Vision Changing with Contacts?

E6BAV8R

E6BAV8R

Well-Known Member
I have had my contacts for about 4 years but my vision, even with the contacts, seems to be changing several months after I get the contacts.

I got my contacts when I was about 17, being 21 now, and I went to get my 1st Class Medical today and was quite worried about my vision since it had appeared to slip from 20/20 from 3 months ago when I went for my last eye doctor visit and received my new contacts. I went in for the medical and went through all the eye tests and I missed 2 out of 3 letters to still fall within the 20/20 category. I mentioned to the doc that I was worried about my vision since it hasn't yet stabilized at a certain strength and he said when he sees someone in shape as me still having their eyes changing could mean early signs of diabetes. This got my worrying; I've never had any relatives or anything with diabetes and I excercise quite frequently.

After thinking about it more I can understand that but I am still falling within 20/20 so it can't be changing hardly at all. Is this the case for diabetes?

How long should it take for someone's eyes to stabilize at a certain "strength"? Is there anything I can do or should I go get tested for diabetes? Is diabetes a 1st Class disqualifier?

Thanks
 
Diabetes can be one of the things to think about but it is pretty uncommon for it to cause these visual changes. Most likely, when you get "fitted" for contacts the front of your eye is a given shape. Wearing the contacts can reshape the eye slightly and this can cause some minimal change in visual accuity. You will notice this the most when you wear contacts for several days then remove them and wear glasses. The glasses do not work as well the first day as they do the second.

Diabetes is not DQ for a Class 1 as long as you don't take insulin.
 
So is there really anything, on my part, I can do about it? Does it seem odd that my eyesight has not been stabilized at a certain "strength" by now?

Thanks for the answer!
 
Since we are on the topic of contacts. I had them briefly and enjoyed not having to wear glasses, however my eyes felt constantly dry all the time. I tried a couple different brands but no dice. Does anyone have any ideas to what brand is a good solution? I hate wearing my glasses.
 
The last time I went for an eye visit the doctor gave me some new contacts called "Acuvue Oasys" that are supposed to be a lot thinner and allow a lot more air and moisture to pass through the contact for your eyes. They didn't seem like they were that big of a change from my last ones but I suppose it is something for you to look into.
 
I started out wearing contacts about 8 years ago. I started with some acuvue something or another, but then switched the Focus Night & Day's. Supposedly they're approved for continuous wear for a whole month because they allow your eyes to 'breath' better. I still take them out every night, but I've been pretty happy with them for the 4-5 years I've been wearing them.
 
CamYZ125 said:
I started out wearing contacts about 8 years ago. I started with some acuvue something or another, but then switched the Focus Night & Day's. Supposedly they're approved for continuous wear for a whole month because they allow your eyes to 'breath' better. I still take them out every night, but I've been pretty happy with them for the 4-5 years I've been wearing them.
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:yeahthat:

Agreed...I use Night and Day's as well and they have been great. I do take them out at night though. You can wear them overnight but I rarely do as they will feel dry for a while after you wake up. Plus it just doesn't seem so hygienic to me...
 
Go see an opthamologist and get checked out to find out if you have keratoconus. They can find out by doing a topography scan of your cornea, and then they can look for other signs. Keratoconus is a condition where the cornea thins and changes steepness over time and in worst case scenarios you need a cornea transplant. but there's hope, you can get hard contacts which hold the shape temporarily of your cornea, or they can put intacts, which are plastic inserts which hold the cornea's shape, and in europe (also in los angeles), there is a procedure whey they put riboflavin eyedrops and reinforce them with a UV light and apparently it restrengthens the cornea and the degression stops. but first thing, i would recommend seeing an opthamologist and getting checked for keratoconus. good luck

by the way, with keratoconus you can't get a waiver in the air force, even if your vision is perfect (a civilian doctor will not diagnose you with keratoconus based on the topography alone even though the air force will). but you can still get an FAA class I.
 
I have a similar problem. I worked in an office this summer and i stared at the computer screen the whole day. after work i was dying to take my contacts off because it was just killing me eyes. i feel that my vision is so blurry during work, but gets better afterwards. weird huh?
 
SharkFisher said:
I have a similar problem. I worked in an office this summer and i stared at the computer screen the whole day. after work i was dying to take my contacts off because it was just killing me eyes. i feel that my vision is so blurry during work, but gets better afterwards. weird huh?
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The eye problem you describe from prolonged staring at a computer screen is due to dry eyes. You tend to not blink as often as you should when staring. Easy problem to fix --- BLINK!!
 
SeanD said:
Since we are on the topic of contacts. I had them briefly and enjoyed not having to wear glasses, however my eyes felt constantly dry all the time. I tried a couple different brands but no dice. Does anyone have any ideas to what brand is a good solution? I hate wearing my glasses.
Click to expand...

I wear Acuvue Advance. They seem the best for myself. I tried the Focus Night & Days for about a year, but didn't care for them. While the Focus felt thinner, the Acuvue don't feel dry. I can wear them from early morning to late evening no problem.

SharkFisher said:
I have a similar problem. I worked in an office this summer and i stared at the computer screen the whole day. after work i was dying to take my contacts off because it was just killing me eyes. i feel that my vision is so blurry during work, but gets better afterwards. weird huh?
Click to expand...

I found the old CRT monitors do the same, but have used a LCD (or whatever they are called) for the past three years and can stare at it all day with no problems.
 
You are right this is an old CRT monitor and it does tend to strain your eyes more than my laptop (which has an LCD screen)
 
My Flight Surgeon said:
Diabetes can be one of the things to think about but it is pretty uncommon for it to cause these visual changes. Most likely, when you get "fitted" for contacts the front of your eye is a given shape. Wearing the contacts can reshape the eye slightly and this can cause some minimal change in visual accuity. You will notice this the most when you wear contacts for several days then remove them and wear glasses. The glasses do not work as well the first day as they do the second.

Diabetes is not DQ for a Class 1 as long as you don't take insulin.
Click to expand...

So, is there anything you can recommend for me to try that may help? I guess my only other solution would be to try different contact brands?
 
E6BAV8R said:
So, is there anything you can recommend for me to try that may help? I guess my only other solution would be to try different contact brands?
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Vision changes ( far vision ) later in your teenage years or early twenties is usually a result of too much reading or other close in work. The best thing you can do is to go outside and focus in the distance. Change back and forth between different distances. If you really want to keep 20/20 uncorrected far vision then you should look into eye exercises as a first step. If that isn't successful then a good route that many pilots ( including military ) have used is orthokerotology. That involves the progressive use of hard contact lenses to mold the cornea.


Typhoonpilot
 
SeanD said:
Since we are on the topic of contacts. I had them briefly and enjoyed not having to wear glasses, however my eyes felt constantly dry all the time. I tried a couple different brands but no dice. Does anyone have any ideas to what brand is a good solution? I hate wearing my glasses.
Click to expand...
I am currently wearing Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism (I have astigmatism) and these are BY FAR the best I've ever tried. They are supremely soft and very comfortable throughout the day. I wear them about 14 hours a day.
 
I've been wearing Vertex Toric contacts for the last 5 years or so. I have astigmatism and I wear these a good 14-15 hours a day. When I first got them I wore them during night too and only took them to change them. After about a 9 months I was kinda forced to start taking them out at night. I tried wearing the night and day contacts, but they didn't really work for me. I hate wearing my glasses because I can see around the frame and not everything is corrected.
 
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