I am a Freelance Computer Software Consultant living in England, working with Computer systems worldwide since 1975 and now I am 55 years old. My eyesight was great until I was around 42, maybe 45, then I started thinking I needed glasses. I started using the off-the-shelf glasses which were fine for me.

An eye test back in 1973 for safety glasses when I was an Industrial Chemist showed I didn’t really need a prescription lens, but a slight adjustment for my left eye ( so the optician said).

But since then, a change of job and constant use of Computers has put a strain on my eyes.

Once, back in 1998, I paid about 85 British Pounds and had an eye test, they made me some spectacles and gave me some free sun glasses too, but the prescription was too strong for the PC screen, so it was back to off-the-shelf, and much cheaper too.

My distance vision was always great, and driving not a problem, I could read all the road signs.

I’m a lucky guy who at the mid 50’s in my life can function fine without glasses. But as I was working such long hours at the computer screen and getting older I noticed that things were very foggy on a morning, and the features of people at a distance of 25 yards were not clear. In fact I could not see who they really were. And the road signs were a little vague these days.

My eyes were constantly tired and now my right eyelid was drooping a little.

I was at the point of thinking that in a couple of years I would have to change my job. If I had glasses for reading a screen, I also needed different ones for reading a piece of paper. This was not really manageable. The degeneration had been over probably 15 years, gradual and slowly getting worse and accelerating.

I had been to see Dr Maller in Florida with my wife in 2006, but that’s her story, not for me to tell.

My main worry was that maybe I may develop cataracts in my eyes or something worse. My Grandfather and my Mother had this problem when they were aged 70 plus. So now I was worried, and thought on our next visit to Florida I would just ask Dr Maller to check out my eye health.

August 2007 – Ft Lauderdale, Florida
Initially Dr Maller had an attempt to measure my eyes, but the camera he uses picked up lots of space debris floating about in there. He flushed my eyes with a squirt of sterile saline and tried again. This time it was OK and he got a nice digital picture of both eyes. Then he checked my eyes with lenses and the eye chart and, to my surprise, my eyes did need a distance adjustment in addition to the known need for some close up adjustment which I was aware of.

With the measurement optics in place for my correction I could see what should be good for both distance and close up.

We debated which type of lenses would be suitable and I bowed to Dr Maller and accepted that multi-focal RGP Zwave lenses would be best long term and most practical solution.

Two days later, and back to his office and the new lenses had been made for me.

Now, I’m not so good at even thinking about putting things in my eyes. And they say you can’t teach and old dog new tricks……

Anyway in just a few seconds Dr Maller put the lenses in my eyes, and wow did my eyes water, but things were in focus. It was an odd sensation having the lenses, not uncomfortable, but unusual. He showed me how to put the lenses in and out, I tried a few times and boy were my eyes red. But this only lasted a few minutes, although I wasn’t confident enough to drive with new lenses. The sensation of something in my eyes was too much of a distraction, and we were driving on the other side of the road to my normal UK style.

For the next couple of days I was looking through a swimming pool some of the time, wondering if I would actually get used to these lenses. But I started 4 hours then 6 , then 8 hours. It became clear to me that your eyes get used to this pretty quick and they adjust to the right level of tears. I had to learn about the solutions, and most importantly keeping the lenses clean. My eyesight without lenses was clearer; I suppose washing my eyes with solutions was having some affect too. I was starting a new job in Finland straight after getting the lenses, and the travel to and from the UK made it difficult to have confidence to put the lenses in and out without strictly controlled conditions where I was confident I wasn’t going to lose a lens. Airport toilets are not recommended for this unless you are an expert. But at 3 weeks things were great visually but I need a drop of WRW (Wetting and ReWetting) lubrication at about 8-10 hours of wearing, and I couldn’t read the small print on those tiny bottles. The fit was good straight away and now after four weeks experience, my preference is with the lenses, which I wear anything up to 15 hours a day when I’m travelling with work, and now I can read the small print on those small bottles. I still ‘rest’ my eyes without lenses part of a weekend, but when I need to do something, like working, reading, well basically anything of detail, I wear my lenses.

The sensation of wearing lenses is not uncomfortable, and should not be, but it is different. Although sometimes I can’t feel that the lenses are there at all. But I know my lenses are there, because I can see clearly. When I am inserting the lens, this is the only way I can really tell they are positioned correctly on my eye, when I can see clearly.

My PC screen I have adjusted down on the brightness and up a little on contrast. But PC use is prone to drying the eyes as you don’t blink often enough, so sometimes a little walk about or a drop of WRW can help.

With my first set of lenses I can see the fine detail of the dashboard of my car, although it is still a struggle to read the smallest print on the solutions bottles without my reading glasses.

Working in my workshop is a new adventure, not constantly putting on and off reading glasses. Driving at night does have some light diffusion around light sources when my eyes are dry, after getting off a flight, but this is dry eyes and a bit of blinking generally solves this.

One other thing is now I appreciate something of what my wife Hilary is experiencing and has experienced with her contact lenses. We have a new thing in common after 30 years together - solution bottles.

Alan Walker
North Yorkshire, England

For related links...