Soft Contacts

For the last decade, I have been wearing Gas Permeable "Hard" contact lenses. With a contact lens prescription over 9.50+ and astigmatism, I am a challenging patient to any Optometrist/Opthemologist to say the least. Hard contacts were suggested to me because of the severity or my prescription. They had been working just fine for me since the age of 17 until June of this year when they started “coating up” creating a blurry, smudgy mess. I would be driving, working, etc, and suddenly, it was like someone took a dirty rag and wiped the lens and I could hardly see anything. No matter where I was at the time, I would have to immediately rinse them. Either at a gas station bathroom, the kitchen at work, wherever I could find a sink and hand soap, I was constantly rinsing them. The longer I wore them the day prior, the worse the next day would be. It was unbearable.

Finally in August, I was able to get new lenses (according to insurance) and was surprised to hear from my Opthemologist how far contact lens technology has come in the last decade. Not only can they supply me with monthly soft contact lenses, they also offer a hybrid lens (hard and soft combined), and they can produce a year supply much quicker. He decided to try monthly soft lenses first.

I was reluctant and skeptical. I doubted that they could fit them properly. I also doubted that insurance would pay for these expensive monthly soft lenses. Back in the day, a soft lens that I would wear for a year would run a couple hundred dollars, so monthly disposals could not be cheap. For the last 4 years my contacts had been billed to insurance as “medically necessary” (because without them I am legally blind) and insurance has paid 100% of the costs of my lenses. I was so nervous they wouldn’t accept it.

After a couple prescription tweaks, and many trips to the eye doctor, I have officially settled into my new soft lenses. The first pair I had ripped immediately and I didn’t know they were cracked until I went in for a follow up appointment and to tell him that I couldn’t see at all and he’s like, “Well, I see why….Both lenses have huge lacerations in them!” WHAT? I felt like such a ditz. He said I’m just that blind that when I went to put them in that day I didn’t see the hairline crack and that while wearing them, they ripped more, nearly in half. Haha. Oh geeze. He applied a new pair and of course I could see clear as day. Imagine that!? Haha.

They really are super comfortable. I was quickly reminded of the draw backs to soft lenses however. They wear a lot drier than hard lenses so I have to rely on drops more often. Wind is also an arch enemy of soft lenses. While running, they get really blurry because of the wind. It’s kind of scary at night… running blurry, but I’m sure I’ll get use to it.

Other than that, I am really happy with them. It was getting really dangerous wearing those hard lenses. They will serve as a good back up but since I have a year supply of soft lenses I’m not sure I’ll use them. Next up, I need new glasses too. I haven’t had a new pair since 2007 but those will be completely out of pocket since insurance is paying for the soft lenses now.

Sheesh. My eyes are so high maintenance! Haha. ;)