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Adjusting To Your New
Eyeglasses
Sometimes adjusting to your new eyeglasses
can be difficult, especially when your prescription changes dramatically.
Many times the culprit is a change in an astigmatism correction. (Having
astigmatism means that the cornea and/or lens of the eye is shaped like a
football or egg, rather than perfectly round like a basketball.) Other
times, it can be from a dramatic change in your prescription because of a
sudden change in your vision or waiting a long time before a new
examination and eyeglasses causing a significant change in your
prescription. Also, changes in the type of eyeglass plastic or the lens
curvature can make an adjustment difficult. And of course, being
prescribed bifocals or trifocals for the first time can make it very
challenging for a patient.
Tell your eye doctor or his/her staff if you feel that you don’t see as
well as you should be seeing. Most doctors will recheck your vision at no
charge to make sure your prescription is as good as can be obtained.
Because eye examinations require responses and choices from patients,
prescription results can vary slightly from day to day. This can be
especially true for patients that have their examinations on days when
patients are not feeling well, tired or not alert.
Tips on Adjusting to Your New Eyeglasses:
● Put your old eyeglasses away… I tell my
patients to “let them collect dust.”
● Wear your new eyeglasses. I tell my patients
its like getting a new pair of boots or shoes… At first they may not be
comfortable because they need to be "broken in."
● If you get headaches or sore eyes, take your
eyeglasses off until your headache or soreness goes away, whether that be
10 minutes or over an hour. But then later put them back on.
● Even if your eyeglasses are prescribed for
part-time wear, sometimes wearing them more on a full-time basis in the
beginning is helpful in adjusting to them. Then after you are used to
them, wear them as part-time as you want.
Sometimes after cataract or LASIK surgery, your “new” prescription can be
so different than before surgery. This can often times create very
difficult times adjusting to new eyeglasses. For example, if you didn’t
have astigmatism before surgery and you do now after surgery, it can
create great difficulty in adjusting to your new eyeglasses. Your new
eyeglasses can make your world seem so different while looking through
them. Your vision is usually very good and clear, but things can be appear
distorted. Looking down, the floor may appear slanted or make you feel
like you are walking uphill or downhill. Looking at desktops may appear
tilted and door jams may appear to be not square.
This distorted vision almost always lessens as you adjust to your new
eyeglasses and almost always goes away. It can be very helpful if your
doctor prescribes a partial prescription initially, to lessen the
distortions and make adjusting to your new prescription much easier. And
then in a few weeks later, when all seems fine, your doctor can increase
your prescription, allowing you to see better. You may then have more
distortions again, but the next adjustment is usually easier than the
first.
Your decision about where to buy your new eyeglasses should be not as
simple as who has the best price. In most cases, the warrantee that a
business has in the long run can save you money. Some opticals offer very
little in the way of lens changes due to doctor prescription changes and
lens changes due to changing frames or lens type. Some opticals may offer
a reduced charge on changes (but they still charge patients for changing
lenses) and other opticals offer changes at no charge.
Many optical locations and doctors allow changes in your lenses at no
charge to you for a few weeks and months after your initial purchase of
eyeglasses. Check with the business where you purchase your eyeglasses to
find out what their office policy is on free doctor or lens changes.
The Optical Shoppe will remake many lenses for free for most lens types
for up to 3 months after your purchase if I change your prescription. This
generous policy makes it very easy for me to help you adjust to your new
prescription.
The Bottom Line: If you are having
difficulties with your new eyeglasses, contact your doctor’s office and
let them know. Hopefully they will work with you to ensure that you will
not only eventually see as clearly as you can, but also without
discomfort, headaches and distortions. ~RQ
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