So I got contacts

[azkaisr]

We finally decided at the eye doc that I should try these monster big hard contacts to work on reshaping my cornea. They are totally comfortable to wear actually and my vision is about 20/20 with them in. Still a bit of a stigmatism but that is getting better as my brain takes it into account. Amazing how that works.

 

So does anyone else have gas permeable hard lenses in here and if so, what sort of chemicals are you using? I got some Boston starter packs but would love to here is there are any tips for them Any good websites to get saline etc?

 

Thanks,

 

Kaisr

[AZKomet]

Hey Tom, I did try contacts, but they were a PITA to me. I have allergies and getting pollen or other irritants in the eyes is not a good thing. Rubbing my eyes is a habit I did not break so it is back to glasses...

 

I had my eyes examined last week and got new glasses. Interesting though b/c the place "A" where I got the exam quoted me $653.00 for the lens, frame, etc.

 

I left and went to store "B" and walked out with almost identical frames and lenses for $120.00. Hmmmmm......

 

Good luck with the contacts!!! Interesting to see if you ride with them and how it affects the contacts.

 

Dave

[Nice n Easy Rider]

We finally decided at the eye doc that I should try these monster big hard contacts to work on reshaping my cornea. They are totally comfortable to wear actually and my vision is about 20/20 with them in. Still a bit of a stigmatism but that is getting better as my brain takes it into account. Amazing how that works.

 

So does anyone else have gas permeable hard lenses in here and if so, what sort of chemicals are you using? I got some Boston starter packs but would love to here is there are any tips for them Any good websites to get saline etc?

 

Thanks,

 

Kaisr

 

Tom,

 

I haven't worn hard lenses but I have worn soft ones. Even with the soft ones my eyes got very dry and irritated. If you find that your eyes get overly dry while riding ask your eye doc about silicone plugs for the tear ducts. I have dry eyes and by fitting the lower tear ducts with silicone plugs (about 5 mins to fit) I'm able to keep enough moisture in to avoid having to use drops very often, if at all. I've had these plugs in for >5 years now.

[Frustrated_Diver]

Tom,

 

Welcome to the club. For over 25 years i've had to wear gas permeable contacts for my keratoconus. For me to see, i have 2 options -- 1 cornea transplant (not Lasik) or 2 wear contacts. Glasses can't correct the problems caused by the messed up cornea. So, i've been doing the contact thing. The current set, at $550 each (no insurance) has taken 14 pairs to get the fit right. It seems that i've been to the doctor every week all year. Just today i got the current guess.

 

Anyway, that is not what you asked about. But over the years i've had some experience with chemicals. What i've found is that the Boston Advanced cleaner and soaking solution is pretty good. Most any place that has eye products (Wal-mart, CVS, etc.) has these products in stock.

 

When the dry eyes hit, try Systane. While darn expensive, it does a pretty good job of lubricating those ocular orbs.

 

One thing that haunts me is the fear of having one blow out at speed. That is one reason why i wear a full face helmet to keep the wind out of my eyes.

 

Good luck. Hope you adjust well to wearing contacts.

 

[Lets_Play_Two]

We finally decided at the eye doc that I should try these monster big hard contacts to work on reshaping my cornea. They are totally comfortable to wear actually and my vision is about 20/20 with them in. Still a bit of a stigmatism but that is getting better as my brain takes it into account. Amazing how that works.

 

So does anyone else have gas permeable hard lenses in here and if so, what sort of chemicals are you using? I got some Boston starter packs but would love to here is there are any tips for them Any good websites to get saline etc?

 

Thanks,

 

Kaisr

 

I have worn "hard" contacts, now gas permeable for 40+ years. I have always used Boston solution. It is now just a single solution for storing and wetting. You shouldn't need any other "chemicals". You do need good wrap around sun glasses to deal with drying out eyes while riding. You can get good wetting drops to use periodically as an aid to flush lens while wearing.

[azkaisr]

Tom,

 

Welcome to the club. For over 25 years i've had to wear gas permeable contacts for my keratoconus. For me to see, i have 2 options -- 1 cornea transplant (not Lasik) or 2 wear contacts. Glasses can't correct the problems caused by the messed up cornea. So, i've been doing the contact thing. The current set, at $550 each (no insurance) has taken 14 pairs to get the fit right. It seems that i've been to the doctor every week all year. Just today i got the current guess.

 

Anyway, that is not what you asked about. But over the years i've had some experience with chemicals. What i've found is that the Boston Advanced cleaner and soaking solution is pretty good. Most any place that has eye products (Wal-mart, CVS, etc.) has these products in stock.

 

When the dry eyes hit, try Systane. While darn expensive, it does a pretty good job of lubricating those ocular orbs.

 

One thing that haunts me is the fear of having one blow out at speed. That is one reason why i wear a full face helmet to keep the wind out of my eyes.

 

Good luck. Hope you adjust well to wearing contacts.

 

My vision plan actually has a medical rider on it so I got these for nothing. but they were damn expensive. We got a good fit on try number two. I have a pretty damn good Eye Doc(even if he looks like a 30year old punk with a OKIE accent). I had not thought of the blowout at speed problem with these but will now keep that in mind.. And thanks for the tip on Systane. The toughest thing for me right now is not getting the "bubble". I am using a tool to mount them since my fingers are so big. It is nice to not have glasses on though to see.

[ltljohn]

Tom,

 

Welcome to the club. For over 25 years i've had to wear gas permeable contacts for my keratoconus. For me to see, i have 2 options -- 1 cornea transplant (not Lasik) or 2 wear contacts. Glasses can't correct the problems caused by the messed up cornea. So, i've been doing the contact thing. The current set, at $550 each (no insurance) has taken 14 pairs to get the fit right. It seems that i've been to the doctor every week all year. Just today i got the current guess.

 

Anyway, that is not what you asked about. But over the years i've had some experience with chemicals. What i've found is that the Boston Advanced cleaner and soaking solution is pretty good. Most any place that has eye products (Wal-mart, CVS, etc.) has these products in stock.

 

When the dry eyes hit, try Systane. While darn expensive, it does a pretty good job of lubricating those ocular orbs.

 

One thing that haunts me is the fear of having one blow out at speed. That is one reason why i wear a full face helmet to keep the wind out of my eyes.

 

Good luck. Hope you adjust well to wearing contacts.

 

Same problems here but throw in a few chemical burns and I had the cornea transplant and I still wear the gas perms. DITTO on the Boston products I use the Boston Simplicity and their daily cleaner too. They take a bit of getting used to but I have worn mine for as long as 30 hours with no ill effects(I've also slept in them OUCH and was very glad I had a spare pair because they get really yukky) I've been kayaking, rafting, camping and everything else in them. You have to keep them wet, if they get dry it feels like sand in your eyes I keep a bottle of the Boston rewetting drops in my pocket never tried the Systane but I my try it out.. Follow the instructions from your doctor and all should be good. YMMV some people just can't get used to it. I also always wear a full face to keep excess wind and debris out of my eyes. I have had one pop out while stopped at an intersection and turning my head and eyes far left to look for traffic fortunately it landed on my cheek and I was able to retrieve it through by opening my visor. I have also lost one the same way. They were very dry at the time.

Best of luck I hope you like them.

Eventually you will probably get rid of the tool and get used to poking yourself in the eye

[Francois_Dumas]

I can't even POINT at my own eye, let alone have something IN it..... so I am destined to wear these *%^*&%( glasses for the rest of my life.

 

Glad it works for you !

[Husker Red]

Hey Tom,

 

Good luck with the new lenses. My specialty is RGP fittings for guys like Rick and John with kerataconus and corneal transplants. As those guys mentioned, RGP fittings can be really time consuming and it does take a while to get used to rigid lenses. Don't rub your eyes! In certain situations RGP's can give better visual accuity than soft lenses, however initial comfort is not as good.

 

I'd suggest using Boston solutions. They are fairly cheap, easy to find, and do a fine job. You won't use much, so don't worry about the price. The economy isn't that bad.

 

Mike

 

[Polo]

Hey, if they are comfortable, enjoy!

 

I went to have an exam to see (no pun intended) about having laser surgery. They proposed to have one eye corrected for far vision and another for close-up vision. I wasn't comfortable with the idea and they gave me a set of soft contact lenses that would simulate the correction and let me evaluate it.

 

It was acceptable, but the lest eye, since it is like a Popeye's eye since my accident 16 years ago, just could not get accustomed to the lens.

 

Sad as it is, the concept of getting younger as we age belongs only in the movies. Funny though, as old as my eyes are, they still don't see older women prettier than young ones...

[azkaisr]

Thanks for the feedback Mike. The issue I am having today is not that they are uncomfortable. It is more along the line of bumping my eye and getting an air bubble. The good news is that I am now getting really good at getting them on and off.

[Bullett]

Hey, cool! I used to wear soft lenses, then disposable soft lenses. I did have a soft lense dry out and blow off my eye (at the MSF class, no less) but I could see well enough to finish and take the test (and get the second highest score ) with one lens.

 

Lens drying became a larger issue for me as time went on. But you, Tommy, are a youngster, so you should be fine for a few years.

 

I finally switched to glasses for riding. I like to buy lens supplies at Costco.

[DaveTheAffable]

... what sort of chemicals are you using? I got some Boston starter packs ...

 

Thanks,

 

Kaisr

 

Ohhh. Tommy. Sad indeed.

 

On the ride event planning page we talked about libations...

 

...and now we're talking about your good "contacts" and "using chemicals"? I... I... never even heard of "Boston Starter". Acapulco somethin.... but Boston?

 

No wonder you're having trouble with your vision...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ltljohn]

... what sort of chemicals are you using? I got some Boston starter packs ...

 

Thanks,

 

Kaisr

 

Ohhh. Tommy. Sad indeed.

 

On the ride event planning page we talked about libations...

 

...and now we're talking about your good "contacts" and "using chemicals"? I... I... never even heard of "Boston Starter". Acapulco somethin.... but Boston?

 

No wonder you're having trouble with your vision...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What's all this vision trouble, I thought that stuff was good for glaucoma

[11101110]

Tom,

 

Welcome to the club. For over 25 years i've had to wear gas permeable contacts for my keratoconus. For me to see, i have 2 options -- 1 cornea transplant (not Lasik) or 2 wear contacts. Glasses can't correct the problems caused by the messed up cornea. So, i've been doing the contact thing. The current set, at $550 each (no insurance) has taken 14 pairs to get the fit right. It seems that i've been to the doctor every week all year. Just today i got the current guess.

 

Anyway, that is not what you asked about. But over the years i've had some experience with chemicals. What i've found is that the Boston Advanced cleaner and soaking solution is pretty good. Most any place that has eye products (Wal-mart, CVS, etc.) has these products in stock.

 

When the dry eyes hit, try Systane. While darn expensive, it does a pretty good job of lubricating those ocular orbs.

 

One thing that haunts me is the fear of having one blow out at speed. That is one reason why i wear a full face helmet to keep the wind out of my eyes.

 

Good luck. Hope you adjust well to wearing contacts.

 

Close to what I went though. I think I had ten for my left eye and after a few years I don't think it fits properly anymore. I use the Boston Simplicity and the Boston rewetting drops. The rewetting drops are also great for the morning eye bugers. Ocasionally I have one slip or nearly slip off the cornea when moving my eyes fast at an intersection. Just keep rewetting drops with you.

[Ken H.]

Yes, been wearing RGPs for years. With monovision for about the last 10 (but that’s another subject.) And with same goal of (and fairly effective) stabilizing my corneas.

 

But this point puzzles me, “monster big hard contacts”. Just how big are they? I wear 9.0mm, recently raised from 8.5mm. Most soft lenses are 18mm or something like that. Much bigger at any rate.

 

+1 on the Boston, but Bausch & Lomb bought them awhile back and their RPG solutions seem about the same to me now and are a bit cheaper.