Last Update: 12/10/2000

I’ve been a big fan of the EyeScene Web Site for many years.  I had been reading about all of the “Glasses Over Contacts (GoC) wearers for a while.  My fascination with Prism Eyeglasses was growing a bit old (don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy Prism Eyeglasses).  I was VERY interested in trying the GOC thing.  But where do I start???  Where do I get the Contacts and Glasses???  What strength should I get???  It was all so confusing, and EXTREMELY exciting!

I did have an advantage over some of the other GoC’ers out there - a BIG advantage.  A few months ago I had purchased a Trial Lens Set from eBay.  So now I had to develop my plan.

Do I go with Plus power contacts (and order thick minus glasses), or go with Minus power contacts (and order Plus power contacts)? 

 I already had a moderate Minus Contacts/Plus Glasses combo.  The last time I got my eyes examined, I blurred them as much as possible to get a strong Minus contact prescription.  My normal contact prescription is -3.75 x -1.25 x 180.  I was able to get contacts that were -7.50 x -1.25 x 180.  When I got them, I put them on and gave myself an Eye Exam with my Trial Lens Set.  The power I needed in my Glasses came out to be +4.50.  I haven’t ordered my +4.50 Glasses yet, but I will soon.  I wear my trial frames some, but they become uncomfortable after a while.  With the +4.50 Glasses, the effect is pretty neat.  Everything looks larger and closer to me.  The field of vision isn’t very wide, so you have to turn your head a lot to look around (instead of just moving your eyes around.  This GoC combo was cool, but not extreme enough.

After thinking about what GoC extreme combo I wanted to try, I decided to go with Strong Plus power contacts.  I did some research on the Internet, and quickly realized there are not very many companies that make strong Plus power contacts (above +8.00).  I found one company that custom makes Plus power contacts up to a +20.00.  My goal was to get -20.00 Glasses so my rough (and what would turn out to be an extremely inaccurate) calculation was to get +15.00 contacts.  With my -3.75 x -1.25 normal prescription, I thought +15.00 would be about right.  So I found an Internet site that sold this brand of contacts, and place my order for the +15.00’s.  A couple of weeks later, they arrive in the mail.  WOW, I finally completed the first step to my GoC combo.  I opened the package, and pulled out two containers that said +15.00 in BIG Letters! 

I went and got my Trial Lens Set and placed it on the counter with nothing else around.  I knew it would be hard to see once I put my new +15.00 contacts in.  So I put the -20.00 lenses in the trial frames, and added another -2.00 Cylinder on each side to correct my Astigmatism.  I had the Trial Frames ready, and setting in plain sight because I knew I wouldn’t be able to see very well with the contacts.  I opened the first container and rinsed the contact lens with solution.  I held the contact by the edges and looked through it to see the effect.  It was really weird!  Most of the contact seemed clear, except for a small circle in the center of the contact, about the diameter of your pupil.  This was where all the plus power is!  I leaned over the small mirror on the counter and put the contact in my left eye.  It felt very comfortable on my eye.  I covered my right eye and looked around.  Everything was real blurry.  Keep in mind that things are pretty blurry with my normal prescription, so I couldn’t really tell the effect at first.  I got the second lens out and put it in my right eye.  My eyes were watering (as they normally do) so I got a tissue and wiped them. 

When I looked around, it was then I realized the power of these contacts!  Everything was blurry.  It was hard to make out any sort of shape.  Colors ran together.  The three individual lights over my sink (about 5 feet away) looked like 1 light.  I felt my way to the night stand and picked up a magazine.  WOW!!!!!   At normal reading distance, I could not make out anything on the cover of the magazine.  I couldn’t tell if there were letters or pictures or anything.  I began moving it slowly closer to my face.  12 inches...nothing...8 inches...I could tell there was big writing on the cover but couldn’t read it.  The letters came into focus 2 INCHES from my eye!!!  It was Incredible...Exciting...etc.  I also realized that I could look down at my nose, and it was in focus!  It was like looking through a microscope.  I then tried walking around the house.  I was hitting doorways, stumbling over furniture, and tripping over my own feet.  It was hard to tell where doorways were, and where furniture was.  I could tell there was something there, but could not judge how big it was, or how far away it was.

I stumbled back to the bathroom counter, where my trial frames were.  I felt around on the counter to find them.  I was excited when I started putting the Trial Frames on - thinking to my self “everything should come into focus when I get these on”.  I closed my eyes and slipped the frames on and adjusted them to fit snugly on my face.  I opened my eyes, ready for everything to be clear again.  To my amazement, I could NOT see anything, still!!!  I went to get the magazine to test my near vision.  I STILL could not read it at a normal reading distance!  I had to hold the magazine at about 6 or 7 inches to read it.  It was then I realized my GoC calculation for the strength of glasses I needed were WAY wrong! 

I took 1 contact out so I could (somewhat) see again.  I put the Trial Frames on to test my Left Eye.  I added another -2.00 lens to the frame.  It was only slightly better.  So I took out the -2.00, and put in a -5.00.  This was better.  I could read at a normal reading distance, but could not see far away.  I took out the -5.00 lens and put in a -7.00.  This was much better.  I did notice that things were not sharply in focus near or far.  So I played with the Astigmatism correction for a while.  I finally ended up with my left eye Glasses prescription being -27.00 x -3.00 x 180, and my right eye Glasses prescription being -26.00 x -3.00 x 180.

The GoC combo was AMAZING!  I could see VERY clearly up close and far away.  BUT...everything was really small!  Looking across the room at a digital clock, I could see it very clearly, but had to stare at it to tell the time because the digits were so small.  Walking around, I felt like I was 10 feet tall.  I was still bumping into things.  Not because I couldn’t see them, but because they seemed further away than they really were.  It also seemed like I was looking down a tunnel.  If you looked through the lens off-center, everything was extremely curved. I walked around the house for HOURS that day!...

WOW!  Where could I order Eyeglasses with a -30.00 prescription?  I did some research on the internet, and reviewed a lot of messages at Eyescene.  It seemed that I would have to order Myodisc lenses with a prescription this strong.  But I wanted a THICK lens - that was part of the point of the GoC thing.  I sent an email to an Internet Eyeglasses site and began corresponding with the optician.  The optician said that with the strong prescription, I should go with a Myodisc lens to keep from being so thick.  I convinced the optician that I didn’t want to spend that much on glasses, and that I only needed the glasses for “backup” when I took my contacts out.  The optician talked to the lab manager and decided that they could make the glasses with Polycarbonate lenses, but they would be “really thick”, and that I needed a “very small” lens size in my glasses.  So I ordered the glasses.  I also picked out a fairly large frame/lens size to get as thick of a lens as possible.  The optician kept insisting on a smaller lens, but I kept saying the glasses were for “backup only” and that I always wear contacts. 

They took a long time to make.  I received them about 4 weeks later.  The store sent me an email saying that the glasses had been shipped.  I ran to the mailbox everyday like a kid waiting on a gift in the mail.  On day 3 of the 2-3 day shipping time I left work early and drove home like a maniac - knowing the glasses had to be there.  I pulled up to my mailbox and opened it.  To my SHOCK - NOTHING!!!  I was angry!  Where are they!?  I then pulled into the garage and went into the house.  I went to my computer and turned it on so I could send an email to the optical store to see what happened to the shipment.  As my computer was booting up, I decided to go out and get the paper.  I put my shoes on and opened the front door.  As soon as I opened the door, there it was!...A small brown package was sitting on the porch.  It was a little too large to fit in my mailbox, so the postman left it on the porch.  I grabbed the box and went back inside (forget the newspaper!).  I slowly and carefully opened the package.  I pulled the flaps back and gently removed all the bubble wrap inside.  At the bottom of the package was a black Eyeglasses case, sealed in it’s own protective bubble wrap.  I gently removed the wrap from the case.  I slowly opened the case, and there they were!  The kitchen lights struck them and they sparkled like diamonds.  I gently removed them from the case to examine them.  They were INCREDIBLE!  They were very well made.  It was evident why it took so long to make them.  The lenses were very thick.  The edges had been “rolled” to reduce some of the thickness.  When I looked at the front side of the lens, I realized how they made such a strong lens.  It was carved out, like the back of the lens was.  This was a biconcave lens!   Most strong lenses I had seen (like my -12.00’s) had a flat front lens surface, or a “plano” base curve.  The reflection these lenses gave off from the front were amazing.  I examined them in amazement for a while, and then went to get ready for the big event, GLASSES OVER CONTACTS!

I put my contacts in and then slipped on my glasses.  WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!   It was so cool!  Everything was sharply in focus!  It was much better than the Trial Frames and my Make-shift glasses!  These were the REAL thing.  I looked in the mirror at my glasses.  I couldn’t believe how cool they looked.  They sparkled from all of the lights in the bathroom.  The concave fronts of the lenses, along with the thickness of the lens, really make the glasses reflect a lot of light.  My eyes looked REALLY tiny behind the glasses.  They were so small, it was hard to tell the eye color.  I then walked around the house.  It was Incredible!  Everything was really sharp, and really focused!  And REALLY small!  I could see far away, and also focus 4 inches from my face.  I don’t understand why I’m able to focus on something so close with the GoC’s!?  But is is really cool. 

I wear them all the time - in the house that is.  I’m not sure how long it will take me before I am brave enough to drive with them, and brave enough to be seen wearing them.  WHAT A RUSH!!!!!!!!

Be sure and check out all of the pictures!  Also, let me know if there is a picture you would like to see that’s not on the site.