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Ask HN: Do your eyes bug you even though your prescription is "correct"?

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Re: Ask HN: Do your eyes bug you even though your prescription is "correct"?

#41

Post by jbornhorst »

foobarian wrote: post #37

I'm nearsighted with a slight bit of astigmatism. (-6 or so). I got progressive lenses the last time around at the optician. I hated the whole process; it was desperate and high-pressure sales. I hate the progressive lenses because using them requires tilting your head at awkward angles. I hate that the near-sighted prescriptions are regulated as much as they are. I ended up self-serving at eyebuydirect.com. For the…

I would LOVE to speak with you. 20-30 mins? Drop me a line at jbornhorst [at] gmail [dot] com?

Re: Ask HN: Do your eyes bug you even though your prescription is "correct"?

#42

Post by Night_Thastus »

jbornhorst wrote: post #13
Night_Thastus wrote: post #5

I'm nearsighted with no astigmatism, so I have a simple -2/-2 prescription (if I remember correctly). I sit at a screen 8-16 hours a day. I get strong headaches every single day, for which I keep a supply of ibuprofen at work and home. 400mg a day is generally plenty. I do not wear my glasses while at the screen, as it's close enough that I don't have any issues. I suspect my headaches are neck muscle related, not ey…

Hey, thanks for replying! I’d love to chat briefly. Can you shoot me a quick email at jbornhorst [at] gmail [dot] com so we can coordinate?

I'll send a message once I'm home from work, which could be a couple hours.

Re: Ask HN: Do your eyes bug you even though your prescription is "correct"?

#43

Post by JZL003 »

JZL003 wrote: post #39

Also look at a doctor specializing in small prisms. Sometimes your eyes don't perfectly align at their resting state so one eye is constantly constantly using muscles to pull it centered. For me, that means when I get tired and those small muscles can't keep up, I get headaches and it gets worse. Neurovisual places can give very tiny prism additions so your eyes don't have to move but the light is "shifted" over.

Also there are very cheap prescriptions sites online which ship. You can try different prescriptions, with varying power (magnification) and see which works for you for computer, reading. I found that the computer glasses prescribed were way to strong (all they do is subtract .25 from the first number on both eyes, often). But if I only subtract .1 it was perfect, helpful for computer sessions but if I look up everything isn't blurry

Re: Ask HN: Do your eyes bug you even though your prescription is "correct"?

#45

Post by r_klancer »

I will say this: if you're not happy with your current prescription, there are ways to get a more intense workup and better outcomes by going to an academic optometry center. In my case, I went to the New England College of Optometry and got prescribed a special type of contact lenses ("scleral" lenses) which have been a major quality of life enhancement.

They're expensive, there was a learning curve for getting them on correctly, and it took several followup appointments to get the correct fit from the manufacturer, but I can wear the lenses almost all day and they give me clear, sharp, 20/20 vision.

Also, when I'm wearing them I need reading glasses to read up close--my uncorrected vision actually compensates for my slight age related nearsightedness. But my vision is so much better I don't mind at all!

The back story is that I had lifelong astigmatism and 2 eyes with different powers (one more farsighted than the other one) which led to some mild amblyopia (lazy eye) that I've had since childhood. My vision wasn't "that bad" so I got by without using my glasses for a long time. But when I tried using my several year old prescription glasses I found that presbyopia (that age related inability to focus on anything up close) made the glasses almost useless for reading.

Even though I'm a dev who looks at screens all day, I didn't think I minded, but I noticed in recent years that my appetite for reading books had disappeared was partly due to noticeable eye strain, but also due to generalized eye fatigue that I wasn't really acknowledging. I also had to sit up front in meeting rooms to follow along with anything projected on the screen, which was annoying.

A colleague mentioned the book Fixing My Gaze (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fixing_My_Gaze/Ul16tPVk...) and I bought it. It's partly a personal narrative by a neuroscientist who was stereoblind and taught herself to develop stereo vision in middle age (she was profiled by Oliver Sacks at one point). But it's also a history of research optometry, which focuses on refractive vision correction and visual processing (as distinct from eye diseases) and which I barely even knew was a thing. Which led me to NECO and my big quality of life improvement!

Re: Ask HN: Do your eyes bug you even though your prescription is "correct"?

#46

Post by Night_Thastus »

jolmg wrote: post #19
Night_Thastus wrote: post #5

I'm nearsighted with no astigmatism, so I have a simple -2/-2 prescription (if I remember correctly). I sit at a screen 8-16 hours a day. I get strong headaches every single day, for which I keep a supply of ibuprofen at work and home. 400mg a day is generally plenty. I do not wear my glasses while at the screen, as it's close enough that I don't have any issues. I suspect my headaches are neck muscle related, not ey…

Taking pain meds daily for life doesn't seem like a good plan. Maybe try e-ink? There are e-ink monitors on the market if that works, if the problem's the light. You can also try software like Redshift[1] for regular monitors. If it's your neck, at least put some books under your monitor stand, if you're not able to get better monitor mounts. Or lower your chair. You should be looking straight ahead for your monitor,…

E-ink isn't possible for either my work or home solutions. I cannot replace any of the work monitors. I do use f.lux while at home, though that only triggers later at night.

My monitor is at the appropriate height (eyes are roughly even with top of the screen) and distance (about arms-length), so I'm looking straight ahead.

Re: Ask HN: Do your eyes bug you even though your prescription is "correct"?

#47

Post by Night_Thastus »

lanstin wrote: post #33
jolmg wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taking pain meds daily for life doesn't seem like a good plan. Maybe try e-ink? There are e-ink monitors on the market if that works, if the problem's the light. You can also try software like Redshift[1] for regular monitors. If it's your neck, at least put some books under your monitor stand, if you're not able to get better monitor mounts. Or lower your chair. You should be looking straight ahead for your monitor,…

If it's posture related, here's more free advise: try sitting on stools rather than on chairs with a back, and sit up straight and keep your arms actively powered while typing (not laying on a surface). Also, when you need to think for a minute get up and walk around.

A stool without a back would be very uncomfortable, but I do have ergonomic chairs (Herman Miller Aeron) which should do a decent job from what I understand.

The rest I'll consider though, thanks.

Re: Ask HN: Do your eyes bug you even though your prescription is "correct"?

#48

Post by Night_Thastus »

sgt wrote: post #36
Night_Thastus wrote: post #5

I'm nearsighted with no astigmatism, so I have a simple -2/-2 prescription (if I remember correctly). I sit at a screen 8-16 hours a day. I get strong headaches every single day, for which I keep a supply of ibuprofen at work and home. 400mg a day is generally plenty. I do not wear my glasses while at the screen, as it's close enough that I don't have any issues. I suspect my headaches are neck muscle related, not ey…

Are you using a laptop (looking downwards) or are you using a proper screen setup?

Proper screen setup, most of the time a 27-inch screen at about arms length.

Re: Ask HN: Do your eyes bug you even though your prescription is "correct"?

#49

Post by amluto »

Two factors worth looking at:

1. Base curve. Some people are bothered by lenses with a high base curve. Talk to an optician.

2. Flicker. Lights that flicker can cause headaches and other issues. This includes many LEDs, especially ones from more than a couple years ago, as well as old CRT monitors. “Driverless” LEDs are a major offender. Some modern “low persistence” displays could also be problematic. (I have no idea why anyone wants a low persistence monitor. I understand why low persistence is useful for VR, but monitors aren’t VR.) There’s a standard called IEEE 1789 that the industry mostly ignores.

Re: Ask HN: Do your eyes bug you even though your prescription is "correct"?

#50

Post by Night_Thastus »

radar1310 wrote: post #17
Night_Thastus wrote: post #5

I'm nearsighted with no astigmatism, so I have a simple -2/-2 prescription (if I remember correctly). I sit at a screen 8-16 hours a day. I get strong headaches every single day, for which I keep a supply of ibuprofen at work and home. 400mg a day is generally plenty. I do not wear my glasses while at the screen, as it's close enough that I don't have any issues. I suspect my headaches are neck muscle related, not ey…

Get your blood pressure checked just to be on the safe side. Those headaches could be caused by other health issues. Taking that much headache medication all the time is not good.

Does BP vary significantly throughout the day? Do I need to be measuring it while at work, or will a simple visit to a doctor be sufficient?

My last appointment was a couple of years ago, and I don't believe they raised any issues about it then.

I'll see about an appointment.

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