watervole: (Eye of Horus)
Judith Proctor ([personal profile] watervole) wrote2009-04-16 10:40 am
Entry tags:

Contact lenses - continued

I was having some problems with dry eyes, so took a complete day off on Thursday.  Wore them Friday with no trouble for about half the day and was doing well on Saturday when I hit a big problem.

I'd volunteered for an evening shift in the Green Room at LX and duely arrived and started looking at forms with Kathy with an eye to  seeing what we'd need to produce for Green Room for Odyssey.  I was finding it hard to focus on the forms, both visually and mentally, but managed to get the essentials.  Shortly afterwards, I needed to get my first set of drinks for programme participants, picked up the form, took it to the bar and realised that I was getting a little off balance.  By the time I had the drinks and carefully handed them to their owners, I knew something was wrong.  I was getting dizzy and disorientated and thinking coherently was getting progressively more difficult.

I decided to go to my room and remove the contact lenses in case they were related to the problem.  

I couldn't get the right one out.  In spite of several attempts...

Eventually realised that this was becasue the right one was missing.

Somehow, it had come out on its own and I hadn't noticed.  At least the cause of the dizziness and disorientation (and a pretty bad headache) were now clear.

As soon as I was without lenses, my balance improved greatly, but it took over an hour for the headache and mental fuzziness to clear properly.  I sat in a quiet corner with [livejournal.com profile] thebobby  and alternated between focusing on the far distance, or just closing my eyes, and dictated a Dr Who filk to him.

Today, I saw the optician again.  We're going to try a different kind of contact lens.  A couple of people on my flist mentioned monthly lenses that you don't have to take out overnight.  I'm told these are more expensive, but also less likely to cause trouble with dry eyes (which was definitely a problem for me, and possibly what cause the lens to fall out)

So, a few days to rest the right eye which is still a little tender, and then we'll try the new lenses and see how they go.

[identity profile] emmzzi.livejournal.com 2009-04-16 10:10 am (UTC)(link)
the overnight ones *can* cause some infection problems and be difficult if you are prone to protein build up.

I've gone back to RGPs cos they stop my eyes getting worse (hold them in shape). but I did try *daily* disposables for a while. Had to keep fingernails short as the devils are prone to ripping, but they were the most comfortable lenses ever, and fuss free.

And, very ereasonable as long as you buy from the web and not the optician.
ext_15862: (Default)

[identity profile] watervole.livejournal.com 2009-04-16 01:08 pm (UTC)(link)
How do you know if you're getting protein build up?

What does RPG stand for?

Why did you give up on daily disposables?

What are prices like on the web?

[identity profile] emmzzi.livejournal.com 2009-04-16 01:13 pm (UTC)(link)
1. things look cloudy with lenses + more gunk in eyes
2. rigid gas permeable - a breathable hard lens
3. my eyes get worse with soft lenses, I need something to hold my eyeball in shape
4. I know you frequent MSE, I'd try the forum boards there. I'm guessing you're on something like focus night and day - $52 for 6 lenses. Asda online are also worth a look. I was about half the price Boots were going to charge me.

[identity profile] rgemini.livejournal.com 2009-04-16 10:48 am (UTC)(link)
I used to wear a single contact lens, as my left eye is shortsighted. One evening I tried and tried but couldn't remove it ... eventually to realise it was missing. Luckily I didn't get the disorientation you experienced on that occasion, probably because my good eye took over, but if I don't wear my glasses I do get migraines which have very similar characteristics (with added flashing zebra stripes).