Astigmatism correction: is it necessary?

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mick - 20 Mar 2006 04:59 GMT

I have new glasses after wearing contacts for 40 years. I'm not
entirely satisfied. Due to an unsteadying sensation from barrel
distortion, my feet and the floor seem a little further away than they
used to, leading me to feel a little tipsy. I guess the overall
perspective is off as everything seems further away. So I'm wondering
what my experience may be if I got glasses without the astigmatism
correction? Would the correct perspective come back, but something else
would change? Here's my script. Thanks for your help.

SPH CYL AXIS
OD -1.50 -2.00 177
OS -1.50 -1.75 020

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The Real Bev - 20 Mar 2006 05:22 GMT

> I have new glasses after wearing contacts for 40 years. I'm not
> entirely satisfied. Due to an unsteadying sensation from barrel
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> OD -1.50 -2.00 177
> OS -1.50 -1.75 020

I don't think it's the astigmatism correction -- I'm farsighted with more
astigmatism than you and I'm much shorter when I wear glasses than when I
wear contacts :-)
R +3.50 -2.25 95
L +5.25 -2.75 80

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Cheers,
Bev
====================================================================
"We thought of one of those discount store caskets, but, frankly, we
were worried about the quality." -- mortuary commercial

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acemanvx@yahoo.com - 20 Mar 2006 06:12 GMT

this is tricky. I am in the same boat and cant get used to the cylindar
correction. I find that correcting my cylindar actually makes things
MORE blurry from near and while it helps improve my visual accuracy, it
disorts things and gives me eyestrain and a headach. Maybe correct your
astigmastim halfway to cut down on the disortion while barely losing
any visual accuracy? I wear glasses that dont correct astigmastim and
while I dont see quite as well, the quality of my vision is much better
and I dont get eyestrain/headaches.

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Dom - 20 Mar 2006 12:20 GMT

The fact that you described the distortion as 'barrel' suggests that it
may not be the astigmatism component that's causing it - it may just be
inherent distortions in spec lenses that you're not used to because you
haven't worn glasses for 40 years (if I understand the first sentence of
your post correctly).

Ordinarily though it's true that astigmatism is responsible for most
distortion problems with in spec lenses. In your case if you got specs
without the astigmatism correction (the CYL) then the distortions MAY
improve but the clarity will definitely worsen (in spite of what another
poster has suggested).

I'd suggest perservering with your new specs for a good few weeks. One
thing you can do in the meantime is to make sure the frame adjustment is
good: mainly, the lenses shouldn't be sitting too far out from your
eyes. After a few weeks, if you haven't adapted, go back and ask for
help - but I think that removing the cyl component would be a last
resort. Reducing the cyl component is potentially a much more sensible
idea, if necessary.

Dom

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mick - 20 Mar 2006 21:03 GMT

Thanks for your assistance. Coming back to glasses after 40 years is
difficult and I don't know if my experience lies within the "normal"
range. First of all, when I walk around everything is a little too far
away and doesn't seem natural. The floor and stairs are too far away
making walking just a little disconcerting and driving is also a
concern since judging distances is a little difficult. My straight
vision is very sharp, almost too much so; I almost feel like I'm
intruding on others with my super sharp "x-ray" vision. But it's the
walking, driving, and bowed out vertical lines (barrel distortion, I
believe) that is a concern. Any further ideas you may have on how to
back off these effects (even if they're not fully eliminated) will be
appreciated.

mick

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Beermonster - 21 Mar 2006 01:14 GMT

Perhaps an aspheric lens design can be of help here?

> Thanks for your assistance. Coming back to glasses after 40 years is
> difficult and I don't know if my experience lies within the "normal"
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> mick

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Dom - 21 Mar 2006 10:22 GMT

> Thanks for your assistance. Coming back to glasses after 40 years is
> difficult and I don't know if my experience lies within the "normal"
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> mick

Sure:

wear them around the house and in other very familiar environments first
before heading out in your car to drive.

have the frame adjustment checked by someone who really knows what
they're doing - should be reasonably close to your eyes with the right
amount of pantoscopic tilt (google it!)

as another poster suggested, aspheric lenses may be better than plain
(cheaper) spherical lenses. Spherical in this sense having nothing to do
with your prescription/astigmatism.

then if you've perservered for at least a few weeks and aren't making
any progress, go back to where you got them & ask for help!

Dom

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