Gettin contacts for the first time tomorrow, any advice??**UPDATE**

[Smaulz]

I had to do something... my glasses are makin' me crazy. I'm gonna go tomorrow to get contacts, but I've never worn 'em before and I'm kinda freaked out about it. I have a serious problem with putting something in my eye... any advice/do's/don't's?


[UPDATE]

Okay, I've got 'em in. Spent 45 minutes just waiting for someone in the office to say "hi", then another 20 after I filled out the paperwork waiting for someone to come back. :|
After that it was okay. Got right in to have the tests all done, (the puff of air in the eye really highlighted the day), then right into the doc's office. He was really nice and helpful, and spent a half hour trying to get the first set into my eyes for me. It was kinda painful, so I told him to let me give it a shot.... popped 'em right in... Since I have a 'stigmatism, we had a little trouble finding the right prescription, so I tried three different sets and finally settled on the ones I've got. They're really comfortable, and I can't even really tell I've got 'em in. My vision isn't quite as sharp as with my glasses, so I'm probably gonna try another set when I go back in a week. As it is, though, I'm corrected to 20/15, (20/10 with the glasses).

Thanks for all the advice, guys, it helped out alot!

 

[mrCide]

yeah, you're supposed to wear them gradually for 1-2 weeks, like one day 6 hours, then 7 then 8 and so on.. or something

word of warning.. they will bother you and you're going to suck at putting them in for a couple weeks..

after that you'll be a pro and you won't even feel them in your eyes anymore

 

[Ns1]

yeah expect to spend 10-20 extra minutes for the first few weeks to just put the damned things on

 

[Mookow]

Learn how to not blink when a foreign object comes into contact with your eye. I reccomend practicing with a needle.

j/k. Seriously, not blinking is hard. It took me 45 minutes to get my first contact in. The second took me about a minute. Since then, putting then in has never taken mroe than a minute each, unless I drop one and have to clean it again.

 

[Fatdog]

Find a small bottle of Saline to keep handy at work. You'd be surprised how often it comes in handy when those things pop out on you.

Go for the cosmetic ones, monster or animal eye contacts and really freak people out.

 

[Supermercado]

Allow plenty of time to put them in and take them out the first week, as was said. Especially putting them in. Taking them out really isn't that hard.

 

[CubicZirconia]

Originally posted by: mrCide
yeah, you're supposed to wear them gradually for 1-2 weeks, like one day 6 hours, then 7 then 8 and so on.. or something

word of warning.. they will bother you and you're going to suck at putting them in for a couple weeks..

after that you'll be a pro and you won't even feel them in your eyes anymore

I agree with everything above. At first it can seem impossible to put contacts in. It gets really frustrating. Give it a few weeks and it will become second nature.

 

[bmacd]

Originally posted by: Mookow
Learn how to not blink when a foreign object comes into contact with your eye. I reccomend practicing with a needle.

j/k. Seriously, not blinking is hard. It took me 45 minutes to get my first contact in. The second took me about a minute. Since then, putting then in has never taken mroe than a minute each, unless I drop one and have to clean it again.

omfg...i nearly gagged and started dry-heaving after reading about the needle.

-=bmacd=-

 

[ElFenix]

clean them. clean them well. wheres wingz when you need him?

 

[Mookow]

Originally posted by: bmacd

Originally posted by: Mookow
Learn how to not blink when a foreign object comes into contact with your eye. I reccomend practicing with a needle.

j/k. Seriously, not blinking is hard. It took me 45 minutes to get my first contact in. The second took me about a minute. Since then, putting then in has never taken mroe than a minute each, unless I drop one and have to clean it again.

omfg...i nearly gagged and started dry-heaving after reading about the needle.

-=bmacd=-

Hehehe... I've done some dumb things in my life, but I've never been dumb enough to do that. I'm just sharing my particular gift: sarcasm.

 

[UltraQuiet]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
clean them. clean them well. wheres wingz when you need him?

That's good advice and so is the rest of it in here (except for the needle ). I've worn contacts for 25+ years and I'll give you some more good advice. When you don't need to be wearing them, don't. If you're not going out, just sitting at home, etc. take them out. It is much healthier for your eyes. Also try not to sleep in them. As far as putting them in your eyes just try to relax, you'll get used to it.


Dave

 

[MajesticMoose]

No matter what your doctor tells you CAN do, don't sleep in them. The minuscle benifet isn't worth the increased risk; plus your eyes will feel better and you would have to clean them in the morning anyway. Also, any trouble you have putting things in your eyes now will soon go away. In a few weeks or so you'll be able to gross your friends out by touching your eye all over the place and you won't even feel like you do now.

 

[Frosty3799]

no sweat dude, its a little hard when you first start putting them in, but taking out is easy, just like pinch it... you will get the hang of it

i found that looking up/away, and then sticking the contact in, and then looking back at it to engage it in the right spot worked the best for putting them in.

first few weeks, just use lots of the solution stuff, and dont keep trying to the point where your eyes are totally irritated

 

[silverpig]

At least now you'll have a good excuse for always having red eyes

I got stopped at a roadcheck one night at about 3 am, and it went like this:

Cop: Anything to drink tonight?
Me: 2 drinks between 7 and 9.
Cop: What kind?
Me: Both beers.
Cop: Anything to eat?
Me: I had spaghetti for dinner at 6.
Cop: Okay. Do you do any drugs?
Me: No.
Cop: What's wrong with your eyes?
Me: Contact lenses.
Cop: Ahhh, I see. I know what that's all about. Have a good night.

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

I am still in the process of fitted for contacts.

I have seen my optometrist 3 times now, and will see him again on the 4th.

I am now wearing my 4th different pair.

1st pair: not entirely comfortable, even after a week of wearing them. 20/20 vision in the lab, but blurring and slightly double images on the golf course.

2nd pair: better than the first pair. vision was better, almost as good as with glasses. BUT not as comfortable as i wanted. there was never a point in time that i didn't know they were in my eyes.

3rd pair: better than the second pair. vision is good. more comfortable

4th pair: initialy more comfortable (got a little dry by the end of the day - only worn them one day so far), and vision is good or better than 3rd pair.

You may be wondering WHY I am having to trial and error it like this. Apparently, i have cornea's that are slightly larger and flatter than the average person. Thus i need a contact that isn't designed for the 90 percentile of the population. I guess it is down to either the 3rd or 4th pair.

Anyways, my optometrist has been cool about the whole deal and has yet to charge me for any of the contacts.

goodluck to ya

 

[BarneyFife]

I tried them a few years ago but didn't really like them. My eyes felt tired and sore during the evening. Almost like I was carrying something from my eyes. The hard part as everyone said is putting them on when you first get them. It took my forever but in about a week they were going on instantly. The other part if cleaning them everyday. Glasses are much easier for me

 

[Smaulz]

Thanks alot for the advice guys... I'm actually excited about getting them because, like I mentioned, my glasses are seriously making me crazy. I'm still not looking forward to the first week or so, but I'm sure it'll be worth it. Another quick question, are they as good as glasses? I mean, will my vision be the same? My eyes are critical to my job, so I'm way concerned about that... Thanks again for all the good advice. You guys rock...

 

[HomeBrewerDude]

Originally posted by: Smaulz
Another quick question, are they as good as glasses? I mean, will my vision be the same? My eyes are critical to my job, so I'm way concerned about that...

the first two pair i tried resulted in 20/20 vision at the doc's office, but less than what i considered acceptable vision in real life. So be warned, if you can't see well, then complain and don't buy any until you KNOW they are acceptable. like I said, I am now trying out my 4th different pair, and haven't paid for any of them. Next week I will be buying 3 months supply.


BTW, go with disposable. You can get 2-4 weeks out of one pair (supposedly 14 wearing, but many people get 2x's that).

 

[KevinF]

I dreaded getting contacts for years. I finally broke down a month or so ago. It didn't take me that long to get over the fear of touching my eyes. Now, touching my eyes and putting my contacts in/taking them out doesn't bother me. If I want, I can just randomly poke my eye. Doing it with a needle might be a little different though...

As for vision, it's just as good as with glasses, plus full peripheral vision. You know, glasses don't cover your full field of vision. Contacts do.

I wish you the best of luck.

 

[HombrePequeno]

The first time I tried putting them in at the optometrist's office it took me 2 hours to do it. Second time I did it at home it only took me 45. After a couple days it only took a minute to pop them in. Just be persistent and you'll eventually get them in. They're actually pretty easy to take care of too.

 

[Smaulz]

Updated...

 

[Zedtom]

Good luck to you Smaulz...I've had contacts for a few years now. The big expense is all the chemicals that you have to constantly buy. I'm gonna look into laser surgery somewhere down the road.