My Quest For Contact Lenses
 

Well...I got fitted for contacts last Thursday. I went back on Friday to get lessons on how to put them in and take them out. I got them in after a while, but I couldn't take them out. I went back yesterday for more lessons, but I wasn't really into it.

I'm going back on this coming Thursday to practice some more. I really want to wear contacts. I even bought a pair of non-prescription sunglasses as an incentive. Apparently, my eyes are sensitive, and I have a quick response reflex. They want to put some numbing drops in my eyes to lessen the reflex so I can, at least, get the lenses in and out of my eyes better.

Can anyone share their experiences with me? I am at the point of giving up and just sticking to glasses.

Thanks for letting me share.

I have huge issues with eye sensitivity too. I flip out at glaucoma tests when they blow air into your eyes and probably tried contacts for a good 2 months before i finally got it.

I would go with Acuvue 2 lenses. If you have difficulty looking at the lens, look away. I look in the top corner of my eye and put the lens in. For a little bit i tried touching my eye with washed hands to get used to it but then i realized that didn't work for me.

Just keep trying.

-Rudey

Girl you just gotta keep on practicing! I lost many contacts & had many poked eyes before I got it right!
And the numbing eye drops really aren't so bad, and hey-if they help you I'd go ahead & try them!

All I can say is that you'll get used to it. I've been wearing contacts for about 10 years, and it took me awhile to get the hang of it. One time I panicked because I couldn't get the contacts out. You'll learn how to remove and put them in quickly, and after awhile you'll forget you're evening wearing them. I had to learn not to worry about hurting my eyes.

I know they are old fashioned, but have you thought about hard contacts? My mom has them, and she also has a quick reflex. She hates touching her eyes, and the hard contacts will come off the eye if you lightly poke the corner of your eye.

Best of luck.

I've flipped over the Glaucoma tests too! I'm ok with the one my doctor does now.

Acuvue 2's are what I was prescribed. My trial pair is still at the office. He won't let me go out with them until we are both comfy with my inserting and removing technique.

Don't give up Mz Destiny!!
 

Don't give up Mz Destiny!!!

:) :) :)

At first it can be difficult! I had problems at first too!! But it takes practice and eventually you get used to it and develop your own way to do it! I personally find it much easier if I hold my bottom eye lid down, pulling it towards my cheek! Well hope it helps!

DDDMiami:) :) :)

Try to practice in the privacy of your home too. I felt so pressured being there trying on lenses and my eyes would water and I'd keep wanting to sneeze.

-Rudey

It takes a while to get adjusted to wearing contacts. I had worn eyeglasses since I was 18 months (1-1/2) so my eyes had been protected from particles and dust for years. I think that the only eyelashes had been in my eyes. Putting the contacts in was difficult at first. The doctor showed me how and then had me practice. I used a small mirror on my desk to see what I was doing. I put the lens on the index finger of my right hand, closed my left eye, held my right eye open with left index and right middle fingers, looked up and toward my nose, and stuck the lens in my right eye. I repeated the process for my left eye. It felt very uncomfortable, but after a week or two I was wearing my lenses for most of the day. Here is a tip: don't look at your finger as it is coming toward your eye. It makes you want to blink. Look up and toward your nose and put the lens on the bottom part of your eyeball. It takes practice. Make sure you wash your hands, sit down at a desk or table with a napkin or paper towel, and away from a fan or air conditioning. Good luck. :)

Sticking one's finger in one's eye is definitely not a natural thing to do, so it'll take you a little while to get used to inserting your contact lenses! :) You can and will get the hang of it, though, so don't fret. It just takes getting used to.

I can't stand putting the lens directly on my cornea, so I pull down my lower eyelid, look up, then put the lens on the white part of my eye under the cornea. It slides into place easily and after a few blinks it will settle nicely where its supposed to be. I hope this helps a bit!

Best of luck!

It just takes time. I started wearing them about 9 years ago. I remember trying to put them in for up to an hour. HORRIBLE! But, I was determined. My eye doctor told me that I would never be able to wear them, because of my behavior during eye exams. I don't know about you, but it's easier for me to touch my eye than someone else.


KEEP AT IT SISTAGREEK!!!

Hey MZDestiny, just hang in there because it takes a while to get used to contacts. I've been wearing them for 8 years and it was not easy at first. I was able to put them in my eye, but had SSOOOOOO much trouble getting them out. So, I bought marshmallow cream and would dab my index finger with it, and instead of spending forever trying to take them out the right way I would just touch my contact with my finger and it would magically come out!! It may sound weird, but it totally worked. Just make sure not to use too much cream, and rinse your contacts really well. ;)

I definitely agree with this! I find its easier to put my contacts in if I'm not standing in front of a mirror! I sit down, hold my eyelid open w/ my left hand, look up, & slip the contact onto my eye! Everytime I've ever had a problem getting my contacts in its been because I was either looking in a mirror or watching my finger come straight @ my eye! Talk about scary! Don't do it! :D

I agree with a lot said here. A couple extra tips:

Even though I don't look at my finger when putting on my contacts I found it does help do to it at a mirror at first.

Keep BOTH eyes open while putting your contacts in if you can. It is easier to keep both eyes open than to keep one eye open!

Place a towel over the bathroom counter and lean over it - that way if you drop a contact - it's on the towel or on you, not the floor.

Also, be willing to burn a couple contacts on learning.

Don't insist on perfecting technique before taking the contacts home from the eye doctor - you'll be less nervous by yourself.

I'm the same way. It takes my opthamologist a couple of tries to do the glacoma test because I always flinch.
When I needed contact lenses, I flipped out because I was so scared to put eye drops in nonetheless a contact lense.
I do the same thing as you when I insert the lense. I place the contact lense on the tip of my finger and hold it up to my eye. As soon as the lense in right near my eyeball, I look away to the top of my eye, place the contact lense in and then squeeze my lids shut until the contact is in place.

It will probably take you a while to get use to putting in lenses. When I first starting wearing them, I would set my alarm clock 30 minutes earlier because that's how long it would take me to put the damn lenses in. I've been wearing lenses for 7 years now and I consider myself a pro. :) I can get them in and out in just 30 seconds but it definitely takes a lot of practice.

When removing the lense, put some re-wetting drops into your eyes and a little bit of saline onto your finger. It's much easier to remove the lense when your eye has moisture than if it's dry (which it usually is at the end of day from wearing the lenses).

I've been in contacts for 30 years. Definitely stick with the Accuvue 2. They are by far the most comfortable because of high water content. They are 1-2 week disposables, but I can actually wear mine for about 2 months if I take them out every night & disinfect without rubbing. Use Aosept!

And take heart... after a while, your eyes will most likely become LESS SENSITIVE. You know how an eyelash in the eye sends most people into spasms?? You will hardly notice anymore.

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!

Re: Re: YAY ME!!!!
 

Yeah...he has me on that 4,6,8...etc. I'm pretty much over it now...lol

Yay for you! Wearing contacts is so great and sometimes you just feel prettier without glasses.