So I have gotten to the aged and decrepit part, and I now have reading glasses.
Is it totally odd that I can just run my normal glasses down to the tip of my nose and it has the same effect of my reading glasses?
Am I alone in refusing to get the transition type bifocals? I would just prefer to have either just plain reading glasses, or the sharp line so I don’t waste real estate with the wishy washy blend area.
I guess I’ll buckle down and ask: If someone has two different prescriptions in their eyes, is it normal that looking through one eye could give them a fishbowl effect, both with and without glasses? I’m talking about the effect you get when you first get new glasses and they sorta make you dizzy.
Actually, that’s not odd at all, if you’re a medium-to-high myope/nearsighted person. Moving the glasses away from your eyes causes the effective refractive power of the lens to be either less minus or more plus – akin to creating a reading add. That’s also why contact lenses have different powers than spectacles for the same patient; to take into account the different distances from the eye.
This is normal, although most people will adapt to it if it’s a longstanding thing. People who have cataract surgery in one eye (and have the operated eye corrected for refractive error via the lens implant) will complain about this, on occasion, following surgery. It takes some time to get used to the fact that one eye now has no refractive error while the other, unoperated eye is still nearsighted or farsighted.
Yay! Congratulations, Dr. cromulent!
Okay, doc, got this question for you (pretend I’ve cornered you at a party or somethin’) 
My daughter was a micropreemie (23 weeks) who spent about 2 months on oxygen of one sort or another. She had ROP with Plus Disease and on her due date (4 months from birth) had a laser procedure done to correct it. She was seen every 6 months for the first couple of years by the same doc who did the surgery, then every year. She was not found to need glasses at any of her visits. Last year, we took her to a Wal-Mart eye doc (who I assume was an optometrist, but I honestly don’t know) for a check-up. Still didn’t need glasses.
She’s 6 now, and just learning to read. She holds kids’ books in her lap, and reads very well. But when there’s a block of text in smaller type (like, I think, 11 point Times, maybe?), she holds the paper very close to her face. Now, I’m not sure if it’s a vision thing or a new-reader-concentrating-hard thing, but it’s time to take her back in for her annual, anyhow.
The question: is it okay to take her to a Wal-Mart Vision kind of place, or should I pay the big bucks to take her back to her surgeon or another highly trained specialist? She’s on Medicaid, so they won’t pay for that without a referral from her pediatrician, and he’s not interested in giving her one. I’d much rather take her somewhere I don’t need a referral, but if you think it won’t be appropriate for her given her history, I’ll find the money somewhere.
congrats -
So I have had an issue where my vision is “disjointed” (things kind of double askew, for example, I look down while driving and I’ll see almost 2 complete odomoters right next to each other only slightly out of line) - with effort, I can pull them back together.
I recall this for years (now) - but it used to be I would ‘relax’ to make it happen.
When I went to Eye dr for it - they ran some basic tests, and then said come back in a month to see if it changes (it didnt) - they said to come back in 6 months to see if it changed - it didn’t, andI didn’t return either - at the third initial visit I asked whta the treatment options are assuming it didnt “clear up on its own” and he had nothing to say. One thing that he likely didn’t catch on to was that I had been having this for some time prior to the first visit.
Assuming they have the correct diagnoses (5th nerve or something like that) - are there any ‘real’ treatment options? There are times that reading small print is, well, impossible without great effort, but generally I can cope (headaches ensue).
If this is too much for this board, I understand - if you can give me keywords to use next time I go to an eye doctor, I will go back - just have zero faith that there is anything that can actually be done, and I’ve lived with it “this long”.
I do have “near sighted astygmatism” 20/30 is what it tested to about 6-8 years ago and I do not wear corrective lenses of any kind - I do have some (from about the same time period, but have never actively used them).
Hey Crom.
I’ve was diagnosed with non-wandering lazy eye in my left, in my teens, too late to do anything about it. I am legally blind in that eye - I can’t recall exact numbers but a computer screen just over arms-length away is just a blur of color. (I have normal nearsightedness in my right, with astigmatism, around 20/80 or so).
I had previously been told I am not a good candidate for laser surgery, beause in lazy eye the problem is with the optic nerve, not the lens. However that was quite a few years ago. Is there any newer permanent corrective eye surgery that would work for me on both my eyes?
Congrats! I remember you information from my thread on pellucid marginal degeneration, and it was super helpful. So, you know. Congrats on making doctor and stuff.
The question I have for you today is this: do you have any tips for getting used to RGP lenses? My optometrist’s office wasn’t very helpful; the first time they gave them to me, they forgot to pre-wet them, and the second time they gave me instructions for soft lenses, and didn’t know that the black dot on the right lens was supposed to be there. I’ve tried wearing them with Boston solution being used, and it’s just absolute torture, even after the adjustment period. They hurt all the damn time, and make my eyes water something fierce. But, in the three seconds or so before I get all teared up again, my vision is so damn clear!
Can you prescribe drugs?
Here in MA, DO’s can-the last time I had an eye exam, my optometrist (DO) gave a prescription for blepheritis-it cleared right up.
I’ve worn glasses and contacts for over 50 years.
It seems the only question Optometrists always ask is #1 or #2.
I know you do more, but as a person with a lifetime of terrible vision, it always seems to get down to that. 
I think the key is knowing which #1 or #2 to ask about. 
I have pretty bad eyes - nearsighted and astigmatism*. I now have no-line bifocals for distance and reading. How do I determine what power reading glasses to clip on the top of my glasses for computer work (20-24 inches - basically an arm’s length)? Or should I get some dedicated computer glasses for that range?
*My ancestors could not have been hunters - they must have been back in the cave imbibing strange substances and invoking the gods.
A few things –
First of all, ROP is, as I’m sure you know, a disease that varies widely in severity. I’ve had patients with stage 1 (i.e. early) ROP, affecting only a small area in the very far periphery of the eye, where I’ve done a full retinal exam and literally would not have known they’d had the disease unless the parents had told me, and patients who are essentially completely blind from bilateral ROP and complete retinal detachment.
If your daughter had stage 3+ or even stage 4 ROP with Plus disease – and that sounds possible since she had laser treatments, so it sounds like the ROP didn’t regress on its own – then to me it makes sense, with the caveat that I’m not your daughter’s doctor and have no idea what her retina looks like – to see a pediatric retinal specialist. Chances are good that person will tell you everything is fine and to come back in a year. Most children with treated or regressed ROP who have good vision are fine, although there is a higher risk later on for ocular issues including glaucoma and retinal detachment later in life. I don’t mean to scare you because the overall risk is still relatively low, but it’s increased compared to a person without ROP.
By the way, what did you tell the pediatrician when you asked for the referral? If instead of telling your pediatrician “She had ROP” you said, “She had ROP with neovascularization and/or a treated retinal hole/partial retinal detachment” he or she might be much more willing to give you a referral to a retinal specialist, assuming of course that that is what your daughter had. Just tell him/her what the laser treatment was for and be specific.
At the very minimum, whoever examines your daughter should perform a full peripheral dilated fundus exam, meaning they put dilating drops into her eyes, with BIO (Binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy) or some equivalent form of fundoscopy, so that they can examine the far peripheral retina.
As far as the holding text close thing, that is generally normal behavior when six year olds encounter small print. They have far greater focusing power than you or I do, and like to hold things close. Occasionally children with vision problems hold things close because they need the enlargement in order to see things clearly. You should mention it to your child’s eye doctor, whoever that ends up being, and ask if her best corrected visual acuity is 20/20 or worse than that. If it’s worse, even if it’s 20/40 or so (which really isn’t bad) you should consider having a low vision evaluation done. Keep in mind I’m talking about reduced best-corrected vision, and not vision sans spectacles (which is reduced in a great many kids, and causes no problems at all.) It’s possible she may need some educational accommodations. These may be as simple as sitting close to the blackboard, being allowed to use a magnifier, or getting extra time on exams.
Simster posted:
congrats
It’s unlikely to be a ”5th (trigeminal) nerve thing”; are you sure they didn’t say 3rd nerve, 4th, or 6th nerve?
At any rate, the fact that it only occurs when looking at things close or reading small print is encouraging, since it indicates the main problem is with convergence of the eyes – you may only need prism put into a pair of spectacles, which you can use for reading. I don’t know, obviously, since I have no idea what your extraocular muscles are doing since you’re not my patient! But I have had patients with similar symptoms who essentially only required prism – most likely base-in, which moves objects out. (If your double vision involves a vertical component as well as a horizontal one, you might require two types of prism, both horizontal and vertical.)
At any rate, with the usual caveat that I’m not your doctor and know nothing about your particular eye problem, you should consider going to the optometrist and asking about the possibility of prismatic glasses for reading. The odometer thing is trickier – you can get half-eye specs with the prism, so that you can look over the specs while driving and looking at the road, and through the specs when looking at the dashboard.
If the problem truly is convergence, there are also eye exercises you can do, either at home or via training at an eye doctor’s office, to improve convergence skills.
Unfortunately, if you have reduced acuity from “lazy eye” or amblyopia, it really is more of a brain thing (not really an optic nerve thing so much, but more of a visual cortical thing, according to my understanding.) So laser surgery is not going to improve vision in the “lazy” eye.
Angel of the Lord posted:
You can try a few things –
ralph124c posted:
Optometrists are ODs by the way. I can see how that’s confusing. DOs are Doctors of Osteopathy.
Anyway, yes they can prescribe drugs. They can prescribe “topical,” (eyedrops, gels, creams) in all states, and oral drugs in 47 out of 50. The three states that don’t allow optometrists to prescribe oral drugs are Massachusetts, New York and Florida. Even though I went to school in New York, I was still trained in prescribing oral drugs via both being supervised in certain clinics by ophthalmologists (who of course have full Rx privileges) and by working in a VA hospital as one of my externships, where for whatever reason optometrists can prescribe oral drugs, even in New York.
I asked the Dr specifically about ‘convergence disorder’ being the issue ( I do have the internet after all) - and he waved it off - I remember him holding prism’s to my eyes to figure things out - but it was very frustrating - the coping mechanism is ingrained - and seems to suggest that since I can ‘pull’ it together that exercises would work - but since I am constantly pulling it together, they aren’t.
(IOW, I work at the computer for my primary job, I am basically ‘always’ doing exercises to keep it together) It rarely affects large things, but hold a hand up, I’ll have 5 fingers and a thumb (you can see two rings) - look over at a bottle, there might be 2 depending - and If I just ‘relax’ my eyes, everything goes (farther away still seems to be fine, but pictures on the wall, etc).
I recall seeing “5th Nerve” on a chart/record - maybe I hit his, I don’t know - he never specifically told me this - so, yeah, its possible I misread it - maybe it was 2.5 nerve and I saw it twice.
Anyway, I appreciate your time - I’ll make an appointment again soon - since clearly (being about 2 years since he said to wait 6 months) it isn’t going to clear up on its own, no matter what I try.
Congrats,** cromulent**!
I’ve nothing to say except this and may you rock as much as my optometrist.
Thank you so much! I do remember, now that you mention it, that she had her eyes dilated at some of her early visits so he could check the retina, but it’s been at least two years, so I’ll definitely bring it up again. And thank you for the proper lingo to try an convince her ped. it’s not a frivolous request.
Angel of the Lord, what kind of cleanser/soaker are you using for your RGPs? I know we don’t have a ton of options, but there’s all in one (called Simplus) and there’s separate cleaner/soaker solutions. I used the separate ones for years, then switched to all in one. That was much easier, and worked well for a while, but then my RGP’s got really uncomfortable, even when they’d been soaking all night. I switched back to the separate solutions, and it’s much better now. Just a thought.
Congrats! Got a quick question for ya… you covered floaters upthread, but I was wondering if it was normal for one floater to last for over a year? I’ve had one in my left eye that is quite large and very noticable. I’ve been to my eye doc twice and he couldn’t see anything in that eye either time. It hasn’t gotten worse or better as far as I can tell.
I’m using Boston solution, which has something to clean in, and a separate one. My mom said she used to wear RGPs, and they always bothered her, too. Is that a thicker one?
There are different thicknesses of RGP lenses, even for the same prescription. Some people can’t tell, but I can. I’ve had several docs give me one brand in one eye and another in the other, to see which work better. The thicker one always bothers me more, even if they swear I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Even without knowing which one is thicker, I can tell them, “the left one is bugging me more than the right”, and the one that bugs me more is always minutely thicker.
So maybe ask your eye doc for a brand that’s thinner.