5 Things You Should Know Before Getting Contacts

Thinking about getting contacts? But not sure where to start? Don’t worry friend, I got you covered. I was in the same boat when I considered getting contacts for the first time. I was not aware of all the steps involved and how much time it takes before you get the right contacts for you. And let me tell you, it is a lengthy process. So make sure to give yourself ample time, and not wait until the last minute like me.

1. Don’t wait for the last minute.

Getting contacts is more than just going to the doctor and getting them. It is a process. A very long process that I was not aware of when I called my ophthalmologist to schedule an appointment. I am going to a wedding soon of an immediate family member, and I suddenly got the idea of getting contacts for the just the wedding. Did I mention that the wedding is in Australia?! I definitely didn’t give myself enough time to get contacts, but let’s hope it works out. Fingers crossed!

I actually prefer glasses over contacts. I have heard way too many horror stories with contacts to keep me from getting them for everyday use. Now for occasional use. That is a different story. I would suggest that you give yourself 1.5-2 months minimum before you officially get to wear your contacts that are everything you want and need.

2. Schedule an eye exam

The first thing you need to do is schedule an eye exam with your ophthalmologist and let him know that you are interested in contacts. Because the exam is slightly different for contacts. Makes sense, right? Contacts and glasses are kind of different, so the exam for each should be different.

The doctor will, if you have had your annual eye exam recently, check your eyes to make sure they are healthy enough to wear contacts. Maybe that is the horror stories I heard. A cousin of mine used to wear contacts for a while, but then noticed his eyesight and eyes were getting worse. He then had to get surgery to correct the problem and can now only wear glasses. It could have just been his doctor didn’t check his eyes for their health status before giving him the green light for contacts, but it still scared me.

Hence, the importance of getting your eyes checked before getting contacts. You don’t want to ruin your eyes or makes things worse just, so you can look better and ditch the glasses. Personally, having eyesight is more important to me than how I look wearing glasses. Not to mention, glasses are coming back in style. People are actually choosing to wear them. And, frames are so fashionable nowadays. The stereotype with glasses is no the same anymore. Which is a plus because I am sticking with glasses! They come in different styles and sizes. If you pick the right ones, it might even add to your look. Can contacts do that?

On the other hand, if you haven’t had your annual eye exam recently, then you will probably have to schedule that first. Now that the doctor has made sure your eyes are healthy enough to wear contacts, he will then put this instrument with a laser light type thing on it to your eyes. Don’t worry. It doesn’t hurt. It is just an instrument he uses to take measurements of your eyes, so the contacts can be customized to your eye shape and size. Pretty cool, right?

3. Arrival of Your contacts

They are actually here! This can take anywhere from a minimum of 1 week to who knows how long all depending on the type of contacts you need, your prescription, and if the company they are ordering them from is backordered. Eh-hem. Like apparently mine were. A huge backorder on the lenses and it took almost 3 weeks before I got to test them out. You heard me right. 3 weeks!

On the bright side, the ophthalmologist that I go to has a policy where they teach you how to wear contacts and take care of them before they even let you take them home. And they don’t let you leave with the contacts until you have successfully put them on twice. This can take anywhere from 20 minutes, if you are comfortable with touching your eye or good at putting contacts in, to 2 hours.

Now that depends on you. I don’t know why you would consider contacts if you are not comfortable touching your eyes, considering the whole point of contacts is to literally put it on your eye. Some sort of touch is involved. Don’t worry if you struggle with putting them in because you are not alone. If it makes you feel better, it took me a little over an hour to put them in once. Once! And I had to do it twice before they let me take them with me. Is this what they are referring to when they say the struggle is real?

4. 1 week follow-up

Now that you are a contact wearing pro, the doctor will let you go. You will be instructed to wear them for a week, and then come back for an exam. The follow-up exam serves several purposes. One, to make sure the contacts are not causing any damage to your eyes and your eyesight is doing good. Two, is to make sure that the contacts are comfortable, or if they need some adjustments or resizing.

The doctor I went to told me straight up that they will keep ordering trial contact lenses until we find the one that I am most comfortable with. Now that is what you want to hear. And the best part, I only had to pay a one-time exam fee, and I can come back to them as many times as I want until I like the contacts I got.

5. Cost

The most important factor, right? Well, after having the perfect, custom lenses. Contacts are expensive. More expensive than glasses in my opinion. They cost way more to, first of all, get enough supply for the year, and second of all, to maintain. I only wanted them for occasional use, not everyday use, and I expressed this to my doctor. Apparently, the smallest pack contacts come in are a 6 months’ supply, which is way more than I would ever need. That’s crazy! So, why would I spend that much money on contacts to only wear them 1 day? Maybe I should backout right now. But, I already had the exam, so the doc is going to charge me. On I continue with the decision I made.

The doctor told me that since I am not wearing them that much at all, he would just let me keep the trial lenses if I like them, and not worry about having to purchase additional packs. How nice of them!

Not to mention, the lenses he ordered me can be worn for a maximum of 30 days before they have to be discarded. So, he mentioned to me I can hold on to them and wear them for the occasions I like up to a maximum of 30 days. This worked perfect for me. I will probably only wear them for the wedding and maybe my sister’s graduation, and that is all. And that would leave me with like 28 more days. Well, minus the week I would have to wear them for trying them out. That would leave about 21 more days! Still plenty of time to last me for the rest of the year. 

Conclusion

Now that you are more knowledgeable on what all it takes to get contacts, get the process started. Unless I have made you changed your mind, and I am sorry if I scared you. I was only trying to help. Do let me know if this helped you in your contact getting decision. Until next time, have a lovely day and we shall meet again!