I'd really like to get it, but it's still not cheap (insurance doesn't cover it) and it freaks me out to think that they're literally cutting my eye open and putting a laser in it.

BOTH THESE....

I've been wearing contact lenses for nearly 20 years now, some were 16-20 years.

Anyway I have never had any issues with them and in fact love them after having had glasses for 15 years prior to that.
I also leave mine in for extended periods of time, any were from 3-6 weeks at a time. The biggest reason being I'm just lazy about taking them out and hate to wake up blind. Just went in last month and got my yearly exam and Dr said my eyes looked great other than a small cataract that is starting. He again gave me the lecture about wearing them for long periods, but said in all honesty my eyes were showing no ill effects from doing so, and frankly didn't really think in my case there was a problem with me doing it.

I agree, I don't trust anyone touching my eyes. Especially with a knife!

I had contacts for 4-5 years, but eventually it seemed like my eyes were constantly dry with them, so I went back to glasses. I might do laser surgery at some point, but for now, glasses work for me.

I've had it for over 5 years now and love it. Cost me a good chunk of change and they had a payment plan. Worth every penny considering i wore glasses from 16-24

I've never understood why some people are lazy about contacts. I'm lazy about a lot of things, but never that. My sight is the 2nd-most valuable thing I have after my mind. I'll do nothing to put it in any more risk than necessary, and if my doctor says sleeping with my contacts in is a bad idea, I wont do it. I even use the name-brand solution because I was told the generic stuff wasn't as good. That might be false, but I'm taking no chances with my eyes.

15 people

Love my contacts, it took me a couple weeks to get used to putting them in weirdly it was only my right eye that was a problem I could put them in my left eye no problem from the get go. I dunno how folks sleep with them in the few times I've accidentally fallen asleep with them in when I wake up and its eye protein city. Switched to the Acuvue Oasys lenses a couple years ago and they are fantastic.

This.

Some contacts are permeable enough that they don't cause damage if you sleep in them. They're made for lazy people.

Oasys are great lenses. I find they last about three weeks for me, as long as I take them out every night (sometimes I miss a night here or there butI try not to let that happen) and clean them. After thjat, they're ready for the garbage. Much better than the overrated Focus Night & Day lens I used to wear. Was getting occasional infections with those bastards and forund out from an eyedoc that the quality control standards at Focus had gone downhill and the production was extremely shady...

No Ophthalmologist I know (I've had five of 'em in the last decade--I move around alot) recommends sleeping in contacts anymore...The risk of infection goes up astronomically for every sleep session you have in your contacts vs taking them out & cleaning them daily...

I guess it just depends on your doctor. My last three have all prescribed me contacts that I can sleep in and I've yet to have any trouble.

I went through same thing last year. I had above average vision my whole life. Well over the last two or three years strange as it was to me my arms started getting shorter. And I got to the point where I just could not hold things far enough away to read. I started wearing readers but it was a pain in the ass to carry them around. I went to the eye doctor and she sat me behind this huge multiple lens contraption and come to find out my overall eyesight had faded. I have glasses I wear all the time and I see as good as I did as a kid. She asked me about contacts but I couldn't get my mind around poking things in my eyes every day.

I've worn contacts for 21 years now, and the only time that I've had any trouble was when I had a bad reaction to a particular cleaner I tried.

In terms of the lenses themselves, I used the Acuview line for years (Advance then Oasys), and I recently made the switch to the CooperVision Biofinity lenses. For those that haven't tried them, I would highly recommend giving them a shot. They're more durable than the Oasys lenses, and I've had far fewer quality issues (I was getting at least one bad lens per box of 6 Oasys). Additionally, they're made to last a full month instead of just two weeks.