A little over two weeks ago, I had an eye exam. I had to get new glasses that day as well. Although I was told that it would only take a week for the lenses to be made and installed, the process took about two weeks instead. That is why I couldn't write this post last week. My new glasses weren't in. I'm not sure why it took so long. Maybe I had a difficult prescription or there were supply problems or whatever. By contrast, I was able to get not one pair, but two pairs of glasses one of the last times I needed new frames when I went to a mall on a day trip in about an hour. Now, neither of those pairs were too complicated. In fact, I still have the prescription sunglasses that I got that day. Alas, the other pair broke about four years ago while I was cleaning them. I had to make an emergency trip to a local optician to get a replacement pair that would work with my lenses. Fortunately, I was able to find a pair I liked that worked with my current frames. Unfortunately, the job was slightly rushed and adhesive traces were left on the lenses that couldn't be removed. Considering how long it took me to find that original pair (months), I was lucky to find anything. A little later after that fiasco, I had an eye exam. Although I had an early appointment, I had to wait over two hours, maybe close to three, before I was even called back for prep. Since I had already passed the time I had said I would open the store, I had to reschedule. It just wasn't fair to me to wait any longer, especially the thirty plus minutes for my eyes to get dilated. Fortunately, that second time, I didn't have to wait as long. However, the doctor hinted that I might be needing bifocals soon. Well, my vision problems started immediately after that visit, beginning with the fact that my eyes took over a day to get back from getting dilated. Now, it usually took my eyes awhile to get back to normal, that time was well longer than that. Sometime later, I noticed that I would need to take my glasses off to read sometimes. This became more frequent, but not too bad, up to the point of my most recent eye exam. It was with a new doctor, so I had hopes that things would be better. Most of my waiting time was taken up by filling out my electronic forms on a tablet. I actually had to ask for some assistance, even though I had read up on how some of those devices work. The actual exam was fairly routine. I asked not to have the dilation drops put in. The staff offered up an alternative, a machine that I could stick my head in to get a better view of my inner eye without having to have drops. I opted not to go with that either, as it was about thirty dollars that wouldn't be covered by insurance. At least the other digitized tests had enough information to show that I had a low risk for any problems. I would be needing bifocals though. I went with the progressive lenses, thinking that the line in regular bifocal lenses would be off-putting. That might be the reason for the delay. It took me longer than normal to find a pair of new frames that I liked as well as afford. My new frames are in a different style, partially made of metal, so they are slightly heavier than I am used to. They will probably need to be adjusted so they will sit right. Getting used to the new lenses is taking awhile. Everything outside my center of vision tends to move as I do. Blurring occurs at the edges of the lenses. This wouldn't be too much of a problem, except I tend to check my peripheral vision constantly and look down frequently when I walk. The blurring is making hard for me to clean my glasses, as I'm unsure what is a smudge and what is just the natural distortion. I have had a slight headache, but I am not sure if it due to the weight of my new glasses or if it is my eyes getting used to the new perspectives. I no longer need to remove my frames to read, but I find myself still wanting to do so. I've even switched back to my old glasses once for a few hours so that I could work at the computer more comfortably. I technically can see clearer now, but I still think I might not have made the best choice for the new glasses.
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