Health Issues New Eyeglasses

[Joe]

I hope this is the right place to post this thread. Well, here goes.

I just got new eyeglasses today. My old glasses were falling apart and were over 20 years old.

I asked the optometrist to write me a prescription for single-lens, single focus "distance" glasses. I specifically wanted to avoid the problems other people have reported with bifocals, progressive lenses and the like.

The optometrist agreed, but said objects withing three feet of me (or so) might appear as though they were in a fog.

That didn't happen. But something else weird (to me) did happen. Objects close to me appear "tilted." And I mean really tilted. The left side always appears higher than the right side when I'm wearing my new glasses. I take the glasses off and the table is flat again.

Has anyone experienced anything similar with new glasses?

A friend of mine who is a retired scientist says this has to do with the curvature of the lens, as well as the fact that my prescription is stronger for the new glasses than the old one was. She also says that I might just "adjust" to the new glasses in a week or two.

True?

 

[Amy SF]

Yes. Over the years, my vision has increasingly worsened, and until this year, when it became clear that glasses would no longer work for me (I had to get special contact lenses), I was getting a new eyeglass prescription every year. If I went too long without a new prescription (the latest period being between 2008 and 2012), it took me several days to adjust to the new, stronger prescription.

I would say give yourself about a week to adjust to your new prescription. If you're still having problems after that, tell the optometrist. Sometimes an eyeglass prescription needs a little "tweaking" to get it right.

 

[Joe]

Thanks, Amy. I appreciate the info.

 

[ledboots]

Are they fitted well, Joe?.Not crooked at all, and are you looking through the right part of the lens? I would stop back in and have the optician look at the glasses on you.

 

[Joe]

Are they fitted well, Joe?.Not crooked at all, and are you looking through the right part of the lens? I would stop back in and have the optician look at the glasses on you.

Well, the optician had me try them on when I picked them up. They seem to fit fine, as far as I can tell. They are single lens, so I don't think there are "parts" to the lens (like in bifocals). Also, I got fairly large lenses, since my old glasses had large lenses, and I didn't want to have problems with looking "over" or "under" a smaller lens.

 

[Calliegirl]

The PD measurement could be off. I learned this the hard way and ended up with two unusable brand new pairs if glasses. The prescription was correct, but the PD was off and they were really uncomfortable to look through and just kind of 'off'. I don't know how else to describe it.

If your eyes don't adjust to the glasses after a week, maybe check if the PD is correct.

 

[Joe]

The PD measurement could be off. I learned this the hard way and ended up with two unusable brand new pairs if glasses. The prescription was correct, but the PD was off and they were really uncomfortable to look through and just kind of 'off'. I don't know how else to describe it.

If your eyes don't adjust to the glasses after a week, maybe check if the PD is correct.

PD=???

Distance between the pupils?

The optician had me look into a machine (looked like one of those ViewMaster toys we used to have as a kid) so I think the reading was automatic.

I will say that the distortions either disappear or are diminished if I close one eye. But with both eyes open they are pronounced.

 

[Joe]

I called the optician today, and she said the problem stemmed from the astigmatism correction feature in my prescription. She said I might just adjust to the new glasses. Or I might have to go back to the optometrist and have the prescription changed somehow if I don't "adjust" to the glasses.

 

[KLS52]

Since you mentioned the frames are larger, depending on how large, that could be the problem. Either way, don't settle if they're not right. I've had distortion happen a few times with new glasses and I never adjusted. Once I switched to another place to get my glasses done, they told me you get distortion if the lenses aren't ground properly when they are fitted into the frames. It shouldn't happen if done correctly. I hope you can get them fixed.

 

[kibbleforlola]

I get my eyes checked yearly, and about every two years it's enough to get a new prescription. Every time I switch prescriptions, I feel taller ( if that makes sense, my eyes adjust to a new perspective) for a day or two as my eyes adjust. I can only imagine the adjustment period after going 20 years. I say give it a little while before talking to a doctor.

 

[Joe]

Since you mentioned the frames are larger, depending on how large, that could be the problem.

The frames are larger than most of the selection that were available, but they are actually smaller than the frames of my old glasses.

Either way, don't settle if they're not right. I've had distortion happen a few times with new glasses and I never adjusted. Once I switched to another place to get my glasses done, they told me you get distortion if the lenses aren't ground properly when they are fitted into the frames. It shouldn't happen if done correctly. I hope you can get them fixed.

Thanks. I was told I have 60 days to return the glasses for a full refund, no questions asked.

I would hate to have to do that and start all over.

I never realized there were so many potential complexities in getting new glasses.

 

[Joe]

I get my eyes checked yearly, and about every two years it's enough to get a new prescription. Every time I switch prescriptions, I feel taller ( if that makes sense, my eyes adjust to a new perspective) for a day or two as my eyes adjust. I can only imagine the adjustment period after going 20 years. I say give it a little while before talking to a doctor.

Well, the optometrist didn't say anything about an "adjustment" period being necessary. And nothing about what I might be "adjusting" to. I have his e-mail address, so maybe it might be prudent to get his input.

I went to this fellow upon the recommendation of my friend Karen. I suppose I should see what she has to say about all this.

What do you all pay for your eye exams? I thought the doctor was going to charge me $40 for the exam, but he charged me $89.
There was an additional fee for him to use this machine instead of dilation with eye-drops.

 

[kibbleforlola]

It's been my experience that most places charge between $120 and $140, without insurance; including all tests except dilation, which I usually sign a waver to skip.

 

[Joe]

It's been my experience that most places charge between $120 and $140, without insurance; including all tests except dilation, which I usually sign a waver to skip.

Thanks for the info. I guess my doctor's charges were reasonable then.

I paid an extra $35 fee to have a machine do what dilation would have accomplished. The main reason for this is I felt that if I had dilation, I would have had to arrange for someone to drive me home. I've heard varying accounts of how long one could be "blinded" from the drops they use.

 

[Amy SF]

Sometimes they over-dilate your eyes; I’ve had this happen to me, and I was basically blinded for a while. But if you tell them you don’t have a driver, hopefully they won’t go crazy with the dilation and the result will be that you can still see, but with greater difficulty because your eyes will be very sensitive to light. If you expect to have your pupils dilated, whether you have a driver or not, make sure you have a pair of sunglasses with you to wear for a while. Once you're back inside and you want to take the sunglasses off, stay in a darkened room until your pupils are back to normal. The more they dilate your eyes, the longer your pupils take to get back to normal, but my experience is that it takes at least 12 hours.

 

[Joe]

Sometimes they over-dilate your eyes; I’ve had this happen to me, and I was basically blinded for a while. But if you tell them you don’t have a driver, hopefully they won’t go crazy with the dilation and the result will be that you can still see, but with greater difficulty because your eyes will be very sensitive to light. If you expect to have your pupils dilated, whether you have a driver or not, make sure you have a pair of sunglasses with you to wear for a while. Once you're back inside and you want to take the sunglasses off, stay in a darkened room until your pupils are back to normal. The more they dilate your eyes, the longer your pupils take to get back to normal, but my experience is that it takes at least 12 hours.

Very informative! I'm glad I paid the $35 fee to have an alternative method used instead of dilation.

 

[shyvas]

Very informative! I'm glad I paid the $35 fee to have an alternative method used instead of dilation.

My doctor also uses this method.

 

[Amy SF]

In my entire life, nobody who has ever inspected my eyes and given me a eye test has told me that there might be an alternative to dilating my pupils.

 

[Joe]

It is some sort of machine that blows a puff of air into your eye. It's called an Optomap(R) Retinal Scan.

optomap retinal exam - Optos

Here's an article that argues dilation is superior to the Optomap.

Why You Want To Be Dilated — caryoptometric.com

 

[shyvas]

It is some sort of machine that blows a puff of air into your eye. It's called an Optomap(R) Retinal Scan.

optomap retinal exam - Optos

That's right.