I’m very interested in getting lasik (my prescription is -7.00 ~ -7.50) but my doctor at Kaiser said that my eyes were too dry to get a good outcome. Okay, I’m 44 years old and I’ve noticed my eyes drying out – are there any eye drops or medication I can take – prescription or otherwise – that would make me a good candidate? All my other risk factors weren’t a problem, but the dry eyes were. If you can’t think of a solution, are there new lasik procedures coming out that would work for me? I’m very motivated to make this happen.
I have a very strong prescription, and have experience wearing both plastic and glass lenses, though of course I’m not an optician.
First of all, plastic lenses are much harder to break than glass lenses. When you’re shelling out $300 for lenses, this DOES make a difference. The weight is much less, and while your head and neck may be quite able to stand the strain, the glasses will weigh down on your nose and ears, and THOSE areas are not meant to have any weight at all put on them. Heavier glass lenses in your glasses might mean that the nose and temple areas get sore more readily. Also, plastic lenses can be much thinner than glass lenses. I don’t know how strong your prescription is, but in my prescription, this is makes quite a difference. I get less distortion from plastic lenses, and so I can see better AND I look better, too.
I’ve worn glasses for 40 years now. In my experience, plastic lenses are more durable than glass ones, except in certain circumstances. Most of those circumstances are not really that common for the ordinary consumer.
Optically, they allow for more options, durability, no. Polycarbonate lenses are todays answer to light, thin, and durable lenses. While they won’t take the constant abuse that glass will, they also won’t shatter if jarred, and with moderate care they should last 2-3 years without having to be replaced.
It’s actually hard to say what the normal limit is for astigmatics and correction with glasses or contacts. While we can give a prescription that is helpful, for someone with a high prescription, it will more than likely not make thier vision perfect. The highest cylinder measurement I have ever seen is -9.75. There sphere power was lower though. That would be for specatcles. The highest cylinder we can get in a soft lens contact is -7.00 and a gas permeable lens we can get bi-torics and such so we can go much higher.
Ther hardest RX I ever had to deal with had actually more to deal with than the patient’s eyes. The patients facial structure was highly unsemmetrical. And though the patient only had a moderate RX, the problem was finding a frame that fit the patients large head, and correcting for prism and Occular height. One eye was 10 milimeters lower than the other if that helps you visualize. we worked it out in the end though. 
IANAD but:
Floaters can be lots of things. They can be a condition that signals something to worry about like glaucoma or retinal detachment, or they can be nothing to worry about. They actually are little bits of something that is floating around in your vitreous. They could be coagulated bits of vitreous or little bits of fetal arteries that have long since been non-functional. You should get them checked out, but if they are nothing, there is little that can be done for them besides a vitrectomy, where they suck out all your vitreous and repace it with an inert substance.
The risks are the same as for prescription contacts. Minimal as long as they are fit by a doctor. I do believe http://www.9mmsfx.com/lenses.html
makes a scleral mirrored lens.
One can either go to school for it, or one can be hired by a company and be trained for it. Lenscrafters for one trains their employees to be opticians. You have to take certification tests to become ABO or NCLE certified though. In some states you have to be licenced dispense eyewear.
Many companies make multi-focal lenses. The two best ones in practice are Cooper Vision Multifocal Contacts, and Vistakon’s Acuvue bifocal. For more general info on them and how they work try here: A Consumer Guide to Bifocal Contact Lenses - All About Vision .
You can also get RGP bifocal lenses and there are other options. The best one of course is probally what your doctor prescribes for your eyes. The main reason why bifocal contacts don’t work on everyone isn’t that the contact isn’t as good, but the wearer just cannot get their brains to adjust to seeing with two different prescriptions at once. I have actually seen more people adjust to a monovision fit where one eye hasa distance precription in it and the other has the near prescrition in it. That actually seems to work better than the two prescriptions in one eye, but of course YMMV. There are studies done on them you might try opthamology publications at the medical library.
~A§P
Don’t worry, I will hit more questions later, for now, it’s off to lunch with the boyfriend!
I’ve been wearing glasses something like 30 years.
In the last 4-6 years I’ve noticed this tendency among the folks in the eyeglass shops to try to sell itsty bitsy teeny weeny little lenses. I’m talking about the physical size of the lens, not the prescription. What the hell is that all about? Seriously, this one lady was insisting I consider frames that take lenses about the size of Cheerios. She kept saying “Just try them” Is she nuts? At the cost of “eyewear” these days, anything I “jsut try” I’m stuck with for at least a year or two. She asked what my objection was. I told her I didn’t fancy going viewing the world through the equivalent of two pissholes in the snow.
I’m not looking for lenses the size of the mirror on the Mt. Palomar telescope, just something that actually provides a field of view for me.
And the Worst Offender of the group kept trying to force me into lightweight frames. “You’ll like them so much better”. The heck I will - I kept telling her - I have never broken a lens but I HAVE broken a half-dozen frames over the years, so frame durability is kind of important to me.
When I stopped by a Lenscrafters for an adjustment (actually, to get my frames repaired) I got the same story - “You should try smaller size lenses and a lighter frame.” WTF? I am coming here because I broke my frames and you are trying to sell me something “lighter”?
One of these prize folks said “Well, it will minimize the fact you have glasses”. Double WTF? I wear glasses This fact is NOT going to change. I’m not ashamed of it. I don’t feel a need to hide it. I’m not buying Elton John style neon-lit frames, hornrims, or those fashion faux pas sparkly blue with rhinestones frames. I’m just grateful that my lenses are only half as thick as they used to be (and that has to do with lens technology, not improving vision)
So… what’s the deal here? Is there an Optician Conspiracy or did I just get a run of bad luck?
I was outside smoking a cigarette yesterday and it was quite breezy. I had a hot ash fly in my eye. Today I noticed my eye is very irritated and a visible white spec has appeared on the brown of my eye. I am assuming that is where my eye was burnt? I have been using visine and it isn’t helping and seems it is hurting worse today then when it happened? How long will it take to heal? Should I go see someone? I’ve never been to an eye doctor before.
Ciba’s Freshlook Colorblends contacts have a rather large Iris cover field. What are you wearing now?
No, your eyes should refrain from bursting. Pounding headaches shouldn’t happen if your glasses are bent. Basically common sense rules. If it feels funny or looks funny, get it fixed. Most glasses places will straighten them for you without a problem. You can get a headache from a little bit of unintended prism effect in your glasses, your eyes will feel like they are pulling, but that can be fixed with an adjustment or an RX change.
Quite a bit. Average designer frames sell to us for about $30, to you they are about $150-$200. What is worse is the lenses. The average pair of plastic lenses sell to us for about $2 each. They will cost you at least $35. Polycarbonate lenses are about $7 each, and sell for about $60 each. The mark up sounds crazy, but most optical places fail. Small buisnesses cannot keep up with the discounts that larger places get on buying their material’s in bulk. You have to consider the materials to MAKE the glasses. A 2oz bottle of UV coating costs us $875. The equipment, labor, and doctors are expensive. The cost gets transfered to you, the consumer.
You can get yourself a very nice pair of thin light lenses and frames for about $150. The most important part of getting thin lenses is the frames that you pick. If you look at yourself in the mirror, your pupils should line up in the center of the lenses, and there should be no more than a quarter inch of lens above or below your eye. If you do that, you can even make a regular lens thin. A polycarbonate lens or other hi-index lens will give you the best results. A plastic frame is best for hiding edges, and the smaller the frame, the lighter the lenses will be in a minus RX. Axis measurement affects your thickness only slightly, perhaps by a millimeter
or so.
I cannot emphasize this enough, but if your doctor is worried about doing this procedure, be wary of it yourself. Lasik, while for many people is wonderful,(both of my parents), other people’s eyes are ruined because they or thier doctors chanced it when it wasn’t the right choice for them. Post surgical lasik eyes often have problems with dryness. Some so much as to have to add eye drops every 4 hours, even while sleeping. Perhaps in the future they will develop a new procedure, but any ablation of the cornea seems to dirupt the natural oily tear film. Many people are still ok but people with chronically dry eyes have problems. You might try a second opinion, but be wary of anyone that is pushing you to the chair.
Broomstick:
HA! So you have uncovered our vast conspiracy!!! Muahahahaha!
Actually, the reason that opticians are pushing you to smaller and smaller glasses is because we have almost this pathological urge to make glasses look the best they can be. That includes smaller and lighter frames to reduce thickness in the lenses, and a more pleasing line to the glasses. I would probally try to get you in smaller frames too! Today’s frame material’s are stronger and more flexible than older styles so you can afford to get thinner frames and not sacrifice durablity. Flexon type frames are my favorites. They are the ones you see on TV getting bent in a pretzel and springing back to shape. You will shell out big bucks for them, but they will last you several years with only moderate care. People usually get used to smaller lenses too. Your eyes actually only need a very small area to actually see through. They area of your glasses you are actually looking through is a lot smaller than your actual lenses. I would try going with the optician’s suggestion one of these times at a place that offers a 30 day satisfaction garuntee. If you don’t like it after a week or so, take them back and get something bigger. No problem. I think after a week though you would like them, if you can try them without risk to your pocket book go for it!
Lastly, Ashkicker:
Today your eye is worse? High thee to an eyeball doc. Get it looked at. Then you will know. Better than risking your vision. That, and toss the visine. It only cosmetically helps your redness, it doesn’t actually help the injury, it might hurt it.
Sorry for the long post guys! I wanted to get all the questions in!
~A§P
So, let me get this straight. A customer comes in with 30 years of experience in this area. She states very clearly her preferences. You will try to change her mind. She will state she does not want to change her mind, so knows what’s comfortable for her, what her needs are, and this is what she wants. You will try to change her mind. She will state she does not want her mind changed. You will try to change her mind.
No wonder I get into arguments with opticians.
Smaller, lighter frames do not work for me.. If you make the frame itself unbreakable I keep busting the screws that hold them together (and where can I find a supply of those? Those “frame repair kits” you see for sale everywhere only seem to have one or two in them.) My lenses are too thick to accomodate the thinnest frames, even when made small.
It’s like the last time I bought frames (titanium, so far I’ve only broken three screws, not the frame itself). The lady was lamenting that the thickness of the lenses were visible from the sides. Hey, I wear thick glasses, this is not news. I can’t figure out why she was so upset with it when it didn’t bother me a bit. They’re nice glasses. They fit with my face. They let me see clearly. What’s not to like? (See below)
My lenses, by themselves, cost around $500 a pair. I can’t afford to “shell out” for them AND drop the same on a pair of frames. As it is, the shop I bought my last set of frames knocked off some of the retail price which was very nice of them. I’m hoping the frames last me several years, even if I’m not perfectly happy with them.
And, what, exactly, is “moderate care”? My current shop and I seem to use similar definitions, but the one just prior to that didn’t. The lady fitting me for frames (which were the worst cheap-ass frames I’ve had in a long time) kept trying to sell me on special polishing clothes, cleaning fluids, etc. I expressed my view that a pair of glasses should be able to get by with water, soap if really greasy, and swipe from a flannel shirt tail. She was horrified. I explained that I do go outside, where there is rain, dust, grit, and so forth. She was horrified. I explained that scratches on the lenses really really REALLY bother me, and that I usually had glass lenses for scratch resistance. She was horrified, and expressed concern about how easily glass breaks. I repeated that I have never (so far) broken a lens, just the frames.
Well, we went back and forth. Finally, she said that if I should try plastic and if they got scratched up they’d replace them within 90 days. I said I needed that in writing from her boss. Which I got.
Well, the b**** gave me the polycarbonate lenses she said were so wonderful, and in less than a month I was back. And in less than a month I was back. And the third time they gave me what I asked for in the first place and I could throw out all the damn special cleaning junk that never worked well anyhow.
And next time I went to a different shop.
(By the way - the current pair I have ARE plastic - but a scratch resistant variety with an extra scratch-resistance coating. I have not had any problems. I’m not opposed to trying new materials but they have to actually work for me. I wear my glasses 16 hours a day, they have to be right. If I’m a skeptic it’s because I’ve been burned a lot in the past.)
So… what is YOUR definition of “moderate care”?
The pair I have now has the smallest lenses I have ever had, and I was told they were big by today’s standards. I am not entirely happy. I have lost some of my outer field of view with them. I see the edge of the frame all the time, which makes me feel like I’m looking through a window instead of at the world. The lenses are set so close to my face my eyelashes tend to sweep against them. This is annoying. I suppose I could trim my eyelashes, but the combination of sharp object+my eyeball+“blind as a bat” just gives me the willies. Next time I buy frames I’m going to ask for bigger lenses.
See above comment about the cost of my glasses. I’ve yet to find someone willing to eat the cost of my lenses if I’m just “not happy” with them. In other words, I can’t “just try them” without financial risk.
It’s rather like Lenscrafters “most glasses in about an hour” thing - apparently I’m not “most glasses”.
There is a product being advertised in television commercials right now which touts itself as a liquid scratch mender for plastic (and presumably, polycarbonate) eyeglass lenses. The product is swabbed on and left to dry and supposedly fills and repairs even deep scratches while leaving the prescription of the lens unchanged.
Is this a rip-off or is this a case of a product that was once only available to opticians becoming available to the public? Could this stuff actually be damaging?
I’ve been thinking of buying some; it’s not terribly pricey so I’m not terribly worried about the money. I don’t want to try it, though, if I run the risk of ruining my lenses with it.
Please excuse me for butting in here AquaPura
Hi Broomstick, Most good hobby shops that sell electric trains will have a supply of various tiny little screws for sale. I don’t know if they will have the right size for glasses frames as I’ve never asked, but it’s worth a shot. They’ll probably be brass however.
We now return you to your regualrly scheduled thread, already in progress.
BTW, AquaPura, do you know if 56 is too old to consider lasik? Why or why not?
Nope, not me. The first time you said you liked em big and wanted them that way that’s the way you would get them. The way YOU wanted them. I have had many a patient that have picked out glasses that I thought were absolutely horrible(wrong color, shape, whatever) and that is what they got with a smile on my face because I don’t have to wear them. They do. If they like them, that is all that matters. Another reason they probally tried to stear you to something smaller is because they might not have had much selection of anything bigger. Go to a different place that will accomodate what you want. Keep in mind that even though you have 30 years of experience wearing glasses, most opticians wear glasses or eyewear too, maybe for longer than you. While some of them might just be trying to pad their pocket book, most of us just want you to be thrilled with your glasses. I would get you what you wanted, no matter what made me happy. If it wasn’t somethign I could do, I would send you somewhere else.
Screws you will break or loose as you will nose pads. They wear out quicker than the frames, they are ment to be replaceable. If you want to repair your glasses yourself, don’t bother buying the weeny little kits. Go out and buy a cheap set of jewlers screwdrivers (like $2-$3 bucks at Walmart or such), and the next time you are at your optical shop, ask them for a few of the screws they are using to repair your glasses. They might charge you minimally for them (no more than a buck or two for 6 or so) and use those. Most of the ones in the kits are too small or too large.
Polycarbonate lenses now are the most scratch resistant composite lesnes on the market. If they scratched that soon they were probally defective. Only a few things will scratch your lenses. Leaving them on their face, stuffing them in your pocket with keys and the like, cleaning them with windex or other amonia based products, or using paper products to clean them. Throw out the crap they are making you buy. Use dish soap and water and wipe them with an old dish towel or t-shirt. If your poly lenses scratched that quick and you didn’t clean them with a solvent like windex, then there was something wrong with them in the first place. Glass lenses will scratch the least. They also are horrible to get very few places in the country still make them, you will probally wait upwards of a month just to get them. Moderate care to me is not stuffing them in your shirt pocket, and not laying them on their face, and not cleaning them with solvents. That’s it.
If your lenses are hitting your eyelashes, they need to be ajusted. They shouldn’t period.
If you tell me what your RX is, and what you want your lenses to do, transitions, AR bifocals that kinda thing, I will tell you what you SHOULD pay. Not what your optical place might want you to pay. My optical place (part of a large chain) gives you 30 days, no questions asked. If you don’t like them, come back and we will get you something else, or give you your money. Our intrest is keeping customers. That way they come back with their friends.
We also can get most glasses in abut and hour or so. Our limit is +6.00 to -9.50 sphere, -2.75 cylinder, with bifocals and all that jazz. Prism and all kinds of interesting things like that take longer. Lenses like that have to be made custom for the patient. They can’t just be ground.
It sounds like people have burned you quite a bit Broomstick. I’m sorry that happened to you, if you like drop me an email and I can probally give you the names of some good places in your area.
~A§P
TeaElle: I have seen this stuff on TV too. I haven’t seen it work, but I would imagine that it MIGHT work on hairline scratches. However, many solvents will soften your lenses and wreck them. Try it, but try it on a cheap pair of sunglasses or reading glasses before you try it on your expensive RX.
Bumbazine:
Hmmm… I’m not aware of many age limits for lasik. The older you get, the dryer your eyes get, but it would be worth a consult. Most lasik doctors offer them free. It would probally be worth your time to hear what they have to say!
~A§P
Did that. Quite happy with the current place.
Not likely! The only time they come off is either to clean them or me, or for me to go to sleep
Nope, just water and a little soap for me… although I could see why someone might try Windex (I wasn’t aware it was verboten
Paper products…?
Nope, don’t use solvents. There was the time I wound up with a faceful of gasoline (oops!) but that melted part of the frame, it left the lenses themselves untouched. think I might have had glass lenses still, at that point. Really liked those frame, still have them, wish I could get them fixed up again…
See, that’s me - you can’t do my lenses in “about an hour”. Too much cylinder and with prisms in the mix. I’m in the “custom” category. Which also drives up the price. Which I’m not entirely happy about but what can I do?
Think it was worse when I was a kid and my mom was far too trusting of people she perceived to be in authority. Like I said, right now I’m happy with my current shop.
Windex is forbidden? Uh oh.
I’ve had my current lenses for about 3 years. I’ve never used anything but Windex and paper towels to clean them. No scratches. So, I should use soeap and water, eh?
Anyway, I got those glasses that have the magnetic clip-on shades. At some point, they got scratched all to hell and back. Is there any way to repair them, or, if not, can I get replacements? One of my big reasons for wearing contacts more than I should is the lack of sun-blocking goodness with my glassses. Which sucks during summers in TX (where I spent most of my time wearing the shades).
I love my current frames, and don’t want to spend a ton more money on new frames just to get a new set of shades.
Yep, most window cleaners are verboten. Today’s lenses are light and durable, but the coatings get eaten to hell if they are exposed to some kinds of chemicals. Ammonia is one of them. Paper products like paper napkins, or paper toels, or kleenex are abrasive to the coatings on the lenses, so they are verboten too. They are just like steel wool on the lenses, after a little bit of repeated use of them your lenses will scratch. Your lenses should be wet when you wipe them, with lens cleaner or h20 and use a soft cloth like and old t-shirt or dishtowel. I know some of those things aren’t around when you really need your glasses cleaned, I am guilty of using napkins dry on my lenses too, but repeated use will bring you scratches.
I am glad you found a place that you like!
Two questions, if you please:
Is there such a thing as contact lenses that darken or lighten according to the amount of sunlight, similar to the glasses that do so?
My eye doctor has told me that the colour is “bleeding” from my irises, and that puts me at a higher risk for glaucoma. While I wouldn’t mind a nice looking set of Ray Liotta eyes, I’m not so keen on the glaucoma. Is this fairly common, and what can I expect?
Apparently in Pirates of The Caribbean, J. Depp had contacts that acted as sunglasses. Dunno if they did that lighten/darken thing or not, tho.
I bet they cost buttloads of money and were custom, but I thought I’d share anyway.
I want some of those changing contacts, too. They need to be invented and marketed!