~ A new vision for me~
I've been experiencing what I call, that over-the-hill loss of near vision, for some time now. I've learned the term for this is Presbyopia - a vision disorder that develops as we age, decreasing our ability to focus on near objects and small print. Actually I believe it started for me around forty five-ish, (no wait, I'm only 39...*wink*) when I started feeling like I needed longer arms so I could read what I held out that far, at arms length.
Much to my dismay this eventually got to where reading glasses, 'readers' or 'cheaters' as most call them, were necessary to achieve any such reading of small and especially the tiny little print that is on most packages, and everything else these days! How cruel for some of us, huh?! My frustration had been building over the past few years as I noticed it worsening, and I started buying more glasses. A pair for the office and near the computer, so they were always on the ready there. A pair in my handbag, so I could read while away from home, needing to read anything from a food label at the store, a restaurant menu, or at the very least my cell phone.
Soon I found myself getting the multi-packs of two or three with different styles or colors, so I could be sure to have them at hand, in reach for the what if's? What if I lost the pair from my handbag? So an additional pair was placed in the car. What if I need a pair upstairs while they were downstairs? A pair was added to the bed side drawer as well! You get the picture! Although this has led to having one pair on top of my head and putting another on my face, because of course I forgot about the pair on top, until I saw myself and thought I looked like a total idiot or as if I'd lost my mind! Oh well, so good that I can amuse myself as I do all too often. Additionally using the readers was made even more annoying by having to put them on to read, but take them off to look across the room, watch TV, or look farther away! Or there's the old look-over-the-top method with them half way down the nose.
The Hubs had the Lasik corrective procedure performed a couple years ago and has had success with better vision than he has ever had. He has had vision issues for his entire life. He encourages me to get Lasik too, but I am not ready to go there! Plus I know that there will still be the need for reading glasses, and this is my problem to begin with. He still uses mild readers, and he also had been using mine sometimes. Adding more frustration to looking for my readers because, he had them last and where are they?!
Well off I went to the Vision Doc and got tested again and asked, "Can I possibly get contact lenses to replace my readers"? I tested 20/20 for my vision test, and I already knew that I had no real problems with distance. I expressed my desire to not wear reading glasses, and possibly be able to use contact lenses instead? I said "I just can't read anything anymore, not even my own cell phone most of the time"!-(help me!...Please!)
I learned that I could try Monovision lenses, a lens is used for distance vision for one eye, and one for near vision for the other. "OK great, let's try that then!" So from there I tried different strengths of contact lenses. I was told, with the increase I would probably lose some distance or far sight, so a small adjustment for that eye would be used. I didn't really have any issues with using the contacts, putting them in or removing them, and much to my surprise it wasn't so bad, and I was liking this new no glasses, or "where are my glasses?" thing! I did have a better reading ability with the contacts, although not as much as I wanted, and did experience some loss in my far vision at the same time! With each increase, I felt I wasn't getting the result I was wanting.
Through trials of different level adjustments it was decided that I try only one contact with an increase, used in my non-dominant eye. This is a much better result, with no loss in my far sight. I started with +2.50, but that was too strong and then dropped down in increments to what I feel are working well enough, which is +1.50. This is much better than the on again, off again readers. I did experience a little bit of a 3D effect sometimes while looking at a distance, this has calmed down some since beginning to use only the one contact, and it's not so bad as to make me not use it. I was told that each eye will work to do what is needed, one takes over the close or near reading and the other distance, and they balance out together. I am enjoying my new freedom from the reading glasses, and or looking for them! I hope to continue to feel that this is a success, and that it will continue to be! I find myself reading the smallest and tiniest print now and saying... "Wow, I can read that"!
I'm a happy gal! *huge smile on my face*
I can see it now...
~Tammy~
Monovision and Presbyopia <~ Interesting info.
Eye screening <~ I found this eye screening test while looking for info on contact lenses.
