soft lens or hard? my lenses have to be special-ordered as well (high prescription). daily wear? monthly?

I've worn contacts for years and haven't had trouble. I see better with the contacts than with my glasses.

The only difficulty you may have is if you're sqwicked out by the idea of touching your eyeballs. Trust me -- if you're gentle (and if your hands are clean), it won't hurt at all. My eye doctor told me that women tend to have it easier then men, because most women have played around with eyeshadow and are used to messing around up there. On the other hand, he's had men faint dead away.

Fear not, dg! Contacts are awesome. They make driving easier and open up a whole new world of stylish sunglasses.

Just make sure that you're clear on how to tell when they're "inside out" and exactly how to disinfect them.

Good luck!

I've worn contacts for 15 years - they're great! Downsides: if you get something in your eye, like an eyelash, it will hurt like hell. Also, occasionally I have trouble getting one of my lenses out, which doesn't hurt but the prolonged messing around in my eye always makes me feel a little sick to my stomach (I always get it out eventually, it just might take a few minutes). Other than those caveats, I can't think of anything bad about them.

I am getting soft lenses that last a month but need to be cleaned daily. During the fitting, I had a couple of practices at the putting in and taking out and did OK, although the Optometrist had some initial concerns about me coping because of my reaction during the initial consulation when she tested me out by turning my eyelids inside out to see how I reacted.

What about swimming? I have been told that they will float out if I open my eyes underwater.

I have had contacts off and on over the years, and I love them. (I don't currently have them - cost factor). I like how I look with them, I like how easy they are...I think you'll love them and wonder why you didn't try them sooner!

Enh...I swim with them all the time. But if you're worried, wear goggles.

I could apply my contacts with a carving fork while riding a roller coaster and not flinch, but I've been wearing them since I was in jr. high. Just because you're a bit squeamish now doesn't mean you always will be. Just stick with it and don't give up, even if it starts to seem like it's more trouble than it's worth.

My other bit of advice is to always carry either your glasses or spare couple of lenses. It sucks to lose/rip a lense then have to go cyclops for the rest of the day.

Relax. Really. It'll be fine, and you'll love having peripheral vision. (That's probably the number one reason I don't wear my glasses more out in public -- I love how I look in glasses, but driving without full peripheral vision freaks me out.)

Here's my take from AskMe a few years back on how to insert them without freaking out. (I'm like jrossi -- I've worn them since junior high, so I can pop them in and out in a moving car using one finger and a little spit if I have to. Not that I particularly recommend this method, but it does illustrate the point that wearing them is something you'll eventually get completely used to. Just give your learning curve a little time!)

And as for swimming: googles?

You've nothing to worry about.
I've used soft contact lenses for a long time. Disposable ones you wear for 2 weeks and toss. I buy them 20 pair at a time. I only use them for sports though — ice hockey goalie at least 4 times/week, but have used them scuba diving, slalom skiing/boarding, and winter snow boarding.
Yes, close your eyes when underwater or for an impending face plant. With the disposable ones, it's no great loss

Truly the best invention ever. Some people's eyes aren't suited for them, so definitely get your eyes checked and measured for your prescription. Keep your hands and lenses sterile, you won't even notice them after a while.

You aren't placing your finger on the eyeball, you just touch the lens to it and it snicks right in.
Don't forget to blink, which hydrates them ]tears[. Contact lenses give you the best your prescription can do for your eyes.

You'll really enjoy them. I don't care to wear them throughout the day, that's all.

And as for swimming: googles

Of course, that should be goggles? But you could google for solutions, too.

Carving forks and roller coasters¿

Get your documents in order before you go./

Great choice of words, I loved it and aptly put, jrossi
Don't get too slack putting them on. I've lost focus more than once and thought they were in, but they were in the sink after much looking under locker room sinks on the floor — ACK./ Although they've a slight blue tint, forget fishing and focus./

Another bit of great advice was bringing the glasses with case. I snapped a pair not in a case while balancing ]not[ on one leg, leaning into my coat hanging on the wall — right on the glasses. SNAP./ Done in. The eye glass case is your friend.

yeah, peripheral vision is one of the reasons for my wanting contacts - not so much at the sides, but at the bottom, where I have nearly fallen down stairs a few times because the bottom border of my glasses is exactly at the same spot as the edge of stairs when I am walking down them and my eyes get the two lines confused. I know I could get different glasses, but there are lots of other reasons as well.

I don't seem to have much trouble with the sticking my finger in my eye thing - the first step I was made to try was touching my eyeball with the tip of my finger and I managed that fine. The biggest surprise was just how big the lenses are - I have trouble holding my eyelids open far enough to fit the lens in without it getting caught on my lashes, which triggers my blink reflex.

I know it is all simply a matter of getting used to it - I was fine about the whole thing until it came to actually trying to put the lens in and then I started to get scared of something going wrong and, at the same time, excited about being able to walk around without glasses.

Thanks for the help, everyone - any more advice is welcome.

dg: (Note: I live in the US and I realize you live in Australia, so none of this may actually apply to you, but here it is...)

In my experience, it is cheaper to buy them online. The optometrist will write you a prescription and offer to sell you contacts--find out what brand and model they want to sell you, ask them for your prescription and then buy online. I've used 1-800 Contacts. This has two benefits: 1) cheaper, 2) you can order as many as you want. The second point is important to me because I'm incredibly annoyed that I have to get a new prescription every year even if my current contacts are working just fine*. So using the online option, I bought a 2+ year supply.

* It's probably good that I'm forced to see the eye doctor once a year. But screw health and safety, I'm all about convenience, baby.

Ah, I just re-read the post and see you've already ordered. Well, keep the online option in mind for next time.

The best advice I can give you is to make sure not to get the kind that makes you type your question marks upside down and confuse backwards brackets for parentheses.

I've had contacts for close to 25 years, I'll never go back. The hardest part of getting them for me was getting them out of my eyes. I did fine in the optometrists, but had a problems when I go home.

Make sure you get good sunglasses. Some people find their eyes more sensitive to light, so sunglasses help. The good news is you can buy non-prescription ones :)

Wash your hands before touching your eyes or your lenses! I can't overemphasize that. Especially if you've handled something like hot peppers. You'll only make that mistake once.

Clear goggles or safety glasses are good to have. Sawdust or slivers in your eyes are not fun. I never bothered using goggles when I wore glasses but with contacts, they're pretty much essential.

You might find you blink more than you used to. It'll probably decrease over time, but if it doesn't, go back. Different brands have different shapes and materials and some people tolerate some brands better than others. I've had a few brands that I just didn't like.

I lost a contact swimming (it was a long drive home with only one good eye), so I'd wear goggles or take them out first. I swim with them sometimes but don't open my eyes underwater. It's more fun not to worry about them.

Enjoy!

Another tip: ALWAYS bring either a backup pair of lenses or a pair of glasses with you when you travel. I actually leave some back up contacts in my toiletries travel bag.

Proof positive, mudpuppie is right. Don't listen to those doctors. kidding. Ha, that was a good one and I'm kmsl./

I have a horrible story involving my first contacts. I'll save it for a meetup. Good luck, though!

as another longtime soft contact lens wearer I'll second the 'don't mess with hot peppers' theme. Just... don't. Seriously - especially if you're handling serranos or scotch bonnets (habaneros) - wear surgical gloves or you WILL be sorry. I had to throw that pair of contacts out L:(

as amro said, sometimes if your eyes dry out you can have trouble removing them. I get this problem when I've accidentally fallen asleep in mine. The solution to this is simple: just put a drop of contact solution or artificial tears in, blink, and you should be good to go. They only stick cos they've dried out and kinda adhered to your eyeball. Which sounds gross but really isn't, and you should be keeping them moist anyhows.

also: do not, EVER, put Visine or similar over-the-counter 'eyedrops' in with your contacts in, or insert them just after using it. The stuff in there will cloud your lenses. Only use moistening drops that are designed for contacts, and personally I just use a little contact solution. Paying the insane amounts for those little bottles of rewetting drops seems like highway robbery to me. Your optometrist should have gone over this with you, but surprisingly they sometimes don't. Also keep in mind that any sorts of oils, lotions, sunscreen and soforth can both irritate your eyes, and cause your lenses to cloud, wear out, and/or tear. Meaning you also shouldn't use 'moisturising' or 'lotion' soaps to clean your hands prior to handling your lenses.

I have never, and will never, put a contact lens in my mouth. I've seen what's in human mouth cultures and it's disgustingly horrible. I was told by my current optometrist that wetting lenses with saliva is the primary reason people develop infections and allergies to contacts.

Inserting them will become second nature after about a week of handling them. The trick is to learn how to hold your upper eyelid/lash out of the way with your index or third finger whilst inserting the lens. You'll get the knack. Again, putting a (small!) drop of solution on the lens can help expedite this process. Always check the lens against the light to see that it's a) clean and b) right-side out.

Using these basic principles along with rotating three pairs to allow them to soak for 3 days between wearings has allowed me to get two and three times the amount of recommended wear out of each of my sets of dailys, and the doc always seems to comment on how surprisingly clean my lenses are (despite being old).

I know this sounds like a lot but it's fairly basic.

Good = clean and moist with plenty of solution and always be scrupulously neat about handling them.

Bad = Oil, dirt, lint, dryness and general abuse and neglect.

They make prescription goggles.

Optometrist had some initial concerns about me coping because of my reaction during the initial consulation when she tested me out by turning my eyelids inside out to see how I reacted.

I've been wearing contacts for a couple of years now and that would still sqwick(?) me out. Get away from my eyelids!

I wore hard (then GP) contacts for nearly 20 years, but abused them by wearing them for about 18 hours a day and ended up ulcerating my cornea. So I had to stop wearing them, and since then I've worn glasses mostly, although I have soft daily disposable lenses which I wear sometimes.

I find that with my eye defect I can't see as sharply with soft lenses as could with the GP ones, and as I do a lot of reading for both work and pleasure I need to have that sharpness, so I tend to stick with glasses.

I haven't updated my lenses for about 3 years, so am due to do so on my next trip to the opticians. Last time I talked to my ophthalmologist about them, he said that, even in the last 3 years they've improved so I might get more clarity with a new prescription.

I usually order my contacts online and have them delivered to friends in the US, picking up 3 months' supply when I'm out there. The price difference from what we pay in the UK is astonishing.

Air-conditioning or smoky atmospheres play havoc with my lenses, so I use a dab of hypromellose (artificial tear fluid) to wet my eyes if they feel dry or sticky. My optician told me that this is virtually identical to the comfort drops sold by the lens companies, but about a quarter of the price.

For hydrating your eyes, just use the storage/cleaning fluid for the lenses. A few drops in your eyes will do.

"because of my reaction during the initial consulation when she tested me out by turning my eyelids inside out to see how I reacted."

What the hell?

Because of the salinity, contacts in the ocean are superfabulous - it is the best vision you can possibly have. Contacts in swimming pools are sort of meh.

I suggest that you not sleep in your lenses, even if it's said to be O.K. to do so; and that you always store them in proper storage/disinfecting fluid. It's not a bad idea to disinfect them after swimming.

My eyes are sensitive, so I rinse the disinfecting fluid off with sterile saline before I put them in my eyes; I can get about 4 extra comfortable hours that way.

And don't wear old lenses! Figure out how long they're supposed to last and toss 'em when they're old.