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I am not a lifelong eyeglasses wearer. It's only been the past 6 years.
I have astigmatism.
We moved from our old area so that's why I didn't go back to my former doctor.
Ok. That's out of the way.
My exam took about 20 seconds. Then I was shown things on the wall which felt like 100 yards away, to read. Then shown things up close. Not even arms length, to read.
I got my glasses and sure enough I could see great 100 yards away. This doesn't help me on the computer or anything at all close up. I went back. They then sent the lenses out and put in lenses that I can now see and read things that are no more than about a foot away but absolutely nothing beyond that and I'm getting headaches with them on.
My last two pairs were not like this. I could see both reading and farther away. The last pair just got slightly weak. And I mean slightly.
Has anyone ever just had a bad exam and of course the glasses just weren't right?
I do not wear nor need bifocals.
Any and all advice and suggestions are appreciated.
It doesn't sound like you received a thorough exam. I would definitely go back (or go to a different doctor). On the other hand, most people who need glasses, as they get older, need different prescriptions for near and far vision. If you are over 40, it's quite possible that you DO need bifocals now, even if you didn't a year ago.
I had an eye exam at a local chain optometry business, and apparently the optometrist wrote down the wrong prescription for my eyes -- he put a plus sign where there should have been a minus, or vice versa, I don't remember.
The optician ground the lenses accurately according to the prescription, but of course as soon as I put the glasses on I could tell there was a problem. It was soon fixed.
And it's quite possible you DO need bifocals, or separate glasses for distance and reading. How are you so sure you don't?
First, you're definitely exaggerating about how far the wall was. The standard eye chart is intended to be placed 20 feet (not yards) away from the patient. That's less than 7 yards. Not even almost kind of maybe seems like it's probably possibly 100 yards away. Not even almost kind of maybe 100 feet away.
Second, you describe a 20-second exam - but the extreme exaggeration in your first point, makes me wonder if it wasn't a much MUCH more thorough comprehensive exam, and you've either forgotten it, or are minimizing it. Even an optician's eye-chart test takes longer than a couple of minutes. I'm assuming you DID go to an actual doctor, and not an optician, right? You didn't mention it in your post.
Third, what did you tell the doctor when you went to him? Did you tell him you just need a new pair of glasses, or did you tell him you were overdue for a full thorough exam? Or did you tell him something inbetween (like, "I'm here because I moved and need a new optometrist, and I'm overdue for my yearly exam, plus I need to have my prescription checked for any necessary adjustments)?
Fourth, there might have been miscommunication between the doctor and the lens maker. Maybe a decimal was misplaced, or misread. You definitely need to return to that doctor and communicate the exact problem, and your concern about your previous minimal exam, in a nonconfrontational manner. Something has given you confusion and concern, and you'd like him to help you understand what's going on, and what the next steps are to correct the problem.
It doesn't sound like you received a thorough exam. I would definitely go back (or go to a different doctor). On the other hand, most people who need glasses, as they get older, need different prescriptions for near and far vision. If you are over 40, it's quite possible that you DO need bifocals now, even if you didn't a year ago.
I meant the the original script was great for distances. Quite a distance. No, I did not mean that the chart was 100 yards away but the writing on it was definitely small as though the objects or writing were much farther than the wall. So when I got the glasses, anything closer than from say the outfield wall to home plate is ineffective.
Yes, I was told to look in this machine at a picture of a house in the distance. They adjusted the house pic and my exam was done. That was the extent of the exam.
The doctor took me into the chair and put the far away chart up, spun the lens thing and that was the end.
I called and asked for a yearly exam and that my glasses just were no longer quite right. Not far off but not quite right.
The doctor said I didn't need bifocals. My last one said the same thing. I have astigmatism. That's my main problem. My sight isn't horrible, just not crisp. I'm typing this on my phone and the letters are blurry but not unrecognizable.
I can put the new glasses on that I went back to get fixed and can read beautifully, but not more than 3 feet away. Not even arms length. I get a headache in a matter of minutes as well. This never happened before.
Maybe I'm just a difficult patient because I haven't worn them my whole life until a few years back. I just don't know.
My Eye exams take about 15/20 minutes and I feel they are thorough. If I were you, I would tell the optometrist you are not satisfied and want a new exam.
Did you go to an ophthalmologist or a optician or ? A thorough eye exam will take at least a 1/2 hour or more. I have an astigmatism also and have trouble with distance. I also have the beginning of cataracts and my ophthalmologist says that I'm a future candidate for cataract surgery and implanted lenses.
Yes I did. My everyday glasses were about ten years old, and the lenses had become scratched over time, so I wanted to replace them. No can do, of course, unless I have a new Rx less than a year old. Even though I've had cataract surgery, making it nearly impossible for my Rx to change, and even though there is no state or federal law requiring that any Rx at all be presented in order to buy glasses.
So I went to WalMart's optometrist, who turned out to actually be an ophthalmologist, and got my Rx. It was different from my old lenses. I got the new lens installed in my old glasses, and I couldn't see nearly as well as I could before. I went back, and they confirmed that my new lens exactly matched the Rx, so I went to the Ophth, and explained it to her, and she confirmed that it is very unlikely that my Rx would change in a patient with cataract replacement. Without argument or demurral, she wrote out an Rx the same as on my old lens, I got a replacement, and I can now see perfectly.
It is just another sign of armageddon, when opticians lie and say I "have to" have a new Rx to get a broken lens replaced, which forces customers to replace good glasses with bad owing to the incompetence of "doctors".
It's Zenni Optical for me now, where glasses cost $20 instead of $200 and I don't have to put up with lying BS piled on top of medical incompetence. Except that I love my old frames, and don't want to change them, but I'm trapped in this bizarro world.
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Yeppers...
