referral to eye specialist and a bit freaked out

[lv75]

Hi, had a bit of a weird experience with eyes over the last few weeks. Had a sight test at Specsavers as I was getting pain in one eye, the optician increased the prescription and I ordered new glasses. Since then, I've got to the stage where my eyes cannot tolerate contact lenses at all (usually wear them most of the time) and the pain in the eye was unbearable. Went to Tesco opticians for second opinion to check the glasses/prescription all OK, however, he seemed concerned at the sore eye (muscle limitation) and also noticed a "tissue mass" in the iris of the other eye which he thinks needs to be looked at to rule out any nasties. This has totally thrown me. I have complained to Specsavers who are looking into it seriously as I am concerned they missed the tissue mass thing.

Has anyone else had this experience, what could it be and how bad could it get? I made the mistake of googling "tissue mass on iris" and got lots of horrid pictures of really big melanomas. Looking for reassurance. Any opticians out there?? And how long should I have to wait before seeing the eye specialist?

Optician here. Please dont worry - most of these things turn out to be quite benign. A melanoma would not normally cause a sore eye and contact lens problems. Have they mentained if there is any infection or dry eye present?

Waiting lists depend on your PCT but normally 6 -8 weeks. Push your GP for an urgent referral if you are really worried.

Do you have any other symptoms eg probs with vision?

Another optometrist here. Agree that the symptoms are more like those of dry eye or possibly an allergy or infection. Couldn't say more than that without seeing you.

Also re the tissue mass: It could be something you've always had but no-one thought it necessary to refer before or it could be something new. Either way, the chance of it turning out to be a melanoma is very small, google is not usually your friend in this sort of thing. ( I always tell patients not to google in these situations and they always do and it's never as bad as they think it is!)

Thank you! My vision is a bit odd in my right eye - sharp enough with the new glasses but a bit "flat", not sure how to describe it. When the optician did the waving the pen around thing it did go a bit double towards one side. Do you think I will ever be able to wear contacts again or is the dry eye something that might stay with me - I hate the glasses!!!

ps thanks for the reassurance about the tissue mass!

It might be better to give your eyes a break from the contact lenses for a little while to let them settle down, then perhaps look at being re-fitted with a different lens. In our practice I tend to favour a lens called Acuvue Oasys as most patients find them more comfortable but tbh this would be something you would need to discuss with your own optom.