teachme

I must say; it is more difficult than I expected it to be. Today is my second day to put them in. The putting them in and taking them out is proving to be a torturous endeavor. They say I will get used to it... I sure hope so! Any body else out there tried getting used to contacts after 50?

CraigB

Stick with it. I started in my 20s despite believing I'd suck at it. I was the biggest flinching wimp in the world when it came to my eyes. I couldn't even put drops in, I was so bad. In no time, though, I got used to it. The trick for me is to keep the lids pried open as far as possible and, while looking up, insert the lens below the iris, press *very* lightly until I hear/feel any trapped air pop out from under the lens, then look down to center the lens. I take them out by holding the upper lid up with the fingers of one hand while *gently" pinching the lens between the thumb and index finger of the other hand.

I'd wear them all the time these days if it weren't for the presbyopia of middle age. Now I only wear them if I know I'm going to be sweating a lot, or will need to use regular sunglasses, or when I swim. Otherwise the difficulty reading makes them so unworth it. For me, anyway.

bruce19

Easiest thing for me. It must just be a practice thing. Don't give up. Much better than glasses IMO.

teachme

Thanks for the encouragement! I've got em on right now and I am enjoying being able to see things up close.

miss kenton

I got my first pair of contacts after 50. I struggled as you are struggling now. It will get easier, and soon it will be no effort for you. The best tip I learned when I first got them, and it seems so obvious but I never thought about it, was make sure your finger is dry. That way the lens will easily cling to your eye as opposed to the moisture on your finger.

Terex

Just go all in and get cataract surgery.

I tried contacts in my 20's and 30's, but my eyes were too dry. Even with hydrophilic lens, I almost had a pair permanently adhered to my eyeballs.

Good luck with yours!

teachme

Yeah, trying to do that... I got them out pretty easily tonight; kind of dreading putting them in tomorrow morning, but really enjoying being able to see things up close without having to throw the specs on.

CbadRider

I started wearing contacts when I was 18. I first had hard lenses, then got soft lenses later on. It does get easier, and after a while you'll be able to stick your finger in your eye with no problems.

I had pretty bad eyesight and finally got lasik surgery in 1999. Now I have to wear reading glasses, but at least I can see my face in the mirror when I blow-dry my hair in the morning.

miss kenton

Yeah...but I kinda like the way I look in the mirror without my contacts better.

ro-monster

I started wearing contacts at 30, but I never really had much trouble with them. Maybe that's because I wore soft lenses only once. That was how long it took me to discover that rigid gas permeable lenses were superior, both in vision quality and ease of wear.

Soft lenses are a pain to deal with. Gas perms are really easy to pop in and out, and much easier to care for (unless you are using disposable lenses, which I can't do because of my prescription). Best of all, they can make multifocal prescriptions that give perfectly clear vision at any distance.

donheff

I was over 50 when I started a monovision contact so I could read without glasses. I still need a magnifying mirror to get it in and out. I never mastered pushing it to the side to remove - I have to pinch the darn thing to get it out. It is a PITA but the advantages are worth the effort. I will wait for cataracts to develop before I consider surgery.

rdmjr

I started at 18 as well. Nowadays I use extended wear soft lenses; they only come out twice a month, once for cleaning and once to throw them away. The upside is that it pretty much minimizes the aggravation of putting them in and taking them out; the downside is that if you start with this approach instead of daily insertion/removal, you'll probably never get very good at doing it. I don't plan on ever going back to glasses - I must be an ideal match for contacts, because the only pair of glasses I've got is the pair I quit using three days after I got my first set of contacts.

bigbadwullf

Number one mistake people make when putting contacts in: Your finger is too WET. The contact will be attracted to which ever is wetter...your eye or your finger. If your finger is wetter than your eye, it will never come off your finger.
Just some 25 years experience watching new wearers learn.
Oh, and remember to support your local eye doctor with buying contacts, like you support your local bike shop . It's the same principle.

To the above reply about having contacts in for two weeks. Just be careful. Make sure you get them out of the eye at least over night and sometimes for a few days at a time. I tell my patients to treat contacts like..................underwear. That usually gets their attention.

teachme

I got them in this morning although I was reduced to a sniffling, crying, wimp... But I did get them in and am enjoying the good vision up close. My distance vision is blurry but; as I understand it; thats the tradeoff. I think its worth it because I'm seeing things about people and things I hadn't noticed before.

dbf73

a lot like me. seriously consider getting the multifocal contacts - greatest thing since sliced bread. my readers are gathering dust

John_V 

I tried wearing contacts at one time but no matter what I did, I just couldn't get used to them. Good luck and I hope you have better luck then I had.

CraigB

Two years ago my eye doctor had me try 4 or 5 different brands of multi-focal lenses and none of them worked for me. I haven't heard of any breakthroughs since then, so I've given up on the idea.

teachme

This is the process I am going through currently. I have tried two different powers; the first everything was blurry, the ones I have on now gives me pretty good vision inside of twenty feet for reading and working but my distance vision is blurry. After wearing these a few days, I have another pair to try. I'm giving it a try...

ro-monster

This last time, the multifocal lenses would either give me superb middle and distance vision or superb close and middle vision. Then my doctor's assistant found a brand new type of lens, bitoric lenses. I was the first patient they fitted with them, and they solved that problem perfectly. Might be an option for those who find the multifocals don't work well for them.

I love my eye doctor! They keep trying until they find something that really works.

CraigB

I'll make a note of that and ask at my summer checkup. I've tried the multi-focal lenses every time they made a "breakthrough" and always ended up going back to my old mono-vision setup, with my dominant (right) optimized for distance and my other for reading. Problem was the reading prescription kept having to get backed off more and more each year so that after about 5 or 6 years with them I had a gap in my vision from about 2 feet out to 6 feet where neither eye saw well. And that's where I've been for a couple of years or so.

DX-MAN

Tried 'em a couple years ago, when I was insistent on wanting sunglasses (hated clip-ons, flip-ups, and the oldster's Geordi LaForge safety-glasses-types). Yes, they were hell to put in and take out -- and my vision was significantly worse than with glasses.

I may well go back to my 'ghetto-engineered' solution from the military -- fastening lenses inside sunglass lenses, IF I find the right pair.

k7baixo

When I was in my 30's, I stayed bent on the sink so long trying to get my contact in that I injured by back. Soon, it really became second nature.

But, when I moved to AZ, the environment was just too dusty to tolerate contacts - I have them up and really don't miss them, I can't imagine riding here with contacts.

In any case, good luck to you!

Bikey Mikey

Get prescription sunglasses or transition lenses.

Bob S

I tried contacts a few years ago, early 60s or late 50s. Lasted a couple of days, I had a hell of a time getting them in and the I could not see as well. I went back to my progressive lenses that I use to this day. A couple of months ago I got a new prescription and lenses that are little thicker. I always use my progressive sunglasses when riding, no night riding or rain for me.

teachme

Well for the time being the contacts are put up on the shelf. I just don't think the tradeoff of blurred distance vision for good near vision is worth it. My distance vision is perfect, so I will just keep the reader glasses with me when I need them.