The goggles. I'm not sure if they do something.

December 1, 2011 5:35 PM

I ordered new glasses online. I've been wearing them for 4 days and they still seem "off" a little. How long did it take you to get used to new glasses? Is something wrong with these?

This is the first time I've ordered glasses online. My last pair I wore exclusively for 5 years, so I might just be forgetting how long it takes to get used to new ones.

My old pair had frameless bottoms. The new ones have frames and the lenses are about 2mm wider. I got a new prescription in August that was a little stronger in each eye (I think I went from -6 to -7). I'm sure I entered the prescription correctly online. They did measure my pupillary distance at the optometrist, but the measurement differed by 1-2 mm from what I've been given before.

When I look at things straight on, or when I actually move my eye to look at something in my peripheral vision, I can see well. But when I'm looking straight ahead, or when I turn my head but not my eyes to look at something, my vision at the corners of my lenses seems to "warp" a bit, almost like a funhouse mirror. If I turn my head so that something is in the corner of my peripheral vision, the thing looks elongated.

I noticed it the most when I was going up a staircase and turned the corner around the landing. Out of the corner of my eye, it looked like the corner of the banister was rounded into an oval instead of a right angle.

Does this sound normal-ish? Is it something I'll get used to? Does it sound like they messed up my prescription somehow? I bought glasses online to save money and would prefer to avoid having to get another eye exam or re-order lenses..

posted by nakedmolerats to health & fitness (8 answers total)

Sounds normalish to me, as long as you can see clearly when looking straight through the lenses. It also depends on how narrow the lenses are.

In my case, I tend to see out of my lower peripheral, and it looks like the ground is moving in a weird way in relation to what I am looking directly at. But it goes away after a while. In my case it took several days when I got new glasses after not wearing any for a while. And if I go without glasses for a few days and then wear them again, I get the same sensation for a tens of minutes until I acclimate again.
posted by The Deej at 5:42 PM on December 1, 2011

My optometrist has always been more than willing to adjust and look at my glasses to make sure they're right, regardless of where I bought them at. Frame adjustments and lens measurements could rule out any issues with manufacturing / fit.
posted by msbutah at 5:43 PM on December 1, 2011

For me, it takes me a little over a week (only taking them off to sleep) to get used to a new pair of glasses, even if it's the same prescription. Are you taking them off at all or are you wearing them at all times?
posted by MaryDellamorte at 5:50 PM on December 1, 2011

I got a new prescription about a year ago. I ordered a pair of super cheap glasses from Zenni Optical. The frames are pretty meh. But the prescription is perfect. A whole new world.

Then, because I was all meh about the Zenni Optical frames, I went out a few days later and got a fancy schmancy pair of glasses that I love and that are super high quality and cost a lot more than the online glasses.

When I put them on, the prescription seemed a little "off." I waited a day. Still a little off. Put on the Zenni optical glasses and I can see like a superhero. Put on the new fancy ones and, um, not quite as much? So I went back to the store and showed them. They put the glasses through some machine or something and insisted that they had matched the prescription perfectly and that I just needed to give them some time - a week or so.

So I gave them a week or so, and sort of forgot all about it. I could see fine and, well, maybe I got used to it just like they said I would. In fact, I did get used to it just like I said they would. But when I put on the cheap Zenni ones, they are a million times better. Superhero vision. And the fancy ones, after a long day, give me headaches.

But I'm an idiot and I waited way too long and just "got used to it." And now it's been a year. And I hate it. Don't be an idiot like me.
posted by The World Famous at 6:05 PM on December 1, 2011

Sounds normal. I got new glasses(not online) a few months ago and had completely forgotten how weird they are for the first few days. At first I thought they must have gotten the rx wrong. This is only my second time getting glasses though, and it took about a week I think to adjust to them. I was so off that I was hesitant to even drive with them on because I felt disoriented...luckily I don't need them for that.

Maybe have them checked out anyway just to see?
posted by fromageball at 7:03 PM on December 1, 2011

Lenscrafters will adjust any pair of glasses, whether bought from them or not, for a good fit. It might be that they need a little adjustment to your face.
posted by essexjan at 1:17 AM on December 2, 2011

I meant to say, Lenscrafters will adjust any glasses for free.
posted by essexjan at 1:33 AM on December 2, 2011

This seems normal to me. However, I recently ordered glasses online for my mother-in-law, only to find out a few weeks later that prescription was screwed up. She had assumed the problem was her vision until she went to her optometrist, who checked the glasses and determined that they were not the correct prescription. FWIW, it wasn't Zenni.
posted by ellenaim at 1:53 AM on December 2, 2011