Glasses/Contacts - Preparing for Surgery
Posted , 2 users are following.
I have had hard contacts for over 50 years but know I have to give them up now that I'm facing cataract surgery. My regular eye doctor has just sent his patients an email advising that his office is booked until 2024. No problem. I figure I can just go to Costco. It's not as if I want something for long term.
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Reading here, advice about just trying soft lenses makes it sound like you can go to Costco, get samples, and off you go. Yet I see articles about them needing fitting. Do they?
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My plan was to get both an inexpensive pair of glasses and soft contacts. To be honest the only time I wear the contacts any more is for driving, less than 8 hours a week, probably more like 4-6 most weeks. I have computer glasses than are all I use except for driving. My plan was after the first eye was done I'd use a soft contact in the other until close to the time of the 2d surgery. I will be getting mini mono.
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Does the prescription for glasses allow me to get soft contacts, or do I need a separate prescription for each? I'd rather have some idea of what I'm walking into before going back to Costco. If what I saw there yesterday is typical, they're very busy. Also what I saw had separate prices posted for eyeglass and contact exams. Really? Are they different? Would I have to get both?
1 like, 3 replies
RonAKA maura04015
Edited
First, I should warn you that hard contacts can change the shape of your cornea and impact the accuracy of biometric measurements of the eye needed to proceed with cataract surgery. You should consult your surgeon's clinic, but I believe hard contacts have to be discontinued for at least 4 weeks before the measurements are taken. Soft contacts are even recommended to be discontinued for a week before measurements are taken.
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In Canada it is quite easy to get soft contacts (I am not sure they do hard ones) at Costco. All you need is an eyeglass prescription. For low correction powers there is no conversion from eyeglass to contact prescriptions. However for higher powers there is an adjustment. I believe Costco can make that conversion. You can also go to the CooperVision site for an on line conversion tool.
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Now this said I recall someone here reported on being forced to get an optometrist exam by Costco in the US first before they would dispense contacts. So, YMMV.
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My experience with soft contacts is that within a brand model there are no different sizes, just one. Different brands and models might differ very slightly, so if one brand does not work well, it is worth trying another. That is basically all there is to the fitting process. They just try them in your eye and use a slit lamp to observe how they move when you blink.
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FWIW I like the Costco Kirkland brand, which at least in Canada are the CooperVision MyDay daily contacts. They were the least expensive, most comfortable, and for me the easiest to handle.
maura04015 RonAKA
Posted
Thanks for the info. Yes, I know about having to stop wearing the hard lenses weeks before measurements for cataract surgery. That's why I want to get glasses and soft contacts. Your info will help me feel less ignorant talking to Costco. A neighbor who used the same surgeon I have an appointment with in a few weeks said she needed to stop wearing her hard lenses for 8 weeks prior to the final measurements and surgery appointment, so I'm expecting that kind of wait, but then the way all specialists seem to be backed up maybe it would be that long under any circumstance.
I saw a kind of soft contacts in Costco's online catalog supposedly specifically for dry eye people. As that's my other pre-condition, I wonder if there's anything to them or if it's just marketing hype.
RonAKA maura04015
Posted
I recall Costco saying they were getting a dry eye specific contact lens, perhaps B+L? Not sure, but I don't recall trying it. I tried about 6 different ones and settled on the Kirkland ones. They were not available in torics, but I did not have a lot of astigmatism, so I went with a non toric. Probably best to use a toric if it is indicated. I tried a J&J toric but did not like it. At least for the Costco where I went they were quite generous with free samples and pretty much let me try all the ones they had in sample stock for the power I needed.