when I was a kid, I had always been both fascinated and terrified of Needing glasses. lots of my extended family members wore them although ironically neither of my parents until dad turned 50 although 70 percent of the extended family did and many of them were hyperopic as well although a couple were the opposite, we also have some people in the family who have quite strong glasses as well but most of them had glasses as babies and the few that got them later often have average level prescriptions. When I was a kid my parents didn’t seem to notice anything wrong and I had never complained about vision issues or failed any school eye tests although apparently, I had often complained about headaches and always rubbed my eyes when I did reading and close tasks which I was always somewhat below average with (although once I got glasses my grades seemed to go up quite a bit. somehow my vision issues had just been missed. Maybe mum hadn’t wanted me to get glasses or something but that all changed Just before I turned 11. One day i got a bad case of conjunctivitis and I had to even go to hospital to be checked and almost had to be kept in. I was then given some anti biotics and told to rest up for a few days but if I had any further issues, I should see an eye doctor asap.
When the infection cleared, I noticed that I now found reading and writing even harder than usual now for no explainable reason furthermore my headaches kept getting worse and my eyes always hurt now. A week before grade 5 was meant to start my parents took me to the eye doctor on the advice of the hospital. I protested though because I was convinced my eyes were fine and that it would go away. I realy didn’t want glasses since it was something I used to make fun of some kid with back in earlier years ironically. I got in the car and mum drove to this street 2 suburbs away and we arrived at the eye doctors when my mom took me into the reception area, the first thing I noticed was all these racks with glasses on. ugg they all look like shit my grandparents would wear I thought. I noticed this oversized rayban square frame. I hope I never have to wear those. Although ironically, I would also end up needing large sized frames later due to my wide head lol. My mum went up to the desk and spoke to the reception lady and after 5 minutes my name was called. I was taken by another lady and made to look into a machine that flashed random images and shone lights into my eyes. After a few minutes of the woman messing around with this machine she asked me why I wasn’t wearing my glasses. umm I don’t wear glasses. at that point she seemed slightly confused but left and came back with the guy who was going to test my eyes. I was then taken to another room where he asked me my symptoms after I told him everything, he said that the machine says I might have issues with seeing and that idd need help with close tasks. this guy was some old guy who I could barely understand. He then began testing but what I found confusing was that he was making me read charts across the room instead of something close. suddenly he got me to look into this machine where he tested each eye by flicking lenses in front of it and made me keep reading charts until I told him it was blurry. He then got me to finally read a card up close which I was able to do fine, but he then shoved a couple more clicks on. he then tested my eyes together. after that was done, he removed the device and said he needed to get my mum. A few minutes later he came back with her and then said that my eyes seemed to be free from any infections, but I was suffering from what he called dormant farsightedness. He then explained that my eyes were overworked, and I needed Glasses and that I probably should have gotten them some years before given my full prescription that the autorefractor measured was quite significant although I still had a good amount of accommodation so they can be not to strong for now So I need reading glasses i thought since all my missed seemed to be to do with close work but he then turned around and said to my mum that I need To wear my glasses all the time otherwise my eyes wouldn’t improve and I risked further issues if I didn’t. I was also told I almost definitely would need stronger glasses by next year but he wanted to see if I could manage on a lower prescription After that I was baffled, I now was going to be made to wear glasses and that i was going to become one with the 4 eyed club even though I still felt my vision was fine. I protested but I was made to choose a frame and after a while I chose this rectangular thin black plastic frame. after we paid up, I was told they would be ready in a few days. a few days later I went back, and I walked inside again. I had remembered the optician when he had said I was going to need them all the time. I began to get anxiety at this point, but I then decided if I really hated the glasses, I would just never use them and hide them. got taken to a fitting room. After I was seated the reception lady came out and opened this black case and put the glasses on my face. When I first put them on, I felt dizzy and also noticed the other side of the room was slightly blurry (but that cleared up by the end of the day) it felt strange with these on my face. Everything seemed bigger and closer to me but admittedly I noticed that things nearby were much easier to see. after being made to read a few things, I was told I was ready to go but as I left the lady said to make sure I wore them 24/7 when I left the store, I went to go put them away, but mum turned around and told me that if I put them back on and wore them, she would buy me the new call of duty. Wanting the new call of duty, I agreed and put them back on. mum then took me game shopping and I got over the fact I now was wearing glasses. over the next week my eyes got used to having them on and I now needed them to do anything within arm’s length but when I went back to school, I ended up only using them for close things and would usually take them off for PE and watching tv. at the end of the year my next eye test was due and this time when I went in I was seen by a different eye doctor since the other one had left. During this exam I remember being given some eye drops and spending what felt like an eternity being tested compared to the last time. so you definitely need stronger glasses the other doctor should have given you a stronger lens also you would benefit from having a separate distance and reading pair or a multifocal lens. She went and talked with my mum, and I then got told it was decided that I would be put in a multifocal lens and that if I didn’t like it I could just come back in a few months. I chose a Similar frame to my old pair and a few days later they were ready. when I got the new pair though I immediately hated them. since my mum had got the cheapest lenses, I noticed that they now seemed somewhat strong looking also there was this line in them separating the bottom I also hated how they now made my eyes seem somewhat big. When i was on the ride home I protested heaps to mum, but she told me that if I wore these ones my next ones may not need the line in them. after a couple of weeks, I got used to the prescription. I also began to like the extra magnification from the bottom and soon it became natural to me. I also had no choice but to like it either. After a couple of weeks with the new glasses my close vision got even worse and now my distance vision was quite bad as well and taking them off was now more hassle than it was worth. When I got back to school, I expected to be bullied over my weird lenses but surprisingly no one had a go at me although some people were curious, and I hated letting people try my glasses on. I continued to wear that pair for 6 months but alas towards the middle of the school year, I began to get headaches again and after telling mum I was again back at the opticians. After a test I was simply told I needed another increase. This time I was able to get 2 pairs of glasses instead of bi focals if I wanted since I made a point about hating the line. I opted for that and had my current frame replaced with the lenses meant for distance and I then chose this large black ray ban frame for the reading pair. when I got my current glasses back, I was relieved to have a pair without a line In them and they were not that noticeably stronger looking than they had been before. Although when the reading pair came it was a different story. because I had gotten only basic lenses and chose a large frame the lens stuck out the front little bit and my glasses now looked very strong. when I put them on, they were a lot stronger than the others and I could only see within arm’s length. This time when I was being fitted the optician was with me and said that over the next while I would probably end up seeing better through them and would eventually even probably begin to use them for distance and that I would need stronger readers in a year or 2. When I went home that day, I wandered for the first time just how strong my glasses were. I had previously noticed a piece of paper in the case but had never thought of what it might be until now. I went and looked up the numbers on the cards and realised this was my prescription card. I got the cards out of both cases and found the one for my old lenses and first pair and put the details in. I still have these ironically
1st pair LEFT +1.50 -50 91 RIGHT +1.00 -25 90 2nd pair LEFT +2.75 -50 92 Add +1 RIGHT +2.00 -25 90 Add +1 2nd pair second lens LEFT +3.25 -50 92 RIGHT +2.75 -25 91 Next came the pair when they started to get thick. LEFT +5.00 -50 92 RIGHT +4.50 -25 91
Over the next several months I used both pairs but gradually noticed my distance vision with the stronger pair got better and I sometimes found myself leaving them on especially at home during weekends. In a twist of fate I accidently broke my weaker pair during PE and snapped the arm off. I did a quick fix, but the glasses kept coming lose and I ended up using the stronger pair for everything and after a couple of weeks with them full time I now found I could see better with them than the weaker pair. during the final weeks of primary school, I also quickly became conscious that my glasses were the strongest in my class and since I was now needing to wear the stronger pair, I decided I was going to ask for contacts at my eye exam or at least thinner lenses. It was hard to get how 2 years ago I had perfect eye site but now I was blind without these strong glasses lol. when I went in for my exam the optician, I said she was happy my eyes had adapted to the second pair. at this time, I asked about contacts but was given a disappointing no for an answer. she then went on to say that since my eyes were changing a lot it would be better to wait until I’m in my full prescription. Or a couple of years older. Although she gave me some good news and told me that my current glasses would be ok for a bit longer if I wanted to keep wearing them. suddenly I asked her what my full prescription was. Your current glasses are in the +5 range, but your eyes full script is around +8. There’s a chance as you grow though it may become less. I then asked whether I could try my full script to see if my eyes could adjust so I could get contacts sooner. Strangely she said it could be tried and agreed once speaking to my mum that I could. She then told me that like how it had been before the stronger pair would only be good for reading to begin with and that idd find myself switching between glasses a lot. I was told to choose a new frame and I got this black plastic round pair which I was told would fit well in my full script, when i got them like before I hated the thickness and like before the distortion and depth perception was a problem. mum finally got me high index lenses, but they were still really thick, and I later learned that high index makes distortion and depth perception worse so for the first few times wearing them I felt really also my peripheral vision was all but gone with them but wanting to get contacts desperately I made myself wear them as much as I could so my eyes would adapt. after a few months of switching between them and the weaker pair I went full time with the +8 pair and by the middle of year 7 they were a natural part of my face. At the end of year 7 I was so happy when was told I was able to then get contacts and once I got them I literally wore them all the time and probably overwore them tbh but I also had a overbite and some bad teeth which meant I had to also get braces a few months later and not wanting to be that kid with thick dorky glasses and braces I made it a golden rule to never be seen with glasses. 2 years later at the end of grade 10 I got my braces off. After that year ended my parents moved to another area of town and it was decided I would also change schools since the school I was at had begun to get some serious problems.
When I changed schools, I decided I wanted to get my learner’s permit. Even though I could see fine my parents wanted to make sure my prescription was ok, and I then went back to the eye doctors. When I went in surprisingly, I was told my current prescription was still correct, but I was told to lay of wearing contacts except for when I was out and to use glasses at home. i then got 2 new pairs of glasses I was told I would need a smaller frame to hide my thickness but since I only planned to use them at home, I got a larger dark grey squarish frame since my head was now quite wide and the smaller frames were uncomfortable. when I ordered these glasses I got high index lenses again but for some reason the store pressured me to also get a reading pair and I was told I could get a multifocal pair with basic lenses for an extra 10 bucks I agreed since it was only 10 bucks and I got the same frame again but it had some neon green lines in the arms. I got my 2 pairs and I also still sometimes use these pairs today. The single vision pair despite being a bigger frame wasn’t thicker or stronger looking than the round pair although the Bi Focals were the opposite and looked like a thick pair of grandpa glasses and I still don’t think ive ever worn them outside my house and didn’t end up using them until years later and no one except for one girl I dated ever knew I had them. despite what I was told I still ended up wearing contacts most of the time but did wear my single vision glasses out occasionally and once or twice to school which was funny when some people who didn’t know I had glasses saw me wearing them for the first time. but at this school i had alot of friends and no one made me feel akward.
After a couple of years messing around after school, I decided to start an online degree in graphic design. After a couple of months covid also began. During covid i stopped wearing contacts since I hardly ever left the house. one day I decided to try the old bi focal pair since I was having a hard time seeing this small detail. Despite the fact they were thick and heavy I strangely felt I could see better with them and idk if it was just the fact, I was in front of a screen, but I found myself using the reading add a lot. After covid was finally over I went back to my eye doctor again. my distance prescription and contacts were still fine, but I was told I might benefit from progressives since I had begun using a reading add more and a lot of people had gotten them after covid. I then ordered a pair in a similar frame to the previous pairs. I often wear this pair whenever I use glasses and don’t mind my vision with them but honestly, I prefer the bi focals with the distinct segments since sometimes it can be a pain to figure where to look though. I also got told to get a pair of drug store readers to wear over contacts for close things although I often don’t. I probably should have another eye test at some point but for now I’m fine it seems. I am surprised though that my eyes stabilised so well. Current glasses script for single vision. LEFT +8.50 -75 93 RIGHT +8.00 -25 91 The Bi Focals and progressives are the same except they both have a +0.75 Add I don’t currently have a copy of my contact’s script I’ve had some people suggest I get surgery to fix my eyes but since I can wear contacts when I need to, I don’t really mind. I’m mainly just grateful I don’t need prism in my lenses and that my vision has stabilised well. Also, unlike some of my family members I luckily had a similar script in both eyes so I could be corrected easily.
due to privacy concerns i dont post pictures normal but im happy to answer any questions.
https://vision-and-spex.com/my-true-extreme-latent-hyperopia-story-t2493.html