I can see clearly, and my eyes aren't always bloodshot

A year ago, after wearing gas permeable contacts for more than 15 years, I decided to switch to soft contacts. But I didn't find a better alternative to gas permeables until I found Acuvue Oasys.

Gas permeables were OK when I lived in a more humid climate, but when I moved to 9,500 feet, where there's less oxygen and humidity, my eyes suffered. They constantly felt scratchy and raw, and within hours of putting my contacts in, tiny red blood vessels and red irritated patches would come out, so friends would sometimes comment that I looked like a stoner (which couldn't be farther from reality). The worst part was, I've always gotten compliments on my blue eyes, but when you add red to the mix, it's just not that pretty ...

I had avoided soft contacts because doctors told me I need rigid contacts to keep my eyes from getting worse. Plus, soft contacts looked difficult: I could throw gas perms in a cup of water if worse came to worse and I was spending a night without my usual solution and case. Soft contacts seemed giant, pricey and too difficult to care for. But I couldn't stand the red eyes anymore, so I made the switch.

At first, I tried regular soft contacts, but I was having a terrible time with dryness in my left eye. The contact would stick to my eye, and it would blur my sight.

After a few different trial pairs of various brands, I finally found Johnson & Johnson Acuvue Oasys. They were like heaven!

My eye doctor warned me that my vision might not be as sharp as it was with gas permeables, but once Acuvue Oasys took care of the dryness factor, I was able to see just as well as before.

What's more is my eyes don't feel as tired after working on a computer or skiing or in-line skating in the dry Colorado air. The contacts also protect my eyes from the intense sun out here, as they have the highest UVA (96%) and UVB (99%) ray blocking material possible.

And now they come with a mark that lets you know if you're inserting them inside out or not -- something that would have come in handy for me when I first tried them: One day I put one inside out, and I didn't know any better -- all day, my eye felt irritated and scratchy, but I didn't think I'd be able to see, or be able to get them in if they were inside-out. Wrong.

Doctors recommend replacing them every two weeks, and say you can wear them for six nights in a row. Don't follow my suggestion, but personally, I wear mine for much longer than two weeks (though I never wear them overnight). My longest stretch was 2 1/2 months, but I don't recommend that; my eyes felt irritated for the last few weeks, and on the last day I wore them, everything I read on the computer was blurry, and my eyes felt horrible!

I don't sleep with them overnight because even falling asleep with them for an hour or two makes me wake up with dry, sticky eyes. Maybe people in more oxygenated climates can sleep overnight with them, but I don't think it's feasible at high elevations. I do, however, wear my contacts for extended periods during the day -- it's not uncommon for me to be in them from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Drawbacks
To me, these contacts are like miracles, allowing me to see in comfort. There are just two drawbacks:

1) They're more expensive than other brands. They range from $20-$22 for a box of six, and, unless you're pretty unique, you'll need a box for the right eye and a box for the left. However, you can find rebates and free trial offers at www.acuvue.com.

2) After a year of practicing getting soft contacts out of my eyes (you should've seen me at first -- it took 20 minutes for me to grab the thing out of my eye), I still have problems when I use a new pair of Acuvue's. It often takes me a minute or longer -- with several tries -- to "pinch" it correctly to get it out of my eye. This only happens with new pairs; it seems once they get "broken in," they're much easier to pop out. I didn't have that problem with other brands of soft contacts I tried.