High Speed Prescription Glasses?

[wolbrink471]

Hello Freud

just curious....did you mean Lydon Johnson as in the 36th ?

Mark

[JackD]

Well, the implants were a real disappointment.
Sure it took care of the age induced problems we all share, but the cost was almost intolerable.
It wasn't the money, healing time, fun time maintenance, or anything except that now that I can see as well as I could when I was 16, things are so much older now.
I called Freud to tell him how well they were working and he spent an hour telling me all about them.
On the other hand, there are racing stories that I can't tell without him because I need somebody to bear witness.
We have to be patient with him, he is old you know.  LOL

[JackD]

Hello Freud

just curious....did you mean Lydon Johnson as in the 36th ?

Mark

I think you both meant Lyndon Johnson fromTexas.

[shiphteey]

Debbie, sounds like Lazik is the way to go....everything else adds weight!   

[1212FBGS]

I think Dr Freud need to give that Lindsay Lohan girl some glasses... she keeps piling up b-mers

[DahMurf]

Debbie, sounds like Lazik is the way to go....everything else adds weight!   

  

Too bad I'm not running friday my weight's down even more... one day I'ma gonna smoke you!
Oh wait, I did that at Maxton, I forgot!

Deb

[Dan Stokes]

Deb -
My situation is a bit different, but I'll add my $.02 worth.  I just (yesterday morning) had my second cataract done, meaning I got 2 new lenses since early April.  As Freud said, they work GREAT at distance.  Now I'm trying to get used to reading glasses, but all-in-all, they are winners.  My situation is very different, as I HAD to get the implants, and I couldn't afford the variable focus ones (BC/BS paid for what I got).  And I'm a car racer, so I have a box around me.  I'd go with the recommendations from Da Man.

See Ya Soon
Dan

[landracing]

My experience is this with Lasik.

I wanted to get it done, I was going thru glasses left and right, always wiping stuff off them, pushing them up, sore ears, indents on my nose, fogged when I rode motorcycle, bitch under a helmet, forgetting to take them off before taking helmet off, always squinting at night to look at clock.. thats just glasses.

Now onto the contacts, dry eyes suck, falling asleep with them in, constant cleaning, tearing, had one fall out riding thru the mountains, rubbing eyes makes them curl up in a little ball in back of eye lid, getting dust or dirt on them in situations sucked, constant red eyes...

Just had enough... So I searched around and found many places that do it. Some do it for $399 / eye. And others were as much as $1500 per eye... My feeling on it was this, I only have one set of eyes and im not trusting a low balling company to cut my eye (usually with outdated equipment). I found a place called 20/20 institute. They are the leading provider for the Avalanch, Rockies and Nuggets players. They were not cheap, however I find, you get what you pay for. They are good company, they know they are a good company.

I went in for my initial consultation, they said I was perfect candidate ( I think most are), so I was good to go. Scheduled my day and went in the institute at 4:30 PM. They did one more look over on my eyes, some quick prep work, alcohol wiped my eyes, some solution in the eye, and a magical pill (wife says It was a funny pill cause I was smiling thru the whole thing), I went into the surgery room, they layed me down, propped my eye lid open with some type of instrument, put in some type of coloring drop, cut the outter layer of the eye open, peeled the flap back then the laser was aligned. If you were to move or anything the laser STOPS. Anyways I had to look at the red dot, and a couple fast loud clicks from the laser machine and that eye was done. Same step for other eye. Was ALL COMPLETED in about 7 1/2 minutes. They put me in a dark room for about 30 minutes, Peeled the eye wrap off and they were very light sensitive, I was ALL DONE in a little over an hour.  Came home and slept for about 3 hours. I woke up, THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS I was able to see across the room at the clock. Perfect 20/20 vision. You do have to wear some funny goggles for approx 4 days after surgery when you sleep to prevent you from rubbing eyes during sleep. I went in for checkup at 7:30 next morning and perfect 20/20.... I NEVER had the urge to squint, push glasses up (that werent there), or even to wake up and reach over for them.

About 2 months later Keilani went it to have it done. Same everything, same result. EXCEPT that on the ride home from getting hers done, we play the slug bug game... Well she still kept the eye wrap on for the ride home, I came upon an older bug, NO ONE can mistake the sound of a 70's bug, well I lower her window to give her a chance at it, she didnt take it, but I gave her a SLUG for the Bug... She wasnt happy... And said I cheated.... I left a bruise.... But she didn't feel it until next day when drugs were out of system...

I say go for it.... WORTH EVERY PENNY....

Jon

[Freud]

I guess I should have just said LBJ and you would have known.
Same guy. Huge hands. Sarcastic but could take it as well as hand it out.
It was just the two of us in a room. No SS or visitors.
So he is included in the three presidents I have met. Fotoed two of them
and fitted him. 1967 ( I think), in Dallas.
When I arrived home, I saw him on TV that night wearing the glasses I made for him.
He was buried with them.
FREUD

[Freud]

Important item overlooked.

If you have special glasses that are used when you race............make certain that you
also have a HARD SIDED CASE. They won't get bent if you sit on them. It's also a safe
place for the glasses you remove to race. Whenever you are in a strange environment
your normal actions are altered. The case is an insurance policy.
FREUD

[Larry Forstall]

Deb; You can use goggle style glasses with a strap. Ask Mark DeLuca at the next Maxton meet. He has used them with success at Bonneville to combat tears forming from the wind penetrating his face shield. The installation procedure takes a little practice but even I could do it.   Larry

[jacksoni]

Well here it comes. I practiced Optometry for 38 years. One of my patients was Phil Hill. Another was Lyndon Johnson.  I also rode a TZ 750 at Bonneville. Maybe those credentials will lend credibility to my answer.
No racer thinks anything of spending money on the proper gear set for B'ville if they plan to run there. It's a spcialized situation and so we step up and buy what we need and only use them on the Salt.
Take the same attitude with vision care.
I rode wearing contact lenses. Seeing small items up close is not a problem on the bike so only solve your seeing needs for far away.
Glasses are the cheapest solution. Look for a small oval or round frame, titanium or stainless are the most durable, with temples that can be STRAIGHTENED. By straightening the temples it is easy to slide them straight on over your ears. I can hear the screaams already. THEY WON'T STAY ON.  Wrong. The Airforce issued glasses for years with temples that went straight back. The temple has to be curved to match the shape of your head behing your ears. When that is done, they stay on just fine. Remember what I said. FASHION DOES NOT COME INTO PLAY. These are glasses for a special situation and so taylor them in that manner. Now, take your helmet with you and see if the lens sits properly for you to see thru them when you are tucked in. If the frame has nose pads it may make it easier to elevate the lens so you can see thru the top portion of the lens when your head is down. This can be determined even w/o lenses in the frame. It's only resolved with the helmet on and tucked in. If the top rim of the glasses cuts across your line of sight, find a different frame. If you can find a plastic frame that matches the bridge of your nose, it too will be adequate but lacks adjustability and is more apt to get broken. New plastic generally in not a problem but don't dig out an old frame and expect it to live. One problem with the SPORT FRAMES is that as they wrap around they are too close to your face or cheeks and this can cause them to FOG.
Don't have bifocals or trifocals in these glasses. If you are long course, Chris or Ed will read your timing slip to you. The progressive type lenses require the lens to be positioned in the frame in a manner that could interfere with seeing far away. A very small flat top bifocal is useable but has a limited benefit. I would suggest polycarbonate lenses if you treat them very gently.These lenses are almost impossible to break but scratching is problem. They require gentle cleaning and somehow I don't see the conditions the very best for that on the Salt. Standard plastic lenses (CR-39) are so much safer than tempered glass and are not as costly as poly. Tempered glass will break and the pieces are small and don't have sharp edges. Plastic lenses that break are even safer. Personally my choice woud be the CR 39 lenses. These can be tinted or even polarized but a dark face shield is the cheapest solution there. Don't spend money on  lenses that darken in the sunlight. A solid tint or dark shield will handle that. Forget about anti reflection coatings. They are soft and scratch too easily.

Now CONTACT LENSES. Once again a special lens will solve this problem. It's no different than changing tire size on a bike. Many different lenses will provide excellent vision. Just because you wear one type on a daily basis doesn't preclude wearing a different type to ride. A lens with a diameter in the 15 mm range will cover all of your cornea and out to the scleral area. This will aid centering when your head is in an abnormal position. They may tend to be slightly drier than your smaller, thinner disposable lenses but a small bottle of comfort drops can take care of that situation even while you wait in line. The thin disposable lens doesn't retain much water and they can dry rapidly also. The larger lenses will tuck up under the upper lid and remain very stable. These large lenses are considered sport contacts and are very comfortable even though they are large. In this case....size doesn't matter. If they allow you to ride w/o glasses, use them and then go back to your daily wear lenses. Even disposable lenses will seem dry with the low humidity on the salt. Carry comfort drops and use them if needed. Remember, this is a very special set of conditions.

Refractive surgery is modern and desirable but it does have drawbacks. When the corneal tissue is ablated the normal tear layer is compromised.Lubrication is not as efficient as before the surgery. Dry eye can be a huge problem and if you have trouble in an airplane on a long flight you can expect problems on the Salt. Younger people have more latitude that older people but for everyone that "does just fine" there are others that have bad problems from dry eyes. Besides, if you are whining about the cost of a pair of riding glasses you will really piss and moan when you pay for refractive surgery. This is another place where you don't look for bargains. Sorta like a sky diver buying his chute at the old military surplus store. If your eye surgeon says. " don't do it," don't go looking until you find one that will willingly take your money. The more tissue that is removed to make you see, assuming you are nearsighted, the greater problem with pulsation in your vision every time your heart beats and I assure you, your pulse will accelerate as you approach the starting line.

Glen mentioned "lens implants." This reminds me of renting a stretched limo to go to the store to buy bread. If you need the lens replaced because of cataracts, that is the solution. Anything short of cataracts, lens replacement is out of the question. It is easy to correct for far or near sightedness with lens implants and most people that have that surgery end up seeing quite well w/o glasses to see far away. It is now possible to get implants that allow you to see both far away and up close w/o glasses. It adds about $1500 per eye to the cost of cataract surgery. Unless a person has experienced an electrical shock or a severe blow on the area of the orbit, cataracts are seldom seen in young people, so generally we are addressing a problem in a person more than 50 years of age. Lens replacement is like any other surgery. Don't get your body cut on unless it's the only solution.

I will do anything I can to help you thru this problem. If you bend your glasses, need some repair or just want to "read me off over this discussion", look me up on the Salt. We stay at Motel 6, Treit and Freud, and u are welcome to search me out.The Amo kids always know where I am so ask them if I'm too elusive.  They are about 4 doors down from us in the budget rooms.
You can do everything possible to keep your costs down but in this case, spend enough to solve a life threatening situation.

You can PM me or send an e-mail.
Old enough to know better but unable to stay under control,
FREUD

Nice Post Dr Freud.  I agree wholeheartedly. ( without wishing to open can of worms Ophthalmologists and Optometrists often disagree )
You hang with Marlo?  How is he coming with his liner?  We used spend lot of time with him back when he was loading his car in back of that school bus.
Jack

[JackD]

He rented that bus from the good sisters at the monastery when school was out for the summer.
As he aged, the rental ambulance became more important.
We have long depended on him to defend our northern borders with his Air Force from attacks on the SDRC.