How long did it take you to get used to glasses?

[floo@retrolemmy.com]

I think I started wearing glasses when I was about eight, which was 38 years ago.

As I recall, it took me maybe a week or two to get used to wearing them (being able to see clearly is awesome!). But there’s a lot of bullshit pain in the ass maintenance that comes with wearing glasses, and it took me a couple years to understand and get used to that.

As I got older, and neither contact lenses, nor Lasik were viable options for me, I got used to being a just a person who wears glasses. So I pick ones that look good on me, and I don’t really think about it beyond that. And neither should you.

This isn’t the 1950s. There’s no longer stigma around wearing glasses.

[nemo@slrpnk.net]

I've been wearing them since I was a kid. I know the phenomenon you're describing, though, and it comes from changing the focus of your eyes. My vision is so bad I don't focus at all when I'm not wearing lenses, so putting them on is no problem. But switching from one prescription to another gives me a headache, because my eyes try to focus wrong at first.

[sbv@sh.itjust.works]

1-2 weeks. I've gotten one prescription for "everyday glasses" that never took. I basically suffered dizziness and nausea whenever I wore them.

I went back to the glasses place and got a weaker prescription.

Optometry is an art. They don't always get it right.

[death_equity@lemmy.world]

I think I was 10. The bridge made my nose hurt and I think I got headaches for a few days from it or the lenses themselves. Changing frames causes some discomfort for a day or two.

Now I can wear glasses for over 24 hours straight without issue.

My vision wasn't that bad from what I recall, but now I am at a -5.50 or something. I wear contacts when I leave the house and greatly prefer them, especially the transitions contacts that tint like sunglasses in sunlight. Seriously, the transitions contacts are glorious with my light sensitivity and it makes colors really "pop".

[chozo@fedia.io]

I first got glasses around 7 or 8 years old. I think I adapted pretty quickly, because I don't recall ever having any problems adjusting.

It wasn't untilI was about 19 or 20 that I started to get headaches and motion sickness, after my prescription took a significant update. I think just the shape of the glasses I had at the time, combined with the much stronger prescription, was causing a fish-eye sort of effect for me and was making me nauseated, so I switched to contact lenses and have been wearing those ever since. I've not worn actual glasses for about 20 years now.

I definitely recommend trying out contacts, especially for the nausea.

[mikenurre@lemmy.world]

Started at 3. Now 48. Contacts since 13. Prescription varies, but somewhere around -7.0 to -8.0 in each eye. Contacts give more natural vision, but took a bit to get used to. I have been able to touch my eye without blinking for 20+ years. Doc is now telling me to add reading glasses to my contacts. Contacts will reduce the headaches, but will take some time to get used to. Good luck!

[butterymonkey@piefed.social]

Ah, I tried contacts back in the day. My eyes are too dry for them. I got new gel eye drops prescribed when I went (it’s the VA, I have to accept treatment I would rather avoid to get treatment I want I wanted eye drops that help and got glasses too! At least they are kinda cute. The lady (who also had plastic frames) said I looked like a diva. She was lying to make me feel good about my choice because she could tell I wanted someone to push me away from the black wire frames I’ve always gone with. But I like them they fit better than the ones with the weird nose bridge thing so I’m more likely to stick with them. And the pink of the frame goes well with the pink tint of the lense.

I enjoyed dealing with the discomfort for the backlight contacts for my starfire costume in my early 20s, but that lasted a whole like 2 hrs before I had to remove them. I can’t handle it. They hurt. I can’t deal with being uncomfortable. (I did also try regular contacts for a while but same thing plus I’m not responsible enough to remove them ever)

I appreciate the advice tho! Thanks for the reply!

[butterymonkey@piefed.social]

Yeah this is basically what my optometrist said, that I can expect some adjustment.. but doctors always downplay stuff and like.. I’d like to get a better idea

I took my glasses off earlier and just looked at them at a distance and I think only one of them has a substantial prescription, which miiiight explain why I feel ill..

[mrjamegumb@lemmy.world]

I'm 43 and I just got my first pair about 4 months ago. It took me about 2 weeks to get used to them but it still throws me off a little now and then. I apparently had a number of vision issues I had just been stubbornly dealing with without realizing it lol I don't get splitting headaches every day now so I call it a win

[cobysev@lemmy.world]

I got my glasses in 9th grade (~15 years old). I just went to school one day and realized I couldn't read the chalkboard at the front of the class anymore. Within a week, I had an eye exam and my first set of glasses.

Personally, it took me a couple years to adjust to them. I had 20/10 vision all throughout my childhood (I can see at 20 ft what most people see at 10 ft). My vision was better than perfect. So it was very distressing to all-of-a-sudden not be able to see clearly and it took me a long time to get used to it.

Also, glasses limited my range of view. Whereas I had a wide view normally, glasses put a smaller focused frame around my field of view, so I could only focus on details mostly straight ahead. Everything that moved in the corners of my vision spooked me because I couldn't focus on it without turning my head toward it. I was very jumpy for a long time.

My vision isn't terrible. Even at 41 years old now, my prescription is pretty weak. I'm nearsighted, so I don't even need my glasses for things up close, just long-distance viewing.

And thankfully, it's been stable for a long time. It's hardly changed in the last decade and a half. As of last year, my optometrist has been telling me my eyesight could potentially get much worse, now that I'm over 40. So I've been told to report back if I notice another sudden change in my vision. But I've been good so far.

I wanted to get PRK surgery for a while and I could've opted for a free surgery through the US military while I was serving. But things kept getting in the way of my request, and I finally decided to just leave it be. Especially as I got older; I was afraid I'd only be able to enjoy being glasses-free for a few years before I'd start needing reading glasses or something.

Also, my mother spent over 40 years working for the State Services for the Blind, so I grew up around a lot of blind people and always feared losing my vision. So I was a little terrified of getting eye surgery and potentially getting a botched job.

[pezhore@infosec.pub]

Dude, have your pupillary distance checked. I got a pair of glasses from warby parker and used their "hold a business card to your nose so we can guess at that measurement". This pair was instant fucking headaches until I went into one of their brick and mortar stores and they checked things.

The focus point for my lenses was a good 5mm below where it should have been. My eyes are fucking bad and so I was basically looking through the distorted edge of high index lenses.

A quick trip back to the shop for the lenses to get redone and now I can wear them comfortably.

This is for anyone having issues with new glasses - if your prescription hasn't changed that much from your prior year, but new glasses hurt or are severely uncomfortable, get that shit checked out. That shouldn't be the case.

For you, @OP - if you've always had a script but never been able to use your glasses due to headaches/motion sickness, get a different eye doctor. Don't just go to a mall lens crafters, try to find an optometrist whose name is on the door. Tell them your symptoms. They should check your eyes for a plethora of things - maybe you've got astigmatism, or something else.

It's not normal to have a severe reaction to glasses if they're the correct match for your eyes.

[rambomst@lemmy.world]

I was around 25, it took me a month or two but I didn't have any nausea issues. I was at the point where my eyes were getting super blurry at the end of the day.

[pezhore@infosec.pub]

Get a second opinion from literally anyone else. If your optometrist is dismissive and down playing your concerns, fire them and get a new doctor who will listen.

[butterymonkey@piefed.social]

Ah, no, I never wore them because I “didn’t need them” and it was inconvenient. I’m very bad with forming new routines to do things I should do, and keeping routines that exist, so if I don’t need them, I won’t use them.

Now I’m realizing I need them and probably have for a while, but the light prescriptions I had in the past were to see if eye issues were contributing to my headaches.

They don’t cause them. That’s a whole other issue that’s being handled as best it can be. My prescription was always really mild. Still is, but it’s enough that I feel a need for it in daily life. Because I wanna play video games without eye strain.

My eye doc is through the VA and I’ve seen many over the years, and they have all said the same thing; you don’t really need them yet but we’ll give you a pair to try to see if it helps. They have checked for all the things because I see halos and stuff. But apparently nothing significant. Dry eye can apparently cause similar stuff and I’ve got some really unpleasant gel drops for that now

[rhynoplaz@lemmy.world]

I've had them since third grade, but switched to contacts after high school.

I can't see a thing without them. This is not an exaggeration: hold your phone the closet you possibly can to your face until you have to close one eye to read it. That's about as far as I can see in focus without glasses.

[butterymonkey@piefed.social]

That’s a dramatic overreaction to what I said. They haven’t dismissed anything, because I got these glasses today. They said I could expect it. Weeks ago during the appointment.

[Guest]

I’ve worn glasses about sixteen hours a day my entire adult life. Got my first pair around 10. Acclimating took maybe four or five days of minor discomfort. The improved vision was incredible and as a child I had child durability, so I didn’t mind the discomfort. I vividly remember how strange it felt for air to hit my face with glasses on while walking or running.

Every time I get a major prescription update it takes two or three days to feel “right”. Until then I have some disorientation. I would expect an adult who hasn’t consistently worn glasses to feel that more keenly.

If I had continued eye strain after three days of constant and consistent wear, I would call the optometrist. If it lasted a week and the optometrist was blowing me off I’d consider my options. Some prescriptions are better than others. I could tell you exactly when I got my best prescription, it was life changing. I didn’t know people could see like that. I’ve never had a “bad” prescription to the best of my knowledge, every time I’ve updated it has been an improvement.

[papalonian@lemmy.world]

I wore glasses when I was a kid, maybe ages 7-10, but stopped wearing them because I kept losing or breaking them and I guess my parents decided that if the 10 year old says he can see fine the optometry results don't matter that much. Started wearing them again when I was 19 and have been wearing them ever since. The only "getting used to" was everything being so much more clear and vivid, and a tiny bit of eye strain.

If you're having these issues you should definitely insist on seeing someone

[fryd@sh.itjust.works]

I started wearing glasses at 17. I technically didn’t need to wear them all the time, but I just did because it was immediately much more comfortable on my eyes. I have a bent nose from a break and I got a little irritation from it, but the relief on my eyes was easily worth it.

My eyes aren’t super bad, I can actually be okay without them for most of the day. Neither eye is super bad, but I have a high astigmatism factor or whatever they call it. That makes my depth perception really funky and I can’t read anything at a distance.

I can’t really remember what difficulty I had at first besides the my nose hurting and getting used to the frames being in view. It definitely never made me nauseous though. You should probably talk to your eye dr about that.

[suck_on_my_presence@lemmy.world]

Transition contacts sound insanely cool!!!!!

But I also didn't realize you could get contacts with that intense of a prescription, that's great.

I've never worn contacts, but thought about it a few times for sports.