Delusions of My Youth - aka - There’s Something In My Eye
September 26, 2007
Update: Well, I had my third appointment with the optometrist at Sears and am back to glasses for a few weeks as they order a different brand and strength of contact for me. I’ll let you know how it works out …
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When I was younger, I thought glasses and braces were the coolest things ever. Or, if not the coolest things ever, pretty darn close. I don’t think I actually knew what either of them were for, but they definitely meant you were old or smart or both and I wanted both.
Oh the age of innocence, it is so short.
I got braces when I started high school and got them off the day before senior pictures. Four years had irrevocably cured me of my delusions of orthodontics, though not without significant growing pains.
I finally got my second wish, glasses, after my first summer in seminary (I choose to blame all the little funny marks in Greek that make you squint so frequently). And, like braces, I quickly realized glasses are not all they’re cracked up to be. While admittedly slightly more stylish than braces, I continually forgot them when I needed them, put them down without remembering where and hated having to crane my neck all the way up or down simply to read something through the lenses.
So, since it’s been three years since my first eye exam, I decided that perhaps it was time for a check-up (that and the frequent headaches and not being able to read street signs until I had passed them). That was a week and $150 ago (for the eye exam and trial pair). Let me tell you about how much I dislike contacts. It continually feels like something is in my eye, which is annoying all the time, it often blurs and itches causing me to rub it causing it to blur more causing me to rub it again and you can see the cycle developing. It’s a pain in the butt to put in and take out (though I can do it much faster now than a week ago). And my vision is still often blurry, I still have headaches (even more now) and my reading is not that much better.
I much preferred the days before painful and expensive things were done to my face.
Posted in 
emily said:
September 26th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
I wanted glasses when I was younger because I thought all smart people wore glasses.
KnittinPreacher said:
September 27th, 2007 at 8:25 am
Ok, as a contact wearer, I have a question — hard, soft or Gas Permiable lenses? I tried the gas permiable for, oh about 4 days. I had an astigmisism and so those were supposed to be the ones that gave you the clearest vision.. Walking around feeling like I had glass in my eye was not an option. So I switched to soft, which felt 100 times better, but the sharpness is not there. Try some eyedrops to see if that helps — my eyes were so dry because I kept blinking and rubbing. You can also go back to the doctor (most contact exams include follow up care) and see if she has any other lens type reccommendations if you are wearing soft lenses - there are tons of them out there.
Rachel said:
September 27th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Ditto what knittinpreacher said. I really like soft lenses, but I have found a noticable difference between brands. Right now I’m wearing accuvue 2 brand, and I think they’re great. Do you know they’re more than 50% water? How do they stay together?
I digress…
If your headaches are getting worse, not better, I think you need to get back to the eye doctor right away. I really don’t think this is something that can clear itself up in time, and I wouldn’t want you to injure yourself (let alone simply put up with the unneccessary discomfort!) while trying to wait the trial period out.
*jcg said:
October 1st, 2007 at 12:15 pm
headaches aside, you really do get used to something being in your eye all the time. when i first got contacts in college, i was miserable. i couldn’t put them in or take them out, and i couldn’t wear them for any length of time without going batty. i quit for awhile and then one day decided to try again. it took a day or two to grow accustomed, but now i wouldn’t trade them for anything. keep trying. i think you will feel the same!
Marci said:
October 1st, 2007 at 2:05 pm
have you tried accuvue oasys? I love them and they make me happy.
I’m having the reverse problem. my glasses give me headaches so I pretty much wear my contacts all the time. same prescription. go figure.
we miss you and your questionable vision down here!