Take heart new contact wearer! I've had mine for about 3 months now and I am so much better now than I was then. It just takes practice....everyone here has had great advice(though the marshmallow creme things sounds crazy, but hey if it works...) Keep at it!:)

I forgot to mention that I also use Acuvue 2 lenses. They're comfortable and I can hardly ever feel them in my eyes unless my eyes are dry.

I took a long time for me to get the hang of contacts. I have been wearing contacts for about 4 years now and I love them. I used Acuvue 2 for a long time and just recently changed to Acuvue Advanced. They are supposed to allow more Oxygen into your eyes like those 30 Day/Night contacts. I still am freaked out about sleeping in them though.

Here's a tip I learned when I got my contacts:

Wash your hands and get a glass of water and dip your index finger in the water. Practice opening your eye up and "placing" the drop of water where the contact would go. You won't waste contacts and you'll become comfortable.

It worked for me. Good luck!

This is the person who would flip whenever the eye doctor so much as came near my eyes, so I know exactly what you're talking about. It took me two separate tries and almost a year to actually get contacts, and when I got them I had to have the ones you leave in for a week because I couldn't touch my eyes every day. For the first several weeks, I kept having to go back to the eye place and have the lady there take them out and put them in for me. I think wearing contacts for so long has made my eyes less sensitive, though, because now they don't hardly tear up at all when something gets in them...which can be a good or a bad thing. It's been almost 8 years and I've gotten the hang of it, but trust me, it did not come naturally. Don't feel bad...and don't give up! If I can do it, so can you.

I agree with everyone on Accuvue. In the beginning make sure to have some saline with you just in case you need to take one out for some reason. Also carry a pair of glasses for backup.

When I first started, I had to look up when I was putting in my contacts. Definitely put a towel in front of you whenever you're putting in your contacts. You'd be surprised how easy it is for it to blend in when it falls from your hand. Then you're searching for a needle in a haystack.

When I'd take them out I'd look up and put my finger to the contact and gently pull it down.

Hang in there and good luck.:)

Don't give up, it takes time.
Before you know it, you won't even be needing a mirror anymore.

Yesterday, I was really tired after class and wanted to take a nap. I was too lazy and too tired to take off my contacts. Well I had a dream that I had taken them off and placed them on my clock next to me. When I woke up I looked at the clock and they weren't there, so that is when I figured it was a dream. Well, I didn't have them on and I found them on the carpet all hard.

Oh Well!

I just opened next month's pair already.

Don't pitch them!! Just soak them for about 5 minutes in saline and they are good as new, as long as they haven't been chipped or torn. :)

Update...
 

Well...things are starting to look up! I went to my eye guy after work today. The doctor was there, and he showed me some other tips. My friend from work was there with me for moral support. The doc put some numbing drops in my right eye. Don't you know I popped that sucker right in? :D I had some trouble taking it out, but I took a deep breath and I slid it right on out! YAY FOR ME!!!!

So, I was sent home with my lenses and a bottle of saline. They told me to practice in front of a mirror with a basin filled with water. However, I think I'm going to take Jadey28's advice and practice putting drops of water in my eye first so I won't mess up the lenses.

I spotted a couple more pairs of sunglasses at Target today that are calling my name...

Congratulations! You'll get the hang of it!:D

Congrats! :) Don't give up... just keep practicing and you'll get the hang of it.

I agree with the Acuvue. I've been wearing them since I was 15 years old. My ophthalmologist recommended that I take them out nightly and clean and disinfect them just like daily wear lenses, and said that I could use them for a month that way, and that it's healthier. (You might want to ask your doctor about that.) But I'm lazy :p so I just wear them for 2 weeks straight, then toss them. I try to arrange it so that I can wear my glasses the following day to give my eyes a rest before putting in the new pair of contacts.

Congrats on finally getting the hang of it!

Little word of advice to all contact wearers. This girl I work with had her contact fall out and she put it in her mouth to moisten it before putting it back in her eye. She wasn't thinking, but she had a sore throat, and she passed the infection in her throat to her eye, and then she had to walk around 3 days wearing glasses, not contacts because she had an eye infection. Moral of the story: it's not a good idea to use your spit to wet your contacts. I always keep rewetting drops in my purse just in case my contact ever fell out!

YAY ME!!!!
 

I did it y'all! I finally took my time and I can now insert them and remove them! I wore them for about 5 hours last Friday. I wore them to church on Sunday, and I wore them all day today!!!

I still struggle a little, but I find if I give myself a time constraint on having to get them in my eyes, that works wonders for me!!!

Thanks so much for your encouragement and suggestions! They really helped a lot!

Congratulations! I'm glad they worked out for you :)

Re: YAY ME!!!!
 

WOOHOO!

I assume your doctor has you on a gradual wear cycle, right? If you're new to lenses, you don't want to wear them ten hours a day at first... your eyes will get a bit of eyestrain getting used to the difference.

Make sure to keep a bottle of saline solution at work, carry a travel lens case and your glasses with you the first two weeks, and you'll be feeling confident and even more classy in no time! When I was in the "training wheels" stage with my contacts, I know it helped me that if something got in my eye I could switch to glasses, or that I could switch if I got tired.

Enjoy your new look-- cool sunglasses and all!