Pain in the eye when wearing glasses - help!

Hi all,

I had a case of eyestrain a couple of months ago, from reading too much
on my PalmPilot (those things are *really* bad for you!). The
eyestrain manifested as pain in my left eye. I am mildly myopic and
astigmatic - something like -1 diopters. Nothing serious. The pain
rather resembled the pain I had when I got a wrong prescription on my
glasses (the PD was off by 10mm - ouch!) - same type of pain in the
same eye.

Unfortunately, ever since that episode, I found I could not wear
glasses for long without the pain recurring. When I go without my
glasses, I do not have pain, even though things are rather blurry and I
see double images with each eye. (and I can't read street signs when I
drive) I went to an eye doctor and got my eyes checked, and she did
not find anything wrong, except for weak accommodative muscles (?).
She prescribed reading glasses (which I haven't received yet - still
waiting for them to be made). She could not explain why my eye hurt,
and why it was only one eye that hurt. I updated my distance
prescription, but the new glasses make my eye hurt too. The vision I
get in those glasses is perfect, btw; I do not think the glasses were
badly made or that the prescription was terribly inaccurate.

So I would like to address the following questions to this august
group: a) What do weak accommodative muscles have to do with eye pain?
b) Am I doing serious damage to my vision by wearing those glasses (or
by wearing any kind of glasses at all)? c) Should I get another eye
exam, and what should I ask the doctor when I do?

I'll be extremely grateful for any advice.

Larisa

try wearing glasses just for driving or when you need to see in the
distance. For close work, glasses just strain the eyes as in your
case(and mine too) if you are happier without glasses, then go without
them much of the time

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> try wearing glasses just for driving or when you need to see in the
> distance. For close work, glasses just strain the eyes as in your
> case(and mine too) if you are happier without glasses, then go without
> them much of the time
>

Aceman I know you are very enthusiastic and just trying to be helpful
but in this case your 'advice' to Larisa is not correct as she has
astigmatism. We don't know how much astigmatism yet but you have
prematurely jumped to an incorrect conclusion.

Dom

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I had a case of eyestrain a couple of months ago, from reading too much
> on my PalmPilot (those things are *really* bad for you!). The
> eyestrain manifested as pain in my left eye. I am mildly myopic and
> astigmatic - something like -1 diopters. Nothing serious. The pain
> rather resembled the pain I had when I got a wrong prescription on my
> glasses (the PD was off by 10mm - ouch!) - same type of pain in the
> same eye.
>
> Unfortunately, ever since that episode, I found I could not wear
> glasses for long without the pain recurring. When I go without my
> glasses, I do not have pain, even though things are rather blurry and I
> see double images with each eye. (and I can't read street signs when I
> drive) I went to an eye doctor and got my eyes checked, and she did
> not find anything wrong, except for weak accommodative muscles (?).
> She prescribed reading glasses (which I haven't received yet - still
> waiting for them to be made). She could not explain why my eye hurt,
> and why it was only one eye that hurt. I updated my distance
> prescription, but the new glasses make my eye hurt too. The vision I
> get in those glasses is perfect, btw; I do not think the glasses were
> badly made or that the prescription was terribly inaccurate.
>
> So I would like to address the following questions to this august
> group: a) What do weak accommodative muscles have to do with eye pain?
> b) Am I doing serious damage to my vision by wearing those glasses (or
> by wearing any kind of glasses at all)? c) Should I get another eye
> exam, and what should I ask the doctor when I do?
>
> I'll be extremely grateful for any advice.
>
> Larisa
>

Larisa it would be helpful to me and the other optometrists who read
this if you could answer a few questions:

How old are you?

Can you post your optical prescription to this group, including the "Add"?

How would you describe the pain? Sharp or dull? Mild or intense?
Momentary or lasting for hours? Like a headache? Like tired eyes? Pain
located behind your eyes or on the surface?

Dom

Sorry about the incomplete information; answers follow. Thanks so
much!


Dom wrote:

> >
>
> Larisa it would be helpful to me and the other optometrists who read
> this if you could answer a few questions:
>
> How old are you?

29.

> Can you post your optical prescription to this group, including the "Add"?

OD: -1.75 spherical, -1.00 cyl, 100 axis (add 0.75 for the reading
glasses)
OS: -0.25 spherical, -1.25 cyl, 100 axis (add 0.75 for the reading
glasses)

It's fairly recent; I had the eye exam done a week ago or so.

> How would you describe the pain? Sharp or dull? Mild or intense?
> Momentary or lasting for hours? Like a headache? Like tired eyes? Pain
> located behind your eyes or on the surface?

Umm... it's kinda sharp, medium intensity (and gets worse the longer I
leave the glasses on). Feels like it's in the middle of the eye,
somehow. In the morning, the eye feels sore and tired (as if I hadn't
slept enough - even when I had). When I take the glasses off, the
problem lessens; if I don't wear glasses for a couple of days, it goes
away.

The weird thing is that it's only one eye - the other eye is fine.
I've even been thinking that I might just take the left lens out of my
glasses for a while.

LM

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> try wearing glasses just for driving or when you need to see in the
> distance. For close work, glasses just strain the eyes as in your
> case(and mine too) if you are happier without glasses, then go without
> them much of the time

Oh, that's what I'm doing - I don't have a choice at this point, I
don't want to damage anything in my eye, so I'm wearing glasses as
little as possible. Just for driving, at this point, and I take them
off the moment I get out of the car. But I don't know what's going on
with my eye - and that's what scares me. My glasses used to be just
fine, and I could read in them and use them for distance vision, with
no problems. And now I can't; and I'd like to know why.

LM

P.S. And I'm not happier without glasses, alas; I hate it when
everything is blurry. Even if it's a little blurry, as in my case.

What is your UCVA in each eye? BCVA? You are nearly plano in the left
eye so maybe it does not need a correction and hence why you feel a
pain in that eye? I have some friends who are nearly plano and glasses
make next to no difference in how clear they see but it causes
eyestrain and gives headaches so they go without glasses and see fine
anyway. I am also thinking maybe the anisomtropia could be a factor.
One of your eyes is considerabily worse than the other. I understand
about the doubling, thats due to astigmastim but your astigmastim is
mild so there isnt much disortion. Perhaps you have presbyopia? You got
bifocals, this should help with the strain. I also cant see clearly
from near unless I remove my glasses or use weaker glasses. How
functional are you without glasses? I wish I could go without glasses
but at -4.5 this isnt close to possible. You have it easy that glasses
for you is optional!

And once again Ace makes his diagnosis and saves the world. Stay tuned
for a message from our sponsors.

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> What is your UCVA in each eye? BCVA?

Umm, BCVA is 20/20; I'm not sure what the UCVA is.

> You are nearly plano in the left
> eye so maybe it does not need a correction and hence why you feel a
> pain in that eye? I have some friends who are nearly plano and glasses
> make next to no difference in how clear they see but it causes
> eyestrain and gives headaches so they go without glasses and see fine
> anyway.

The thing is that this was not a problem until the eyestrain. I've
been wearing glasses full-time since the age of 18 or so, and had no
trouble until about 2 months ago. I'm just not sure what it is I did
to myself, and how to undo it.

> I am also thinking maybe the anisomtropia could be a factor.
> One of your eyes is considerabily worse than the other.

Yup. I get kind of a "monovision" effect when I'm not wearing glasses;
my left eye is dominant for distance vision and my right eye is
dominant for near vision. Both are somewhat blurry due to the
astigmatism, but I can see well enough like that.

> I understand
> about the doubling, thats due to astigmastim but your astigmastim is
> mild so there isnt much disortion. Perhaps you have presbyopia? You got
> bifocals, this should help with the strain.

Haven't received the things yet; actually, I just got regular reading
glasses rather than bifocals (I'm too young for bifocals...). But they
haven't arrived yet. The eye doctor did say "weak accommodative
muscles" - I'm not sure it's the same thing as presbyopia (isn't that
due to a stiffening of the lens?), but the effect is the same, I guess.


> I also cant see clearly
> from near unless I remove my glasses or use weaker glasses. How
> functional are you without glasses? I wish I could go without glasses
> but at -4.5 this isnt close to possible. You have it easy that glasses
> for you is optional!

Well, sure it's optional, but I'm headed for law school (I start in
August). There's lots of reading in my future, and I'm kinda worried
about reading that much without glasses. After about 1 hour or so of
reading without glasses, I start seeing triple.

But yes, I'm rather glad that I am able to function without glasses
right now.

LM

maybe you can get glasses that just correct for your astigmastim and
leave the myopia untouched. This will reduce the strain of constantly
accomodating when your becomming presbyopic. By taking care of the
astigmastim you wont see double or triple. Its worth a shot trying this
just correcting for your astigmastim. Your myopia will help you with
all the reading without strain