Toric Contact Lenses (For Astigmatism)

[Annette_VA]

Does anyone here wear toric lenses? Are you happy with them?

I've had a slight astigmatism in my right eye for the longest time, but it's recently gotten bad enough that my dr put me in a toric lens. Apparently, I have an odd astigmatism - most are on the vertical or the horizontal, but mine's on the diagonal.

He gave me a test lens and it didn't work well, so he put me in a second (different) test lens, which I'm wearing now. I still have problems in my right eye. My sight isn't nearly as good as it is in my left eye. I sit at a laptop all day long and after only about 1/2 an hour, my vision gets all blurry.

Plus, the lens is much thicker, so I always feel like I have a bunch of gunk in my eye.

Do those of you who have toric lenses feel like this? Does your toric lens make your vision "perfect"?

I'm trying to decide if I need to call my dr and go ahead & order a box of these lenses because this is as good as it's going to get.

 

[LindaR]

I wore them for a brief period. I HAVE to have perfect vision - it bugs me too much if I don't - so they were not the right thing for me.

My daughter, on the other hand, has the same vision problems (astigmatism). Her eye doctor made it perfectly plain to her that, to wear contacts, would guarantee a LOSS of visual clarity....not much, but some nonetheless. She chose the contacts. The brand that she wore for a year, gave her lots of problems with dry eyes that drops didn't fix (we live in the desert, so the air is extremely dry anyway) and she only managed to wear them about 9 hours a day. This year he put her in a different brand (different material) and I've only seen her use eye drops once. She can wear these from 7am til about 11pm!

Give them a try. But thoroughly discuss ANY problems with the doctor because a simple change of brand may fix them and still allow you to wear contacts instead of glasses!

 

[nucpharm29]

I used to wear toric lenses. They were much more expensive than the regular contacts. My astigmatism is pretty slight, I think the optometrist was just trying to sell me the more expensive lens. In any case, the lenses were just okay. I've now switched to 2 week disposable lenses (Accuvue 2), and the difference I notice is very minimal in the vision category. In the pocketbook, the difference is pretty sizable. Now, I haven't had torics in a few years, so the price may have gone down. But in my general opinion,not worth the extra $$$$.

 

[LMC]

I have astigmatism in one eye and have tried the toric lens'. I did not notice any better vision with the toric than the regular lens so I just use regular contacts. The amount of vision improvement (none) did not outweight the cost for me!

 

[Sleepy]

My son (13) wears them and has for 2 years. Took him a while to get used to them, but he is ok with them now. I don't know if it makes his vision better than when he was in just regualar contacts.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Have you thought about LASIK? I was able to have my astigmatism corrected.

 

[mickeyboat]

I had a toric lens in my left eye for several years. I liked the fact that it was easy to put in, and actually after I got used to it, it felt very comfortable. I noticed I didn't see very well at night with the toric lens in. I also had some trouble with close-up work (as in looking at the computer screen). My astigmatism is right at the border-line of not having to be corrected. So last time I had an eye exam, the Dr. asked if I wanted to try a non-toric lens (saves a lot of money). So I am not wearing the toric anymore.

Good luck to you.

Denae

 

[jel0511]

I wore toric lenses for MANY years and HATED THEM!!! My astigmatism got so bad, that even the lenses wouldn't fit on my eyes correctly anymore, they would "spin". So, I gave up contacts for glasses, which my eye doctor said wouldn't completely correct my vision, because the only way to get them correctly corrected was to wear contacts!! Well, I was about 20/30 with glasses so I wore those after giving up contacts. I finally gave in and has LASIK. It's been AWESOME!!! It completely corrected my vision and I can see perfectly for the first time in MANY years!! I actually got headaches when I had it done, since everything was so sharp. Finding a toric lens isn't as easy as regulara contacts. Sometimes it takes SEVERAL different brands to find one that works, in my case, there was only one brand left after my astigmatism severely worsened and it just didn't work for me. Good Luck!

 

[Sandy V.]

Like Jel0511, I wore torics for a number of years, and I hated them because they "spun" on my eyes. It was very difficult to get crisp vision, especially at a distance. They were comfortable, though.

I would try a variety of brands to see what gives you the best results.

For me, I didn't have clear vision until I had Lasik done 5 years ago. Single best thing I ever did for myself. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Good Luck!

 

[Laura]

I just started wearing a toric lens in my right eye almost two years ago (I've been wearing contacts for 16 years). I wear a brand called Frequency, and I have very mild astigmatism in both eyes. It only got bad enough in my right eye that I wanted a change. I think my toric lens feels slightly thicker at times, but other than that I'm quite comfortable, and it really improved my vision quite a bit.

 

[Deb in IA]

I wore gas permeable hard lenses for about 20 years, until I could not tolerate them anymore -- persistent redness and irritation.

I went to toric softs about 2 years ago and have been pretty pleased. Vision is not perfect, but a LOT better than before, and no more redness.

 

[Annette_VA]

I just started wearing a toric lens in my right eye almost two years ago (I've been wearing contacts for 16 years). I wear a brand called Frequency, and I have very mild astigmatism in both eyes. It only got bad enough in my right eye that I wanted a change. I think my toric lens feels slightly thicker at times, but other than that I'm quite comfortable, and it really improved my vision quite a bit.

That's what this one is - a Frequency lens. I've been wearing Frequency Aspheric for years and they're really comfortable. I don't constantly feel the toric lens in my eye, just every once in a while, it will feel kind of "thick" - it's weird, hard to describe. I guess I'm just more conscious of it being in there or something.

 

[Annette_VA]

I used to wear toric lenses. They were much more expensive than the regular contacts. My astigmatism is pretty slight, I think the optometrist was just trying to sell me the more expensive lens. In any case, the lenses were just okay. I've now switched to 2 week disposable lenses (Accuvue 2), and the difference I notice is very minimal in the vision category. In the pocketbook, the difference is pretty sizable. Now, I haven't had torics in a few years, so the price may have gone down. But in my general opinion,not worth the extra $$$$.

Yeah, my dr was actually pretty cool about it, talking about the costs up front. He actually put off switchinh me as long as possible because of the cost. I think my astigmatism is mild enough though that I can switch back to aspheric if I want

 

[Annette_VA]

Have you thought about LASIK? I was able to have my astigmatism corrected.

Ewww, no! LOL!

I just can't stomach the idea of getting my eyeball sliced. My dr keeps recommending it, but I'm just not comfortable with getting it done.

 

[Indyman]

I've worn Toric lenses for 3-4 years and haven't had any problems. My vision is perfect, but it's pretty darn good, and I acn't stand wearing glasses for an extended period of time, so I'll keep the Toric lenses.

 

[kasar]

I feel like my vision is better with my Toric lenses than with glasses.

My problem is I keep trying the new disposable toric lenses (samples from the Dr.) and I can't find any that fit as well as my B&L lenses which are so expensive. Luckily my prescription hasn't changed and I handle them very gingerly so I'm still using my 3 year old right lens. Left one was replaced but I don't like it nearly as much. I highly recommend the Aosept method if don't have disposables - cleans them great and doesn't contain Thimerosol which is irritating.

 

[KarenC]

They are much more comfortable than the gas permeable lenses I used to have, but my vision is not as sharp. I've gotten used to it.

 

[Otto's Doll]

I have Toric lenses - 2 week disposables. I hadn't worn contacts in 9 years, so when I started again last year, I went right to these. No problems. It costs me about $60 for 2 boxes (I have different prescriptions in each eye), and that lasts about 3 months.