Contact lenses or/and Laser surgery

caevans

Hi
can anyone recommend a good place to buy toric contact lenses? I have VERY dry eyes so usually wear glasses but would like the option to wear contacts so I can go swimming and do things that other people are able to do!!
Am also considering laser surgery - does anyone have any recommendations of which company to use? or any offers anyone has noticed at the moment. I am very scared to get it done and also I have such a strong protective reflex in my eye that I even struggle to put mascara on!!! Do they numb the eye to get rid of this reflex does anyone know?
Thanks!!
C

RabbitintheHeadlights

You sound just like me! I have very dry eyes and bad astigmatism. You need a very low water content lens. The ones that I ended up with were Bausch & Lomb Soflens as they were the only ones that came anywhere covering my astigmatism and were low water content.

As far as the laser surgery goes, if you try contacts first that will help to "kill off" the protective reflex in your eye. I can stick my fingers in my eyes and hook out eye lashes, grit or anything nowadays!

As far as laser surgery goes I can't help - my prescription changes every time I go as my astigmatism is getting worse and worse, so it seemed pointless to me to spend a fortune for a couple of years of no glasses, then have to start wearing them again as the astigmatism carried on worsening ( Is your prescription stable?

caevans

Hi
Thanks for that. Good to know its not just me. I have astigmatism, but I don't think its that bad. Just very short sighted. My prescription is stable this year for the first time since I first started wearing which must be about 24 years !!! When I was younger I needed new glasses every year. My poor folks having to pay for expensive glasses every year!! In fact, my Mum still often gives me money for glasses. Think she feels bad as I inherited very poor eyesight off of her!!
I haven't heard of those lenses but will check them out thanks. (bet they are expensive though.... !)

ali-t

You may not be eligible for surgery due to your dry eyes as this can be a side effect of surgery so you wouldn't want the dry eyes to be any worse.

ALR

As RabbitInTheHeadlights suggests, Trying contact lenses will work towards getting over the reflex. It helped me no end. I am still a bit freaked out about eyes but I have no fear putting my fingers near to put lenses in or take them out, or to get eyelashes out etc... Hasn't stopped me poking myself in the eye with a mascara brush.... which I seem to clumsily manage quite often .

I used to have astigmatism quite badly in one eye and slightly in the other... I think I've grown out of it now as my opticians dont even mention it anymore. I wear soft dailies or monthlies. I went through about 3 years of barely being able to wear lenses though because my eyes were so dry... (possibly because of some medication I was on). I found Focus dailies by Ciba vision to be the best even when my eyes were at their driest. They have a very high oxygen content and claimed to allow your eyes to breath.
I think they do a Toric lens too so may be worth a look.

I've not looked much into Laser Eye surgery, but my prescription hasn't changed now in about 4 years (previously it changed between every check up) so I might into it....
It is however one thing I am still abit squeamish about still.... I'd love to hear from someone who has had it to find out what it's like?
Anyway HTH.
Amy :cool:

caevans

Hi
I have booked a consultation for laser surgery in a couple of weeks so will see what they say re. dry eyes. Have got some trial contact lenses from optician but they aren't toric ones as they didn't have them in stock. Specsavers own made my eyes instantly dry -hence this post! I think the other packets I was given, and will try over next few days, are Acuvue moist and I think Focus dailies, so thanks Amy I will give them a go and see if they are any good. Apparently I look very starey when I wear contacts - I mustn't blink enough! I also noticed when I had the contacts in today (optician had to put them in for me) that I have quite bad bags under my eyes!!! Amazing what a pair of glasses hides :-)

ali-t

http://www.lasereyeforum.com/index.php I found this forum really helpful when I went for surgery. I have had a bit of a bumpy road with surgery and still need more treatment but don't regret it for a second.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I wear Bausch & Lomb daily contact and think they are the best for moisture out of them, Focus and Acuvue. If you go swimming, you will need to wear goggles, as I found that the water could occasionally wash a lens out of my eye. But you will get very relaxed about touching your eyes if you do get contacts. Just remember, you don't have nerve endings on the white bit, so unless you stab yourself purposely with nails or have dirty fingers, no harm can come of touching them. A good magnifying mirror is a great help.

caevans

Hi
well I finally, after many many attempts, managed to get the contacts in my eyes (with lots of celebration after!). I used the acuvue moist ones that I had on trial from specsavers. They initially felt fine, but within an hour or so, they started to get dry and by 3 hours I couldn't have ripped them out my eyes quick enough! Will give the Focus Dailies a try tomorrow.
The other thing I found is that I couldn't see very well close up. I couldn't read the paper with them in. Is that because I need the toric ones do you think? Do Bausch & Lomb do good toric ones do you know?
Have also checked out the laser surgery forum. It all sounds very scary and I can't help thinking a) its far too expensive and really can't afford them anyway, and b) fear that it might go wrong......
C

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

All contacts take a little while to get used to them...three hours for a first go seems good to me...and there are eyedrops you can use with contacts

caevans

Hi
Tried the Focus ones today. Managed to get right one in, but just couldn't get left one in at all. Felt the right eye go instantly dry with contact in anyway, so gave up on those contacts as a bad job. Back to the acuvue ones I think!