ASTIGMATISM. According to the online medical definition of this word, provided by "The Free Dictionary" by Farlex, "Astigmatism is the result of an inability of the cornea to focus an image onto the retina. The result is a blurred image."
VISION BACK IN THE DAY. I grew up with this. My vision was not "bad enough" for my teenage self to complain to my mom to take me to the eye doctor. I actually remember disliking my mother's glasses, and I did not want to be told that I needed glasses. So I did not complain about it. I could see fine.
I could also see "fine enough" to pass the driver's license vision test. The state determined, when I was sixteen, that I could see well enough to join the other thousands of drivers in the metro Denver area.
But as medical conditions sometimes worsen over time, my vision did get gradually worse.
GLASSES. I went to the eye doctor in my 30's, and he gave me a prescription for eyeglasses. Astigmatism is most noticable in poor lighting, and at the computer. He asked, "When you look at the moon at night, do you see two? And I had to admit that I did...not two separate, far-apart moons. Just the outline of the "double."
So I got the glasses to drive at night, and watch movies. They also helped when I was working at the computer: images and letters were crisper, clearer.
Then I started noticing things to be a bit blurry inside, when lighting was not great. Wearing my glasses made things crisper and clearer ALL the time, not only at night. So I wore my glasses more. Not all the time, just more.
THE SUGGESTION. Then my husband, who has terrible vision and has worn contacts since he was a teen, suggested that I get fitted for contacts. The thought of putting my finger in my eye not only once a day, but multiple times a day, made my stomach turn. It's not natural. You're kidding, right?
"I'm not kidding," he assured me. "You wouldn't have to think about where you put your glasses, or which case or car they were in. Which jacket did you wear the last time you had them with you? You don't want to wear them ALL the time, but you wear them just enough to lose track of exactly where you had them on last."
So the thought still made me cringe. Why would I intentionally poke myself in the eye every day? "No, thank you." He didn't say anything else about it.
So I watched him, cleaning his contacts every night, and putting them in each morning. Buying supplies to keep them clean, and packing those supplies when he traveled.
A few months later, when he was no longer asking me about it, I decided to try. I made the appointment to get fitted for contacts.
SQUINTING. This doctor explained how my vision worked, and how I had learned to compensate for the astigmatism over time, by squinting. I didn't even know I was doing it. But I squint most of the time. 30 years of trying to eliminate that second outline, that "double-image" vision, and I squinted now out of habit.
WEIGHTED CONTACTS. Up until a few years ago, soft contacts were not available to those with an astigmatism. Your eye is shaped differently an the contact must sit a specific direction on the eyeball. Now, however, they have Toric Cotact Lenses, or "weighted contacts," where gravity keeps the contact in the correct positon. Troy Bedinghaus, O.D. explains how the toric lenses work.
FINGER IN YOUR EYE. After my doctor figured out my prescription, he got a sample pair for me and put them in for me. For someone who doesn't like the idea of putting her OWN fingers in her eyes, to have someone ELSE put their finger in my eye was torturous! Blinking, squinting, holding my own eyelids open with my fingers, and looking to the far upper corner of the room...whew! He finally got them in.Then I had to be able to do it mySELF, before I could leave the office. He had me sit in a quiet room with a table mirror. The assistant explained how it was done and her encouragement was simply, "you get used to it over time." Which doesn't help a whole lot the FIRST few weeks and months, right? I fiddled with them for about 12 minutes each. I finally got them in.
SOMETIMES YOUTUBE LIES. I watched a Youtube video of someone putting in her own contacts. No problem, she did it in about 3 seconds. I was taking an average of 10 minutes per contact! Clearly this woman was manipulating the digital video clip.
I practiced for a week, then went back in to the doctor. The idea is to report difficulties, and then order a year supply if you want to go with the ones you've had for the week.
MONTHS LATER. Six months later, I am happy to report that I like the contacts, a lot. There are still times it is more difficult to get them in (usually when I am in more of a hurry than usual), but overall I can do it in just a couple of minutes instead of my original twenty.
If you are considering trying contacts as an alternative to glasses, I would say, "Go for it!" You have enough to worry about and things to keep track of. Why add glasses to the list of items you carry around?
