Help! Nervous of eye exam

[mousefan73]

OP here!!
All is good!! My pressure is 12, so no glaucoma. No tears, etc. I was more worried about tears etc. but my eyes are fine.

Was told to look into eye drops. Only bad thing is my eyes got worse. -9,50 and -10. Blind as a bat!

Thanks for the support!

 

[mousefan73]

BTW. Here is amazon in germany. Can get every type contacts. No prescription https://www.amazon.de/s?k=kontaktlinsen&sprefix=konta&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_5.

 

[easyas123]

OP here!!
All is good!! My pressure is 12, so no glaucoma. No tears, etc. I was more worried about tears etc. but my eyes are fine.

Was told to look into eye drops. Only bad thing is my eyes got worse. -9,50 and -10. Blind as a bat!

Thanks for the support!

Glad it went relatively well!

 

[Kaleidodad]

Yes, you can, if you order towards the end of the prescription year, that will get you two years contacts from the same prescription. I choose not to do that.

I used to always do this, and thus only visit my eye doctor every two years, but they got strict in the last year or two and won't allow me to use my insurance benefit for a longer allowance of contacts than that 1 year of prescription. They say it's because contacts are a "medical device."

So I was in there on Wednesday myself, ruining an entire day by getting my eyes dilated. I am extremely nearsighted (even moreso than OP), meaning I'm at much higher risk for retinal detachment, so as much as I would love to skip it, I know it's necessary for me.

 

[gwynne]

OP here!!
All is good!! My pressure is 12, so no glaucoma. No tears, etc. I was more worried about tears etc. but my eyes are fine.

Was told to look into eye drops. Only bad thing is my eyes got worse. -9,50 and -10. Blind as a bat!

Thanks for the support!

Glad you got an eye exam today. Do you drive? If so, it's a good idea to visit an eye Dr. each year and make sure your prescription is accurate.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Eye exams are nothing. They are the easiest thing ever. Nothing to be afraid of. I’m 57 and have been wearing contact lenses for 41 years. I use to go every 2 years but now I go every year. I woke up one morning in 2016 with a detached retina. My eye doctor immediately sent me to the Cleveland Clinic for surgery. I later developed a cataract in the eye and had to have surgery for that too. I now have a corrective lens in one eye and a contact lens in the other. Don’t mess with your eyes. See a doctor and take care of them. There’s really no excuse not to.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I imagine it may have been a little traumatizing to your family haveing your mother diagnosed with glaucoma at 40, and now you’re around the same age. No wonder you had a lot of anxiety about it! I’m glad things went well and it’s behind you now!

 

[mrodgers]

BTW. Here is amazon in germany. Can get every type contacts. No prescription https://www.amazon.de/s?k=kontaktlinsen&sprefix=konta&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_5.

And as usual, Almost half of the cost as in the US. Mine on the German Amazon is $38.26 USD. I paid $60.

 

[wgeo]

I don't know about rules in different places, but i have a pretty weak prescription, and I go to the dr and get an exam every 2 years, go home order enough boxes for 2 years, rinse and repeat. Never had any issues.

 

[WVMomof3]

Eye exams are nothing. They are the easiest thing ever. Nothing to be afraid of. I’m 57 and have been wearing contact lenses for 41 years. I use to go every 2 years but now I go every year. I woke up one morning in 2016 with a detached retina. My eye doctor immediately sent me to the Cleveland Clinic for surgery. I later developed a cataract in the eye and had to have surgery for that too. I now have a corrective lens in one eye and a contact lens in the other. Don’t mess with your eyes. See a doctor and take care of them. There’s really no excuse not to.

I also had a detached retina and now have a cataract on that eye. Curious how they did your eyes. I have not been to the cataract doctor for a consultation but my eye dr said they would likely only "fix" my eye to the same level as my other eye since they are so bad. Well, I thought they were bad until I read here. lol My good eye is -4.5 and my bad eye is -6. So from my understanding they would both be -4.5 when done. Did they do that to you? He said it would be hard to have them so lopsided if they did not do that.

 

[Hikergirl]

Contact lens prescription expiration dates vary by state, the majority are one year but some are 2.

OP, glad to hear your appointment went well.

 

[Heather07438]

Glad you went and all is well We all have areas that give us more anxiety than others.

FYI on ordering contacts online (I wear daily BioTrue but probably the same for all/most)-
First off, the LensCrafters office wanted $300/3 months but if I bought 6 months $400.
When I went online prices varied tremendously! I was able to purchase on Contactsfirst for $312 complete for a YEAR of daily wear (75% off office price). But even on that site, I was getting different prices depending what device I was logging in with (lap/desk top, phone).

Additionally, it turns out my Bausch+Lomb BioTrue lenses were made and shipped from Ireland. Contactsfirst must be an international site. The US has a minimum charge law for contacts that are twice the price I paid.

tldr: It is worth the effort to shop around for contacts.
Just make sure you are getting authentic products, your eyes deserve the best!

 

[mousefan73]

And as usual, Almost half of the cost as in the US. Mine on the German Amazon is $38.26 USD. I paid $60.

maybe they ship over there. I should start a business.

 

[Lilsia]

Ok just looked it up. Some states it is a year, some 18 months and a few states you can go 2 years between exams. I don't know how long you can go in Germany. But I can't imagine they would allow you to go much longer then a couple of years.

 

[Heather07438]

How come my doc in NJ only gives me 1 year

18 months

• Iowa
• Louisiana

2 years

• California
• Florida
• Maryland
• Maine
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• Utah
• Washington

All other states will offer a prescription with a minimum valid period of one year.

 

[wgeo]

How come my doc in NJ only gives me 1 year

18 months

• Iowa
• Louisiana

2 years

• California
• Florida
• Maryland
• Maine
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• Utah
• Washington

All other states will offer a prescription with a minimum valid period of one year.

That's interesting. I live in FL now - but even when I lived in WI, I would just order 2 years worth of boxes when I got my prescription and they didn't care.

 

[Lilsia]

That's interesting. I live in FL now - but even when I lived in WI, I would just order 2 years worth of boxes when I got my prescription and they didn't care.

I think that if it is not going through your insurance, you can pretty much order however much you want within that year. Some people go through them faster then the recommended time so they need more. You just can't order any after your year is up without a new prescription.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

I also had a detached retina and now have a cataract on that eye. Curious how they did your eyes. I have not been to the cataract doctor for a consultation but my eye dr said they would likely only "fix" my eye to the same level as my other eye since they are so bad. Well, I thought they were bad until I read here. lol My good eye is -4.5 and my bad eye is -6. So from my understanding they would both be -4.5 when done. Did they do that to you? He said it would be hard to have them so lopsided if they did not do that.

Yes, my corrective lens is equal to my vision in the other eye with my contact lens. It’s a little weird at first but you get use to it.

 

[Skippy918]

My friend just got diagnosed with the early stages of glaucoma. She was noticing changes in her night vision and peripheral vision. She has eye drops now.
I go yearly since that’s what insurance allows. Our doctor has the retina camera so no dilation plus the pictures get saved every time. I was nearsighted with a high prescription (-6 to -7, plus some astigmatism) so I’m at a high risk of tearing and detachments.