Problems with new glasses--any advice on what to have checked?

Hi all,
I just had a new pair of glasses made up, and am having major issues
with them after two full days of wear:

* Distortion with very slight blur when looking to the left (seems to
be ok in this regard when looking to the right)
* Nausea when looking at computer screen or reading at hand held level
* Bowing distortion (concave) when looking straight ahead at, or down
on, a flat surface (like a wall, or floor)
* Objects appear minimized, not proportional
* Eye exhaustion/headaches
* Overall feeling of strain, though everything appears crisp and clear
(maybe TOO crisp and clear?)

I was in such agony last night I wanted to cry. I switched to my old
glasses after work and my whole head felt relieved, even though my
vision was fuzzy beyond a few feet in front of me. :-)

I took the new ones back to the optician, who 1) adjusted the frames a
bit to give them more of a wrap (said that should fix the bowing) and
2) said to give it a day or two for my eyes to adjust to the new
prescription (which he double-checked--it matches the written one).

Bowing is slightly improved (though I am not convinced adjusting the
frame is the right thing to do--I'm not a fan of manipulating glasses
that initially looked perfect on your face) and I am 100% sure
something else is very wrong. In my 20+ years of wearing glasses, I
have never had an adjustment period of more than a couple of hours,
for very slight depth perception, and never any discomfort during it.

My last pair of glasses, made about 6 years ago by a different
optician, are absolute perfection (just too weak for me now). Looking
through them is like looking through clear glass, in every direction.
Every other pair I've ever owned has been the same. No distortion. All
had easy, quick adjustment periods. I rarely wear glasses at the
moment (mostly just reading in bed) since I was lazy about updating
them. I wear contacts daily, which are about 99% perfect despite
astigmatisms (I sometimes just have to blink them into a better
position, particularly when looking at the computer).

My contacts are:
(R) -2.50
(L) -3.00
BC=8.6
DIA=14.2

I don't know my old glasses scrip.
My new scrip for glasses:
(R) -2.50 Cylinder: -.50 Axis:170
(L) -2.75 Cylinder: -.50 Axis: 5
PD=62

I know there should be some difference between contact and eyeglass
prescriptions, but the difference in these seems odd. I am at a loss
for how to approach all this with the optician (or eye Dr.?). Is the
adjustment for the astigmatism giving me grief? Where the lenses
ground improperly? Is the prescription too strong or maybe just plain
wrong? Could my PD be off?

Any advice about this would be greatly appreciated. If my symptoms
sound common for specific issues, I would really like to know what
they are so I can suggest them to the optician.

Thanks very much!

> Hi all,
> I just had a new pair of glasses made up, and am having major issues
> with them after two full days of wear:
>
> * Distortion with very slight blur when looking to the left (seems to
> be ok in this regard when looking to the right)
> * Nausea when looking at computer screen or reading at hand held level
> * Bowing distortion (concave) when looking straight ahead at, or down
> on, a flat surface (like a wall, or floor)
> * Objects appear minimized, not proportional
> * Eye exhaustion/headaches
> * Overall feeling of strain, though everything appears crisp and clear
> (maybe TOO crisp and clear?)
>
> I was in such agony last night I wanted to cry. I switched to my old
> glasses after work and my whole head felt relieved, even though my
> vision was fuzzy beyond a few feet in front of me. :-)
>
> I took the new ones back to the optician, who 1) adjusted the frames a
> bit to give them more of a wrap (said that should fix the bowing) and
> 2) said to give it a day or two for my eyes to adjust to the new
> prescription (which he double-checked--it matches the written one).
>
> Bowing is slightly improved (though I am not convinced adjusting the
> frame is the right thing to do--I'm not a fan of manipulating glasses
> that initially looked perfect on your face) and I am 100% sure
> something else is very wrong. In my 20+ years of wearing glasses, I
> have never had an adjustment period of more than a couple of hours,
> for very slight depth perception, and never any discomfort during it.
>
> My last pair of glasses, made about 6 years ago by a different
> optician, are absolute perfection (just too weak for me now). Looking
> through them is like looking through clear glass, in every direction.
> Every other pair I've ever owned has been the same. No distortion. All
> had easy, quick adjustment periods. I rarely wear glasses at the
> moment (mostly just reading in bed) since I was lazy about updating
> them. I wear contacts daily, which are about 99% perfect despite
> astigmatisms (I sometimes just have to blink them into a better
> position, particularly when looking at the computer).
>
> My contacts are:
> (R) -2.50
> (L) -3.00
> BC=8.6
> DIA=14.2
>
> I don't know my old glasses scrip.
> My new scrip for glasses:
> (R) -2.50 Cylinder: -.50 Axis:170
> (L) -2.75 Cylinder: -.50 Axis: 5
> PD=62
>
> I know there should be some difference between contact and eyeglass
> prescriptions, but the difference in these seems odd. I am at a loss
> for how to approach all this with the optician (or eye Dr.?). Is the
> adjustment for the astigmatism giving me grief? Where the lenses
> ground improperly? Is the prescription too strong or maybe just plain
> wrong? Could my PD be off?
>
> Any advice about this would be greatly appreciated. If my symptoms
> sound common for specific issues, I would really like to know what
> they are so I can suggest them to the optician.
>
Who worked up your new prescription? Why not talk with them? It sounds
like your optician can only verify that the lenses match the prescription,
not whether or not it's correct.

>> Hi all,
>> I just had a new pair of glasses made up, and am having major issues
>> with them after two full days of wear:
>>
>> * Distortion with very slight blur when looking to the left (seems to
>> be ok in this regard when looking to the right)
>> * Nausea when looking at computer screen or reading at hand held level
>> * Bowing distortion (concave) when looking straight ahead at, or down
>> on, a flat surface (like a wall, or floor)
>> * Objects appear minimized, not proportional
>> * Eye exhaustion/headaches
>> * Overall feeling of strain, though everything appears crisp and clear
>> (maybe TOO crisp and clear?)
>>
>> I was in such agony last night I wanted to cry. I switched to my old
>> glasses after work and my whole head felt relieved, even though my
>> vision was fuzzy beyond a few feet in front of me. :-)
>>
>> I took the new ones back to the optician, who 1) adjusted the frames a
>> bit to give them more of a wrap (said that should fix the bowing) and
>> 2) said to give it a day or two for my eyes to adjust to the new
>> prescription (which he double-checked--it matches the written one).
>>
>> Bowing is slightly improved (though I am not convinced adjusting the
>> frame is the right thing to do--I'm not a fan of manipulating glasses
>> that initially looked perfect on your face) and I am 100% sure
>> something else is very wrong. In my 20+ years of wearing glasses, I
>> have never had an adjustment period of more than a couple of hours,
>> for very slight depth perception, and never any discomfort during it.
>>
>> My last pair of glasses, made about 6 years ago by a different
>> optician, are absolute perfection (just too weak for me now). Looking
>> through them is like looking through clear glass, in every direction.
>> Every other pair I've ever owned has been the same. No distortion. All
>> had easy, quick adjustment periods. I rarely wear glasses at the
>> moment (mostly just reading in bed) since I was lazy about updating
>> them. I wear contacts daily, which are about 99% perfect despite
>> astigmatisms (I sometimes just have to blink them into a better
>> position, particularly when looking at the computer).
>>
>> My contacts are:
>> (R) -2.50
>> (L) -3.00
>> BC=8.6
>> DIA=14.2
>>
>> I don't know my old glasses scrip.
>> My new scrip for glasses:
>> (R) -2.50 Cylinder: -.50 Axis:170
>> (L) -2.75 Cylinder: -.50 Axis: 5
>> PD=62
>>
>> I know there should be some difference between contact and eyeglass
>> prescriptions, but the difference in these seems odd. I am at a loss
>> for how to approach all this with the optician (or eye Dr.?). Is the
>> adjustment for the astigmatism giving me grief? Where the lenses
>> ground improperly? Is the prescription too strong or maybe just plain
>> wrong? Could my PD be off?
>>
>> Any advice about this would be greatly appreciated. If my symptoms
>> sound common for specific issues, I would really like to know what
>> they are so I can suggest them to the optician.

You didn't tell us about the lenses. What is brand and model. Is the lens
aspheric or spherical. What is the material (including index). How large are
the lenses (this depends on your frame size height and width).

Go back to your optician and find the answers to these questions and post
them here.

I just found this post a full month after you posted it, so I'm a
little late here, but I'm curious if you ever found any help with
your
problem. I myself have been having the same problem with my newest
pair of glasses (all the symptoms you've listed, even the blurs when
looking to the left) and I haven't been able to figure it out yet
myself. I tried wearing my new pair for about 3 three days until the
dizziness and headaches became too much to handle and have since
switched back to my old pair (which are not really any better because
they are way too weak in one eye). I've been back to the optometrists
a few times to have the glasses checked/readjusted but each time they
tell me the glasses are fine and it's the proper prescription. I've
been getting so desperate that I've even been checking out the cost
of
laser eye surgery. The only factor that's different in my case is
that
I don't wear contacts at all.
Anyways, I wrote this because I was curious if you have heard from
anyone about this being something other than just a ridiculously
straining adjustment period. Good luck.
-mike