Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Since I often blog about odd things I’m going through, I felt today should be no different.
Last Friday, I went in to have my eyes checked and was hoping I could return to using contacts. Have worn glasses since I was in the third grade, I’m sick of them. That and I am not, nor will I ever be, a candidate for corrective eye surgery.

Bummer.

Since my eyesight had changed from the last time I wore contacts, I needed to switch to a new kind.

Ooooh, the joys of adjusting to new contacts.

And these are by far the most interesting to get used to.

This time, I was issued mono-vision contacts. For those not in the know, they figure out which eye is your dominant one. That’s the one they put your distance only lens in. Your up close, for reading lens goes in the other eye.

Now this all seems simple enough…until you actually have the lenses in and attempt to go about your normal activities for the first week. During that time, your brain has to try to figure out how to merge the differing images your two eyes see into one cohesive image.

And oh, what a ride that’s been! One minute, I’m seeing things in a blurry state that I can live with. (This is normal for the first week or so with mono-vision lenses.) But then, all of a sudden, either my distance or close up vision will come into crystal clear focus, almost making me reel from the extreme vision change. And just about the time I’m wrapping my mind around the thought that my brain must be beginning to agree to the new lenses, everything goes somewhat blurry again.

Are we having fun yet?

The sensation definitely makes my tummy flip, and I’m a bit surprised that it hasn’t made me sick to my stomach, since the change in vision is that abrupt.

But the somewhat fuzzy vision I have all the time is slowly morphing into a clearer image that I see on more of a regular basis. As such, I’m guessing my brain is figuring out how to process what my individual eyes see with the mono-vision lenses into something it can make sense of.
Anyhow, I will keep wearing my new lenses for 6-8 hours a day now (only 4 hours the first couple of days I had them). And then on Friday, I will return to my eye doctor to be checked to see if, indeed, I’m one of the lucky 80% who can wear these lenses. If not, then my only other option is to return to wearing glasses all the time.

Ugh! Hate that, especially with how physically active I am.

Well, here’s keeping my fingers crossed that my brain makes the final transition by this Friday, and that my doctor agrees to let me continue with the lenses. Time will tell.