Daily Contact Lenses Over Monthlies – End Of My Contact Lens Trial

Choosing Daily contact lenses over monthlies isn’t something I honestly thought I would do by the end of my contact lens trial. I previously had it in my mind that due to the price difference I simply couldn’t justify it.

Contact Lens

2 Week Contact Lens Trial – Monthlies

Having spent 2 weeks trialling monthly contact lenses I slowly changed my mind. Whilst monthlies weren’t uncomfortable I did occasionally notice I was wearing them, especially by the afternoon.

I was mostly happy with contact lenses over my trial. Over a few days, I found them easier than I first thought to put in and out. My overly leaky eyes leaked less and less as the days went by. I could suddenly open the dishwasher or wash up without my glasses steaming up or sliding down my face.

Realising just how blind I am was a bit of a shock. Suddenly I could see clearly everywhere, no blind spots under/over or around my frames. Taking Izzy to the park, I felt less anxious as I could see her at all times.

I picked up a cheap pair of sunglasses just because I could and could finally see without squinting and coming home with a migraine! I’m sure I will find a much nicer pair but I could see so happily shared pictures on Instagram regardless.

I noticed plenty of benefits but I did have a few small issues over the 2 weeks. The girls shouted a few days in and I pinched my eyeball! Ouch! It was fine luckily and an eye check at the end of my trial showed no sign of damage. Phew! Also quite common during the first few months of wearing contacts apparently.

I also got smoke in my eye at the Birthday BBQ and managed to blink a contact out. Luckily I was overly anxious something would happen and had my solution and case on me. I managed to clean the lens and put it back in until later that evening.

Monthly Contact Lenses

Considering Daily Contact Lenses

Living 11 floors up when it’s warm can be great thanks to the breeze with the open windows. Until you need to clean your contact lenses. Then you suddenly realise how much dust and pollen is blowing in through the window! Also realising that I have a dust allergy by asking the Mr to completely hoover and dust our room. I spent two days feeling great, contacts fine, then boom! Dust everywhere, itchy skin, sneezing and contacts are near on impossible to rinse clean.

Which brings me on to my next point. If you have long, sharp nails then cleaning contacts can be a pain. I split my right monthly contact the day before the end of my trial when cleaning it. Luckily Belson & Sons Opticians were great and had a spare which the Mr picked up for me so I could complete my trial appointment the next day. Of course, I cut my nails down to save ruining another lens.

Had I been on my last pack of monthlies and I couldn’t get a spare, I would have to go without for a few days. I would also have to order 3 months worth of lenses each time making it a larger chunk to pay out at once.

Pros of Daily Lenses

With daily lenses, it does cost more but as you can buy one month at a time it’s an easier cost as and when I can afford it. I see contact lenses as a luxury if I can’t afford it for a while then so be it! The fact I don’t go out much also means dailies are more practical. One month’s worth could potentially last me 3, whereas once you open a pack of monthly lenses, you have exactly four weeks to use them.

I am rubbish at remembering dates. I’m regularly run out of my meds and panic at the Mr who goes and picks them up for me. Another thing I was a little worried about is forgetting when I have opened a pack of lenses.

With so much dust floating around, the girls being curious and my occasionally ridiculously sharp, long (natural!) nails, being able to put fresh lenses in each day will have me worrying a lot less about damaging my eye in any way.

End of Trial Appointment

When it came to the end of trial appointment I had made up my mind. If the optician was happy my eyes were suitable for lenses then I would continue but swap to dailies.

I had to wear my monthly lenses for at least an hour before my appointment. This gives the lenses a chance to settle on your eye and gives the optician a chance to check your vision and how the lenses sit. Afterwards, I was asked to remove the contact lenses so my eyes could be checked again to make sure the lenses weren’t causing any issues.

With the all clear, we discussed how I had got on with the contacts for 2 weeks. As Well as the points above, I also mentioned that I felt my left eye needed a slightly higher dioptre at the beginning of the tests and we agreed I did need the next lens up. The staff at Belson & Sons are lovely, they really listen to you which I really appreciate having had bad experiences elsewhere. Any question I ask is answered, everyone is happy to help and the whole team always have smiles on their faces!

Daily Contact Lenses

I was pleased to hear my eyes were healthy and I could continue wearing contacts. Having discussed my worries with monthlies we agreed daily lenses sounded like a good option. I was given a trial box of dailies to get me through and asked to put a set in to check they were comfortable. Daily lenses have a slightly different fit and are slightly thinner too as they are single use.

Daily Contact Lenses

It took me a little longer to put the thinner daily lenses in but they went in ok. After another quick check that they were ok and felt fine, I was pleased to notice a difference. Because the lenses are thinner I felt nothing after about a minute. They fit comfortably and I knew instantly I had made the right decision. I had a few days of contacts as well as my monthlies to help me decide what I preferred. Having noticed such a difference though, I decided to order a month of dailies there and then.

Having spent a few days wearing daily contact lenses I am so relieved I ordered more. I haven’t noticed that I’m wearing them. Even when I think about the fact I am wearing my contact lenses I can’t feel them! Going to the Dickens Festival on Saturday was lovely, I could see everything perfectly, I could wear my sunglasses whenever I wanted without having to keep swapping back to my normal glasses constantly. Daily contact lenses are definitely the way forward for me.

I would definitely recommend talking to your optician if you’ve ever thought about contact lenses. I think trying them is a game changer, they might not suit everyone but it’s worth a try, at least it was for me.

Have you tried Contacts before? Do you prefer Daily Contact Lenses or Monthly Contact Lenses?

Trying Contact Lenses For The First Time At 27

Trying contact lenses for the first time wasn’t something I expected to do at 27. It’s been on my to-do list forever but in all honesty, I thought at this point it would stay on that list forever more.

Trying Contact Lenses For The First Time At 27

The last few months have been stressful and at one point because of my ESA being stopped. I honestly thought we would end up homeless panicking about bills and rent. Luckily the Mr being recognised as my carer has got us back on track but If you had said a month ago I’d be typing this up I would have laughed at you. Having struggled these past few months, the Mr has been treating me to various things. From secretly ordering an LG G5 for me and making me stop at my local opticians to enquire about sunglasses. Two things that we just haven’t been able to do & kept getting moved to the bottom of the never-ending list.

Booking A Contact Lens Trial

My lens prescription is quite high and requires a lot of thinning. The cost of that plus frames for sunglasses almost had me running out the door. Contacts seemed a cheaper option as I can then buy any sunglasses I like. I asked a few questions and the Mr cheekily asked to book me in for a trial. I’ve said I wanted to try contacts for so many years

I have to admit I was extremely nervous. Even talking about eyes has mine streaming! The opticians were fantastic though and it really helped. First I was talked through the trial before putting orange dye in my eyes. This id to check my eyes were suitable for lenses. I worked through a good few tissues just doing these tests but everything was fine. Luckily for me, the streaming eyes should prevent dry eye haha!

Money-Saving

We decided monthly lenses would suit me best as I don’t intend to wear them all the time. I mostly want them for when I go out so I don’t spend all day squinting. The cost is roughly £60 for 3 months worth and just under £40 for the trial. Wearing contacts means I can buy a few different pairs of sunglasses instead of just one with prescription lenses! My vision has changed quite rapidly over the years and it can be quite costly to keep up with so this works quite well for me.

Once the optician was happy that contact lenses were a suitable option she went ahead and popped some in for me. When they do this you are told to look up then down to your knees so the lens fell into place correctly. This happened easier than I had expected to be honest.

Trying Contact Lenses For The First Time

We talked about the contact lens solution and how to care for the contact lenses whilst my eyes adjusted. It felt a little odd after almost 23 years of wearing glasses! I was told I may feel a little dizzy/light headed but I felt ok. I could feel my eyes slowly adjusting and everything coming into focus.

It reminded me of the first time I wore glasses at 5 years old, my world had always been blurry and suddenly it was much clearer. It felt amazing trying my first pair of glasses, everything was so bright & colourful. Suddenly there were so many shapes instead of blurs, trying contact lenses felt the same. I kept trying to adjust my glasses though, it felt odd not having anything surrounding my face. After a few minutes, I was taken through to another lady who took me through putting contact lenses in and out.

Putting Contact Lenses In & Out

I freaked out a little bit at the thought of taking the lenses back out and it took a few attempts for the nerves to settle. Having finally managed to take one out, I felt much more confident. The other came out much easier. I possibly owed the opticians half a box of tissues at this point though! To make sure I was confident putting the contact lenses in and out myself I was supervised another 2 times. By the end, I felt quite confident and felt when the lens suddenly needed repositioning before I left, as my constant tears made my eye a little too wet. Managing to pop the contact lens back in easily enough, reassured the optician I was confident (and myself!).

I spent 4 hours trying the lenses out on the first day and have to increase by 2 hours daily until I reach 10 hours per day. I go back on the 31st May to finish my trial and order my first 3 months of lenses if I am happy with these ones. It felt fairly normal wearing contact lenses even though I could feel my eyes adjusting. Taking them back out and wearing glasses was a whole different story! Suddenly I had blurry areas looking over/under or around my glasses making me very aware of my lack of sight.

The After-shock

Having worn glasses since I was a child, being short-sighted felt normal and whilst I joke about being blind it made me realise the severity. I’m lucky to have some vision left but over the years it has rapidly changed and until now I hadn’t realised quite how much! I’m really pleased to have finally been able to try contact lenses out and looking forward to being able to see properly this summer and not panic about where the girls are when my vision is off from squinting!

Surprise!

I kept it quiet that I was booked in for a trial because I was nervous it would go wrong. As soon as I knew everything was ok I shared a picture after my ‘secret mission’ was finished, asking people to figure it out on Instagram.I was quite pleased most people didn’t twig straight away that my glasses were missing as I was also nervous that I would look weird without.

Mummy Looks Weird!

Eva burst into tears when I showed her the photo though, saying I look weird, typical haha! Once I had shown Eva the lenses and explained I will still be wearing my glasses a lot, she calmed down. I can understand why she got upset, she has always found changes hard to cope with. Showing her the lenses really seemed to help, the unknown is quite scary at 8! Plus if I was nervous and not sure what to expect, its no surprise she felt the same.

Explaining The Benefits

I think it helped to explain the benefits of me wearing contact lenses. I can do so much more without the worry of glasses falling or getting knocked. Walking home in contacts and sunglasses felt like heaven. Usually, I end up with face ache from squinting all the way home. Realising I was less anxious with Izzy as I could see her constantly without squinting was a huge relief too. This seemed to really help Eva understand why there was a need for a change even if it seems strange to her at first.

Adjusting

Hopefully, with time we will both adjust and contact lenses will make life a little easier for me. This morning I let Eva watch me put the contacts in and she seemed ok. When I spotted she had chocolate on her face afterwards and wiped it off for her she teared up asking if I could see her clearly. When I told her I could, it seemed to make her really happy.

As the Mr was feeling poorly I took Eva to school (yep we were late, yay for broken lifts, not!). I decided whilst we waited for the one working lift we should take some selfies to help her get used to seeing us together without my glasses. That really cheered her up and I think she will slowly begin to accept the change, after all in 8 years she has only seen me without my glasses a handful of times!

Second Day

After my second day of wearing the contact lenses, I’m confident the trial will go well. I can finally stop hiding behind glasses all the time & buy nice sunglasses. I felt much more confident leaving on the school run. Being able to wear sunglasses and not be blinded was lovely, AND Eva said I looked COOL!

Have you tried contact lenses before or is it something you would like to try out too?