Call Me Cyclops
About two weeks ago after a long stressful day, I was getting ready for bed only to discover I was missing my right contact. This didn't bode well for how frustrating my day had been and was seriously the icing on the cake. I pouted over to John and told him what I'd done and he said "Yeah I know, it was on the counter when I got home today." Thanks for telling me! That just made it worse, that I'd gone the ENTIRE DAY without realizing I had lost it. Luckily it was my right lens I lost, and the prescription in my left eye is way worse. So I've been able to cope without it.
I was a good girl and waited until I got paid to go to Walmart to get new contacts. I've been really lucky up until now. My eye doctor has been providing me with pair after pair of free contacts. Since I have an astigmatism, contacts are more expensive, and they don't make a large variety of them and they're only now getting the technology better to make them more comfortable. After the last time I went in I settled on a pair and he wrote me up a prescription for them. I took it to Walmart and she said that they have to order these because they're so specific to the eye. It would take about 8-10 days to get them in. I told her I'd go ahead and order them and then asked how much they were.
"They're not cheap," she said. "They'll run you $50 a box." Well, that's not the end of the world. A box lasts 3 months. But no, since I have a different prescription for each eye, I have to get two boxes. So that's $100 every three months. For contacts.
This leads me to my dilemma. Do I go back to glasses? In December I qualify for our vision insurance which pretty much pays for glasses and lenses, but only pays for the exam and your first box of contacts. I'm seriously conflicted. I really like wearing contacts. I've gotten used to not having glasses and heaven knows I don't want Ben to destroy another pair. What are your thoughts? Glasses or contacts?
In the meantime, I'll be heading to my eye doctor to hopefully get another free pair, and hopefully find a cheaper alternative contact lens...
Hey Cyclops! Well, I like you better with contacts, and with a little one around your glasses are likely to get hurt. Go with the contacts, and maybe very soon there will be a cheap alternative. Do you have a back-up pair of glasses?
I agree with Melinda. Go with the contacts because in the long run, having a kid, you may spend more to replace glasses than contacts. Just keep a back-up pair of glasses. Also, save up for lasik. It's one of the best things I've ever done. Your eyes look gorgeous btw...even with one closed. :)
CONTACTS, MISSY! I love you in glasses, but aren't contacts so much more convenient? I will never go back to glasses. NEVER.
haha, i love how Dr. Appling will give free pairs, I probably get the exact same brand as you, for astigmatism, AND i found out that the Sams optical place inside carries them for CHEAPER than WM, my vote is for the contacts! I have a spare pair of glasses (in fact i just bought a new pair due to breakage) to use at night, and i have found my contacts last longer that way. if i take them out when i get home rather than leaving them in up until bedtime. So anyways check out Sams optical and see if you can get your cheaper than 50 bucks a box. I get tha Oasys for Astigmatism and it is 30 bucks a box, at least that is what the guy told me!
I did call Sam's and they are a lot cheaper there. My only other issue is that I lose my contacts all the time! This is like the 4th time in like 3 months and since they're still not cheap by any means, I hate throwing money away like that!
So yeah, I'll stick it out with contacts till I can get on our insurance and then get a back-up pair of glasses (since they're not cheap either!)
Thanks, guys. I do love wearing contacts and hopefully, Mubeen, someday I can afford to get lasik!!
Oh good! Well at least you will save a bit of money going to Sams! And I feel ya on the glasses, I just had to drop 177 on my Backup pair (and that was a "cheap" pair of frames!), arg! Why can't we just have perfect vision??
Seriously, have you talked to Julie about Lasik? I know it's trillions of dollars (and I'd love to have it done), but if you have an astigmatism and the contacts are so spankin' expensive, it might pay for itself after awhile.
But for the record, you are one of those few people who look absolutely cute in glasses...and sometimes they're more comfortable anyways.
PS...thanks so much for your comment on my rant. It really helps to put it into perspective, and remember that yes, I was missing it when I was working. Catch-22 I guess, or grass is always greener.
Are you a candidate for Lasik??
You do look super cute in contacts. We've found for Josh, who also has an astigmatism, that Sam's or Costco are some of the cheapest places.
And, for an out of the box suggestion, you might check into Lasik prices. Depending on how often you lose a contact and how much it's really costing you per month you might be able to get a Lasik financing plan for a similar price.
How do you lose contacts? E-mail Carrie and get her on-line sources for glasses and contacts. And don't bother asking Chrystal--she buys glasses with clear lenses b/c she likes them!
When Patrick had contacts, he got them online. They were the cheapest place we could find them. Honestly though, you may want to think about laser surgery. Patrick had his eyes done about 5 years ago with Dr. Booth. Before he couldn't see the big E, now he sees 20x15. It was the best money we have ever spent. He had astigmatism too, so it was a little more expensive per eye, but they do give teacher discounts.