Some questions about glasses

I’m in the middle of getting glasses again and am hoping to get some thoughts or answers on a couple of questions. I am going back to the optometrist, so I’m not relying on a message board, you’re not my doctor, etc.

However, I feel like right now I’m not even sure what questions to ask and that I may be in this situation because I didn’t ask the right questions.

Some background: I had keratoconus, which took my vision from perfect to crap in about 18 months. For many years, I put up with one variation of contacts after another and they kept me seeing somewhat, but it was also one variation of misery after another. 7 years ago, I got corneal transplants that did wonders. In fact, I’ve been living with uncorrected vision since then. It’s far from perfect (left is 20/30, right is 20/200). I don’t tolerate contacts (long story there) and thought maybe glasses could nudge things up a little bit.

The optometrist I saw has a husband/wife operation: she does the exams and sets the prescriptions; he does the glasses themselves. When I was working with her, she was quite pleased that it seemed like the same prescription was good for distance, computer and close-up distances. We put all the various lenses in a frame and even tested walking around, looking at license plates, etc. It was luxury compared to what I am used to (we had 20/20 left and 20/50 right during the exam) and the vision was comfortable and not distorted at every distance. Then I went out, had the distance between my eyes measured and we placed the order for the glasses.

The glasses came in and aren’t working anything like what I remember. At the time I picked them up, I expressed my surprise and was told 1) that the glasses were meant only for computer distance vision and 2) that I’d get used to it after a couple of days.

Well… here are the questions:
1a) How is it that she says the same prescription is perfect for distance and close, and he says that it was only for computer? Am I missing some distinction that got left unsaid?
1b) If I was seeing distance and close just fine through the test rig, why are actual glasses giving such a different final result?
2) It’s been a couple of days. Individually, my eyes see through the glasses like I remember from the exam. But together, getting used to it means that vision resolves into significant distortion. Looking at a sheet of paper, I could swear the left edge is 11" long and the right is 14" - and the corners do NOT look like right angles. Is there a term for this, and what could cause it?
3) Did they just screw up somehow? I mean, my wife had an exam at the same time. She does have a different prescription for computer vs. distance glasses and decided to get a new pair of sunglasses for driving. Yet… they accidentally used her computer prescription in the sunglasses.

Some additional notes: I do have significant astigmatism (2 in the left, 4.75 in the right, though this is down from a peak of 11 in the right, so my standards of “significant” are different than most people’s).

Which spouse told you to “try them for a few days and get used to them?” If it was the husband, ask to see the WIFE, and have HER check the lenses against the prescription she wrote. Also, direct questions to HER about the original statement you didn’t need separate lenses for computer, etc.

Many optical dispensers offer a warranty with glasses, and you have a certain span of time to decide if they work for you. Ask about this. If you still aren’t happy, give 'em back. And keep trying until you get something that works for you.

If you have insurance that paid for all or part of it and you still aren’t happy, call up the insurance company and file a complaint. Make sure the husband/wife business knows you are contacting the insurance company. While the insurance company may not be able to force someone to fix the situation, the business could be removed from their approved vendor list.

Don’t settle for something that you don’t like. Vision is one problem that can be adequately corrected.
~VOW

Just a quick helpful note; thread reported for forum change.

The husband is the one I talked to on the second visit. I’ll be setting up an appointment to make sure this gets resolved in some way - I’m definitely not going to benefit from what I have right now.

As far as insurance goes… my policy doesn’t cover vision. Even when I had vision coverage, it never covered my problems - the health insurance would say it was a vision problem and the vision insurance called it a health problem. The only procedures insurance covered without argument were the cornea transplants.

I’m a terrible cynic, but it sounds to me like the husband may have screwed up the prescription, and he’s hoping that he can intimidate or shame you into keeping it.

I’ve got amblyopia, and your difference between the two eyes sounds similar to mine. When I bring a prescription to a dispensing optician, the people FREAK at the widely varying prescriptions. I’ve had them talk to the examining optometrist directly to verify, yes, indeed, the lady’s eyes are truly that whacked out. Then when the paperwork is filled out to send to the lab, red circles are drawn around each eye lens specification, to emphasize that those are two completely different requirements. I’m not saying that is the goof that happened to you this time, but I would recommend watching out for this situation in future eyeglass selections.

Anyway, go back and see the optometrist wife again. Stick to your guns.
~VOW

Moved thread to IMHO.

It certainly sounds to me like they made some mistakes. I have had optometrists make mistakes a few times and try to hide them. It gives me the idea that they are used to being able to get away with it.

Oh, man, I had my eyes examined by an optometrist who not only didn’t give a damn, his whole office was filled with dingalings.

First off, I had to wait HOURS past my appointment time. Then I was taken back to do the little preliminary testing stuff. After the puff of air to test eye pressure for glaucoma, the technician said, “Your eye pressure is really low. Do you smoke marijuana?”

I nearly fell off the stool. When I went back to the waiting room, I told my husband what I was asked. He said, “Why, was he buying or selling?”

When I FINALLY was called back to see the doctor, I encountered the rudest individual I’ve ever had in all the years of eye exams. He slammed through the test so fast and so sloppy, I really didn’t KNOW if “A” or “B” was clearer.

The prescription I got stunk, too. I was so glad when it came time to get my eyes examined again, and I could pick someone completely different. I told the new optometrist about the previous exam, and she was so shocked I thought her jaw would have to be raised with the pneumatic chair. She told me that if I had ANY PROBLEMS whatsoever with the prescription she gave me, I could come back at any time, and she would make it right.

There are some real yo-yos in the business. Maybe the idiot optometrist was surviving on his cut from the dope sales.
~VOW