Develop Astigmatism?

camillekemp

I recently started to notice that reading spreadsheets on my computer was more difficult and fuzzy so I went to optician. He gave me a prescription that said I had an astigmatism which I had never had before and my script was much lower than I was previously wearing. I decided to try it out with a trial pair and found that they were very uncomfortable and I could not see as well as before. So I went back and it was a different doc as the prior had been filling in for him while he was gone. New doc checked eyes and found only a .25 variation from previous doc. And continued to show astigmatism.

So I tried a new optician and have been back to them 3 times before I just asked he if would give me a script for the lenses that I started with.

I have been wearning contact lenses since I was 13. I am now 30 and have been to many eye docs over the years since I have moved quite a bit. My script has slowly crept up but been consistent from doc to doc. So how is it possible that I suddenly have astigmatism which I had never had before and script is 2.00 and 1.75 lower? I believe the power on the astigmatism lenses do not directly correlate to the regular but how can it repeatedly show that my script is one in which I cannot see well? So I am back at square one with my original issue of having the computer a bit blurry but at least I can read street signs again.

Anybody have any advice?

Misticles

How long did you try the lenses for?

Do you wear glasses that correct the astigmatism also?

carveone

camillekemp wrote: »

So how is it possible that I suddenly have astigmatism which I had never had before and script is 2.00 and 1.75 lower?

In my opinion it isn't possible. However there is a tendency for some opticians to add cylinder where it isn't warranted. Blindly trusting the autophoropter (the machine that shows you that balloon over mountains) doesn't help

In my decidedly non-expert opinion, -.25 of cylinder can be dropped. My brother did that years back because the labs used to screw up cylinder more often (they're pretty damn good these days - people are way more fussy now) and the optician at Specsavers shrugged and said "sure thing".

Perhaps visiting a opthamologist (which will cost you) will help you get some idea of what's going on. If you were male and in your twenties it would be useful to exclude a keratoconus here (don't get alarmed! I'm just speculating!!)

issue of having the computer a bit blurry but at least I can read street signs again.

Street signs far away, computer close? Um. I'd have a tendency to say you've been overcorrected and the reduction in sphere may be warranted but that's just guessing. If you are worried or have too much money, see an expert.

Conor.

camillekemp

"How long did you try the lenses for?"
A month before trying many more versions with the different docs.

"Do you wear glasses that correct the astigmatism also?"
I wore glasses before but hadn't had a pair for a few years. After the initial visit to the optician I ordered some in the script he gave me. They are very clear and make things very tiny. Over corrected they give me a headache. But the contacts for the same visit are not enough.

I took these glasses to the current doc and he says that they are good for 20/20. But then the contacts he says are correct are again not enough.

I asked him if I may be getting far-sighted in addition to the near-sighted and maybe need both and he just said I wasn't old enough.

"Perhaps visiting a opthamologist (which will cost you) will help you get some idea of what's going on."
My current eye doctor is an opthamologist.

"Street signs far away, computer close? Um. I'd have a tendency to say you've been overcorrected and the reduction in sphere may be warranted but that's just guessing."

With the pair that they are giving me the stoplights are blurry and signs are hard to read but with my prior script they are fine. Bi-focals at 30 perhaps.


Thanks for your replies.

Jessibelle

Astigmatism is quite common, a large amount of the population are generally suspected of having some level of cornea curvature, that doesn't impact on normal vision. Most people with astigmatism are born with it, but the awareness of it increases with age due to increases in prescriptions etc.
If you have mild astigmatism, some optometrists do a thing called 'over compensation' with contact lenses, where your rx is upped to cause your own lens within the eye to correct for the astigmatism. This was more common a few years ago, when lenses to correct for astigmatism were very expensive and not in a great range, so frequently it was most cost effective to the customer to prescribe a standard lens and 'overcompensate' on the rx. Nowadays though the range of lenses for astigmatism has increased hugely, you can even get dailies with correctionc for it, so overcompensation isn't practised as much.
If your astigmatism is mild, or if your lenses aren't particularly designed for astigmatism, you will get slightly less sharp vision with your standard contacts compared to your glasses, it can depend on how often you use your lenses/what you use them for (ie sports/social use as opposed to for day to day vision requirements) as to whether it's worth your while getting specialist lenses. That said, if they're not suitable for what you want, go back and talk to your optomitrist, there are so many variations out there at the moment, they'll easily be able to give you other options.

whizbang

you need to get this checked. it could be serious.
anything familiar here ? - http://www.optometrists.ie/Pagecarrier34.aspx
at the very least, get a retinal photo checked.