PARAGON CRT CONTACTS
$1,500 initially, $300/year thereafter; paragoncrt.com
Does it work? For me, wonderfully
I have seen my future, and it was sharp and clear, which is pretty amazing since I wasn't wearing my contact lenses or glasses at the time. It's thanks to a new procedure that corrects low to medium nearsightedness (and astigmatism to -1.75 diopters) without scary lasers and their slight but real risk of permanent damage.
Paragon Vision Sciences' corneal refractive therapy (CRT), approved by the FDA in 2002, works by temporarily reshaping your cornea with rigid gas-permeable contacts you wear while you sleep. In the morning, remove the lenses and your eye maintains its new corrected shape all day. Most insurance doesn't cover CRT, which runs about $1,500 for the initial consult and fitting and about $300 a year for new lenses after that.
The first few nights with the contacts in were quite uncomfortable, but never so much that I couldn't sleep. By night seven, they didn't bother me at all. Although Paragon says it can take two weeks for the correction to last until bedtime, my
vision was perfect all day after only one week of wear.
I already think CRT is life-changing. In the past week, I've surfed, swum, mountain biked, and run without blurry vision or fear of losing a contact. My vision even feels sharper than when I'm wearing soft contacts or glasses. CRT is definitely part of my foreseeable future.
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