glasses or contacts?

[Popoki_Nui]

Lots of great info here. Probably the most important thing to remember; as uk_elephant mentioned...ALWAYS bring a bottle of contact lens-specific saline solution or high quality artificial tears on your ride, a small contact lens case, and as other said...always wear close fitting UV eye protection. It's a good idea to apply some saline to each eye when you stop for a break (or every hour or so if you're not stopping) even if your eyes/contacts don't feel dry. It isn't just the bugs and grit that can cause problems....protein buildup between the lens and cornea can cause irritation too. Keeping the lens and cornea moist (even if they don't feel dry) and flushing out grit and protein can help avoid problems later. And for heavens sake...if you feel like you have a bit of grit or some irritation in your eye, stop and flush with saline. If that doesn't resolve it, remove the lens! I've seen too many patients who thought the irritation would "just go away", and ended up in real trouble. Wear your contacts, but know the care needed to keep your eyes happy!
~Sherry.

[maillotpois]

Contacts + sunglasses! In the rain I usually don't wear the sunglasses.

I scratched my cornea a few months back and had to be in glasses for a month. I hated riding in glasses - no peripheral vision at all!! And I was not comfortable pacelining as usual, because I just couldn't see to the sides and down. You don't realize how much you take for granted.

One of my riding partners just got Lasik and was thrilled with it. I consider it on and off, but I had this weird dream a few years back where I went blind and couldn't see my daughter's wedding. Freaky, and stupid, I know! Anyway Lasik seems like a great alternative!

[Bike Goddess]

I've been wearing hard contact lenses since 1958. While I have used them for most every activity in my younger years, since I started cycling I have found that when it is windy I'm better off in my glasses. I just can't stand it when I get get dirt particles in my eyes.

My doctor recently prescribed glasses that change color with the light, so I can use them anytime of the day or night. I too am extremely nearsighted, so contacts are preferable, but since I got my new glasses, it's been easier to ride on windy days!

[Lise]

I had Lasik about a year ago, after 37 years of wearing glasses, and 30 years of contacts. My vision was like LauraPaura's, -10 in one eye, -12 in the other, legally blind if uncorrected. Nevertheless, I was scared to death to let them take a laser beam to my eyes. I didn't have much, but I could see! It's understandable to fear losing what you do have.

The week of the Lasik was hard--I spent many hours having various things tested with my eyes Monday, and then spent Wed at the eye clinic. They give you something like Valium--I don't think I'd take it again, because I turn into such a whiney baby . The actual procedure is pretty brief, less than 10 min per eye. They gave me something to hold onto--a stuffed animal of some sort--by eye #2, I begged one of the nurses to hold my hand, and was talking to the MD in Spanish, pleading with him not to hurt me. Sheesh. Like I say. Valium.

It was painful to hold my eyes open for however long it was, and to look right at a bright light. I was scared the whole time. I wouldn't open my eyes at first in the recovery room. When they finally got me to open my eyes, I read the clock on the wall. That felt like a miracle. I couldn't see well enough to read that evening, and my BF had to help me figure out which of the many eye drops to put in when. I slept with goggles on for days, as per instructions. I showered with goggles on. By day #3, my vision was perfect. On day #5, I broke up with said BF (long time in coming), and worried mainly that crying would hurt my eyes! (It didn't)

So, after all that, would I do it again? YES! In a heartbeat. My vision is perfect. I don't even need reading glasses any more, although I know I will again, as I age. I swim with nice quality goggles, I run and ride with sunglasses, ranging from dark to clear, based on the light, and I always have eye drops with me. At first the driness was really bad, but it's quite manageable now. I can see everything, all the time. It's as if those 37 years of progressive nearsightedness never happened.

Research it well, don't make your decision based on price, and go for it if it feels right! I've never regretted it. I've just started seeing a new guy, and it's especially nice to be able to see the person I'm kissing!

Best wishes, Lise

[SnappyPix]

I slept with goggles on for days, as per instructions. I showered with goggles on. By day #3, my vision was perfect.
Best wishes, Lise

Ah those goggles! I was so paranoid that I was going to rub my eyes in the night, and taped those shields on tight!

The first thing the receptionist said to me the next morning, when I went in for my check-up ... "You don't need to tape those shields so tight, sweetie!"
The indentations took all day to smooth out again!

As Lise says, research is the key. A friend of mine was thrilled that she was getting the treatment much, much cheaper, and a free consultation with her clinic's "Eye Technician".
I researched religiously, read testimonials (from forums, not from the clinic themselves) and paid for an initial consultation with the surgeon who'd be performing the operation. I didn't want some receptionist with a fancy title telling me "Sure, it'll be fine, go ahead and have it done".
My friend has had repeat procedures and is still having to wear glasses.
There might be no correlation between that and her budget surgery, but I'd recommend an appointment with the actual surgeon, if nothing else.

As for nerves - my knees were knocking so badly during the procedure, I worried they wouldn't be able to get the aim right on my eyeball! And no-one offered me Valium! I think I may have broken several bones in the poor nurse's hand, I was crushing it so tight!

I did have a few weeks of dry eyes after the op - but found that herbal eye drops from the local pharmacy did the trick, until my eyes settled back down to normal.

I had the operation just before Christmas - and when people asked what I'd got for Christmas that year - I excitedly chirped back "The gift of sight"!!

I still smile when I see the spinal boards at the swimming pool!