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Prescription Was Cut Back
Amanda wrote:
I recently went to an optometrist for the first time in 5 years and she told me my prescription had changed quite drastically; specifically, my astigmatism had grown much worse in both eyes. I previously had OD CYL -2.50 and OS CYL -1.25, but she measured me at OD CYL -4.50 and OS CYL -2.75. However, when she was writing out my prescription she told me that that was too drastic a change and gave me a prescription for OD CYL -3.50 and OS CYL -2.00 and told me to come back in a year for another prescription update.
Why can't I get the full prescription now? Due to the severity of my nearsightedness (-10.25) and this astigmatism my lenses are quite expensive. I'd rather just by one pair and maybe take a little longer to get used to them than have to buy two pairs of lenses in two years.
Dr Carol Doman's response:
Cutting back the glasses prescription when there is a big change is quite common. The problem with giving the full prescription is that it could be very hard for you to get used to it. It could take longer than a month to adjust and you may have severe headaches. Not something that most people are willing to tolerate. In your case specific reasons that would make it hard to adjust to the new prescription is the amount of time you’ve had your old prescription and the type of prescription that you have. The longer you have had your current prescription the harder it is to adjust to a new prescription. As well astigmatism (cyl) correction is the hardest type of prescription change to get used to. The amount that they are cutting it back by likely won’t affect your vision significantly. I would have done the same thing that your optometrist is suggesting.
Dr. Doman
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Problems Adjusting to New Glasses
Timothy wrote:
Hello, I went to see an optometrist because I was having some blurred vision mostly at night time. My optometrist diagnosed it as an astigmatism. I Was prescribed eyeglasses. I have worn them two nights in a row at work and my eyes dont seem to be adjusting to the prescription.. I find my vision is mostly unchanged, I still have blurred vision.. I'm not sure what to do..thanks.
Dr Carol Doman's response:
Hi Timothy,
Anytime you get a new pair of glasses there is an adaptation period, which is the time it takes to get used to the new glasses. Depending on the person, the type of the prescription and the amount of change to the prescription this can take as little as a day or two or as much as 2-3 weeks. My recommendation would be to wear your new glasses full time for the first few weeks to allow your eyes to adjust to the new prescription. Once you feel comfortable with the new prescription you should then be okay to just wear them part time. However some people feel prefer to wear the glasses all the time as they like seeing things clearer with the new glasses. If you have worn the glasses for a few weeks without any improvement it is best to return to where you purchased the glasses to ensure that there is no problem with how the glasses were made. I hope this helps and good luck with your new glasses.
Dr. Doman
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Re: Eye Drops Prior to an Eye Exam
Bill wrote:
I just had a eye exam done. First they put the eye drops in. I was in the waiting room reading a magazine. After about 20 minutes, I could not read up close because my vision was getting blurry. It was somewhat blurry looking far away also. Shortly after, they started the eye exam. They did not find anything wrong inside my eyes. When they were checking for my prescription, I told her that my vision was still blurry from the eye drops. She said it does not matter for the eye test. She wrote my perscription. I got my new glasses a week later. One eye is blurred, the other is sharp. My old glasses were better than the new ones. My question is: Do I wear my new glasses to adapt to the new prescription? Or should I get a second opinion on the prescription? I really believe the eye drops they used influenced and caused an invalid prescription. I believe the prescription should be checked first, then they should have put in the eye drop.
Do you agree with this?
Dr Carol Doman's response:
Bill,
It is common practice to instil eye drops and check for the glasses prescription shortly after. Generally the eye drops will not affect the prescription. Depending on your age and the type of drops used this can be done very successfully. Under age 40 certain drops can affect the prescription somewhat, but usually this would not be a significant difference. With any new prescription it will take time to adapt. This can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks. The first step in solving your problem would be to return to where you purchased your glasses to make sure everything is in order with the glasses (they were made to the proper specifications) and to see if adjusting how the frame is fitting on your face will make a difference. In many cases this will solve the problem. If after having this done and wearing them for a significant amount of time to adapt to the new prescription you are still having a problem, I would suggest returning to the original Optometrist to have your prescription rechecked. When we determine a prescription for glasses it is not an exact science and we can find slightly different answers from day to day. Having your prescription rechecked and finding the numbers to be slightly different, doesn’t necessarily mean that the first numbers weren’t correct. That being said sometimes the numbers do need to be tweaked. I hope by the time you read this that you have already adapted to your new glasses!
Dr. Doman
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