Go retro… as in old-style temples. You will look like a nerd, but these won’t slip off your nose…ask me how I know.
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So as a follow up, I solved the problem by getting the elastic bands that fit around the hinges. They tighten the earpieces just enough that I no longer lose my specs. Lots of good ideas here, and I may buckle down a get a pair of sports glasses as well.
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For those of you struggling with contacts - and I include myself in that group as of late - I have worked out a protocol that allows me to continue to wear them:
Before bedtime. Apply Pataday allergy drops in each eye. Wait ten minutes. Apply nighttime eye ointment in each eye.
Upon waking. Apply gel eye drops first thing. Wear glasses for a bit to let your eyes wake up. When ready to put your contacts in, apply gel eye drops again and wait ten minutes. Put in contacts. Liberally apply regular (non-gel) eye drops after insertion until eyes are comfy. Use eye drops during the day as necessary.
Also, make sure you are wearing daily disposables and play around with the different brands to see what works for you. I was an Acuvue Oasys wearer for years but recently switched to the Daily Totals and they are so much more comfortable.
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I actually decided to get over my fear of contacts and went to a different optometrist whose receptionist was able to get me going in 15 mins flat.
Getting to wear good cheap polarized sunglasses and still see has been a revelation!
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If they are fitted (bent to your facial structure using heat) properly by the optician, I don’t think this should be an issue. While you’re at the optician for this adjustment, they might have head band they can sell you for sports.
Eyeglasses are a pain. I have wire frames now, but frames are too big for my helmet, so I use my previous plastic frames for riding.
I change my glasses every two years, so have lots of serviceable spares. Based on all my frames, I can say they need adjustments frequently, as even a bit of stretch (reading while lying on your side) can change them enough so they slip.
Only recently stopped wearing contacts due to dry eye. Ultimately, that is my first choice.
You’re making me want to revisit contacts at my next eye exam. They really are the best for riding, but had a bad dry eye experience. Maybe there’s a specific brand I should try.
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Thank you for this !! I only used contacts for sports until recently. I’m going to bring this screen shot to my next eye exam in a few weeks.
Yes, I have seen some horrific face injuries from eye glasses in sports, including riding. So my preference are contact lenses. So sorry to read about your mishaps.
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If you don’t have astigmatism, the Bausch + Lomb infuse is more than 50% water. Should be very difficult to have dry eye problems with that. They don’t have a toric lens yet though.
That said I last tried contacts in about 2005 and these are substantially, worlds better than what was available then. I am wearing the Oasys w/ Hydraluxe, I also hear the Alcon Total 1 is very good.
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I use Daysoft daily disposable lenses. They are inexpensive, and I’m happy to wear spectacles for whilst I’m doing office work and then swap into contact lenses for when I go to the barn. I can then either wear them for the rest of the day or swap back into specs for the evening if I feel my eyes are tired.
The Kirkland signature lenses from Costco are also very reasonable and they are the MyDays from Coopervision.
Having come from decades of monovision contact use to cataract surgery – for which my optometrist could not see the cataracts – they are my new favorite lenses!
My PSA: just because your optometrist can’t see the cataract doesn’t mean you don’t have them. They can be translucent and thin – enough to just add some blur. The major clue for me was wanting to have my prescription reviewed every nine months or so, and still not having them “right.” My optometrist encouraged me to go for cataract evaluation.
So I went for two cataract evaluations – simply because I believed that if I went, “of course they would find cataracts…” The first doc was a clinic and it felt very factory and yes they said they found them. The second ophthamologist said they found them, described the type, stage, progression, etc. He was the ticket and explained things. In hindsight, it seems most docs want to put in two IOLs set for distance and expect you to use readers, but that isn’t the best for everyone.
In any case, since I was used to monovision contacts, I elected that for surgery, and voila! perfect vision, no issues. The plus of being comfortable with monovision is that I could use the basic IOLs which were covered by insurance.
You don’t need to wait until you can’t see, or your cataract is “ripe” anymore. As soon as they cause you problems, docs will do surgery. They can remove astigmatism, work with glaucoma, the works. Pretty amazing. I thought it was only for “old people.” (Haha, me, being 68)
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I wore soft contacts for more than 30 years, but then my presbyopia progressed to the point that if I wore lenses for distance I couldn’t drive without reading glasses, which I had to keep perched on the end of my nose in order to see the dashboard. It became too difficult, so I opted for progressive lenses in eyeglasses. Right now I’m waiting for cataract surgery (date in the next 6 weeks), and should be able to wake up in the mornings afterwards and actually see (my myopia is -11 and -12). I can hardly wait, Blue Drifter! Riding will be so much easier, especially in rain and through the winters.
For those who’ve had cataract surgery: I’d be interested in knowing how long before you started riding again? I’m considering going for elective surgery to correct myopia, but I don’t want to have too much down time.
I have clients who’ve had elective LASIK for myopia, and they were riding within days. One of them rode in a clinic I was teaching just 1 day after surgery. She wore ski goggles, which kept the dust out of her eyes, and did very well. I’m planning on the same approach to the cataract surgery - I will wait the week, when I’m not supposed to lift anything heavier than 5 lbs (my saddle’s heavier than that), and then get back to riding with ski goggles. My Mum was only out of the saddle for a week as well.
The eye doctor who is doing my cataract eye surgeries (plus correcting my astigmatism) told me not to ride for 2 weeks after the surgeries.
Since my eyes are being done one at a time it is ending up that I cannot be around real live horses for 6 weeks, because of the possibility of falling off and because of the plentiful dust both inside and outside the barn. Also I am not supposed to lean down and look down while my eye is healing–no hoof cleaning!
Right now, trying to do stuff with my eyes, one corrected (except for reading) and the other one with myopia, 2 types of astigmatism and cataracts I am more tired than usual. It is taking more of my very limited energy just to make it through the day because my damaged brain (MS) is struggling with the extra load of trying to make sense of two very different “pictures”.
I am not really complaining. He corrected my right eye for more distance vision and I can even read the road signs on the side of the road, at least a little bit before passing the sign instead of not being able to read it clearly at all. I looked at Venus this morning and for the first time in decades I looked at an astronomical object and saw just one Venus instead of seeing two Venuses (or moons) every time I looked at it, even when I wore my eyeglasses.
The eye doctor is using Toric lenses for correcting my astigmatism and nearsightedness. Unfortunately all of this was not covered by Medicare and my eye insurance so I had to come up with several thousands dollars. I could have bought a REALLY GOOD custom saddle if I had decided to go with the simple cataract removal which would mean that I would HAVE TO wear glasses all the time (with my very bad nearsightedness plus astigmatism.)
AND my eye doctor told me NOT TO LIFT OR CARRY MORE THAN 5 POUNDS. I would not have been able to care for my horses much at all not being able to carry more than 5 pounds. I think my double bridle is less than 5 pounds (titanium bits, web reins and no noseband) but my saddle does weigh more than 5 pounds so i would be out of luck tacking up by myself. Plus ALL THE DUST from grooming a horse well enough so the horse would not get sores from all the dirt in its coat plus the saddle and bridle.
If you have to take care of horses by yourself get somebody to help you until your eyes heal.
Strange you say this, I had two coworkers talk about this very thing the other day and they are both having to wait for their cataracts to be “ripe” enough for surgery to be approved.
The topic came up because the one is really having a problem with hers and she just went to the doctor and was told that they are not “ripe” yet.
(I had never heard the term ripe before in relation to cataracts.)
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That is the key. Your brain was used to the mono vision system by using contacts this way. I also used to wear contacts and use readers for near stuff. No way I could tolerate the one eye for distance vision, one eye for near vision.
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After my cataract/astigmatism laser procedures are over I am considering buying a pair of the adjustable focus eyeglasses. Since my astigmatism is being corrected by the procedure and the Toric lens all I need is the variable focus.
Who knows? Maybe I could get away with carrying just one pair of glasses when I go out. I would just have to figure out how to use sunglasses at the same time for when I am outside.
You will love it. Mine wasn’t a huge difference in prescription strength, so I didn’t get the enormous benefit that you will see. What I did learn is that our natural lens has a warm tone even without cataracts, and the IOLs let in more blue wavelength light – so everything does seem brighter, and whites are crisper.
