My eyes...

So for the last 20 years I have been wearing disposable contact lenses. I wore soft contacts for one year, but lost one of them about 5 months after getting them and then had to go the next 7 months with only one contact. It didn't really bother me.

But the next year, I switched to disposables just so the losing of one would not be such a bug deal, knowing that I was likely to lose one on occasion.

I don't know if I ever actually followed the manufacturer's instructions on how to wear my lenses or if I have always been guided by what ever seemed easiest, but for as long as I can remember I have been wearing my contacts 24 hours per day for as many days as it takes for my eyes to start feeling dry. On average, that would be about 2-3 weeks. At that point I take my contacts out for one night and let them soak, then pop them back in until they start to bug me again... usually about 2 more weeks.

Now, I never confessed this blatant disregard for my eye health to anyone for a long time, but eventually I revealed it to a few friends, most of whom were unimpressed, and my friend Lori, who actually follows a similar regimen, though not for such an extended period of time.

At my yearly eye appointments (which always came around about every 15 months due to my extended period of contact use) I always sat in nervous anticipation, expecting to hear the worst due to my poorly taken care of eyes. Yet, each time the doctor would find nothing to exclaim over and re-prescribe my lenses usually with a little bit stronger of a prescription.

Was the need for stronger lenses due to my wearing habits? I never had the nerve to ask, nor to confess to the doctor how I treated my eyes.

Then 3 years ago, I had to switch doctors due to an insurance issue, and I decided to come clean. I told him exactly what I've laid out before you here. I said it without remorse. I dared him to find something wrong with me.... to exclaim over the damage done.

But, lo and behold, he said the same thing all my other doctors had said. My eyes looked extremely healthy! In addition, the 8 week old pair of contacts I had been wearing for so long while putting off making an appointment at a new optometrist were surprisingly clean looking, and if I didn't want to change my habits that was OK with him. He wasn't going to lose any sleep over it.

So for 2 years I felt OK about my eye care. My doctor knew my routine, and couldn't find anything to complain about.

Then, we moved to our new area, and, of course, I had to find a new doctor. So, yesterday, I went to my first appointment with my new optometrist wearing the pair of contacts that I'd been using since March, and which were bothering me more than any pair of contacts I'd ever owned. When I filled out the questionnaire, I said that I wore my contacts for 24 hours per day, taking them out once per week, and using them for 2-3 weeks before disposing of them. I don't know what stopped me from telling the truth, but it must have been some form of intuition, because even this information sent the new doctor into a 40 minute appeal for me to change my ways. She lectured on the eye and it's parts, she got out charts and pictures, and showed me what could happen. She didn't actually see anything wrong with my eyes. There was a bit of "wear" on my cornea due to oxygenation that was normal for any contact wearers, but nothing unusual or remarkable. I am pretty sure she was disappointed not to have more bad news for me. After listening to her go on and on, I agreed to take out my contacts each and every night to allow my eyes to breathe more and to consider getting a pair of glasses to have as a backup.

I said these things to get her to stop talking. At the time I really had no intention of doing either of them. But later, as I replaced my 4 month old lenses with a pair newly purchased at Costco, I began to reconsider. My main reason was not really the lecture from the new dr., but my friend Gina who had an eye problem last year. I tried to imagine what it would be like to not be able to rely on my eyes. I didn't like the picture my imagination painted for me of what it would be like.

So last night, I took out my contacts and let my eyes breathe. I couldn't see the clock in the night without squishing Mark and squinting my eyes until they were almost closed. I bumped my toe on the new scale in my bathroom, because I couldn't see it in the dark, and I felt really disoriented in the morning as I stumbled around my newly fuzzy bathroom. But, I am glad I did it. My eyes feel very happy this morning. I am determined to turn over a new leaf, and do what's best for my eyes.

And, if it gets too annoying, there's always lasik surgery!

Cheers! N