Eye exam

[john66]

Hi Everyone, just wanted to share some info. I had eye issues, like a lightening bolt pattern in the corner of my eye. The first time it happened it scared the.... out of me. Went to the eye doctor, who said he wanted to check my retina, which turned out fine. The bright light shined into my eye triggered a wave of fatigue and general out of my mind feeling that lasted for a few days. Felt like my mind was on hold. Just wanted to everyone to keep this in mind and to see if anyone had the same experience. BTW the lightening bolts were most likely a migrane.

 

[Merry]

Hi, john66.

Yesterday morning, I had an eye exam, my first in over fifteen years. I'm still recovering a day and a half later. I left the office without picking out frames because I was just too light-headed and weak. Besides the physical effort of getting myself to the office and sitting through the exam, the cost of new glasses was a shock, too! (The optician said, no, she couldn't put new lenses in the old frames.)

Yes, that bright light was unpleasant, but I wasn't aware that it made me feel any worse than anything else that had happened. But the light came at the end when I'd had more than a enough and just wanted to get out of that place.

But other than needing a change in prescription, my eyes are ok, so I shouldn't complain.

I hope you don't see any more lightning bolts.

 

[Elisa]

Eye - Zigs and Lightening Bolts

Hi,

I wanted to write to tell you I had the same thing years ago- the silver zig zags and ligtening bolts etc. I went to the opthamologist, a retinologist actually, and he diagnosed me with "ocular migraine." I never got a headache, though.

Symptoms are:

Flashes of light
Zigzagging patterns
Blind spots
Shimmering spots or stars (and lots of 'um)

A few weeks later my Mother had the exact same thing - so odd and not very common - but maybe genetic in my case. The doctor said it is often a hormonal activated condition - annoying and scary - but not dangerous.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ocular-migraine/AN01681

Hope this is helpful!

Wishing you all an abundance of God's Blessings,

Elisabeth

 

[maddietod]

Hi, john66.

Yesterday morning, I had an eye exam, my first in over fifteen years. I'm still recovering a day and a half later. I left the office without picking out frames because I was just too light-headed and weak. Besides the physical effort of getting myself to the office and sitting through the exam, the cost of new glasses was a shock, too! (The optician said, no, she couldn't put new lenses in the old frames.)

Yes, that bright light was unpleasant, but I wasn't aware that it made me feel any worse than anything else that had happened. But the light came at the end when I'd had more than a enough and just wanted to get out of that place.

But other than needing a change in prescription, my eyes are ok, so I shouldn't complain.

I hope you don't see any more lightning bolts.

Merry, check out costal.com for glasses. I just bought 2 pairs, one for distance and one for computer, because they were so cheap.

Your optician is wrong - they absolutely can put new glass in old frames. I've done it. But coastal is cheaper.

 

[Calathea]

It depends on the state of the frames, though. Sometimes the frames aren't up to being reused, and sometimes the opticians just won't do it as a matter of policy.

Eye tests are highly disorienting for a number of reasons. Fluorescent lights in general, bright lights being shone in your eyes, having to give your eyes a good work-out, changing focus all the time, playing with lots of different lenses. I wouldn't be surprised if it were common to get migraine as a result of an eye test. It's certainly happened to me on multiple occasions. Last time I had some specs made up, I was dizzy and disoriented after just the session where the optician adjusted my new specs to make sure they were sitting right (two pairs).

 

[Merry]

Merry, check out costal.com for glasses. I just bought 2 pairs, one for distance and one for computer, because they were so cheap.

Your optician is wrong - they absolutely can put new glass in old frames. I've done it. But coastal is cheaper.

Thanks, Madie.

A few months ago, after reading a short article in an AARP publication about ordering glasses online, I did look at three websites: FramesDirect, JustEyewear, and WarbyParker. I've just had a quick look again at the first two, and the prices at FramesDirect are similar to what was at the optometrist's office. The frames at JustEyewear are much cheaper. I recall that WarbyParker offers few styles (none that I was interested in), but the advantage of WarbyParker is that they do have showrooms, including one in a clothing store a 15-20 minute drive from where I live.

The article said that to order online you need to know the frame size, and that can be found inside an old pair of glasses. Except I couldn't find that information. Also you need the prescription and the measurement of pupillary distance. I know I have a legal right to ask for the prescription but have never done this.

But in the end, I was afraid of screwing up with an online order (particularly getting the pupillary distance right) and decided to just go with whatever the optometrist had to offer. Through my AARP membership I did get a discount on the exam, and when I returned today to look at frames, the optician said that the staff had found for me a 30% discount on the glasses also through AARP. So the frames were around $100 (only a few frames to choose from less than $150) and the lenses (transition -- or do I mean "progressive"?) were $175. Still too much, but I hope these are my last pair of glasses!

What could it possibly cost to produce a pair of frames, either plastic or metal? A few dollars?

I will have a look at the costal.com website, Madie. I would be interested to hear about your experience -- or that of anyone else who has ordered glasses online. I think if I had known someone who had done this before and heard their story, I would've found making a decision easier. I don't know why I didn't think to start a thread asking for help on this matter. Scatterbrained. Perhaps further discussion now will help others.

Calathea, I appreciate your input, too.

 

[Hip]

I wanted to write to tell you I had the same thing years ago- the silver zig zags and ligtening bolts etc. I went to the opthamologist, a retinologist actually, and he diagnosed me with "ocular migraine." I never got a headache, though.

.....

A few weeks later my Mother had the exact same thing - so odd and not very common - but maybe genetic in my case.

The fact that this unusual and rare symptom appeared in both you and your mother within weeks of each other suggests an environmental cause such as an infection going around, or some toxic chemical exposure.