Contact lenses

Hi all, I have a question about my contact lenses. I'll try to be as thorough as possible.

I've been wearing monthly soft contact lenses for 7 years to correct myopia (-4.25 left, -3.75 right, slight astigmatism in the left eye). I'm 26 and male. Occasionally I neglected proper care by not washing my hands or wearing them beyond a month but that was the exception. Ordinarily I didn't wear them beyond the prescribed periods, nor did I sleep with them in. I took regular breaks from wearing them and eventually only wore them if I was meeting people, I'm quite happy to wear my glasses at home. After 3 or 4 years, my  ophthalmologist said I wasn't tolerating my lenses so well so he prescribed Air Optix Night & Day soft monthly lenses by Ciba Vision and increased the diameter of the lenses. He said these were gas permeable and a lot more comfortable. He was right, I found these lenses fabulous.

I've been wearing them less and less for various reasons, the main one being I'm lazy and would just rather wear my glasses than go through the protocol of fitting them in and removing them all the time. As I spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen I also prefer to wear my glasses because I think I blink less when looking at the screen and it's not very comfortable with the lenses in. I still definitely want the option of being able to wear them if I want to. So, the reason I'm posting (at last!) is because recently my eyes feel dry after only 2 to 3 hours of wear. A couple days back, I put them in for 2 hours. They were fine until I started watching a show on my computer. I removed them after watching the show for 20 minutes and noticed tiny blood vessels in the white of the eye. I've always had a few visible vessels but there were more this time. My eyes were stinging. I haven't worn my lenses since, but my eyes were still stinging (only a little) 24 hours after I removed my lenses and those little blood vessels were in the exact same place. The rest of the eye was white and my vision was the same. My eyes are fine now but I'm still wearing my glasses. I lost track of how long I've been wearing this particular pair for, it seems that lenses only really last 2 weeks for me before they start becoming uncomfortable. 4 weeks is too long. So, I have my next pair ready to be opened.

I booked an appointment with the ophthalmologist but there's a long long waiting list so I want to know if you think. Is this is the end of contact lenses for me? I'd be pretty upset if it were and really hope there's things I can try. Is it because I lost the habit of wearing them regularly, now I have to re-train myself to wear them? or another reason? I'm allergic to dust mites, hasn't been a problem before. I do spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen. I love video games. Even with glasses my eyeshight isn't great, but my ophthalmologist says it's vitually impossible to set the right correction with me because I give inconsistent measurements each time I see him. Also, this problem seems to have started since I changed solution, but I'm not 100 per cent on that. I use the solution to disinfect and I rinse the lenses with saline solution before fitting them in. Oh and I just this minute grabbed the bottle to check it out and the sell by date was January 2009. It was never opened until a few weeks back.

Ok, sorry for the essay, I figured you guys want as much detail as possible... I look forward to your replies.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Sudden inablity to wear contacts is not rare. It is more common in females especially if on BCP, hormones, pregnant or going through menopause. You will have to work with an Eye MD to see if you problems can be overcome. Sometimes yes sometimes no.. If "no' then you will need glasses or lasik

JCHMD

[JodieJ]

Don't give up yet on wearing contacts.  I wore contacts for several decades, and I experienced several crises similar to yours.  (I'm no longer very nearsighted after cataract surgery.)  I found that there is a huge difference in wearing comfort among different brands.  For whatever reason(s) your current brand of contacts isn't working for you.  Try changing solutions to see if that helps.  If not, consider seeing a different eye care provider, preferably someone who specializes in contact lenses for the hard-to-fit patient.  (This will probably be an optometrist.  You can continue with your ophthalmologist for general eye health exams if you want.)  It was my experience that the 1-day disposables (like 1-day Acuvue moist) are tops for wearing comfort.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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[croxey]

Thanks for your replies, my ophthalmologist is booked for December 14,  he couldn't do it earlier. In the meantime I'm going to change solution (I read that those without preservatives are a good thing to try) and take it easy with my lenses. Yesterday I wore a new pair 1 hour without a hitch, today I'll try 2, then work my way up to 6 to 8 hours like I used to do (as long as I don't get red eye etc). I made a note of when to throw that pair away and I'm taking no chances concercing proper lens handling. Above all I don't want to f--k up my eyes. Why an optometrist? what's the difference?

[JodieJ]

An optometrist is not a medical doctor and cannot perform eye surgery.  Many people prefer seeing an ophthalmologist (who is an M.D.) to monitor the health of their eyes and to treat (minor and not-so-minor) eye conditions.  On the other hand, optometrists are generally well-trained at prescribing glasses and contacts.  For some optometrists, fitting contacts becomes an area of special interest and expertise, and they devote much of their practice to doing this.  Whenever I developed a big problem with my contacts, it was always an optometrist like this who found a solution for me.  I once drove 50 miles to see an optometrist who advertised that if I couldn't wear his contacts, the consultation was free.  As it turned out, I happily wrote the check for the consultation and drove home wearing my new lenses.      

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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