Monday, August 29, 2011

Contacts or Glasses?

I've been wearing contacts or glasses for eleven years. I started with contacts and a horrible pair of "back-up only" glasses. (They were horrible because I let my mom pick them out while my eyes were dilated. Don't ever let my mom pick out your eyeglasses. Sorry Mom, you make an excellent chicken caccatiore, but you're terrible in the optometrist's office!)
Eventually, I got a different, much better pair of glasses. (These are my back-up glasses now.) I hardly ever wore glasses at this point.
And, then, when I was expecting my first child I woke up in the middle of the night because my eyes hurt like crazy! I tried to open them, but it was so difficult. I was alone because my husband was working, so I stumbled to the bathroom. I turned on the light, and that made it worse. It was like being poked in the eye and you just can't seem to open it, only one hundred times worse. I had to force my eyes open by hand, and then I realized I was wearing my contacts still. I thought for sure I'd removed them, but even still, I'd slept entire nights with them in my eyes and never had anything like this happen. I had to re-wet my eyes to remove them, but I finally did. (It felt like ripping scotch tape off of my eyeballs!) I thought, certainly this is just extreme dryness, I'll go to bed and it will be better in the morning.

When I woke up at my husband's return it wasn't better! I couldn't open my eyes and any light, even with my lids shut, was terribly painful. I spent the day in a darkened room hoping to get better.
The next day, Friday, we were to drive to my brother's house in Pennsylvania. We were beginning to think that wouldn't happen, so we called the eye doctor. On Friday, I went in to find out I had an eye infection. They gave me different eye drops to take and said to come back the next day.
In PA with my glasses
My husband and I packed the car and drove to the eye doctor. (I kept my eyes shut so he had to lead me the whole way.) They were happy with my improvement, cleared me for travel, and told me to come back in two weeks, but during that time, no contacts.
By the end of that evening (somewhere along the Pennsylvania Turnpike) I was finally able to open my eyes some, but every bathroom break I made blind.
I fully recovered from my infection, but my eyes are still a bit sensitive. (My doctor told me today that the effects can last for years. Thanks, like I didn't know that more than three years later!) I almost can't stand sunlight without sunglasses and I can't wear contacts everyday. I have to use the oasis contacts and even those feel dry.
I still prefer them to glasses though. I think that nothing wakes you up in the morning better than a cold, wet lens being placed in your eyeball!
So you may see me blinking and re-wetting, but I'll stick with them. Foolish? Maybe.
Help me out, what do you think: Glasses or no?

2 comments:

  1. Contacts or glasses or corrective eye surgery? Is surgery an option? You look super smart in your glasses, so my vote is for glasses! Laura

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  2. I think that you look great either way you go! I think that some outfits look better with glasses they add to the look and the same with contacts. So my advice would be get dressed and put on your glasses and if you like how you look than go with it if you don't like what you see put in your contacts. This is how I decide what I'm going to ware for the day. As I also ware contacts and glasses.:)

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