They cannot put that little window in the contacts that you had in your bifocals. To get perfect vision I have had friends who wear one contact for distance and one for reading. That was never my choice, but many people love it.
Sammy

For me, torics got me better than glasses. Glasses I was 20/30 on a really good day but Torics got me to 20/25. A second opinion would definitely not hurt.

Don't know how you feel about lasik correction, but DH had been wearing bifocals (and getting pretty thick).
He had laser correction surgery and now has 20/20.

Yes, he does, have to use the reading glasses for close up.

But, he says that is far better than wearing them all the time!! And 1$ compared to 300+$ is great!

Of course, this isn't for everyone, but it worked for him. Now he can wake up and see! Plus, go swimming without the hassle of not seeing...we have a pool and this was a problem!!

Along with alot of other things...By far, this is the way to go, if possible from a medical standpoint! Good Luck! We wished he'd done it sooner!!! But happy for it now!

Torics are to correct astigmatism (a whole differ4ent flaw than near/far sightedness) ... for technical reasons involving the materials contacts are made of, the contacts can't correct it quite as well. Also, the lenses can shift a bit on your eye.

However, you will have better peripheral vision with contact lenses, and for many (including me) it's worth it. I have vision corrected for distance, and use cheap reading glasses.

Also, when you wear contacts, astigmatism can slowly correct itself - I've stopped needing a toric lens in one eye.

Also gas permeable and hard contacts correct better than soft. So I have better vision with my glasses than my soft, and about the same when I had gas perms.

Vickey-MN

I have since had Lasik (love it! doing well!) but in response to Lazygardens post: I was highly astigmatic, in both eyes, and the reason they gave me the torics was because of that. And still my vision was better than with glasses or plain contacts, because of the thickness and the weight of them.

Well, it's been a couple of months now and I'm not still seeing like an eagle!!! Can hardly wait til it's the insurance's turn to pay for another eye exam with an eye to maybe trying different contacts! Maybe hard lenses??? Semi-soft ones??? Hmmmmm

I wear Torics also. I do see very well with them, but they don't like me. They are just not comfortable and I think because they are Toric, they are thicker. My eyes dry out severly with them. And they are just so expensive.

Am I the only one who has this problem with Torics?

I ware soft contacts.I also used the drugstore glasses with them to read.I had a pair of glasses I paid $200 for and lost them.Guess what ? I took them with me to get new glasses and the eye doctor took the prescription from the drug store glasses to make my new glasses.Needless to say when I lost them I just went for the drugstore glasses and I'm fine.

Sooz -
When I fiorst started wearing contacts, my eyes changed rapidly for a while: the pressure of the lenses was altering the shape of my eyes.

I ended up needing only one Toric.

I wear gas permeable contacts, and they're bifocals. No, not monovision, but true bifocals. If you hold the lenses up to the light, you can see the fine line where the distance correction changes to the near correction.

The way they work is that rather than a traditional round lens, there is a small flat section on the bottom of the lens. Also, the bottom of the lens is thicker than the rest of the lens. So, whereas a normal lens will slide behind the lower eyelid when you look down, the bifocal lens will "sit" on the lower lid (you don't even feel it) when you look down, so then you're looking through the near-vision portion.

For about the first day to two days when you wear true bifocal contacts, you'll find yourself (at least I did) walking around with your whole head tilted down so you're looking through the top (distance-vision) portion. But, by the middle or end of the second day you won't even realize that you've adjusted to them and you're seeing normally.

Lindsay CA,

Please tell me more about your RGP bi focal contact experience. All I have worn are single vision glasses and then progressives for the past year, because I am in the reading glasses age now. I have never been completely satisfied with the progressives ie. dizzy, vertigo, etc. but I do like the feeling of a natural progression in vision from near to far and vice versa. I am astigmatic in my left eye and the eye doctor has been trying to fit me with the new toric soft contact lenses to solve all of the progressive glasses issues, but I am just not getting good vision with them, although they are quite comfortable. Before we ditch contacts altogether, we are going to try the RGP for the astigmatism, but I am dreading the discomfort. Also, I did not find it convienient to have contact lenses and reading glasses, I am used to having them all-in-one in my glasses, so I really like the idea of contact bi-focals, but my DR says I will not get good vision with these. Is it freaky to have bi-focal contacts? Do you prefer them over bi-focal glasses (which is the direction I seem to be moving away from the progressives barring a miracle with the RGP's).

Thanks

mbqb

This is the first time I've checked the Health forum in an awfully long time, so this is the first time I've seen mbqb's request for more info...

My "backup glasses" are bifocals. Suffice it to say that I take them off to read or do anything "close." The bifocal RGP contacts, though, I don't even think about -- I don't feel them on my eyes at all. I look "up/out" and I can see. I look down, and I can see. The only thing better would be not needing any correction at all.

The only time it was "freaky" to have bifocal contacts was the first couple of days, when I had to get used to them. But like I said above (when we still had uppercase letters here at the Garden Web), after about two days you're adjusted and don't even think about it.

lindsey_ca,

Thank you for answering my question. The Dr. still hasn't found the perfect perscription for me on the RGP's, so I have only worn them for a half hour or so. They are a nightmare to remove! Tomorrow I will be trying some new ones. They are not bi-focal RGP's, so I would have to wear reading glasses with them. I can DEFINITELY feel them in my eyes and they seem to "swim" into focus everytime I blink. Does this ever get better? In that aspect I feel glasses are so much easier. I have progressive glasses now, but I would be interested in bifocals because I would get more distance vision. Do you like your bi-focal glasses? Do you feel the change is abrupt from far to near with them? I do enjoy hearing your opinion.

Thanks

No, I do not like wearing bifocal glasses. They drive me nuts. I don't mind the bifocal contacts at all.

You say you've only worn the bifocal RGPs for about a half hour -- this is probably pretty normal... you have to get used to them. When I got my very first pair of bifocal RGPs, I thought I'd never get used to them. I practically had to force myself to keep them in all day, and to wear them all day for two days in a row! I would drive with my chin almost on my chest -- I'd have my head tilted way down so that I would look out of the upper (distance) part of the lenses; and I'd walk around that way, too. But after about two days I all of a sudden realized that I had adjusted to them and I was walking around normally. :-)

If you've never worn RGP lenses before, they will take a bit of getting used to. But, that, too, doesn't take long. Your eyes are probably tearing up a little more than normal, because the RGP lens is more like a foreign body in the eye than a soft lens is. And, yes, the lenses will "settle down" quite a bit.

Popping the RGP lenses out is very different than taking out soft lenses. With soft lenses, you can just look straight ahead, but with the RGPs it's easier if you look down... I find the easiest way to remove them is to first open your eye as wide as possible, then (using either your index finger or middle finger ) put your finger at the outer corner of your eye and gently pull the lower lid in the direction of your ear (that is, the right eye you'd pull to the right, and you'd pull the left eye to the left). When you have the lower lid "tight" you simply blink and the lens should pop right out. If you're sort of "leaning over" (well, at least your head should be "looking down") and hold your other hand, palm up, right "below" your eye, the lens should land right on the palm.

lindsay ca,

Thanks so much for keeping this dialogue with me. Today I had a second fitting with the eye doctor and she is going to order me a third set of RGP's to conitnue to get a better fit. The right one seems to "float" around a bit. Is it typical to have so many fittings? Sometimes I wonder if I'm being too picky or maybe she isn't quite competent. I tried many fittings with her with the soft lenses ( at least 4) and could never get vision that I felt was crisp and then the near vision was obliterated, so I thought as a last result I would try the RGP's. She said that with the RGP's, if we can get a good fit, she would then try the bifocal contacts with me. Anyway, thanks for your advice in getting them out. I think I've finally got the hang of it : ) I wore them for about 4 hours today. It seems that the lens that fits best stays semi- comfortable, but the focus still goes in and out in both of them when I blink. This is annoying. At this point I would rather suffer with glasses. If you don't mind me asking, why do your bifocal glasses drive you nuts? Also, I came upon a discovery today. I was rubbing my eyes (with RGP's in) and the right lens popped out, but I noticed that my near vision wasn't so terrible. I guess this is what they call monovision. It actually wasn't so bad. As a matter of fact I have one soft lens in right now (I saved my last sample pair) as I'm typing to see if this mught be an option for me. One thing my Dr. did say is that with regular RGP wear my far vision could improve to the point where I would not need to wear glasses. I have heard of this, but not to the point where a permanent correction takes place... fact or fallacy? What has been your experience? Okay, enough with the questions. I will try to check this site sooner than I have because I appreciate your feedback very much.

Thanks,

mbqb

Yes, it can be very normal to have multiple fittings for RGP contacts. That's why they generally cost more -- because the cost includes all of the office visits! :-)

Yes, your vision can change/improve by wearing RGP lenses. In fact, there is a method by which your vision can be "forced to change" by wearing a series of RGP lenses. Sheesh, my addled brain just went blank when I tried to think of the name of this process -- but when I do think of it I'll post it. Anyway, RGP lenses do subtly change the shape of your cornea; hence, the changing of your vision. That's how that "system" works -- the successive lenses reshape your eyes so that eventually you only have to wear a "retainer lens" a few hours a week.

Oops -- gotta run for now. "Friday Night Lights" is about to start! I'll be back later!

Yes, it can be very normal to have multiple fittings for RGP contacts. That's why they generally cost more -- because the cost includes all of the office visits! :-)

Yes, your vision can change/improve by wearing RGP lenses. In fact, there is a method by which your vision can be "forced to change" by wearing a series of RGP lenses. Sheesh, my addled brain just went blank when I tried to think of the name of this process -- but when I do think of it I'll post it. Anyway, RGP lenses do subtly change the shape of your cornea; hence, the changing of your vision. That's how that "system" works -- the successive lenses reshape your eyes so that eventually you only have to wear a "retainer lens" a few hours a week.

Oops -- gotta run for now. "Friday Night Lights" is about to start! I'll be back later!

Well that's certainly odd -- a double post, an hour and a half apart... Oh, well...

Orthokeratology is the word I was trying to remember earlier. The lenses can be prescribed to be worn during the day, or during the night, to correct your vision. It's best when used to correct nearsightedness and astigmatism, but not too long ago Ortho-K lenses were being developed that would work on patients with farsightedness.

Vision is never as crisp with soft lenses as with RGPs.

My bifocal glasses drive me nuts because the "near vision part" is only good for a specific distance, and it seems that it's just never right for what I'm doing at the time, whether it's reading, knitting, doing needlework, etc.

Plus, wearing glasses is simply not easy for me to do. The bridge of my nose is EXTREMELY narrow and my visual acuity is very poor. Even with the lightest material lenses, glasses cause problems for me. The whole reason I started wearing contacts (around 1972 or '73) was because my glasses were causing little ulcerations of the skin on the sides of my nose. My doctor told me that if I didn't get contacts, I would definitely end up with skin cancer.

Wearing glasses for more than about 7 minutes gives me a headache. About the only time I ever really wear the glasses is on a Saturday or Sunday if I don't put my contacts in and I want to watch something on television. I don't wear the glasses when I'm on the 'puter or when I'm reading or doing needlework, etc.

And, yes, I did develop squamous cell carcinoma on the left side of my nose, exactly where the "nose piece" of my glasses caused the raw area all those years ago...

I did know the theory of orthokeratology therapy but I guess I just didn't think that regular wearing of RGP's without the progressive changing of them could do the same. It is an encouraging prospect. Sorry to hear about your squamous cell carcinoma on your nose. That can be a scary prospect. You are right about the soft lenses, the acuity is not as good as the RGP's. At the end of the day yesterday after wearing the one I told you about, my eye was more fatigued than with the RGP's. I just need to be tough and get past the incredibly uncomfortable breaking in period of the RGP's. Glasses have never bothered me in terms of comfort, I guess I am "blessed" with a very large nose that can carry them quite well (mercilessly teased in grade school!). They do hide some of the wrinkles too : ) I am concerned about the vision change with every blink. Could this be that we have not found the perfect fit yet? Or is that normal? Thanks again!!

mbqb

My experience in getting used to RGPs as well as bifocal RGPs is that the more I thought about them, the longer it took to get past the "breaking in" period. If I kept my mind busy on other things, I would all-of-a-sudden realize that, hey, these things are OK! :-)

Yes, the "vision change with every blink" is sort of a combination of getting used to them as well as perhaps a less-than-perfect fit. But, you also need to factor in HOW you blink. My eye doctor is always telling me that I don't blink "big enough." He keeps saying I need to blink and really open my eyes wide between blinks. (This "lubricates" the eyes better.) But, that's just not natural for me to do, and I'm always thinking that it must look really strange to folks who might happen to pay attention to me as I blink. :-)

And, if I do "blink large" I do notice more of a "vision change." I can "see" the lens coming down and the sharpness/acuity changing. It's much more natural for me to "blink small" and I don't get a noticeable visual change.

Just hang in there and try not to think about it all... and I'm sure that you, too, will suddenly realize that, hey, you can see! :-)

Hey! Today I wore the RGP's for about three hours and I had to go on a long drive (my youngest goes to vision therapy for his lazy eye at my eye DR.), so I thought I better take them out so I will not have trouble while I'm driving. Well, to my surprise I could not see out of my regular glasses, they were too strong! This was very encouraging because a bit of the sharper vision produced by the RGP's "held" for a few hours. It was totally cool. I told the Dr. this and she said that if I wore them regularly I would only have to use them as a "retainer", like you said, when I felt my vision reverting back. Another cool thing is that my near vision was not obliterated like when I'm wearing the contacts. I am typing now without any glasses. I am only 42 so I guess that is not unusual. She said that I could wear them all night (like in orthokeratology) and take them out in the morning and see how the vision is. Now mind you, the vision wasn't perfect when I took them out, but I did begin to see a difference and that makes me not want to quit trying. You're right about not thinking about it... when I completely obsess about how uncomfortable they are I want to rub my eyes, but when I just go about my daily living not thinking about it, I have begun to realize that I don't notice them so much. But if all of this no glasses stuff with RGP's is true, why isn't every RGP wearers vision corrected with them? And here's yet another question: If my vision is in a bit of flux with RGP's, how do they know the exact prescription for glasses? Thanks! You are such a patient person to deal with all of my annoying questions!!

Congratulations on your progress!!

You asked why all RGP wearers' vision isn't corrected... I guess the reason would be because with Ortho-K, the lenses are "misfitted" on purpose -- to change the shape of your cornea; whereas normally when fitting contacts lenses they are shaped to fit the eye as it currently exists.

You also asked how a proper prescription for glasses can be determined when your vision isn't quite settled yet with the RGPs... It would probably be best to wait to get a new prescription for glasses until your vision "settles down" with the contacts. :-/

Your questions are not annoying at all! I'm happy to help in any way I can!

Hey Lindsey CA,

Just wanted to let you know my progress, or rather regress. I was having such a tough time with the contacts (comfort, blurring when blinking,couldn't see when night driving, etc.) that I quit them and went to regular bifocal glasses,which I have never had. Ugh! I think you are right. They are okay for the far vision and up close, but sometimes I feel I am caught in between all of them when I need to see certain things. The new prescription is better than what I had before, but I must say, the progressive glasses did mimic normal vision much better than the bifocals. I wish I had young eyes again that focused at every level without help. I have 30 days to change the glasses if I need to. I wish that the RGP's would have worked for me... I'm a wimp. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

mbqb

Oh, I'm really sorry the bifocal contacts didn't work out for you!! From what you described, I don't think they were the proper fit for your eyes (no matter whether they were bifocal or single focal), and it's also probable that the bifocal line wasn't in the right place. Just a hair's difference is a huge amount when it comes to this.

Yes, Christmas was wonderful -- I hope yours was, too; and I wish you all the best for the New Year!!!

Lindsey

Yes they will if you follow the prescription and as well as the Hygiene Tips of the doctor. :)

Contact lenses are much abused eye products and can actually cause damage if not picked wisely. Here are a few reasons why contact lenses should be picked wisely after a prescription and that too after a visit to a qualified eye specialist.

To begin with, a contact lens need not be 'fits-all' type. One must get it prescribed. Since a prescription is an authorized statement that clearly mentions what is ok, you can shop with confidence and it feels good that you are doing the right thing.
Since buying a pair of contact lens can happen only through a prescription, any website selling 'branded' contact lens are likely to be selling lens that may not be branded and that isn't good news for your eye.
If you have been wearing both glasses and contact lens, you are now aware that the prescriptions are a little different from each other. While most of us know what we need a prescription to buy glasses for eye sight problems, the same prescription cannot be used for contact lenses. This means, you need to get a separate prescription for contact lens.
Even if you wish to wear contact lens for changing your eye color, you will need a prescription from an Opthalmogist.
If you prefer to wear a specific type of contact lens, you can talk to your doctor so that she or he can recommend and also mention that brand in the prescription so that there are no hassles tomorrow. The doctor can also clear any doubt and specify the positives and negatives about any special type of Contact Lens.
A prescription will have the doctor's contact details and this way, the dealer can call and check should there be any kind of confusion or if any clarification needs to be sought.

Here is a link that might be useful: Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are much abused eye products and can actually cause damage if not picked wisely. Here are a few reasons why contact lenses should be picked wisely after a prescription and that too after a visit to a qualified eye specialist.

To begin with, a contact lens need not be 'fits-all' type. One must get it prescribed. Since a prescription is an authorized statement that clearly mentions what is ok, you can shop with confidence and it feels good that you are doing the right thing.
Since buying a pair of contact lens can happen only through a prescription, any website selling 'branded' contact lens are likely to be selling lens that may not be branded and that isn't good news for your eye.
If you have been wearing both glasses and contact lens, you are now aware that the prescriptions are a little different from each other. While most of us know what we need a prescription to buy glasses for eye sight problems, the same prescription cannot be used for contact lenses. This means, you need to get a separate prescription for contact lens.
Even if you wish to wear contact lens for changing your eye color, you will need a prescription from an Opthalmogist.
If you prefer to wear a specific type of contact lens, you can talk to your doctor so that she or he can recommend and also mention that brand in the prescription so that there are no hassles tomorrow. The doctor can also clear any doubt and specify the positives and negatives about any special type of Contact Lens.
A prescription will have the doctor's contact details and this way, the dealer can call and check should there be any kind of confusion or if any clarification needs to be sought.

Here is a link that might be useful: Contact Lenses