I suspect your light sensitivity is age related. Irises are slower to contract as we get older. Buy sunglasses!

Let us know what the doc says...

This is informative (if not comforting.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Eye talk.

Hmmm, well, I don't know your gender or how old you are but ... I have had very, very poor vision all my life and it has, most unfortunately, been getting much worse recently (although not the light sensitivity you describe). I have no doubt, and my physician agrees, that it is largely related to hormonal changes. So there's one possibility.

The other thing I can think of - and please don't be offended by this - in another thread you have talked about wanting to lose weight. Without knowing anything about your weight or other health issues, I wonder if you have ever been screened for diabetes? There are vision problems that can come with diabetes, although I do not know exactly what those are.

Good luck, one of my big fears is losing my vision altogether, so I am sympathetic to your concerns.

It's good to see an eye doctor, but I am suspecting allergy for the blurry vision in the morning....
At least I hope thats' all it is.
Linda C

Bobby, glad you are going to the eye Dr. Some things that can cause eye sensitivity, eye color, do you have light colored eyes? I have light blue/gray eyes and have always been sensitive to light. Blood pressure fluctuations can also cause blurring of them. Do you wear contacts lens? Extended wear contacts can cause blurring if left in too long. Hope you get answers soon, let us know how you make out! Gina

I too have blue/gray eyes and have always been sensitive to light and sometimes have blurry vision.

Thyroid issues can also cause this.

Ditto what Sue said! My eyes are also gray-blue and I have thyroid issues too!

I have been wearing glassed for most of my life and was informed recently by the eye doctor at the Tampa VA Clinic that I have the beginnings of a cataract in my left eye. But I am a brown eyed girl who had thyroid issues too, only my issue was thyroid cancer in 1999. It was discovered before it had spread out of the thyroid gland, but if I had waited another month, it would have spread into my body.

First, to clear up the questions... I'm 25, male, and with blue/gray eyes as well. I don't think I have a thyroid issue, but I need to check into that. I've been wondering if I'm diabetic lately, so I definitely need to check onthat too... though it doesn't run in the family.

I went to the eye doctor today. He said that I have an astigmatism in both eyes. And a "freckle" on one on my left retina that he wants to check on Tuesday when I have the follow up. The thing is that they had me do this vision field test where you look into a machine and stare at a black dot and a light flashes all around the viewing area and you press a button every time you see the light. Apparently I did poorly on that test several times. The lady who was giving it to me kept telling me to open my eyes... my eyes are kind of squinty and there was nothing I could do to open them more save holding them open with my fingers. I was supposed to hold my head perfectly still so I stayed lined up with the stupid machine and I kept "drifting". There was no support or a chin rest or anything for that machine... it was hard to be like a statue for several minutes. I may have drifted one millimeter, but that was too much apparently. The doctor thinks that the reason I did so poorly on that test is because my eyes are too squinty, so when I go back on Tuesday, he said they are going to TAPE my eyes "open" and re-try the test again.

So... I do need glasses. I never have before, but apparently I do now. Though, the glasses have nothing to do with the problem I went in for. Apparently blurry vision in the morning is normal and cannot be corrected. I asked the doctor directly and he said, "Some people just experience that." What kind of answer is that? Maybe I should get a second opinion.

I was there for two hours and the entire experience was beyond stressful. The assistant started to get terse, she was noticeably frustrated with me about the 5th time we had to re-try that test. I seriously almost got up and walked out! When she was finished pre-screening me with some test lenses on, she had me go back out and wait in the waiting room until the doctor was available again. They were waiting for the dilation drops to take effect anyway. She told me to leave the test lenses on, so I did. I sat there looking like an idiot for 20 minutes with those heavy things on... they had knobs and springs and screws coming out of them. Everyone in the waiting room was just staring at me. When the doctor came back out, he said, "You didn't need to keep those on the whole time!"

What a day! I made a huge steak and some pretty darned good scalloped potatoes for dinner and enjoyed every bit of it... and I was able to read the recipe for the potatoes without glasses thank you very much. But, my glasses will be here in a week or two... I don't even want to wear them! The next time I spend 300 dollars in one day (no insurance), please remind me to have a little fun while I'm at it!

Thanks for letting me vent!

Off to douse myself in rum and coke.

Now don't go wasting money on designer frames that the so called designer never saw, hear!! Just get some sensible glasses and save money.
When I went to Lenscrafters two years ago I told the salesgirl I just wanted ordinary glasses as she was leading me round the Versace, Cardin, etc frames for $200-$300 and up. Finally she relented and opened a drawer and pulled some out that we're I think about $50 and they're fine for all I need. I think they really bring out the blue in my eyes too.
{{gwi:1442355}}

I just got some new glasses from my optometrist, and they are Patrick Fresno, made in Paris, probably from the 1960s. My doctor stocks vintage frames, which I like. Mine are a bit like a diagonal zebra stripe - I'll try to post photos later. My new glasses are for when I'm at the computer, and so they are good for anything that is within about a 3' range. You're not old enough to need something like that, but I do agree that you should be wearing sunglasses whenever you go outside - (see link below for two of my favorite sunglasses).

My eyes are fairly sensitive also because they are light colored, even though they are not blue or gray. Mine are a light olive green, but DB has pale blue, like our father's. If you are not happy with your eye doctor, you should switch to another one. Be sure to get plenty of references before you go. I have the opposite problem of squinty eyes - mine open too wide, and when I first got contact lens at age 16 (hard lens, which was all that was available then), the lens would slide down to the bottom of my iris, and I would look over them. The doctor said I had extremely large eyes, and so they got large contact lens to cover them. The problem with that was that there was a larger surface in contact with my eyes, but at least then I wasn't looking over them.

If you have astigmatism, contact lens might not be a good solution for you, but there are plenty of attractive frames available. Try to find a doctor that stock vintage frames, as he will probably have a better overall selection. Don't get {{gwi:1442353}}, however.

Lars

Here is a link that might be useful: DB's birthday at Firehouse Restaurant patio

You've earned some good times and good food for sure. Don't you hate it when going to the doc is expensive, humiliating, AND painful?

I am supposed to be corrected for mild astigmatism but the scrip made me queasy and I gave it up. I have furry vision but I deal with it. Shrug.

I have done several visual field tests and the machines my doctor uses has a chin rest. You should ask your doctor about this. Here's a link to a picture I found on google that looks like the machine they used on me.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1442354}}

Bobby, don't feel too bad, I think that the field of vision test is annoying and somewhat subjective. Certainly not for an ADD'er, that's for sure. I'm not implying that you are ADD, but that it's boring and easy to lose focus!

Bobby.....you need to see a different eye doctor....
One with an MD degree!
And see about that freckle...I just heard about a friend's son who has a freckle which bad stuff.
But no dr should tape your eyes to do a test.
And $300 for single vision lenses and an eye exam? Very strange, unless you did the designer frames thing.
Linda C

Bobby can you cancel the glasses order. Sounds like you got sold something you didn't need by people who don't know what they are doing. dlynn is right, where was the chin rest? WTF?

Bobby, I am quite a bit older than you, but I have those visual field tests, too. I have my doubts about whether or not it is needed, but I go anyway. I think I dislike it because it gives me test anxiety! I don't want to fail because then it means I have another problem with my eyes.

I have an astigmstism in one eye. Now that I also need bifocals, it is s real challenge to get my prescription right. I went through two other opthomologists before I found one I love.

I think there is better technology now so you don't have to put on those stupid looking glasses.

Anyway, I am sorry for your problems. I've struggled to get my prescription right and I know how frustrating it is. I hate having my eyes dilated -- hate it.

I just got my new black, red and white glasses. The prescription is wonderful and I can see much better at night. I like (not love) the frames. the lenses are bigger than my past pair, which is nice.

Good luck and I hope you resolve all your issues. I highly recommend looking for another doctor.

Ditto Pam and Jessy! I would cancel the order and I've never seen something like those glasses that you described. What old technology that must be! I also wondered about taping your eyes open, it sounds unprofessional to me too.

As I said above, I have had horrible vision my entire life so I am entirely too familiar with eye doctors and the tests and their offices. $300 does not sound unreasonable to me at all, I'm sorry to say. I just spent over $800 on a pair of glasses. Just the glasses, not counting the exam or anything else. And although they are nice frames, they are not designer frames, the frames were only about $100 of the price. The rest was the lenses. It all depends on the frames, the quality of the lens and what you have in the lens. For example, mine have the progressive bifocal (there is no line), and they are a specific type of material to make them lighter weight which is critical when dealing with a prescription as strong as mine. In other words, it's very hard for us to comment on the price of your glasses without knowing exactly what the lenses entail.

I have done the visual field test many times and I think there has always been a chin rest. I have never had to have my eyes taped open, that seems a bit odd to me.

Someone said to see an eye doctor with an MD. You may know this but if not - an optometrist has a degree in optometry and is the best person to fit you for corrective lenses whether glasses or contacts. An opthalmologist is an MD who has specialized in eye care and is the best person to see for diseases or unusual conditions of the eye. I see both. I see an opthalmologist once a year to be checked for conditions that run in my family (glaucoma, detached retinas, macular degeneration). Then I see the optometrist to be fitted for contacts and glasses. Then I go to the optician to actually purchase and fit the glasses.

Astigmatism is fairly common, even in people who see well. It just means that the eye is irregularly curved. It can be minor or major. Minor astigmatism often does not need to be corrected. I did not have correction for mine until I was over 40 years of age, at which time my eyes were no longer able to compensate. Glasses can be ground to the correct shape to correct astigmatism. Contacts can be used too, but they are more problematic. To correct astigmatism with soft contacts, the lens has to be weighted so that it stays in the same orientation. I tried very hard to learn to wear them and could not. It was just too irritating that every time I blinked the contact shifted and had to reorient. I know a few, but very few, people who have been successful with soft astigmatism correcting lenses. Gas-permeable contacts (which I have now) are much better for correcting astigmatism. Unfortunately, they are also less comfortable to wear.

You need to be sure that your eye doctor will work with you. If you try these glasses and are still unhappy with your vision, will he help you find something that works? My docs will let me try a pair of contacts for a week or ten days and if they don't work, order a new pair. Your doc should consider it an ongoing process to make you comfortable with your vision and the corrections you use.

Sorry this is so long but I hope it helps.

I have to agree with prairie love about seeing both, having just been a through a trying time with eye docs. Can I vent too?

I've had distance glasses since my late 20s but realized I needed reading glasses last year, just before going back to school. I've always seen MDs for eye exams and have always had a great deal of trouble with the tests to decide the prescription. Maybe I'm just slow, but I have a difficult time deciding which lens is better between two and always feel rushed. Still, I never had a problem with my glasses, probably because they were relatively weak.

I hadn't seen an eye MD since moving here so went to one based on a recommendation from another doctor. He was great and gave me the the usual prescription test where you hold your eyes up to a machine. This time, I opted for progressives (bifocals with no lines) because I was going to need both distance and reading for school.

To make a long story short, I went through that test twice with the same results, but for some reason it just didn't correlate to a correct prescription. I went to "his" optometrist, who had a great selection of frames, but after months and several redos, things still weren't right. It wasn't that they weren't trying or that the lenses weren't made to spec - they just couldn't figure out the problem.

In desperation, I went to an optometrist associated with a different retail store from which I had purchased distance glasses with an old prescription a few years before. He explained to me that sometimes what the machine says just doesn't match reality, especially with astigmatism, which I had developed in one eye. He used the old-fashioned metal contraption that sits on your face and switched lenses in and out for almost 45 minutes, helping me figure out exactly what worked. His reading turned out different from the MD on the distance portion. He also some people are just more sensitive to prescription changes and sometimes doing it gradually is best.

So, I had a pair of progressives made with his prescription and they were perfect :)

Almost six months later, I can tell my vision is worse and I probably need a new prescription. But, I think it may be due in part to the overwhelming amount of reading I do now. Sometime mentioned to me that when reading for long periods it's important to look up and focus on distance. I need to go read about that ;)

Keep us posted on how you make out. If the experience was that bad (and I have no doubt it was), go elsewhere.

Sue

Bobby, I can't help with the glasses issue, but here's some unsolicited advice that you didn't ask about, lol. If you have AAA Auto Insurance, you get a 30% discount at Lenscrafters and Pearl Vision and maybe others. I know you are too young for AARP, but they also offer the 30% discount. AAA has paid for itself several times over just because of this discount at Lenscrafters. They also have generous coupons on their website.

The other comment I have is about "going bare." (no insurance) You really ought to find some insurance, before some issues become a "pre-existing" condition. (You mentioned wondering about diabetes.)

For two of my children, both in their twenties, getting insurance through work is not an option, but they have Blue Cross Blue Shield coverage. For 28 yo DD, it is about $150 and includes optional dental insurance. For 24 yo DS, it runs about $212 per month and this includes dental. Please excuse my meddling. For a while, my DB was having to choose between his diabetes meds and paying utility bills. I wouldn't want you to find yourself in that situation.

Bobby both DH and I have light eyes [blue and green/blue respectively] and we've both been told light color eyes are far more susceptible to light sensitivity. I don't wear glasses but DH has since age 6 and will not see any eye dr that isn't a full on opthomologist since he has such bad vision and has been a pilot [and later a flight instructor] since the age of 15 so he has alot at stake. I say see an opthomolgist so you know the full story. Your vision is precious. I hope it works out well.