I did look into getting rgp contacts but my parents, especially mom
just laughed and said im wasting my money and time. I cant even
tolerate soft contacts. When I put them in, they feel like an eyelash
the first minute then they feel ok for half hour to two hours then my
eyes start drying out, feeling sore and achy. Also due to my
astigmastim, I see better with glasses anyway, even in spite of its
minification. Additionally, I still need reading glasses over contacts
for reading so they are only good for distance vision. I am much
happier with glasses and shall stick to them. I am not vain and I dont
lead a particulary active lifestyle. I can still use contacts for
sports, thats the one good use for them. I also looked into orthoK but
alot of people dont believe in it and they say its just hype and one
guy said he gives me three months(12 at most) before I give up and run
to the lasik clinic.

Ill just stick to my(usually undercorrected glasses) and keep working
on natural vision improvement. I have improved my vision by a diopter
and counting. I hope in a few short years I see well enough to not need
glasses much! This means seeing well bare eyed!

George Butterfield, O.D. is credited with inventing the corneal lens in
1950.  Prior to that, contact lenses were of the large scleral variety.
It appears as though the modern history of contact lenses has been a
movement towards delivering more oxygen to the cornea.  Since the early
materials were not breathable, the smaller designs achieved oxygen
transfer via the tear exchange behind the lens.  They are also far
easier to fit than scleral or semi-scleral designs.  The first soft
lens wasn't available in the U.S. until 1970, and the first RGP until
1979.

Modern materials are oxygen permeable enough to permit the wearing of
much larger lenses.  But, I still think that a good tear exchange is
desirable.  There is a happy medium called the intralimbal or
full-corneal lens that is between 10.5 and 12.0, which I have been
fitting regularly since 1999, mainly on problem eyes.  The industry
moves slowly.  Most of the contact lens manufacturing companies are run
by manufacturing people and not eye doctors.  When I first requested
trial lens sets in the 11.0 - 12.0 mm range, the manufacturer replied
that he had never made them that large.  But, the fact is that lenses
of that size had been made several decades before, only to be abandoned
because of the limitations of materials.

DrG
http://www.coppellfamilyeyecare.com

Dr. Grant --

Maybe you've hit upon my problem; it seems like I have an allergic or
"irritational" response to RGP's.   I assume that GPC means bloodshot
eyes.  Maybe I can't tolerate the edge of the lens, like you say.  I
assume it's not an O2 problem, since the soft lenses I wear now
probably let in less oxygen than the RGP's I tried.  Maybe the lenses I
tried had bad edges (although that seems unlikely seeing as how I tried
4 or 5 pairs).

When my current stash of Proclear disposables is gone, I'll see if I
can find a brand of toric disposables that come in my exact
prescription.

Thanks to all of you for your help.

-- Bill.

Dr. Grant --

I forgot to mention, I don't know exactly what sizes of RGP's I tried.
None of them was as  large as my iris, or were so big that part of them
were always under my eyelids.  I could often see the edges of the lens.
However, I do believe that the doctor mentioned that they were on the
large side, for stability.

-- Bill.