Anyone here with a high near-sighted prescription?

[Vic]

So for the last 15 years, I've worn contacts exclusively for my relatively high near-sightedness (-7.75). A couple of months ago, they discovered that the hard gas permeable lenses that I was wearing were causing problems for my eyes, abraising the cornea in my left eye and possibly causing infection. So the optometrist recommends that I switch to soft lenses, which unfortunately don't properly correct my astigmatism, but at least the won't scratch my eyes.
Screw this, I think, I'm switching to glasses. Contacts, as those of you who wear them know, are a pain in the ass, and I was sick of them.
So I get my new glasses yesterday (damn nice ones too, spendy frames, ultra-light/ultra-thin lenses with matching prescription sunglasses, I got a great deal and went top dollar to boot), and I can't freakin' see with them. The prescription is right, but they're such coke-bottles it's unreal.
Is there anyone else out there with a similar prescription who has been through a similar experience or can relate? Do I get used to them? The doctors had warned me that I might get a "fish bowl experience" but this just sucks.

 

[Parrotheader]

My prescription is equally horrible. -7.75 for my right eye, -7.00 for my left eye. I've been wearing soft contact lenses for well over 12 years now and within the last 7 years I've been wearing extended wear contacts (the current style lets me dispose of them monthly and only requires me to take them out one night a week to give my eyes a rest.) I LOVE these contacts. They are beyond comfortable.

I don't wear my glasses all that much so my prescription on those is a bit older 7.25, 6.5. However, even when that prescription was the proper one I noticed I couldn't see as well with them. It's not just the periphery(sp?). It's EVERYTHING. Everything seems a little off and my depth perception feels horrible with them (relatively speaking.) Fortunately, I've got the ultra-thin lenses so I at least don't have Poindexter-thick lenses. I've actually been wearing them a fair amount lately as I like the way I look in them; it seems to give me a professorial look that intimidates some people in meetings (I like that ) But I'm hesitant to get the prescription updated given that it didn't seem to have much affect last time. Plus, those lenses are UBER expensive and the only reason I got them last time is we had money in our medical flex account that we HAD to spend or we'd lose it.

 

[Yomicron]

I have very bad eyesight, about 20/2800 (not sure how that compares to -7.75, I don't have a copy of my prescription with me). Your lenses shouldn't be too thick if you have ultra-thins, but the thickness is dependant on how large your frames are. I've never had contacts, but I'd suspect that moving to glasses after 15 years would produce a noticeable "fish bowl" effect, so give it another day and see if you still have it.

Your glasses may seem thick now (especially compared to contacts), but after a few days you'll get used to it and they'll seem normal. And no, other people probably won't even notice the thickness, so don't worry about it.

 

[BigJohnKC]

I think the smalled the frames, the thinner they can make the lenses. My lenses are at -5.50 and -5.00 , very thin, and when I wear them I don't get the coke bottle effect (albeit that they are a lesser prescription than yours). I wear those monthly contacts like Parrotheader talked about, and they are great, even though I take them out every night - I didn't like wearing them while sleeping. You should look into lasik eye surgery so you won't have to worry about glasses or contacts.

 

[vi edit]

Don't want to avert the thread, but can you longtime contact wearers explain to a new an easy way to get them out??? I just got a pair yesterday, and I fought for close to 30 mintues getting the blasted things out of my eyes at the end of the day. My fingers aren't delicate enough to pinch them like they tell you to do, so I had to sort of slide them to the outer edge of my eye, but they would end up actually sliding under the outer edge of the surrounding skin on the side of my eye.

I had such a difficult time getting them out yesterday, I don't know if I want to keep using them or not. They are one day disposables. More as a supplement, than an actual glasses replacement.

 

[Parrotheader]

vi_edit,

I basically use the same technique you were trying. When I used to have thicker lenses I'd try to pinch them. But now I just slide them to the bottom of my eye and then pluck them out from there since they'll usually fold over a little thicker in the process of sliding them. It's not very graceful, but it's easy and it works for me.

I'm assuming you're obviously making sure your finger is a little bit wet to make it easier to snag them?

 

[Vic]

Parrotheader, our prescriptions are (diopter-wise) identical. I did buy the ultra-thin lenses and got small titanium frames so perhaps I was overstating how thick they are in my previous post. Let's just say that they feel thick, even if they don't look it. And yeah, these lenses ain't cheap. I know because my insurance only covered my contacts (a year's supply) and I had to buy my glasses out-of-pocket. But, yeah, I feel the same way, my depth perception is whack and my peripheral vision (of which mine is normally excellent, I can see more than 180 degrees) is gone. My new contacts are the 30 days, but with my eye problems I can't wear them overnight.

Yomicron, damn dude, you're blind :Q Thanks for the advice, you're right and I'm probably am just overreacting. I'm wearing them consistently right now and hope it doesn't take too long to get used them. I drove with my glasses on this AM and let me tell ya, that was wierd.

vi_edit, taking out contacts is always a pain, but you do get used to it. With softs, there are two schools as to how to take them out. One way (the way you were taught it sounds and how I do it), it to pinch them straight out using 2 fingers. This bothers some people because you actually have to touch the eyeball with your fingertips as you do it. The other way is to touch the contact with one finger and pull it down off the cornea, where it will then fold and (more or less) fall out. Neither way is more right than the other.

 

[Azraele]

When I got glasses (I primarily wear contacts, but thought having glasses would bea good idea as well), I had the "fishbowl" experience complete with vertigo and mild nausea. You get used to it, to the point where vision looks normal, and no longer like a fishbowl. You just have to give your eyes time to adjust.

Only difference is Ii called it the "funhouse effect" rather than "fishbowl."

 

[Ime]

I have the same condition you do.

I never could wear contacts, my eyes are just too damned sensitive even for soft contacts.

As far as the limited vision, I suspect you will get used to it in time. It the damn floaters that drive me nuts.

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

I've been wearing glasses for two-thirds of my life, and I'm horribly myopic (I need them for everything, including reading). Before thin lenses were available, I had literally quarter-inch thick lenses, and required 1960s engineer frames (you know, the ones your dad wore) to hold them.

About five years ago I switched to thin lenses with titanium frames (thank goodness for materials science) which are both smaller in thickness and surface area. Since my older glasses were so large to accomodate the lenses, I really hadn't suffered much loss of peripheral vision except at the extreme vertical axes, but the newer ones are much smaller and have gaps all around the periphery of my vision.

The first few weeks were horribly distracting and fish-eyed like you describe, but it does go away after maybe a week or two of regular use. The key part is regular -- if you take your glasses off and try to revert to older eyewear, you'll make the adjustment period much longer.

 

[Geekbabe]

I recently flunked an employment eye exam,had to dig out my glasses which I got a few years ago and didn't wear for the reasns you don't like yours... well the glasses work just fine now but I hate having them on my face, time for me to get contacts,I'm thinking of soft lenses and of getting the tinted ones

 

[andylawcc]

holy cow you ALL are blinded , and I thought mine was pretty bad (4.75)

and PSYWvic, you are the first person I know who actually went from contacts back to glasses,
literally everyone I know went the other way around coz they find contacts alot more comfy.

I don't, I still wear my glasses coz I don't wanna bother with wearing, cleaning, storing and all that crap. I may look like a geek, but hey, I am one so there's no need to deny it. I have a pair of soft contacts for 3 year and I wore them like 20 times the max.


and to answer your question, when I first got my new glasses last year (which went from 4.0 to 4.75) I literally got headaches the first two week and have to switch back to my old ones.
everythings seems "lifted" and I feel like superman coz I can see so clear and far (which is just illusionary)

 

[TwilightZone77]

My perscription is -6.5 and -6.25. I see well with my contacts, but I see slightly worse now with my glasses that are supposedly the same perscription. I can still see well, but things just aren't quite as sharp. When I first changed my perscription to this higher one, I saw equally. And these soft contacts lenses don't properly correct for my slight asigmatism either. It's weird.

 

[PsychoAndy]

I'm having a hard time reading the text of this post even though its less than 2 feet in front of me. I think I'm around 3 something as scrips go.

-PAB

 

[stonecold3169]

I've got a -6.75/6.25 prescription and wear contacts every day. I have major astigmatism, bad enough in fact that I have a retinal tear from it. I had an original pear of contacts that I hated. My aunt is an optometrist, and she suggested that I try a pair of one month disposable Coopervision Frequency 55 lens, and now that I've used them I could never go back. They do not rotate near as much as my old lenses did, which was the big factor for me. The weighting on them is near perfect.

 

[MichaelD]

Currently wearing -8.0, but my vision has gotten worse in the past few years...I will need to get a new prescription soon (stronger) when this box is gone. Probably another two months or so.


AFA how I get them out, I use the "two finger pinch it off the eyeball" method. You will get used to it, Vi_Edit.

I've worn contacts for six years now. For about the first six months, I had to get up an hour earlier in the morning, b/c it would take me anywhere from 20-45 to put them in! :Q Not joking.

Now, they go in, maybe 45 seconds for both, tops. I still need a mirror to put them in though.

 

[silverpig]

I'm a -4.75/-4.50 and the easiest way to take out the soft lenses is as follows.

1. Stare straight into the mirror.
2. Put your finger on the edge of the lens.
3. Hold your finger there and look up.
4. Pinch and it'll fall out.

My ex g/f's optomotrist had -22.5 vision (I think he was considered legally blind), but he got that laser surgery. Sees fine now.

 

[dude8604]

You could get toric soft contacts to correct your astigmatism. Then you can keep using contacts.

 

[MomAndSkoorbaby]

I wore contacts, soft ones, for about 14 years I guess. At the end, my eye sight was -7.0 in each eye. I had glasses, that were "ultra thin" but still made my eyes look like peanuts when I wore them, which was hardly ever.

Needless to say, I opted for laser treatment. Over one year later, NOT ONE PROBLEM. For me, it was the best decision I have ever made.

 

[slpaulson]

Wow, I thought I was bad at -3.75 in both eyes.

 

[Azraele]

I'm at -6.50 in each eye.

 

[SuperTool]

I have -7 or so in each eye. I got high index lenses with rounded edges, and they are very thin considering. They don't stick outside of frame. I would switch to contacts, but the hassle is too much. I tried soft contacts before, but just the process of caring for them and taking them in and out was too much. My eyes would get irritated. Also, glasses provide protection, both physical and UV light. Also, my sight hasn't deteriorated much since I got these glasses. I had them for 3 years now. I might get contacts for social reasons, like going out or whatever, but for everyday use, glasses are better IMO.

 

[bizmark]

I'm -7.5 in one eye and -7.0 in the other. I've always worn glasses and contacts switching out (I wore glasses long before I got contacts), so I can't really say I've experienced your problem. I just recently got a new prescription for my glasses, though (I think my old glasses were -6.75 in both eyes) and my eyes definitely took a few days to adjust to the new glasses. Also, usually your eyes will NOT feel right if you wear contacts for a while and then put your glasses on. Put on your glasses immediately when you wake up in the morning, and wear them all day for a few days. The feeling will go away.

My lenses are pretty thick but I'm used to them being thick.

vi_edit: practice, practice, practice. Wearing contacts is very difficult, because to do so you have to violate one of the fundamental rules of existence: you have to let something touch your eyeball. You've got to reach towards your precious, fragile eyeball and put something in it. Then you've got to reach back and grab something out of it. This is completely against all instincts and it takes a long time to get used to. Like MichaelD I had to allot an extra hour in the bathroom the first week I got my contacts. You'll gradually get used to the idea. Now, I don't need a mirror or anything to put them in or take them out. I just use one hand to hold my eyelids open, reach in with my thumb and forefinger already pinched together but with the ends slightly apart, and pinch out the contact right between the very tips.

 

[UltraQuiet]

LeftEyeAxis = 95
LeftEyeBaseCurve = 8.9
LeftEyeCylinder = -2.75
LeftEyeDiameter = 15
LeftEyePower = -1.00
RightEyeAxis = 90
RightEyeBaseCurve = 8.9
RightEyeCylinder = -1.50
RightEyeDiameter = 15
RightEyePower = -3.25

Funny this should be brought up because I just ordered some new contacts yesterday. I thought I was blind but some of you are obviously wearing glasses thick enough to see into the future with. I 've been wearing soft lenses for over 25 years but my eye doctor is going to switch me to gas permeable because they think I have an eye disease called kerataconus (sp). How do you guys like the gas permeable lens?

 

[PsychoAndy]

Originally posted by: DaveSohmer
LeftEyeAxis = 95
LeftEyeBaseCurve = 8.9
LeftEyeCylinder = -2.75
LeftEyeDiameter = 15
LeftEyePower = -1.00
RightEyeAxis = 90
RightEyeBaseCurve = 8.9
RightEyeCylinder = -1.50
RightEyeDiameter = 15
RightEyePower = -3.25

Funny this should be brought up because I just ordered some new contacts yesterday. I thought I was blind but some of you are obviously wearing glasses thick enough to see into the future with. I 've been wearing soft lenses for over 25 years but my eye doctor is going to switch me to gas permeable because they think I have an eye disease called kerataconus (sp). How do you guys like the gas permeable lens?

Chief, I belive Viper GTS has the same affliction. PM him for questions. He told me about his special contacts once.

-PAB