Wear your sunglasses!

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
I am 54 years old and have a maturing cataract in my left eye and the start of one in my right eye.

The reason? Excessive sun exposure because my eyeglass lenses are too thick for clip-ons to work and I can't stand the sunglasses that go over your eyeglasses.

I've never been able to afford prescription sunglasses. Not when my glasses cost 500 dollars and up due to a weird bifocal RX.

I just went to the eye doctor for a checkup and to see if the cataracts are what is affecting my night vision. They are and they're not bad enough to have removed yet.

However, you can now get glasses with UVA/UVB (the rays that cause cataracts) protection. I ordered a pair with photo-reactive lenses and the UV protection. Cost me a fortune as I have to have high quality frames to be able to carry the left lens.

Please, don't play games with your eyes. Wear lenses with UVA/UVB protection. They cost more, but they beat losing your vision gradually which is what is happening to me.
 

dstc_99

Well-Known Member
I feel your pain. My glasses weigh a ton and I can only wear them for a short amount of time without headaches. Thank goodness I can wear contacts.

I tend to have problems with sunglasses because they don't fit comfortably on the sides of my head. I should probably invest in some non prescription glasses with the tinted lenses that actually fit my head without pain. I am such a wimp I can't wear headbands or anything that squeezes my head I wind up with a headache every time.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
I have chronic "dry eye" and can't wear contacts. I pay more to get polycarbonate lenses. They are much lighter and more scratch resistant. They are also much thinner, which is a consideration when one is very near-sighted
 

dstc_99

Well-Known Member
Oh yeah I pay for the thinner lighter lenses but no dice they are still too heavy. I've debated going to Europe and getting the thinner lenses they offer. Lol.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
I suppose it's a matter of degree. I started wearing glasses when the lenses were still made of glass.

I have scars on my nose to this day from the nosepieces of those glasses. Comparatively, the polycarbonate is near weightless.
 

dstc_99

Well-Known Member
LOL after 32 years of glasses and contacts I know your pain. Thankfully my family could afford to put me in contacts within a few years so I didn't have super heavy ones that early. I remember walking outside the office and seeing leaves on the birch trees in the offices entry area. I had never known there were leaves on those trees. My dad was so upset he felt he had failed me.

I am dying to get the surgery to hopefully get out of contact forever. Maybe when the girls are out of the house or when I finally threaten the husband with life and limb. Whichever comes sooner. LMAO
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
So sorry, GN. I can not get used to glasses, sun or otherwise. Being 61 I finally an't get away with just readers either. I had to get bifocals. It is like looking through a window all the time! I HATE IT!!!!

Now that the vent is over, I wonder if you have blue eyes. I truly never wore sunglasses and my eyes have always been very, very good. Never wore ANY kind of glasses full time until now, in fact. Just wondering if perhaps blue eyes are more sensitive to the sun's rays. I have uber dark brown eyes. The bright sun doesn't bother me the way it bothers my husband who has light green eyes. He has tinted lenses on his glasses.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
My eyes are gray-green. Sort of a weird color. But, I'm very light sensitive both eyes and skin.
I'm not a redhead, but my mother is and it runs in the family.I have the skin and eyes but not the hair color.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
I was strawberry blonde as a baby, but over the years my hair has darkened to a mousy brown. But if I lighten it, the color comes out red instead of blonde.

I also get red highlights from the sun (which I avoid like the plague these days)
 

Wiped Out

Well-Known Member
Staff member
So sorry you are dealing with this. I've been lucky enough to be able to use our flex spending for glasses so I have been able to get the prescription sunglasses with the bifocals.

Did they say eventually you would have the surgery? I think these days it is usually a laser surgery and then, often, people don't need glasses at all?
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
WO, yes, I'll need surgery when the cataracts get to that point. Right now I'm noticing a loss of night vision, but my night vision hoovered long before this.

I don't work, so can't set up a flex account. The reason my glasses are so expensive is first of all, the very strong rx for the left eye, and 2nd of all the difference between my reading rx and my 'everything else' rx.

I literally have a far-sightedness correction for reading and a nearsightedness correction for everything else.

I'm also limited as to what frames I can use because of the thickness of the left lens.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
If you can't wear sunglasses, then wear a hat. Not an option if you're around water or snow, as the sun bounces off of those, but for general outdoor use, even just shading your eyes with a hat really helps.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
IC, it was the amount of time husband and I spent on the water that set me up for the cataracts.

I also have severe sun damage on my face and forearms. I'm old enough that I predate modern sunscreens, so took a real hit.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
I spent a lot of time on Lake Michigan when I was younger, and also spent time in N. WI where there are lots of lakes. I couldn't imagine living where there isn't lots of water.
 

donna723

Well-Known Member
I didn't think they had to wait for them to "ripen" any more? I have cataracts in both eyes - a very slight one in my left eye and a more substantial one in my right eye. I could tell the one in my right eye was there but not the left. They really didn't bother me at the time. The doctor said I could schedule surgery any time I was ready but they weren't getting any bigger then so he said the surgery was optional. That was almost a year ago and now the right one is starting to bother me so I guess I'll be back at the eye doctor after the holidays. Mostly what I notice is a glare on my right eye when I'm driving in the bright sunlight or watching TV. I grew up in Florida and spent lots of time at the beach or on one lake or another - and I never wore sunglasses.
 

GoingNorth

Crazy Cat Lady
They don't have to "ripen" any more, but the general rule is to get them removed when they are really bothering one.

The one in my left eye causes some glare when driving at night, and looks like a tiny "smear" in my visual field. The one in my right I don't notice at all. My night vision has always been lousy, just has gotten some worse. Not helped by the fact that most roads up here are unlit.

I'm not a great candidate for eye surgery due to the dry eye, and that's another reason to put it off for a bit.
 
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