had warped my corneas giving me a temporary "fix" to my sight problem and that's why I could see. They gave me drops to relax the corneas back to the shape they should be. Bastards. For a couple of hours I thought I had been touched by the hand of God and cured!
Fast forward to the fall of 2004. My eyes were hurting. Bad. They were incredibly light sensitive - so much so that I had a hard time keeping them open on my drive to work in the morning. The burned. They hurt. It was awful. Could it be due to my stretching 2 month disposable contacts into....7 or 8 months or a year or more?
Yeah...probably.
My corneas now had infiltrates growing on them. Basically my corneas weren't getting enough oxygen so blood vessels had started growing over them (ick!) to provide them with more oxygen. Yeah, gross. My eye doctor set out to find the MOST permeable contacts out there - to let in more oxygen and the answer was gas perms.
So, that was fine. I'd been there before. I was tough. I could handle it. No biggie.
That was March of 2005. I have had my gas perms since then and been fairly miserable ever since. I would say at least once a day I have to take them out and rinse them off or I just have general discomfort adn very red eyes. In the past couple of months they've just hurt. By about 5pm I'm dying to rip them out of my eyes. I am just thankful that they behaved on our wedding day.
So two weeks ago I said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! My eyesight is too precious and life is too short to be in constant pain & discomfort! So I called up said doctor and said "I need soft contacts!"
Apparently in the two years since my eyeball veins (as I like to call them) soft contacts have become increasingly....permeable (if that's the right word) and let in WAY more oxygen. So they ordered me a sample pair and yesterday I picked them up.
They're HUGE (compared to the gas perms) and slimy but I had no problems putting them in this morning and they feel like nothing.
I'm hoping these will work out for me because I just can't spend so much time thinking about how much my eyes hurt.
Just in time for the honeymoon and so far I'm in eye ball comfort. :)
Definitely something I take for granted is my sight & how very important and precious it is! And I've learned my lesson. I'll be taking exceedingly good care of these babies and throwing them out after 30 days no matter what.
Comments
I wore gas perms in high school with no problems. I tried them again in 2001 and couldn't stand it. I got some disposible soft contacts for our wedding and now I just keep a pack around for when I feel like wearing them. (not often) I really want to try the new ones that work for astigmatisms.