They are also not very strong, and don’t require direct contact with the tissues of your eye. If you need something stronger than OTC reading glasses you need to see an optometrist or ophthalmologist.
I’m always amazed that my father, who squeezes a penny till it begs for its life, got my brother and me contacts when our eyes were stable enough, around 14 or 15. IBM paid for glasses but as far as I know he had to pay for the lenses himself. Incredibly fortunate for us.
And OTC reading glasses don’t correct astigmatism. I’m severely nearsighted with significant astigmatism. I may go for years without getting an eye exam and a new prescription/pair of eyeglasses–because I’m lazy/cheap–but when I get new lenses, I like skinny lenses, and I find having a thorough eye exam reassuring.
Right, and that was my point. You can diagnose and treat yourself if you want. Caveat emptor. If you have complex vision problems, or want stuff that’s going to be on your eyeballs, you need to consult a licensed expert.
The OP’s point is “i have a valid prescription, just give me my lenses.” I think the response is “that prescription isn’t valid forever.” Just like antibiotics.
My eyesight started getting bad (nearsighted) around 13, and got progressively worse (-2.75) until about 30. Then it levelled off. I had 2 or 3 exams with the same prescription. Was without insurance for a while, so didn’t get an exam for about 3 years… just used the supply of disposable contacts that I had.
Then…
(same story). I still saw just fine with my contacts. I still saw bad without them.
After the exam I was told that my prescription went from a -2.75 to -1.25.
[I was also told not to wear 2-week contacts for 2 months at a time (which was how 1 year’s worth of disposable contacts lasted me about 5 years), as this could make my eyes suffocate and go blind.]
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Thanks. This is encouraging!
Originally posted by Balthazar:
Well, I’m not going to try to argue my way into any more “professional respect,” but I would keep in mind that the education of optometrists, as well as their scope of practice, has changed significantly in the past 30 years. There are many optometrists out there who medically manage glaucoma, for example, or treat eye infections of various types. It’s not simply about glasses or contacts (although I don’t think someone who spends their days really putting a lot of effort into finding the perfect refractive prescription is doing anything they should be ashamed of – it’s not always as simple as some people in this thread make it out to be.) The main difference nowadays between optometric and ophthalmologic scope is surgery, which optometrists don’t do.
My wife is an optometrist. Considering optometrists spend 4 years on the eye alone, and their main goal is to get you fitted into the correct eyeglasses or contacts, you should trust them and respect their abilities. An ophthalmologist’s income is from surgery (my wife interned with one who performed 50 lasiks a day, at ~$2k each I believe), he makes peanuts on eye exams and the majority use an autorefractor to determine your prescription (a computer). This will overcorrect, and your eyes will over time get lazy. An optometrist, on the other hand, will perform an accurate examination by hand.
I would go to an optometrist for eye exams, but an ophthalmologist for the hardcore stuff like massive infections, corneal ulcers, serious loss of vision, lots of flashes, etc. Both have their strengths.
To answer the OP, my wife confirms what others said - you may think your prescription is correct, but generally you’ve adapted to one that is not perfect for you. They also test for various diseases that you may not notice until the damage is done. My wife caught a pituitary adenoma in a patient (small brain tumor) and very well could have saved his life.
Cromulent and Bob55, no disrespect was meant to the profession. Like I said, several years ago. The “respect” thing isn’t intellectual; it’s gut reaction until the brain kicks in, like any other prejudice.
(I know I should really let this go, but oh well.)
Yes, but no one is prescribed antibiotics with any sort of reasonable assumption that they will continue to need to take an antibiotic every single day for the rest of their life in order to function. No, technically I don’t need contacts specifically (in fact I’m wearing glasses right now instead), but that’s the only way my vision is getting better than 20/50 or so; glasses just don’t do it*. I don’t expect a lifetime prescription for penicillin when I have strep throat, but that’s because the point of the drug is to cure it. Contacts are just helping out with the symptoms, which aren’t going to go away or suddenly change overnight.
Someone way up-thread mentioned that glasses prescriptions tend to be different from contacts, which I know, but the prescription for glasses is a full diopter stronger in both eyes than what it should be, so I’m pretty sure that’s wrong. I’ll have to stop by the office to pick up my new contacts, so I’ll just get it sorted out then.
And within a few years I hopefully will have enough dough saved up for PRK surgery, even if it means putting off grad school a bit longer, so it’ll all be completely irrelevant then.
*Bonus factor: Don’t want your glasses lenses to be a solid inch thick and have eyes like mine? That’s another forty-fifty bucks for high-index lenses.
You really are tilting at windmills here.
I take a maintenance drug every day. It relieves the symptoms of a condition I have. It doens’t cure it. Guess what? I have to go back EVERY YEAR to get my prescription renewed. Why? To make sure my condition hasn’t changed for the worse. For the doctor to prescribe the meds again without verifiying that fact would be irresponsible.
Ninjachick, my eyeglass prescription for my right eye is about a -10, and my contact lens prescription for that eye is about a -8.75. I would not assume the diopter difference means your prescription is incorrect. It may just be, as others have said, a result in the difference in distances between your eyeball and the two lens types. This can make a significant change in the prescription, particularly for high prescriptions, which it sounds as if you have.
The office should straighten out the confusion, but for the rest of those reading who aren’t going to the office with NinjaChick, it’s totally standard to have the eyeglasses prescription a full diopter stronger than the contact lens. It’s due to the differences in focal distance. Your contacts sit on your eyeball, while your glasses sit on your nose.
Or, what **cromulent **just said.
High index lenses are worth every penny.*
*Full discosure: I work in the optical materials industry; high index lenses are one of the marvelous products that pay my mortgage. But then, so do regular lenses. More eyeglasses for everyone!
I do not work in the optical industry, and I have to pay full price for high index lenses. They’re still worth every penny!
NinjaChick I’ve never been to an Optometrist that didn’t have some sort of follow up visit to make sure the prescription was correct. I’ve also never had to pay for them to adjust a prescription that was off.
I love high-index lenses! My correction is about a -12 these days (down from -14) and I got a better high-index lens a little while ago. Huge difference. I’m also loving my new daily wear contacts, which I’ve never had before–they’re so much more comfortable than the last kind. I probably only wear them 4 out of 7 days a week, though.
I don’t plan ever to get any optional surgery, though; I’m just waiting for the inevitable early cataracts. I expect to require too much eye surgery to elect to get any I don’t actually need.
We went out to lunch with an ophthalmologist friend the other day and he was telling me about all the great new glaucoma surgeries available and stuff. It’s very handy to have a friend in ophthalmology, I advise everyone to get one.
Ironically, I have to pay full price for mine, too. Although I’m finally getting a free pair of mumble mumble glasses from work to celebrate a recent successful product launch. It’s about time.
At -8 diopters (-7 for my contacts), I will never go back to regular lenses.
:eek:
Did you at least take them out and wash them? It doesn’t sound like it, if there was concern about suffocation. I like disposables because cleaning’s not necessary, but I’ve only worn a 2-week pair for 3 weeks at most. Right at 2 weeks they start getting irritable, and that third week is always a major annoyance. I can’t imagine going 2 months on one pair.
I wear lenses that are supposed to be good for one or two weeks, and (taking them out at night) I wear each pair for at least two months, at the suggestion of the ophthalmologist who first got me set up. As long as they’re comfortable and you clean them properly (which requires twenty seconds a day), the only reason to swap them more frequently is to spend more money.
I guess that depends on your sensitivity or whatnot. I had that kind before I got the daily wear ones, and my problem was that they were great the first day, but got progressively more uncomfortable as they got older. I could only wear them about half a day at a time. But I have bizarro eyes ever since I became suddenly allergic to Acuvues.
That’s why I like the daily wear–they’re always new, therefore always comfortable. I can actually wear them for a whole day!
Yes, every night. The doc (who doesn’t sell contacts) told me that up to a month or so is fine, but beyond that, they get clogged up with (?protein?), and your eyes don’t get enough oxygen, and that trying to save a few bucks can lead to blindness way down the road.
I’ll let qualified professionals comment and clarify.