I was a frustrating patient...

[luckystar]

Hi everybody,

I had an eye exam last week, and during those tests where the OD asks "Which is better, 1 or 2?", apparently, I kept giving inconsistent answers! My doctor was really patient with me, and then he burst out laughing after like, the 5th time we tried it. I was really trying my best to give him my honest opinion each time.

My question is, are the choices (i.e. lens 1 vs. lens 2) significantly different? Would they be so different that I should be choosing the same ones consistently? My astigmatism is pretty bad.

By the way, I've never had this problem before, with choosing the lenses

So then I asked my optometrist if my eyes can just keep getting worse, or if there's a limit. He said, "No, they can just keep going and going...". Those were his EXACT words!! He's a pretty funny guy, but I don't know if he was being serious.

Thanks for any input!

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[rpames]

The lenses are usually .25 diopters different from another (right?). Most people would never be able to tell the difference if you gave them a Rx that was off by .25, but in the exam it makes a difference. The OD is following a "pattern" from your answers. That may not be the best example, but it is hard to describe in text. Basically, if you keep giving a different patterns, it is very hard to give an actual Rx.

As far as your eyes just going and going and going....yup. Most people will continue to just get worse. You may reach a platue at some point, but then you will probable go presbiopic (need bifocals). Your eyes are contually changing, even after laser correction. As of today, all we can do is make changes as they appear.

Maybe one of the members in OD school can add/correct my post.

 

[cpw]

actually, the jackson flip cross is a +/- 0.25D lens. So it's showing a difference of 0.50D with each flip. Most people can tell the difference between 0.50D. If you're seeing them as the same that's your endpoint. But, some people will chase you the whole way around the dial and then yes, it is kind of funny.

While you're eyes can keep getting worse and worse... most people stabilize around the age of 22 or 23 when their eyes stop growing. That's why most doctors don't recommend lasik until you're at least 23. YOu have to make sure your Rx is stable.

Don't worry about giving the wrong answer. There ways of finding out whether you're doing it right or not.

 

[luckystar]

Thanks, rpames and cpw!

I certainly hope my eyesight stabilizes soon! (I'm 22)

How far do contact lens prescriptions go?

 

[cpw]

well, I've never seen it, but Tyler's Quartley says you can get some brands of contacts all the way to -20.00. So, hopefully you're not quite THAT bad.

But, you know the lenses are out there now. Hope you'll never get that far.

 

[luckystar]

Oh no, I'm nowhere near -20.00! Not even half that...yet...
But yes, I'm glad that if I ever do need those, they're available