What to Tell Your Ophthalmologist
Patients assume that their doctors know what is best for them and don't ask enough questions. My whole life, my eye doctors measured my eyes and wrote prescriptions. Only recently did it dawn on me that they never asked me about my preferences. And most of my life, it was ok. My eyes were good enough that it didn't matter. Adjust my vision for distance, and my natural lens was able to adjust. Wearing my glasses or contacts, I could see very well (20/15) at a distance, I could see very well as close as 3 inches, and I could see very well anywhere between.
Everybody knows that eyesight declines as you get older. What most people don't know is that it happens all at once. I thought that my eyes would decline in a gradual, not noticeable way. Not the case. When I was 45, in the period of a few weeks, my eyes' ability to focus decreased dramatically. Suddenly while wearing my glasses, I couldn't see my cell phone clearly. Of course, being near sighted, I simply take the glasses off, and the phone is crystal clear. The computer screen is another matter. I made due.
Then when I was 50, over a few weeks, my eyes took another nose dive, so to speak. With my glasses, I can still see clearly at distance, and I can still see up close uncorrected, but in between, it became difficult. The doctor confirmed that eyes decline that way, suddenly, not gradually. But the doctors don't tell you a few things. They correct you for vision at a distance, even though most of my life is spent up close, in front of a computer screen or reading a book. I spend most of my time viewing at about 10-20 inches, and the doctor does not consider that fact. Solution: Tell him you want computer distance glasses, and they know what to do. They just don't volunteer that option.
Also, make sure to ask for contact lenses that provide UV protection. Surprisingly, doctors don't even know that's an option. Mine had to confer with the optometrist to figure it out.
Finally, tell the doctor to prescribe many different strengths of contacts. Order a box of each from 800-contacts, etc., then try out different combinations. I was prescribed -4.00 (left) / -3.75 (right). He suggested "monovision", and prescribed -3.25 (right). I find that I see much better with -3.75 (left) / -3.25 (right), but when working up close, such as electronics, I might use -2.75 in both eyes.
Everybody knows that eyesight declines as you get older. What most people don't know is that it happens all at once. I thought that my eyes would decline in a gradual, not noticeable way. Not the case. When I was 45, in the period of a few weeks, my eyes' ability to focus decreased dramatically. Suddenly while wearing my glasses, I couldn't see my cell phone clearly. Of course, being near sighted, I simply take the glasses off, and the phone is crystal clear. The computer screen is another matter. I made due.
Then when I was 50, over a few weeks, my eyes took another nose dive, so to speak. With my glasses, I can still see clearly at distance, and I can still see up close uncorrected, but in between, it became difficult. The doctor confirmed that eyes decline that way, suddenly, not gradually. But the doctors don't tell you a few things. They correct you for vision at a distance, even though most of my life is spent up close, in front of a computer screen or reading a book. I spend most of my time viewing at about 10-20 inches, and the doctor does not consider that fact. Solution: Tell him you want computer distance glasses, and they know what to do. They just don't volunteer that option.
Also, make sure to ask for contact lenses that provide UV protection. Surprisingly, doctors don't even know that's an option. Mine had to confer with the optometrist to figure it out.
Finally, tell the doctor to prescribe many different strengths of contacts. Order a box of each from 800-contacts, etc., then try out different combinations. I was prescribed -4.00 (left) / -3.75 (right). He suggested "monovision", and prescribed -3.25 (right). I find that I see much better with -3.75 (left) / -3.25 (right), but when working up close, such as electronics, I might use -2.75 in both eyes.
posted by Tim at 10:07 AM
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