StepOut - Donate

Monday, October 04, 2010

Pain in the Eye!

So...I got a new pair of glasses about 2 months or so ago. After a few weeks, I still hadn't adjusted to the new prescription, so went back in to have them checked. It turns out the prescription was wrong, and the prism hadn't been written down on what went to the lab for processing (i.e. my lenses made me see wonky - like my actual eyes do, only slightly clearer). The result of that was total visual disorientation with the glasses on.

Take 2 - the glasses went back to the lab to get the correct prescription lenses put in. This took about 3 weeks because the lab broke one of the new lenses when putting them in the frames. Two weeks ago I went in and picked up the newly re-finished glasses. As soon as I put them on, I knew something wasn't right. The frames didn't look the same to me as when I had picked them out, and worn them (with the wrong prescription) for nearly a month. It was the same pair of frames, but the shape had changed. To me, it looks like whoever put the lenses in the frame reshaped the frame to fit the lenses, and not the other way around. I mentioned that they didn't look the same, and I could tell that the chick behind the counter thought I was nuts, until she pulled up the frames online and saw what I was talking about. So, the office ordered a new pair of the frames for me and said they'd grind down my lenses to fit the actual frames. So, although the current jacked-up frames really didn't fit me right, they decided to wait to adjust them until the new frames were in.

That would be all fine and dandy...except that the current frames are the most uncomfortable frames I have ever worn in my 21 year history of wearing glasses. They don't sit right on my face and instead of nestling close to the side of my head just over that space where the ear meets the head, the ends of the arms actually sit away from my head on the cartilage of my ear. It's so uncomfortable that it's actually nauseating, and I can still feel it after the glasses are off.

To top it all off, over the past 2 weeks I've also noticed that the prescription lenses still don't seem right. My vision is unclear when staring straight ahead. If I turn my head slightly to my left and avert my eyes to the right, the vision is clearer. Like I'm going to walk around like that all of the time! I keep thinking the lenses are dirty (which they are half of the time because my lashes hit the lenses - also annoying, gosh darned long, lush lashes!), but the vision problem is the same even right after cleaning the lenses. It's not only annoying, but also disorienting, and probably not really safe for driving. I keep thinking I'll finally get used to the lenses if I just keep wearing them, but it's not working. I shouldn't still be squinting to see with a new pair of glasses! I'm totally frustrated.

The new frames are in, and I've got an appointment for first thing tomorrow morning to have the lenses re-checked and put into the new frames. I have a feeling things are going back to the lab, which I don't trust at this point anymore...but, it's already all been paid for by my insurance coverage, not to mention my out-of-pocket portion that I've also already paid. I hate that the lab has screwed these up so bad, since I really like my actual eye doctors.

I'm also not sure I'll stick with the frames, though I feel bad that they've ordered a new pair. I've gotten compliments about how they look on me, but after the discomfort with this pair, I'm afraid that I'll have the same problem with the new ones. I also wonder if the frames are just poorly made, as the arms are so widely spaced and loose. And the lash issue and constant cleaning... Urgh...

Wish me luck! I just want to be able to see again!
This is what they are supposed to look like (and how they looked the first time around).

Note the upper left-hand corner of the frames, and how you can see the inner part of the frame that has been mashed over the lens on the lower and upper edges.

2 comments:

Moriah said...

Hmm, the smart aleck response: you should come visit me.
Did you get your glasses through your optometrist's office or did you have to go somewhere else for them? It sounds like whoever did the ordering the first time started the whole mess by excluding the prism. It is easy to distort plastic frames when inserting the lens if you heat the plastic too much, but whoever was checking in the glasses before calling you to come pick them up should have noticed that and sent them back.

Tami said...

I knew you'd say to come to you! But, the appointment proved that I wasn't crazy (in this respect, at least). The axis in the right lens was off by 20%. My optometrist admitted that she forgot to write down the prism on the prescription that went to the lab the first time, and she was so mortified that I forgave her. The rest of the problem was all the lab...and possibly the techs at the office that checked in the frames.

So they re-adjusted the existing pair for me to continue wearing in the meantime (so much more comfortable already - I need to make sure the same girl does the adjustment next time!) and are having the new frames go to the lab for new lenses. Just trying on the new frames without the lenses in them today made me feel more comfortable about sticking with this design. I think the pair I have were just mangled at some point. Now, as long as the lab doesn't screw these up again! (Side by side comparison of the two frames made the differences obvious from how they were supposed to look and how the lab messed them up.)