To be disillusioned with the optical industry

[theeyeshaveitnow]

Haven't had my eyes tested in years because I suspected each time I was just been prescribed stronger glasses as a matter of routine. Experimented initially with just wearing old glasses and then my prescription got very slightly better. The next time, after the lesser prescription, when I went I spoke to the optician about eye exercises and he argued with me and prescribed a much stronger prescription and even said I had astigmatism then prescribed the strongest cylinder lens I have ever had.

Until recently that was my last visit. I cannot even see out of those glasses now. Went again recently because there were free eye tests available and I was curious. My prescription is 2 diopters weaker than my last visit. This is from years of wearing my older weaker prescriptions. I still think my slightly weaker prescription is better. Thankfully I don't drive but I want to be able to trust standard eye tests but how can I reliably?

Then when you read things like this from within the industry you really start to question it.

www.huntervision.com/blog/changing-prescription

Another extremely happy Specsavers customer - I have frequently been told i do not need a new prescription.

I have ocular cancer and the radiotherapy has made the vision in one eye deteriorate whilst my vision in the other improves with age. They have been absolutely brilliant- obviously I am more aware than average of my eyecare and much more willing to spend money to protect my remaining sight. I have always had complete confidence in Specsavers and they discuss with me when to change my glasses to meet my changing eye sight without costing me a fortune.

JuliaJaynes9 my motion sickness onky kicked in when i hit middle age too. I was quite short sighted (-3.75) when it happened, now I need correction for reading too.

My last eye exam was done by a fantastic optician. I was getting new glasses as I wanted new frames, so they had nothing to gain from the test. I know my body and I know what issues I experience and how.

We had a very reasonable discussion, he fully listened and understood, and the results came back with an adjustment to a slightly weaker lens for one eye, which we tested with different frames and was perfect.

What do people think about lens induced myopia and form deprivation? Here:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3745013/

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3278587/

I can’t praise my independent optician enough - in a routine eye test he spotted signs of glaucoma -msent me off to another Optician who is NHS contracted to do glaucoma tests who promptly sent off an urgent request for an appointment with the hospital eye clinic. Was seen within a month, prescribed nightly eye drops and the pressure is easing. Great service.

Is it odd that I almost enjoy the weird feeling you get with new glasses,
Me too, I especially like it when you attempt to go down a kerb and it suddenly feels about a metre down

Are you trained in the field OP, or is your knowledge all self-taught as a result of your distrust of opticians?

I must say, your combative tone and your eagerness to show how well informed you are makes you sound like an anti-vaxxer.

This is a fascinating thread. Thanks OP. I wear my glasses all the time because I like things to be crystal clear. My optician has said I have better than 20/20 vision without my glasses (which I don't understand at all!). I don't even need my glasses to drive, but I like to wear them because I like everything to be crystal clear as I said before. I first got glasses when I was 13 and my eyesight has been improving ever since. I'm -1 in one eye and -0.75 in the other. I'm due an eye test.

I must say, your combative tone and your eagerness to show how well informed you are makes you sound like an anti-vaxxer.

An anti-vaxxer does not get their children immunised. Mine get eye tests and glasses prescribed every year. They wear them.

I have just recently had an eye test. I paid for glasses made up to the new prescription.

There is conflicting information and research out there. Just because I actively want to make sense of it does not make me combative. Yes, I am disappointed with the dismissive attitudes of some opticians. Yes, I refuse to engage in a conversation regarding anything controversial with them in real life because I believe I have been on the receiving end of their bias affecting my prescription.

No one has ever given me an explanation as to why my eyes got progressively more and more shortsighted beyond the normal age range for axial growth when I wore my newly prescribed glasses full time. Or why when I didn't (@ under the age for presbyopia) this progression in myopia slowed/ceased.

I have observed this with my own vision. I have no reason to lie. I have spent hundreds if Benito thousands of pounds on glasses over the years which could well have been making my vision worse. Yet I get my eyes tested because this is the definitive way to ascertain eye health and visual acuity.

I think without giving us more details op (age/prescription/timescale) it will be impossible to say if what you are experiencing could be due to genuine physiological changes, error by optician or psychological factors (placebo type effect - many people swear relaxation exercises have improved their eyesight and are surprised when the evidence shows no change)

I'm not really asking for answers regarding my individual case. I know my myopia has improved significantly. I'm really more interested in what people think about the possibility of negative lenses making myopia progressively worse in relation to the lens induced myopia research (link upthread). I'm also interested in explanations of why people (with otherwise healthy eyes) can get progressively more myopic beyond the age of axial growth.

I don’t think you need to have an opticians qualification to know when you get glasses you cannot see in and you take them off to return to your old pair there is something wrong.