Should I go to four eyes?

November 22, 2006 11:51 AM

Should I get glasses? My eyes have been bothering me as of late -- light sensitivity, eyelid flutters -- so I went to an optometrist and got checked out. I am very slightly nearsighted, with a slight astigmatism -- should I drop the cash for glasses?

My optometrist said he thought that my recent eye issues might be caused by my eyes straining to focus and recommended that I get glasses. However, I took a look at the prescription (-0.5 sphere, -0.75 cyl in right eye, -0.25 sphere, -0.25 cyl in left eye) and it seems like my vision really is not that bad. According to the doctor, I am almost 20/20 in my left eye and 20/25 in my right.

I've taken a look at the past threads on this issue, but since I had specific numbers from my prescription, I was wondering what people thought in terms of the necessity of getting glasses. The optometrist seemed to think it was a no-brainer to get them, but I would rather not dish out all that cash if it won't really make my life much easier. Any thoughts/anecdotes are appreciated.

posted by buddha9090 to health & fitness (13 answers total)

Assuming you have some sort of health insurance most plans let you get a pair of glasses every year or so.

You'd probably just have to do a co-pay. Why not get a first pair of glasses and see if it does anything for you. If not, it's one copay wasted, but at least you'd know if glasses help you significantly or not.
posted by jourman2 at 11:55 AM on November 22, 2006

My prescription is very similar to yours (slightly nearsighted, very slight astigmatism). Get the glasses. You may think your vision is great, but as soon as you put on your glasses (particularly at night, or in a dark movie theater), it'll be like seeing things for the first time again.

I don't know what my corrected vision is, but it is much, much better than anyone I know, corrected or uncorrected. I don't wear them all the time (only when I'm driving or at the movies), but even if I had paid retail (which I didn't), it would still have been worth it.
posted by uncleozzy at 12:05 PM on November 22, 2006

What journman said. Also, if you don't get them, straining your eyes might make it worse. And depending on how your eyes work, they might get worse anyway (mine got steadily worse until I was about 22), so it's a good investment.

Some places will sell you two pairs for a fairly reasonable price. I mention this in case part of your uncertainty is from not knowing whether you'll be able to keep track of a new thing on your person (wallet, keys and cellphone are enough of a pain).
posted by hifiparasol at 12:05 PM on November 22, 2006

I am not sure I really understand your question since I do not know what you mean by your life getting easier. When you had the eye exam and he/she did the final adjustment (which is better 1 or 2) could you see the chart better than without your glasses. If so you will see better but I do not know if that will make your life easier.
You probably will experience a bit less stress if your vision is corrected but it may or may not make things easier for you. If you are strapped financially or do not have insurance I would probably shop around for the best prices on lenses and buy a very inexpensive and standard frame and see if it works. You can always upgrade the frame if it is not an exotic shape or cut. If by eye flutters you mean the twitching that we get in the corner of our eyes I am not aware that the twitch is related to eye strain. It is more likely the result of caffeine, other stimulants, general fatigue/stress or medications you might be taking Good Luck
posted by rmhsinc at 12:12 PM on November 22, 2006

What uncleozzy said. I was in a similar situation and when I finally got the glasses, I couldn't believe the difference!

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posted by Gerard Sorme at 1:04 PM on November 22, 2006

I had the same experience as uncleozzy.
posted by Amizu at 1:04 PM on November 22, 2006

I was advised to move to fulltime glasses a few years ago. My eyes have improved slightly since then!

You can search online for cheap glasses ... there are scads of stores.
posted by shownomercy at 1:21 PM on November 22, 2006

To back-up (again) what uncleozzy said... exact same situation. I'm so used to wearing them now I feel blind without them, even though my prescription is about as weak as you can get. Definitely 100% worth it (and I pay for mine out of my own pocket).
posted by jon4009 at 2:29 PM on November 22, 2006

Another vote for "get the glasses." I too had slight near-sightedness and astigmatism, worse in one eye than the other. (I say "had" because it's gotten less slight over the years.) Glasses made everything look surprisingly clearer.

Astigmatism, even if relatively minor, can have some peculiar effects. In my case, I have a sort of vertical doubling in each eye which makes decoding certain kinds of images difficult without glasses (stuff with repeating horizontal lines, usually: text on freeway signs and computer monitors frequently give me trouble).

If you get the glasses, you may not have the immediate "this is awesome" experience a couple of people mention above. When I first got glasses, it was pretty disorienting for a couple of days; it appeared that the ground was sloping up toward me, making walking a little difficult. The effect goes away, and doesn't come back.
posted by thinman at 2:45 PM on November 22, 2006

That was almost exactly my prescription a few years ago, quite literally. I had an optical plan and went for the specs.

I wore them everyday, got used to them, then eventually, my eyes started getting fuzzy again. Went back for a check up and my eyes had gotten better. The doctor had warmned me about this.

Now I have some funky new glasses with an even lighter perscription. I can still see a difference between on and off though.

Get the glasses, it's great.
posted by Pollomacho at 6:31 PM on November 22, 2006

shownomercy has it right-- glasses can be really cheap online-- but the person he links to seems to get paid for directing traffic to the stores he links to (judging from the links) so I wouldn't necessarily go with those. Personally I'd search here for 'glasses'.
posted by alexei at 4:47 AM on November 23, 2006

You don't mention how old you are. If you're in your 40s your eyes may be straining as you try to refocus from close to far (natural age-related). Even if you're not in your 40s --my 10 year old daughter wears glasses for reading just because she was straining them in this fashion.

My distance vision is just about perfect. However, as I got older I was having a problem with objects close by. My eyes got so strained that I began to have optical muscle spasms. It was scary at first as I didn't connect my problem with my eyes. It took a few visits specialists before I was correctly diagnosed. Don't mean to scare you. But eye strain should be taken seriously, even if your vision is good.

I now wear progressive lenses. Distance is almost just plain plastic (with a slight correction for astigmatism). But the progressives are great for me because they mimic going from distance to closeup as naturally as if I had no problem.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 7:33 AM on November 23, 2006

This really should be about your eyes, not the money. Get some cheap glasses, and if you don't think they make a significant difference, don't wear them anymore. I know you don't want to waste money, but better to waste money than for your optometrist to tell you a year from now that your eyes have gotten even worse.

p.s. I'm a happily bespectacled guy. My glasses are part of my face. Go go glasses glasses go.
posted by bingo at 9:11 AM on November 23, 2006