Contact lenses

[Pam8995]

I have been a soft contact lens wearer for almost 25 years.  My prescription has changed and my doctor has told me that I will need special order lenses as the prescription is out of the range for mail ordere lenses -12.5 in both eyes.  I currently wear Accuvue Oasis (non-toric).  The doctor is telling me that a special order toric lens will be the best bet for me.  Both trial pairs were not right for me as I could not get comfortable with either pair of lenses (felt like pieces of glass in my eyes).  Will I be better off trying a special order lens that is non-toric as I do not know if this is the reason they are not feeling comfortable?  The doctor says its the material of the lens and not the toric that is my issue.  Any insight would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks

[flossy93]

FYI - I've previously had a lens tear happen across the center of the lens, and my OD said it's not unusual.  

Lenses for high myopes are thin in the middle and thicker at the edge, so the middle is the weak spot where repeated flexing can cause a crease or tear.  Having one tear after only 3 hours of wear is not good, though.  Maybe there was a defect in manufacture?  They only just started making them.  Ask for a replacement for free.

Also, I meant to write Biofinity XR, not 'SR.'  Too cold here and my fingers are numb and sloppy I guess.  

[flossy93]

I'm sorry to hear you had a problem with the Biofinity XR lens tearing.  It does sound as though some users have had problems with them tearing, but frankly I'm not surprised given how they feel.

I did get them to try out about 2 weeks ago.  I find them very comfortable and will be going back to the optometrist's office next week to sort out whether I have the right prescription for each eye and to order some of these lenses.  My vision with them isn't perfect but it's not too bad, and I have a pannus problem from my old lens material so have to move to a more oxygen-permeable lens.

The Biofinity SR lenses are so, so much thinner than the lenses I had before.  It makes them very comfortable, but also quite difficult to handle.  I found that washing and then drying my hands totally before trying to pick them off of my eyeball or out of the case seems to help in grasping them more easily on the first try.  

Also, because the Biofinity material has such a high water content, it seems like when they dry out even a little they stick much more tightly to one's eye than less oxygen-permeable lenses.  I'm going to try putting some saline in my eye and waiting for a minute before trying to remove them if my eyes are dry.  They are so thin, especially in the middle, that a tear would be too easily created.

I'm going to try them for a month or two and see if I can keep from ripping them by handling them very, very gently.  I hope your experience was an aberration and that they end up working out for you without future lens tears.  Good luck!

[Pam8995]

I just received my first trial with the Biofinity lenses.  I was reading some of the reviews and am a little concerned about these lenses.  I had my left lens rip after 1 day of wearing (only about 3 hours).  Based on other comments this seems to be a common occurrence for these lenses.  I have never had this happen before and hope this does not occur again.  I have had a lens tear at the edges many times but this one torn in the middle of the lens.  Hope you are having success and like the lenses.

[Doreen Fazio, M.D.]

I think a second opinion is a good idea.  With respect to some of the posted comments, floaters are never due to the contact lenses.  High myopes are more prone to floaters due to the length of the eyeball.  A sudden onset of new floaters requires a dilated retinal exam with an ophthalmologist to be sure that there is no retinal tear or retinal detachment.

[Pam8995]

Thanks for sharing your information.  I have decided to seek a second opinion and will be seeing another doctor this weekend.   I plan on mentioning about those other lenses.  I had seen them on 1800 contacts and would like to try them.

[flossy93]

I'm also outside the RX range for ready-order soft lenses, and have to order custom-made lenses (I use non-toric lenses, as the blurriness due to a small amount of astigmatism in one eye is tolerable).  

Your doctor should be willing to keep trying different lens materials/manufacturers until you obtain satisfactory fit and comfort.  I know how frustrating and time-consuming this is, though.  If you don't feel your doctor is up to the challenge, by all means consider trying someone else.  You could even post your city/state here in case anyone has a good optometrist recommendation in your area for high-myope patients.

If you previously had 'acceptable' vision without toric correction for astigmatism, you might also ask the doctor to try a non-toric lens from a different company.  I just found out last week that CooperVision now makes a lens called Biofinity XR - this is a hydrogel type lens available in the range from -12.5 to -20.0D for nearsighted patients.  It's not made from the exact same material as the Oasys lens though (it's made from 'comfilcon A' versus the 'senofilcon A' of Oasys), so it may not work for you.  

I'm waiting for my first trial of the Biofinity XR lenses, so I can't comment on their comfort as yet, but it might be worth asking your doctor about this product - on the condition that you could function without the astigmatism being corrected.   If you need the toric feature, you will have to try a different toric lens, probably a custom option.

Best of luck with your search for comfortable and effective contacts!  You are not alone in this struggle.   :-)

[Pam8995]

I have never needed correction for the stygitism before.  My feeling is that is the reason why I am having so much trouble getting adjusted to the new lenses.  The doctor says that is not the reason and it is the type of material of the different brands.  I am thinking of switching doctors and getting another opinion as this has been going on since September with no success.

[Pam8995]

I switched doctor's this past August when I noticed a change in my floaters. I noticed a rather large floater in my left eye.  The doctor told me it is still safe to wear my soft contact lenses.

[Anomalychick]

    If you are switching from non toric lenses to toric lenses, that can cause a comfort difference. Toric lenses need to sit on your eye in a specific orientation to correct your astigmatism, and because of this they have some type of "anchor" mechanism to stop them from rotating. On acuvue oasis some parts of the lens are thicker because I believe their supposed to stick under your eyelids or something like that. I found acuvue oasis regular to be very comfortable, and acuvue oasis toric to be horribly painful, and I couldn't get used to it. That may be the issue that you are experiencing. When you pick up a non toric acuvue oasis, its round. The toric ones kind of look like ovals, there is a noticeable difference in how they are shaped and that can affect the comfort. A different brand of toric lens may be more confortable for you. (I think biofinity has a different anchor system) I wear non torics even though I have a little bit of astigmatism. It doens't bother me enough to correct it, but of course that depends on how much astigmatism you actually have.

[Kristina55]

Hi! May I ask something, referring to your high myopia, do you have eye prob like floaters/flashes? I'm a softlens wearer also for 10 years but concerning floaters & flashes I have, I'm afraid to use my softlens again..

[Doreen Fazio, M.D.]

A toric lens corrects astigmatism.  If there is a moderate amount of astigmatism, a soft contact lens alone will not correct it, and the vision will not be as sharp and crisp as it could be.  The toric lens will correct that astigmatism, as will a gas permeable hard contact lens.  There are many reasons for discomfort with contact lens wear:  eye dryness, solution incompatibility and toxicity, allergy, old lenses with protein buildup, etc.  The exact problem will be determined by your doctor with a complete evaluation.