Contact Lenses After 12 Years

Mood: a little awkward
Listening to: Tanfastic Podcast Episode 24
Eating: Total cereal with a generic chocolate/peanut butter cereal mixed in - and some milk
Watching: The IT Crowd

I am wearing contact lenses for the first time in over 12 years. I stopped wearing them back in college because they could not correct for astigmatism. It now appears that there are contact lenses that do.

An interesting thing about these lenses: one edge is thicker than the other, weighted to keep the lens from rotating around my cornea, as other lenses do. Because of the astigmatism correction, I think this is the case. Otherwise, it would be the same as if, when wearing my glasses, I were to tilt them at an angle. That would look funny, wouldn't it? And I wouldn't be able to see very well either.

So I'm gradually easing back into wearing contact lenses, and there are some challenges associated with it. One challenge is that my eyes get very dry throughout the day, it seems. I've been adding these lubricant eye drops about every 30 minutes, which doesn't seem right. Maybe it's got something to do with my tear chemistry or something.

Another challenge is having to switch back and forth from my 4 year old prescription and my current prescription. I got a terrible headache yesterday when I changed back into my glasses; I didn't even want to keep my eyes open.

Still another challenge is the daily upkeep of the lenses: cleaning, storing, etc. I think my nature - and others' I'm sure - is to not want to spend the extra time to do these tasks.

Eventually, we may get to a point where laser surgery can correct not only for nearsightedness but also astigmatism. And it will be affordable.