To give up on idea of Contact Lenses? How hard can it be??

[Claricethecat45]

I have used glasses for years and never really considered Lenses. At my last test and new prescription at High Street Optician, I asked for info and was told that I would get a free trial.
Well last week I went to try my new Lenses ordered in for me but not available until i 'pass the test' of putting in and taking out.
Fair enough ....but, it was awful last week and no better today.
I find the whole thing of pushing against my eye ball very sensitive and sore
I did get them in, eventually, but getting them out far harder
Sat there eyes streaming and fed up as I had to do it all in front of the optician fitter....

I have seen a few vids on line showing how to do it and it seems easier to remove by 'bunching them between fingers rather than pushing and sliding them off

Either way, I feel like giving up and wonder if anyone has felt like this but persevered and it got easier???

Im not overly happy with the person 'helping' me as they are not encouraging at all but Im a bit tied in now and can hardly go elsewhere as I have already paid for all the tests etc and this free trial is part of the pack already paid for.

I did get two new pairs of glasses so this is why I have the 'free trial ' and the offer of a months use of lenses- BUT they won't allow me the lenses to bring home and practice with and it all feels a bit of a disappointment.....is it only me???

OP, like you, I nearly gave up after my first trial. I took two attempts to even get it near my eye. It grossed me out and I left.

I had another trial at another provider (Boots) and could not get them in. Every time the assistant (or me) went near my eyes, I'd blink rapidly.

They suggested the same technique as Asda (holding top and bottom lashes open, which made my stomach turn). Could not even look at my eyes close up in a mirror!

I went back again to Boots but no joy.

I could not do it while being watched.

So I noted my prescription and ordered online (I know, but I was desperate).

At first my mother had to put them in for me. She told me that she never holds both lids open or looks in a mirror.

Within a week or so I developed my own technique without a mirror and only pulling the bottom lashes down, lying on the bed and looking at an object in the distance so I didn't blink. But I knew I was blinking last minute and flipping the lens so that the lenses would never be in properly.

I started to look in a mirror and put my lenses in standing up or sitting down. Gradually I improved. My blink refelx was supressed.

Six months on and I've mastered it. No longer grossed out and able to put them in first go, mostly.

If I can do it anybody can. After that first trial I called my mother to say I would never be able to put lenses in. Look how far I've come.

Now..getting them out was another matter. I can't do it the traditional way and researched other ways via YouTube tutorials. I now squeeze and push the lenses out.

Thanks so much- all
There seems to be a few differences of technique
To get it in, Optician definitely tells me to hold upper lid 'up'
Then balance the thing on the finger and 'drop' it onto 'coloured bit of eye' but told me to push?
To remove;
'stroke' or 'rub' lens about 3 times to break the vacuum and slide out once it moves- but she def tells me to apply pressure.
Its only my second go so I will go back as I am so keen to use them
They are the Monthly ones....not daily, so if it all works I will hopefully be able to wear all the time??

I am wondering if a coloured lens would be easier to actually see, as a lot of my problem is I can't actually see anything much without my glasses and can't see a transparent lens??

Your input has made me feel less inept so thanks all !

HandsOffMyRights

You are ME....its that 'Blink Reflex' I need to smash! As you say, 'suppress'

Exactly

No opticians will let you take them home before you can put them in and take them out, it's not just Boots.

It would be very irresponsible of them to just hand them over without knowing you have, at least, a rudimentary idea of how to deal with them.

I agree though, it's horrible sitting in a room with this person who knows what they're doing when you're all fingers and thumbs.

What you need to remember though, is that they're trying to sell you a product, a product that you will hopefully be buying for many years to come. They want you to be able to get used to them and start paying for them and they will have seen, probably, most first time lens users struggling in a similar way.

So take some deep breaths and take it as slowly as you need to and try as many times as it takes. Ask the fitter to help you to better understand the process when you're struggling.

If the fitter gets impatient, which, of course, they really shouldn't, speak to the manager and ask to see a different fitter.

You really shouldn't be pressing on your eyes. You should just need to get the lens close to your eyeball and as soon as the contact lens touches your eyeball it should sort of jump from your finger onto your eye.

I always found pinching the bottom of the lens the easiest way to remove it.

This is how I take mine out. This was a game changer for me.

The second removal technique in this video is the same.

The trial session 8n store is a bugger, it's much easier to get them out after they've been in for a few hours, if you've spent a while getting them in, then try to take them straight out it's going to be harder.

I always tucked my chin in so I had to look up at the mirror, had the lens on the end of my index finger, middle finger pulls down bottom eyelid, then placed it near to my eye at the bottom. It would suction on, then a couple of blinks and it put itself in position.

Taking it out, same thing, tuck chin and look up at the mirror. Middle finger pulls down bottom eyelid, index finger and thumb, very lightly pinch the lens off.

The chin tuck means you're not watching your fingers coming towards your eye, so less chance of blinking or flinching.

Does anyone else struggle as they get older? I managed fine from late 20s to my 60th birthday but then contact lenses became so uncomfortable, I've given up now, tried different sorts, different opticians and various 'solutions', sad really as I liked wearing them and having glasses all the time is not always easy (have to have vari focal now).

It took me three trips to the opticians to be able to get them in. 15 years later I could do it drunk in the dark in seconds. You will get it it just takes practice.

I suspect that if the lens isn’t transferring easily from finger to eye that your fingertip is too wet. If it is the lens will cling to it. Make sure your finger is dry and it should be easier.

OP, I used to get shaky finger too!
I was you in February this year. Now I'm a regular user of lenses.

I did consider the ones you only need to change after a long period of time, but my eyes are too dry. I don't wear my disposables every day, but I wear them weekends for shopping or when I go out/special occasions. I would wear them all the time if I could (I'm not a suitable candidate for surgery unfortunately).

You will do this! I love my lenses now.

I had that experience, had to go to the opticians two or three times before they'd let me take them home. I'm fine with it now, even though I rarely wear them.

You'll get there if you keep trying!

Urgh, I remember that first appointment when I was a teenager...I was there until after closing time and ended up having a right mare trying to get it out at home. I ended up sliding the lense round to the inner corner of my eye until it creased up in half and I could just pick it off. Probably not the recommended way but I've done it like that ever since.

Does anyone else struggle as they get older?

Yes, I'm 70 and I've given up with them now.

I thought I'd give them another try a few years ago after stopping them in my early 60s and used them on and off for a couple of years but that's me finished with them now.

There is surgery that is suitable for older people, not laser surgery, but it's incredibly expensive so I probably won't be going down that route.

I hate wearing glasses. I've worn them since I was 5 years old and I still find them annoying.

I put mine half on the whites of my eye and half on the colour one. I don't even press it to my eyeball, it sort of suctions on and moves into the right place after blinking. To take it out I just sort of pull the outer corner of my eye, a bit like if you were being racist and making your eyes look Chinese. It just pops out.

@HandsOffMyRights That video is what I was (probably not very well) trying to describe. I didn't actually realise people actually were grasping the lens in their eye until another thread about this on MN a few months ago! I've always done it that way.

I know you're tied into the free trial, but a good independent optician who is a specialist in contact lenses should be happy to help you in the meantime. Not all contact lens 'specialists' at a mainstream optician are specialists at all. You need some whose daily business is contact lenses.

Where are you? Can certainly recommend you someone in the Dorset / Hampshire area.

For putting them in I pull down my lower lid, place lens in, look up/down/side to side before blinking
Dry finger on paper towel before touching lens too
Taking out I put finger on lens, swipe to outer corner of eye and swipe it out, it sort of bunches up

It does take practice, it will get easier, and if the won’t let you take the lenses home to practice, find an opticians who will.

Don’t do that. Any optician who will let you take home lenses that you can’t take out is negligent.

Dry finger wet lens works for me,
But I can’t wear them now as they make me want to tear my eyes out!

I've been wearing lenses for 32 years, they have improved a lot in that time. I couldnt do them in front of an optician but was allowed to take them home to practice. I found it easiest to have a magnifying mirror & sit at the table at first. Now I can put in & remove my lenses without a mirror. I wear extended wear lenses that I can sleep in & only remove maybe twice a week to clean & give my eyes a rest. Keep trying, you will get the knack.

If you balance the lens in your finger lightly enough it should cling to your eye without any pushing at all.

I fainted in the opticians chair the first time he tried to get them out for me! I struggled to start with but became used to touching my eye and getting them in and out, it's definitely more of a inching motion. Wore them for ten years then had laser eyes surgery (best thing I ever did).
You can definitely overcome the fear of touching your eye trust me.
Good luck!!

It takes confidence and a bit of practice to start with, but it soon becomes routine.

Don't push them on, pat them on gently with very little pressure otherwise they're more likely to stick to your finger rather than your eye.

The best method of removing them, for me, is to look upwards, put my finger flat on the lens, move my finger with the lens downwards while rolling it towards me. This way I don't risk scratching my eye with a finger nail and there's very little pressure on my eye. Trying to pinch them off gets me into real problems and my eyes very quickly get sore and watery.

You'll get the knack when you find which method is best for you. Having eyesight correction I can forget about is magic, especially in the rain. I love not needing prescription sunglasses, too.

You need to be sure you're not going to be interrupted, and that your hands are dry. I hold my eye open by putting my other hand on top of my head so my fingers meet my eye straight on and don't drag the eyelid sideways at all.

I've worn contacts for 30+ years. After a recent eye test, popped lenses back in and optometrist I couldn't have put them in, I was too fast. Given my sight is -7 umm, I'd know if they weren't in LOL

Initially I did the slide and pinch to remove but would damage the lenses because my nails were long. Changed to the eye lid push (duck described above) and no issues after that.

I just took one out to see what I do.

Index finger on top lid, other index finger on bottom lid. Blink. Lense will pop out. Just touch the eye lashes, don't press, your eye lid should be able to move your finger up and down easily.

To put in, place on index finger, off centre, on the outside half. Place your other index finger just below your eye and gently pull down to move your lower lid. Place lense on eye - no need to push. Blink and it will align itself or fall out if not in right. Sometimes there is a squishy noise as the lense suctions on. If you hear that, all is good, just blink. If uncomfortable, close your eye and lightly rub eye to move around. If still uncomfortable, remove, check for hair, lashes, tears particularly around the edges, check lense not inside out. Flush with solution, pop back in eye.

I don't like to put them on the coloured bit of your eye, so I look to the side and a bit up and put them on the whites of my eyes then look around without blinking (holding my eyelid) and they slide into place

To get them out I drag them down and they pop out. I've been doing it for months and I still sometimes panic when I can't get one out!

I cannot have anyone touch my eyes but when I tried them in the first time the woman popped them in n out my eyes for me SO fast I didn't even realise it was happening.
I remain hopeful I'll get that good.