Are contact lenses a pain in the ass?

[quote]I'm vain and look a lot younger than I am so don't really want to wear glasses.

I don't know about the contacts...

But welcome to DL, you've found your people

I wore contact lens - hard lens mind you - from when I was 15 until my late 40s - every single fucking day of my life.

When they moved away from hard lens to lens that needed all this maintenance like soaking every night etc it did become a pain in the ass.

Plus nothing easier than putting in and taking out hard lens. I stopped wearing my lens around that time and relied on glasses - I got a bunch of different glasses.

Yes OP.

More of a pain in the wallet.

Don’t think of glasses as a way of showing your age, think of them as a concealer. Even the celebrities known for looking so much younger than their age betray it around the eyes, especially up close. Better to wear a pair of glasses than to show those age lines even Paul Rudd can’t hide without Photoshop and CGI.

i wore soft lenses for about 2 years in my early 30s before getting lasix on the one eye that was the problem. I've had to use reading glasses now for about 4 or 5 years and do think i need something stronger, so may need to go back to full time glasses (maybe bifocals, not sure). I will tell you that the pain in the ass of lenses doesn't make me want to go there. However, if i'm diagnosed needed full time lenses, i might revisit. i just remember them being a tremendous PITA.

I have disposable daily lenses, OP. Easy peasy. I get a year’s supply for about $350. ($400, minus a rebate from the maker).

They take some getting used to. At first, your eyes are alarmed that something is touching them, and they blink furiously. And it can be tricky for a newbie to know whether the lenses are inverted wrong. (Like with socks, what should be facing inside can wind up facing outside.) But your eyes get used to them, and you become a pro.

What about extended wear lenses? Apparently you can wear them for more than a week and even sleep with them in.

I'm 64 and tried contacts for the first time and hated them. They didn't want me to try progressive/bifocals since I was a newbie. So anytime I wanted to look at my phone/computer/tablet/books/labels I had to put readers on. I hated not being able to read at will.

I wore contacts for two decades before finally getting LASIK and I personally thought they were easier to take care of than glasses because glasses are constantly getting smudged and you have to constantly clean them. Also with glasses you have to worry about them fogging up or getting wet in the rain.

I wore the contacts you could wear for an entire week without taking out so that way I only had to clean them once a week.

r7 here again, OP. I had extended-wear lenses for quite a while, and they were fine, but you do need to keep up the maintenance. My ophthalmologist wasn’t thrilled about the idea of sleeping in them, and I didn’t do so regularly. As I got older my eyes changed and I couldn’t tolerate them any more.

[quote]I wore contacts for two decades before finally getting LASIK and I personally thought they were easier to take care of than glasses because glasses are constantly getting smudged and you have to constantly clean them. Also with glasses you have to worry about them fogging up or getting wet in the rain.

All this, plus peripheral vision. When I wear my glasses I'm annoyed at not having clear vision in any direction.

You pop 'em in in the morning, pop 'em out at night. They disinfect overnight in the little case. Not much of a pain at all.

Most eye doctors and eye vets for dogs I met wear glasses and that must tell you something.

R10, you can wear one contact lens for distance and one for reading. My stepmother couldn't get used to progressive lenses and the doctor suggested doing it that way.

I can't imagine how, but she swears her eyes adapted very quickly and she doesn't even notice that one eye is blurry.

I've had contacts since I was 14 (nearly 40 now) and never had much of a problem with them, but I think it's because the optometrist who first put me on them showed me the best way to put them in - place them on the whites of the eyes and then look towards them and they will naturally centre themselves. I think a lot of people freak out because they think they need to place them directly over the iris/pupil.

I've slowed down wearing them in the last year only because it's just easier to grab my glasses at put them on, but I do prefer wearing contacts.

I'm with R11. Glasses are a pain in the ass, contacts are, for my eyes, a godsend.

I don't like the look of a man with contact lenses. All those tiny veins showing in the whites of your eyes. And whether you think you do or not, you *blink* far too often.

Glasses are far more attractive, even on young guys. But if your prescription is for distance only, you can wear contacts and take them out at home. Once you're into advanced prescriptions, glasses are so much easier and healthier. One comfy BIG pair for TV, another prescription only for computer and reading and your best boy progressives for the outside world.

Glasses, in the right shape, are pretty damn attractive on most people. You get lenses for the occasional one off (occasions where you don't want your damn glasses fogging up or impeding anything else).

I wear daily Acuvues and I love them, they're the best contacts I've ever bought, but they are so damn expensive. I have terrible vision (like a -6 in each eye) so I prefer them over my glasses that have massive lenses, distorting my eyes. There's really nothing too crazy about putting them in, just look up and gently place it on your eye.

"Are contact lenses a pain in the ass? "

If they are you're wearing them in the wrong place

[quote]All this, plus peripheral vision. When I wear my glasses I'm annoyed at not having clear vision in any direction.

I wear eyeglasses, I've always had peripheral vision with glasses. Seems like there might be something wrong with your prescription or the store technicians did not measure you properly. You should easily be able to see out of the sides of your eyeglass lenses,

Be happy you don't need to wear both eyeglasses AND contacts.

I worked with a woman, a fashion illustrator, who was still wearing hard lenses! I knew she wore contacts, I asked "Why are you wearing eyeglasses over your lenses?" She told me she also had presbyopia, she could no longer see close-up with her lenses, she also told me, when she was driving, she needed distance glasses to be worn over her contacts. Talk about a pain in the ass.

OP I do NOT recommend extended wear contacts. Moving to dailies was one of the best decisions I've ever made, cost be damned. No more worrying about getting an eye infection from leaving them in too long, or not cleaning them thoroughly. It's also great for days when I just don't feel like wearing contacts, as I don't have a pair sitting in solution going to waste. They are incredibly comfortable all day long, I usually don't take them out till 11pm, and if I do get drunk one night and accidentally sleep with them in, my eyes still feel fine the next morning. Acuvue Oasys is the brand.

I've been trying out contacts but my eyes are extremely sensitive. Putting them in and taking them out is no problem, but I got giant papillary conjunctivitis and bumps under my eyelid. If I could I would only wear contacts, I hate glasses. I also hate going to the doctor, otherwise I would have kept nagging him for a better pair

How would I know?

Yes. Yes they are.

I had contacts for about two years, they were torture. I never was able to get both in my eyes easily and there was no convenience to me as I only sometimes wore glasses and never minded wearing them.

One day I just threw them in the trash.

I wore contacts from my teenage years through my 20s. There are a lot of small nuisances with them. They can move out of place unexpectedly, fold over from blinking, or get things trapped under them while you're wearing them, for example. I never had mine pop out, but I've seen it happen with other people. Also, your eyes can get dry or irritated from wearing them fairly easily, although I think that varies a bit more by person. I switched to glasses and haven't regretted it. I find them all around less of a hassle despite having a few inconveniences of their own.

OP

Wait until you've had the exam and see what doctors says about your eyes.

Wore contacts from junior year of HS until recently (early late 40's) for near sighted and mild astigmatism. When was young never went out wearing glasses, always contacts. Even had two pair so in case one was being cleaned/disinfected could pop another set in, and be good to go.

Was warned it would happen and it recently did; at some point as we all age tend to become far sighted (think of your grandparents or older parents who did that hand motion thing to read, moving things further and closer... If you're near sighted there will be a short period where everything actually is fine, your eyesight is going from near to far sighted so you get a period where you may have near to 20/20 vision as you're going to get. Then all heck breaks lose...

Again as we age far sighted is normal, so you may need reading glasses, but may not need contacts or glasses to see say your computer or anything within a certain distance. OTOH you may (and likely will) need corrective lenses to say drive or do anything that requires distance vision. Oh and more fun comes in that as many age they find wearing contact lenses uncomfortable, this even for those who wore the things for years.

While they do make "bifocal" contacts many doctors don't like prescribing them because the things can mess with vision. In fact a good number of people just cannot tolerate the things at all. Ditto for bifocal glasses...

Long story short you may end up with several eye prescriptions... One for reading glasses, another for bifocals, one for contacts, another still for bifocal contacts, and finally glasses to see distance or near as wanted for vision correction.

Most people just say "fuck it" and wear glasses only to for say distance or whatever main vision needs correcting, then otherwise go without. That or maybe they use reading glasses, but otherwise don't need vision correction.

You'll notice nearly every news media person on television and others over age say 40 or certainly 50 wears glasses nowadays. Boomers are getting older and getting over being vain about being seen wearing glasses.

Even DL fave David Muir wears glasses....

Will say if you lead any sort of active lifestyle (gym, biking, running, etc...) you'll likely welcome wearing contacts over glasses. There are also times when you'll welcome the peripheral vision that comes from wearing contacts. When driving wearing glasses have to get used to turning my head when wearing glasses. This instead of merely glancing over or looking out of side of eye.

I've had glasses since I was 10. (I'm 57 now).

Tried soft contacts when they came out in the 80s (wanted to look COOL!) and I....HATED them. Putting them in and taking them out was a nightmare. One night, I couldn't get one of them out and I became hysterical (which helped me get it out actually) and stopped there and then from wearing the damn things.

I like glasses. They've never really bothered me (except paying for them when they broke).

I don't understand people with constantly dirty glasses. I wash my once a day with warm soapy water and dry with a Kleenix. Once in a great while, I have to do it a second time during the day.

They're not a problem if you're doing them right. I'm also wearing Accuvue Oaysis and would not switch brands. They're perfect. Also, invest in good lens solution. I've used Biotrue for years. It's perfect. I once tried a cheap store brand (Target I think) and it was a noticeable quality decline. Never again. Not worth it. Your eyes will suffer with shitty lenses or solutions.

Your eyeballs will drop out R9.

Yes, OP they suck. Just wear specs. Seriously.

[quote]I've been trying out contacts but my eyes are extremely sensitive. Putting them in and taking them out is no problem, but I got giant papillary conjunctivitis and bumps under my eyelid.

Try using another contact lens solution. I developed an allergy to a brand after using it for 10 years and had those same symptoms. The doc said it was conjunctivitis (pink eye) and gave me an antibiotic. That did nothing. I switched brands and the issue cleared up immediately.

I got Lasik 25 years ago, best thing I ever did

They are a pain and eventually you will need glasses anyway. In my 40's I wasn't able to read small print in low light while wearing lenses and now in my 50's I only wear glasses ( and have difficulty reading small print etc.). I was going to get Lasik back in the day but a friend whose father was an ophthalmologist explained a few things about the complications and long term issues with the procedure. I did enjoy being able to wear nice sunglasses and not having to wear glasses during my lens days but it really was a pain in the ass.

I had cataract surgery. As a result, I no longer need glasses or contact lenses. When I wore contacts, I had both disposable soft lens and hard lens. I preferred the hard lens because my vision was sharper and clearer than when I wore soft lens.

I wore contacts in my 20's but my allergy medication can make my eyes dry and sometimes the contacts would pop out of my eye when it was dry so I gave up on them. I tried again in my 30's. You know when you are taking the contact out and you crinkle it a little to get a grip on it to take it out.? I was doing that with one of my contacts and realized that I wasn't crinkling the contact but I was crinkling my eyeball. It creeped my out so much that I never wore contacts again.

I had my appointment and the good news is that I don't need glasses or contacts at all! I have 20/20 in my left eye and 20/25 in my left. Now I don't have to worry about changing contacts OR looking older in glasses.