Usually when Teresa Anderson wakes up in the morning, she can't see the alarm clock.

After a night of wearing a new lens technology, she could make out the time in the morning.

And after of couple days of the using the lens, she didn't need to wear her glasses or contacts anymore.

Teresa Anderson began using Paragon corneal refractive therapy April 27. Before she goes to bed, she puts a type of oxygen permeable therapeutic contact lenses in her eyes and takes them out in the morning. Many patients using the technology notice results after the first night they wear them.

"Corneal molding allows you to be less dependent on glasses and contacts," said Dr. Jeff Anderson, an optometrist at Family Eye Care Center.

The lenses reshape the cornea while patients sleep, allowing them to see throughout the day. The procedure is not permanent, however, and the lenses must be worn every night. Jeff Anderson compares the lenses to wearing a retainer after braces have been taken off.

Family Eye Care has been offering the new technology for about a month and Jeff Anderson's wife, Teresa Anderson, was the first patient to try it.

"I'm the Guinea pig," she joked.

Jeff Anderson found out about the technology at a conference and decided to offer it to give his patients another option. The procedure is good for patients who do not want to wear contacts or glasses, but do not want surgery, he said.

Teresa Anderson said problems with dry eyes and allergies make wearing soft contacts difficult. During allergy season she mostly wears her glasses. After about 18 years of using corrective lenses, she wanted to try something else.

"It's kind of neat to be able to open your eyes in the middle of the night and actually see the alarm clock," Teresa Anderson said.

Patients of all ages can use the lenses, but it is only for people who are near-sighted and have a prescription up to

-5.0. The lenses are similar to a hard contact and any side effects, such as irritated eyes, are similar to wearing any other rigid permeable gas contact lenses.

Teresa Anderson said she only has to adjust to wearing the lenses in at night.

"It's pretty painless," Teresa Anderson said. "It's getting used to the contact."

The procedure costs about $600 an eye at Family Eye Care Center, which includes the contacts and exams. During the initial exam Jeff Anderson scans the eyes with a corneal topographer, which maps the eyes. From those results, he can find out the measurements for the contact lenses.

Patients have frequent check-up appointments in the beginning of the treatment. Jeff Anderson sees patients after the first day of treatment, a month afterward and then three months after that. The lenses last from one to two years, Jeff Anderson said.

For more information on the procedure stop by Family Eye Care Center or call the office at 437-3227.

Cari Quam can be reached at 434-2235 or by e-mail at :mailto:cari.quam@austindailyherald.com