I am trying to go back to wearing contacts but am having a lot of difficulty. I will admit my last pair of contacts was back in the late 80s early 90s. much has changed. my eye Dr had me try several different brands of ‘toric’ in soft disposable lenses. but for some reason I was having a rotation problem. (the little weight or whatever would not stay in place, and my vision was very fuzzy.) one brand that I could see in, just not see well, would get a ‘cloudy’ spot and I was trashing them in less than a week. we changed cleaning products and my Dr said I have ‘dry eyes’, and that was part of the problem. we are now trying rpg (hard) contacts. but he said they are ‘floating” a bit also, and I have a ‘halo’ when I blink, and occasionlly a teary view when I blink. I guess is from them not wanting to stay centered? I am still on my first adjustment week with the rgp kind, have appointment next week for Dr to look at them. is this really the vision I can get? I dont know anyone with rpg, everyone I know uses the disposables. I’m afraid I cant wear contacts now that they are so improved and my astigmatism has gotten worse. thank you for you time. and btw, nice info site you have, will be recommending it to others.
First off, thank you for the kind words about my site. I truly feel there is a lot of missed communication in a lot of the health related fields, and I am simply trying to help contact lens wearers understand what may (or may not be) going on with there contact lenses and eyes. So thank you.
On to your question:
Regrading the soft lenses, it sounds like you are one of the lucky ones that soft disposables just don’t work well for…(sorry)
Not a huge deal from a contact lens perspective because just about any lens can be custom manufactured nowadays. If none of the toric lenses your Dr. evaluated were good, they would probably consider designing one on their own. There are plenty of good soft contact lens labs that will make pretty much anything we need.
When I run into this situation I usually will put on up to 3 soft disposable lenses, trying to see if one will center better than the next. There are two styles of lens orientation systems, so I will evaluate atleast one of each. The lenses used are based on all the other measurements, including corneal diameter, corneal curvature, amount and location of cylinder and lid structure.
When none of the disposable toric contact lenses do the trick, I move on to a custom designed lens. These lenses usually provide more stable vision and tend to maintain their orientation better. Partially because they are custom designed case per case.
Some of the soft lens labs I use are Westcon, Kontur, Alden, Marrietta just to name a few. They all have their pros and cons, all make fabulous lenses.
Regarding the clouding, I am more inclined to believe it has to do with the fit of that lens, just given your history with other lenses. (I could be wrong, but I would not rule out soft lenses just yet.)
On to gas permeable lenses. No question about it, GP’s should give you better vision. As far as the fit, each and every gas permeable lens is custom manufactured per specification, so if the original pair doesn’t satisfy your vision they should be re-made. That little “halo” when you blink is from the lenses moving as your lids close and open. GP lenses are designed to move like that, but you may simply require a larger optical area or larger overall diameter. That teary vision is normal in the first adjustment week because your eye is aware of them and attempting to flush them out by increased tearing. That should go down over the first week or so as your eyes become more used to the sensation of lenses.
Another option for you, depending on the amount of and location of the astigmatism you have, would be a hybrid lens like the synergeyes. It combines the optics of a gas permeable lens with the fit of a soft lens. They work well on some types of astigmatism, you might consider asking you doctor.
But don’t give up on lenses because of your astigmatism! There are tons of options available for you, it just might take a little trial and error (and patience) on both your part and the part of your eye doctor. Your eyes certainly don’t sound like the easiest to fit with contact lenses, but they don’t sound like an incredibly challenging fit either. Remember a lot of lens fitting is trail and error (even with the most experienced lens fitters)
I am sure you will find a good fit soon!
