Anyone here wear contacts for reading AND nearsightedness?

[TerryJ2]

I'm wearing a pair right now. I spent 45 min. at the eye dr and he said I was a good candidate for this type of lens. I can actually read the monitor with-o glasses. And I drove home fine.
The cost is $120 more a yr. It may be worth it if I don't have to lug around reading glasses everywhere, not to mention that they break all the time.
I have a week to decide.

 

[AnnieO]

Terry... I have been wearing corrective lenses since I was 9, contacts since 15. Only recently has my Rx changed so that I need reading glasses, and then only occasionally - but only when I am wearing my contacts!

My solution was a cheap pair from Big Lots. But I have heard some really good stuff about those contacts.

 

[recoveringenabler]

I wear the ones you have too, one for reading, one for distance. I've been wearing them for years and they work great. If I take them out, I don't need anything for reading, just my glasses for nearsightedness. I order mine online, the disposable kind, I think they are around $50 for 6 pairs. They last about a month or more so it isn't a lot of money per year.

 

[everywoman]

I've been wearing one reading and one distance for 5 years. Works for me.

 

[DammitJanet]

I used to but my eyes have gotten so dry that I stopped. Im afraid to try again because my fluids are drier now than back then...lol.

Hubby was given a single contact for one eye because he has good distance vision but poor reading vision. He tried them for about a month but didnt like that. Now he just buys reading glasses at the dollar store. He goes through so many it doesnt make sense to buy expensive ones.

 

[FlowerGarden]

I've been wearing bifocal contacts for years and really like them. I actually see better with the contacts than with my bifocal glasses.

 

[Kathy813]

I wear contacts for for both reading and nearsightedness. I have won multi-focal lenses for years. Recently I switched to wearing a multi-focal in one eye and a regular contact in the other eye. Basically, one gives me the distance vision and the other is for reading. The eye doctor told me that basically you have decide which one is more important to you at my age since he can't fix both to 20-20 vision. I said that being able to read was more important to me since I have to deal with exponents and subscripts in textbooks. I still see fine at a distance, though.

I also have progressive lens eye glasses but I'm vain so I don't like to wear them unless I am at home.

~Kathy

 

[witzend]

I was prescribed "multi-focal" lenses two years ago, and I never wore them. I couldn't read anything with them.

My distance vision is not bad, and I do have a bit of astigmatism, but I can't read anything without glasses so I was always bringing cheaters with me. This year I went for a single vision reading lens in one eye with no correction in the other, and I can sleep in them. I wear them for about 4 days, take a day off, and replace them every two weeks. I love them. I wake up and can see immediately.

If you like yours, I'd say go for it. It's only $10 a month more. That's not a lot to pay to feel good about yourself.

 

[TerryJ2]

Thank you all.
How do they make these lenses? I'll have to look it up. At first I thought it was the outer rim, but now I think it's the entire lens.
They work very well for distance and closeup in the daytime. In low light, I have to squint, and reading glasses help. I'm still thinking of going with them, because I tried a different lens in each eye many yrs ago (near and far) and couldn't even make it out of the dr's ofc, I was so dizzy and nauseated.
This is much easier in regard to transition.
And I was getting to the point of panicking if I couldn't find my reading glasses. I couldn't make calendar appts, use my cell, anything. Of course graduated multilevel glasses (3 levels, far, about 3 ft, and 11 inches) work well but I lose peripheral vision. I definitely want to keep my glasses as backup.
I think this may be the next best thing to surgery. I'm too afraid to lose my sight. I only knew two people who have. For the man, who was about 30, it ruined his life. The woman was 80 and she was already retired and no longer driving, but it was still a bad transition. Mostly, the surgery is safe. But I don't want to be in the 1%.

 

[susiestar]

I know people who love them, and some who don't. Those who love them love the freedom of not having to chase reading glasses around. That is if you are talking about multifocal lenses and not one lens for distance and one for reading. That spit deal seems to be very hard to get used to.

The increased price seems minimal in a long term view. How many pairs of reading glasses do you buy per year? How expensive are they? What do you spend on cleaning them? How much can you unload from your purse if you don't need reading glasses? If you are like most people that I have heard discuss this, you are spending at least that extra $120 per year and you haven't realized it. Esp if you buy lens cleaning fluids which are crazily priced overly diluted bottle of ammonia or alcohol (for the most part).

I am not sure where you would find them, but if you end up still needing a little 'boost' to read menus and whatnot, they do make credit card size magnifying glasses that would fit in a credit card pocket. I am sure ebay or amazon would have them.

The one problem with contacts is the dry eye issue. If you have an autoimmune disease (including arthritis), this is likely to be more of a problem. If you don't wear contacts overnight, you may find relief from this with the gel eye drops. Systane is the brand I like, and using it at night after you take the contacts out can make a big difference during the day. I do NOT recommend the heavier 'overnight' ones because they are more oily feeling and seem to leave a residue that was a problem when I wore contacts. I had other problems with the lenses, but I know more than a few people who have been able to keep wearing contacts when they thought dry eyes were making them intolerable. It can take a week or so of using the gel drops every night, but it is worth a try. Look for the drops in individual ampules that you break open and are single use only. Bottles of eyedrops have dangerous levels of bacteria after just 2 weeks IF you keep them refrigerated. The bacteria levels are drastically higher if the drops are not kept refrigerated at all times after opening. Buying the drops in the individual ampules is a bit more expensive than in the bottles, but if you add the cost of the appointment with the doctor for the infection, the cost of the medications, cost of time off of work, and pain and misery of the infection, those ampules become VASTLY more cost effective. If you google "how long to keep eye drops", the results from reputable medical sites are astonishing. Sure changed how I handle eye drops for all of us.

Hopefully they will work well for you and you will totally LOVE your new lenses.

 

[TerryJ2]

I'm definitely leaning toward getting them.
And the dry eye issue ... Susie, difficult child almost flunked his DMV eye exam because he couldn't see the images at the far left of the monitor. He covered the edges with-his hands and that helped, but I am going to ask the eye dr if that's a symptom of his glaucoma. He kept picking at the contacts and finally, after I suggested drops, he put some in.

 

[Hopeless]

I tried the multi focal contacts, but could not see things very well. I just could not get adjusted to them and I so wanted to give up my bifocal glasses

 

[mom_to_3]

For those of you with dry eyes, I would recommend looking at an eye medication called Restasis. It is prescription. http://www.allergan.com/products/eye_care/restasis.htm These eye drops help your eyes increase the natural production of tears. While I used over the counter eye drops for several years, they only give temporary relief. I have an auto-immune condition and Graves eye disease. They have been very beneficial for me.