I am a student of age 16, and up until about two months ago, I found that reading the board from the back of the class was impossible without the aid of glasses. My prescription wasn't so bad that I felt it necessary to wear my glasses all the time, however, it was so much so, that I had to wear glasses in class. I was against the idea of wearing them too often, or even wearing contacts because I believed that it was better to struggle a bit, than to speed up the decline in sight that comes with wearing glasses all the time.
One morning I was watching the news, and there was a piece on these orthok lenses. I couldn't believe my eyes! I was immediately taken in by this new technology and later that evening I researched about them on the net and contacted my nearest optician who was offering this treatment. We decided that it was best to leave it for a month, by which time all of my exams had finished and i was looking forward to a summer of perfect vision!
The first appointment was scary for me - because i was so eager for the lenses to be suitable for me! To my great relief, after extensive analysis of my eyes using all sorts of machines, my optician told me that my eyes were perfect for the treatment and that he would order the lenses right away and they would be ready the following week!
The first time that my optician put the lenses in my eyes was a painful experience (not that he hadn't warned me). The lenses felt like a grain of sand in my eyes and they were watering uncontrollably. I was told that this was to be expected, and that I should go outside for a 15 minute walk - by the time i got back, the fresh air would have alleviated most of the discomfort and my eyes would have gotten used to the lenses. He then took the lenses out and then showed me how to do it myself!
That night, I wore the lenses for the first time. It took me about 25 minutes to get them in, as it was so new to me but after about 2 weeks I became confident in putting in my lenses, and now it took me just 2 minutes to get them in. The following morning, I woke up early and went back to the opticians, with my lenses still in. The moment when he took them out made all of the hassle from the previous night completely worth it - I could read the bottom line of letters - I had perfect vision! Before I could only just about make out the top line, and definitely not the second. The improvement was drastic, and after only one night of wearing the lenses! My life had changed, and everything became so much clearer and easier for me. Even simple things, such as reading when the next train is due to arrive at the platform, or reading an advert on a billboard, became so easy when before they were a struggle and were straining my eyes.
A week later I returned to check my progress. I was shown on the screen how the shape of my eyes had changed and I was shown a comparison of before and after. A month later I returned again, and the progress was even more clear. My optician suggested that I go one night without wearing the lenses, just to see what it would be like the following day. I decided to take advantage of this by sleeping at my friends house and not having to worry about bringing with my orthok lenses and solution. To my surprise, the next day I didn't even notice that much change, not until the evening when I could tell that my vision had been slightly weakened.
Two months on, I have started school again and I am finding it a lot easier, being able to read the board without difficulty and not having to wear glasses. I have had no problems whatsoever and hopefully it will stay that way! It is definitely worth the money, which I have heard is about the same as regular contact lenses per month anyway, so what are you waiting for?! It will have a great impact on your life!
