question about astigmatism and eyeglasses...
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free skin care · Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:39 pm

A few months ago i got a new prescription for glasses and contacts.

I have an astigmatism in both eyes. My new contacts are great - i can see perfect but my glasses are horrible. I am squinting and getting headaches - i know I should JUST wear my contacts and I usually do but I know the eyes have to be given a rest sometimes.

I want to know if this is normal - if astigmatisms can not be improved while wearing glasses or if the prescription is wrong.
I had gone to a dr who wanted to charge me an insane amount for the glasses - I turned them down but asked for the prescription to take elsewhere - so basically Im trying to find out if they screwed things up for me because I just cant see with these glasses.... Sad

THANKS

free skin care · Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:10 pm

mb
Are you finding that your vision is most blurry when you take out your contacts and immediately put on your glasses? That is what would happen to me. My Dr said that the contacts "model" the shape of the cornea and that the glasses would seem blurry for a period until the cornea reverted to the shape that the glasses were prescribed for.
If the glasses are not blurry first thing in the am when you have had your lenses out for a long period of time, then it is not something to worry about. But be sure to discuss it with your Dr, anyway. HTH

free skin care · Tue Oct 21, 2008 8:37 pm

thanks for replying...

no i have this issue all day. I gave my eyes a rest from contacts today and watching tv bothered me, sitting at hte computer etc...

If i have the wrong prescribtion - i need to change it - unless glasses dont fix astigmatisms

Wed Oct 22, 2008 11:31 am

I just saw your post so called my husband who has bad eyesight - astigmatism - is seriously mypopic and who on Sept. 30 had a Vitrectomy to repair a macular hole (young for this procedure at 59 without it being health related (diabetes) or as a result of an accident). He wore contacts for many years - and also had glasses. His prescriptions are/were extremely strong - they scare me. I know that when he would switch from his contacts to his glasses he would have to allow for a bit of time for his eyes to adjust so as to prevent headache/dizziness as other posted noted - BUT if he put his glasses on in a.m. and did not wear his contacts at all, no headache or dizziness. People I worked with often stopped wearing contacts in office due to dryness and did not have problems when switching to glasses. A few years ago my husband had to stop wearing contacts as they had to make the left contact thicker than the right and it kept popping out - so now he just has glasses - but they are not cheap. To avoid the Coke bottle effect he has to buy the thin lenses - and they have to be in a small frame - usually the lenses cost about $1,100 and then he buys the frame. When he wore contacts and glasses he always bought them from the same provider. He thinks that you should have your eye doctor check the glasses for you to ensure that the place you had them made did in fact follow the prescription. Recently I have seen posts on other forums where people were having problems with glasses purchased at some of the lower cost eye centres (fine depending if eye problems are relatively minor - but not so good if eyes are bad as in my husband's case). Some people found that their prescriptions were sent out of Canada - you can guess where - and then shipped back - and didn't seem right. Actually he is not happy with his current glasses that with frames cost $1,400 - the left lense has popped out twice and there is a chip in the frame - they are 11 months old - and when you can't see at all without your glasses, not a good thing. He has purchased his last 6 pairs of glasses from this same place - next time he will be going elsewhere. I somehow have managed to keep 20/20 at age 58, despite my family being the one to have Level 1 diabetes - I went and had my eyes checked before his surgery just in case I had a problem - it had been 10 years, but I am good. I went to my doctor referred optometrist. She carries a small line of glasses for her patients' convenience - not pushed on customers - just there if you want them. When husband gets his next prescription - which will probably be sooner than later - I will direct him to her. I met some people in the waiting room who had moved nearly 2 hours from Toronto and had gone elsewhere for their check-ups and glasses and had problems so returned to my optometrist to have things made right. So better to have things checked out. Most Definitely - people with Astigmatism CAN wear glasses. Hope things work out for you - but please, have prescription checked by your eye doctor, not the place you purchased the glasses. And here is hoping you never have to be caregiver to someone who has had a Vitrectomy!

free skin care · Fri Oct 24, 2008 1:47 pm

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! That was very sweet of you to take the time to check that out for me and then type it all out.

I very much appreciate that and will take your advice!!

Smile

Fri Oct 24, 2008 3:55 pm

You are very welcome. I hope that you can have your glasses problem rectified. One thing for sure, is that if you have a very strong prescription - such as my husband does - heck, even 5 prescriptions ago - the offers for 50% off eyeglass lenses etc. even at the higher end shops, do not apply to his type of lense - they always get you there.

free skin care · Mon Nov 03, 2008 10:58 pm

I had a high shortsightedness and astigmatism in both eye. I was OK wearing glasses and contacts as well. Got fed up and decided to have laser surgery. The results are truly amazing. After so many years I did not need to wear heavy glasses or put contacts in. Although my shortsightedness returned only in small a number and astigmatism is still there boy i am happy I had it done. I can do a lot of what I could not do without glasses before.

free skin care · Tue Nov 04, 2008 8:07 am

My fiance is an optician and runs his own business fitting people with glasses. You should be able to see out of your glasses. Bottom line. I have a pretty severe astigmatism, and I have most trouble with contacts rather than glasses. Contacts have a tendency to roll around on my eye and change my vision. Luckily, the dr that works for my fiance is patient and takes the time to find the right prescription. I've been to a lot of drs who don't.

Where did you get your glasses made? I would ask to see the script they used to order the lense and see if it matches up with what you got from your doctor. The glasses also might not be sitting on your face correctly. Many people don't realize you have to get measured in order to fit your glasses to you. A lot of these vision places just don't do it.

Don't just deal with it. Go back and get it right. If they don't want to fix it, ask for your money back.

free skin care · Thu Nov 06, 2008 11:11 am

See Im not sure who may have screwed this up - if anyone did. The first Dr had a really jerky... (im not sure of his title but he sold glasses/contacts.) I told him I wasnt going to pay the price he wanted to charge for the contacts and he had a total and unprofessional attitude about it - which is why i was nervous getting my prescription to take elsewhere cause I wouldnt doubt he would screw it up on purpose.

So I went somewhere else where I had another eye exam but only for contacts. I got the glasses prescription from the first doctor. I did tell them that I wanted to make sure that prescription was correct in relation to what they found with my contact prescription - however I forget why - they couldnt do it looking at the numbers. So in faith I went to a (yes, I know) cheap eyeglass place a few towns over. Dont know if I can state the name but it has "America" in it. Smile

The glasses were fine at first - I really have only noticed this issue in the last month (unless I just didnt notice it the first... 8/9 months Ive had them). They fit great - had no sworeness at all.

Thanks for the help!!!

PS - I just called the place where I bought the glasses - she said its possible my prescription changed. That I wouldnt be able to tell as much with my contacts as with my glasses. (my vision is the best its EVER been with my contacts)
Does this make sense? It does to me- but none of you suggested it could be that so Im wondering if shes just trying to get me in there for an exam - thats actually what she asked as soon as she answered. "hello - do you want to schedule an exam?" Smile

I just dont trust many businesses nowadays.

free skin care · Thu Nov 06, 2008 11:27 am

i work for an optometrist, so i do know all about eyes. Your glasses are supposed to give you clear vision if the lenses match the prescription the Dr. had given. Take your glasses back to where you had purchased them and have them do a quality check on them. To check whether the glasses match the prescription the Dr. wrote. I see this often in the profession where i work. Opticians (people who make glasses) make mistakes once in a while. If you are seeing blurry, then most likely the opticians had made a mistake in making your glasses.

free skin care · Fri Nov 07, 2008 6:23 am

BCgirl wrote:

i work for an optometrist, so i do know all about eyes. Your glasses are supposed to give you clear vision if the lenses match the prescription the Dr. had given. Take your glasses back to where you had purchased them and have them do a quality check on them. To check whether the glasses match the prescription the Dr. wrote. I see this often in the profession where i work. Opticians (people who make glasses) make mistakes once in a while. If you are seeing blurry, then most likely the opticians had made a mistake in making your glasses.

This happens to my fiance a lot. some labs are better than others. They do make mistakes.

I don't think your prescription could've changed in that short awhile.

free skin care · Fri Dec 05, 2008 10:28 am

Violetanne, Which contact lenses are you wearing now?
I've been told by my opticians that I would need to have custom-made contact lenses as all the off-the-shelf ones dont fit me (the visions ok but they keep on moving about on my eye). I paid for the contact lenses fitting, but those custom made ones arent included in the price and they're not cheap! Over $100 per pair Shock

free skin care · Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:01 am

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I always get my eyes checked with an opthomologist & take the prescription to an optometrist for glasses. I do have astigmatism in one eye. My opthomologist fits me for contacts though and I never had a problem.Lenscrafters even managed to fit my prescription to a large frame for sunglasses and that wasn't easy to do, they had to curve the glasses(and lens) slightly because of my astigmatism; they redid them 2X until they got them right. I'm wondering if you're prescription came from an optometrist or opthomologist?

free skin care · Fri Dec 05, 2008 12:34 pm

yeahyeah wrote:

Violetanne, Which contact lenses are you wearing now?
I've been told by my opticians that I would need to have custom-made contact lenses as all the off-the-shelf ones dont fit me (the visions ok but they keep on moving about on my eye). I paid for the contact lenses fitting, but those custom made ones arent included in the price and they're not cheap! Over $100 per pair Shock

My lenses are Frequency 55 Toric by Cooper Vision. My optomitrist also suggested the custom lenses, but the cost makes it a non-option. Mine are a special order lense that are a bit more expensive than the usual; I guess they have a precise rotation or something like that. But I guess they're coming out with more advanced lenses all the time, to fit astigmatism better.

Trust me, if they can fit my astigmatism they can do almost anyone's. Without corrective lenses I see mega-double!

free skin care · Fri Dec 05, 2008 5:42 pm

violetanne wrote:

My lenses are Frequency 55 Toric by Cooper Vision. My optomitrist also suggested the custom lenses, but the cost makes it a non-option. Mine are a special order lense that are a bit more expensive than the usual; I guess they have a precise rotation or something like that. But I guess they're coming out with more advanced lenses all the time, to fit astigmatism better.

Trust me, if they can fit my astigmatism they can do almost anyone's. Without corrective lenses I see mega-double!

I've not tried those ones even though my optician said that I've tried them ALL. Thats why she said the only option would be custom-made ones or hard lenses--which I've heard from many people are uncomfortable and can pop out.
I'm now doubting whether she knows what shes doing Confused

but if I go see another opticians, I have to pay the contact lenses consultation fees again!
You're in the US right?

free skin care · Sat Dec 06, 2008 7:52 am

yeahyeah wrote:

violetanne wrote:

My lenses are Frequency 55 Toric by Cooper Vision. My optomitrist also suggested the custom lenses, but the cost makes it a non-option. Mine are a special order lense that are a bit more expensive than the usual; I guess they have a precise rotation or something like that. But I guess they're coming out with more advanced lenses all the time, to fit astigmatism better.

Trust me, if they can fit my astigmatism they can do almost anyone's. Without corrective lenses I see mega-double!

I've not tried those ones even though my optician said that I've tried them ALL. Thats why she said the only option would be custom-made ones or hard lenses--which I've heard from many people are uncomfortable and can pop out.
I'm now doubting whether she knows what shes doing Confused

but if I go see another opticians, I have to pay the contact lenses consultation fees again!
You're in the US right?

Yup, I'm in the US. Do you have optical insurance? I can get my eyes checked once a year, contact lense examinations/fittings are covered.

I've been to eye drs that didn't fit me well for lenses. I remember a couple times after getting my contacts just not being able to see and having to go back two or three times until they got it right. My new dr that works for my fiance's business is very good, and really took the time with me. I don't have the problems I used to with rotation, etc., that I had before. Which is not to say he got it right the first time-- I think I went through about 3 trial pairs the first time I saw him. He said the first dr I ws seeing was overcorrecting my vision in order to compensate for the astigmatism. I had no idea how bad I was seeing!

So, it might not be a bad thing to see a new dr.

free skin care · Sat Dec 06, 2008 10:32 am

violetanne wrote:

Yup, I'm in the US. Do you have optical insurance? I can get my eyes checked once a year, contact lense examinations/fittings are covered.

I've been to eye drs that didn't fit me well for lenses. I remember a couple times after getting my contacts just not being able to see and having to go back two or three times until they got it right. My new dr that works for my fiance's business is very good, and really took the time with me. I don't have the problems I used to with rotation, etc., that I had before. Which is not to say he got it right the first time-- I think I went through about 3 trial pairs the first time I saw him. He said the first dr I ws seeing was overcorrecting my vision in order to compensate for the astigmatism. I had no idea how bad I was seeing!

So, it might not be a bad thing to see a new dr.

Ahh too bad, I'm in the UK and I have to pay for any eye tests and examinations.
I'm a little apprehensive about paying another £20-45GDP of contact lenses consultation fees, cos if I pay a little extra, I could try out the custom-made lenses Confused

And I've called around all the opticians in my area and the price which they quoted me were nearly double of the one my current opticians have said. I guess I'll just wait til after the holidays and start saving money for the custom-made ones Sad

Thanks for all your advice!

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