Help, I have to start wearing glasses!
Okay, for the past few months I've been having intense migraines. I had an eye test done last week and found out I have to wear glasses (this may help stop the migraines).
I have very bad sensory issues and I'm worried about if I'll be able to keep the glasses on all the time. I'm scared if they'll make my ears itchy and if they'll make my nose hurt. I mean, I feel uncomfortable when my hair gets too long and start crying, how am I going to cope with glasses?
These are the ones I picked out;
http://d1h3612lyp6ucx.cloudfront.net/si ... -q54_0.jpg
I'll be getting them tomorrow and I'm just wondering if anyone with overpowering sensory issues wears glasses. Is there anything I can do to make them feel better or am I just stuck with it?
I'm also heavy handed with things and I'm worried in case I break them and because I picked out the expensive ones (£129 I think) mum won't buy me any new ones for 2 months (her exact words).
Is there anything I can do to make sure I don't lose them or break them?
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Your neurodiverse (Autistic) score: 193 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-Autistic) score: 23 of 200
"Different but not less."
BirdInFlight
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I am nearsighted and only feel happy in contact lenses. My nearsightedness came on quite late -- 25 -- and I went directly to contact lense wearing, more for reasons of vanity at that time. I wore only contacts for years until recently at a new eye exam I was offered glasses and took them, for times when I'd like a rest from contacts.
Well it turned out...I HATE my glasses...
Even though I'm used to the feeling of something on my face in SUNglasses, which I've liked to wear a lot in the sunny place I used to live, for some reason I don't like my prescription glasses. But I don't think it's all the physical presence -- I think my brain is weirded out by the prescription lenses.
With contacts, the prescription part covers your entire pupil making everything you see perfect vision, including peripheral vision, as if there is nothing wrong with your vision.
But with glasses, personally I find that I get very distracted between what I see through the glasses, and what my peripheral vision sees around the glasses at the same time. My brain seems unable to focus only on what I'm looking at directly through the lenses. It makes me stumble, feel worse on staircases, and in a crowded store I get worse sensory issues than when I wear my contacts. I've now had my glasses for three years, and I can only wear them if I'm going to be sitting perfectly still on my couch watching TV. If I try to move around wearing them, my brain goes nuts, trying to make sense of the uncorrected peripheral vision I keep getting distracted by "outside of" the frames of my glasses, and the corrected vision directly through the glasses.
So, my contacts are the only thing I can use without having weird brain processing problems with my vision.
You won't necessarily experience the same issue -- I feel like I'm the only one, because I've never heard of anyone else having the same problem I'm having with my glasses. Maybe I even have the wrong prescription by some mistake they made, who knows. All I know is I can't stand them and I've tripped and fallen when trying to wear them in the general world. I keep them now for TV watching only on days when I don't wear my contacts.
I wish you better luck than me with glasses -- you will probably be fine.
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If you always have them on your face except next to you when you sleep, you won't lose them.
The glasses can be adjusted for free as often as needed at most shops. They bother me when they are knocked around but getting them adjusted to sit right makes a HUGE difference. You don't even have to go to the store that made them, usually any store will do it until they feel right.
Many frames are way overpriced, but don't hesitate to keep trying different ones on until you find one that's very comfortable to wear.
Keep in mind that a frame you like that doesn't fit over the ear well likely comes in different "arm" sizes that can be ordered. A frame you don't like that fits well over your ears has the size marked on it.
I have lots of sensory issues (which were way worse when I was younger and first got glasses) and I've worn glasses for 11 years now. It took me several months to get used to them, partly because of feeling them on my face and partly because of having to get used to doing things like turning my head to look at something instead of just my eyes. I personally find thin titanium frames the most comfortable and thick plastic frames the least comfortable.
One thing I will say is make sure you get an anti-glare coating. I made the mistake of getting a pair without it once, and I literally could not wear them and had to get a different pair because the glare was so bad. I always thought anti-glare just affected how you look in photos and such, but it really affects your vision. Also, make sure your frames are wide enough and don't press into the sides of your face, and keep an eye out for the paint rubbing off on the sides, and replace them when that happens or it can be irritating and hurt. I've never had an issue with my nose hurting from metal glasses because they have nose pads, but the plastic kind do bother my nose so I avoid them.
All in all, after the first few months it took to adjust, I have not had any issues with wearing glasses. I don't feel them on my face anymore, and I actually think I look better with them on than off now. These are really similar to mine: http://www.zennioptical.com/312712-bend ... frame.html Good luck with your glasses, I hope they help you out!
Last edited by Quill on 10 Jul 2014, 2:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Anytime I get a new set of glasses, I feel like barfing (vomiting for you in the UK).
When you get older maybe you can get eye surgery - maybe by then we will know if it is safe long-term. I have held off because I need my eyes to work to make a living, feed my family, stare at women's features
Looks like its too late, but I would suggest that for your first pair of glasses buy them in a brick-and-mortar store - then if things don't look or feel right, you can go back. They can also adjust your glasses to your head (basically bend them because your ears are not at the same height), get you started off on the right foot at least. Over the internet I don't know how that works.
My wife's cousin swears by some eyeglass store over the internet, but I can't remember the name. Its here in the US though.
Get a little protective case for your glasses and keep them there. It can stay on a bedside shelf or a desk where it's easy to see and not in danger of being stepped on or crushed under an elbow. I never did this when I was a child and don't need it now, but if I was new to glasses it would have been a help.
You might also want a special cleaning cloth for the lenses, which may or may not accumulate a few specks or fingerprints daily.
That's tough, I first got my glasses (I'm very nearsighted) in 4th grade and it took me years to finally start wearing them consistently, at first it will feel very unusual and almost painful at times but the longer you wear them for the less you notice them, sometimes I forget I even have them on, or when they are off I forget (If I am not focused at all) I am not wearing them - if you have to wear them all the time they almost become an extension of you, picking out new ones becomes like choosing a new piece of your face, breaking them almost feels painful.
I have also broken many pairs of glasses over the years by dumb accidents like rolling over them in bed or once stepping on them, but as I began to pay for things out of my own pocket I begin to be extra careful with those things, they can be really expensive to replace at times so I try my darnedest not to scratch them or bang them up and so far I've had this pair for a long time now. Always have a safe place to put them in, I was forgetful when it came to using protective cases so I designated a drawer with a soft piece of fabric in it and that's where I put them every night.
The pair you bought seem to be good for starting because you can get extra squishy/cushion-ey nose pads on them unlike the thick plastic ones I wear.
Like other people also mentioned the first times you wear them you might get sick, it's like that for me every time I get a new pair but eventually you adjust to it and the world doesn't seem so warped anymore.
I got mine when I was 12 (by which time I was legally blind with uncorrected vision-- it was something like 20/350-- I hid the notes from school for YEARS until I was unable to function). They drove me crazy for about 2 weeks (I HAD to wear them all the time-- my vision was totally worthless about 6 inches from the end of my nose). After that, I didn't even notice them any more.
Now, it bothers me when they're NOT on my face (first thing in the morning and when I get out of the shower).
How to not break them: They only go in two places: On your face, or in the case. Don't play with them, don't take them off, don't lay them here and there and yon. On your face, or in the case.
Put up with them for a few weeks. Chances are, you will adjust just fine.
And yes, I do have a high degree of tactile sensitivity.
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StarTrekker
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I've been wearing glasses since I was ten, and never experienced any sensory issues with them, save a little soreness around the ears until the glasses moulded to fit my face better (they bend inward and take on the curvature of your face). The most annoying thing I have to deal with is perpetual smudging. 95% of the time, there's a fingerprint, stray mark, or smudge on the lenses, and trying to clean them off with my shirt doesn't help much. Just make sure you keep your cleaning solution with you and you should be fine. For the record, I tried contacts for two years between seventh and eighth grades and hated them. They felt weird and sort of stung when I put them in or took them out, and if I kept them in when I was tired, I became acutely aware of them, and they became sort of a sensory problem. Plus, I thought it was stupid to spend ten minutes every morning and night putting them in or taking them out when it took two seconds to put my glasses on, plus I could rub my eyes without them getting screwed up or falling out like the contacts.
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Rediagnosed with ASD level 2 on the 4th of May, 2019
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Always wear them, and put them next to your bed when you sleep. You shouldn't lose them then. They'll handle falls off your head fine -- it's mainly harder impacts that break them, like sports.
I hate wearing mine, as the feeling on my face can sometimes be unbearable. Probably a sensory thingy.
I have to constantly adjust the frames where they go over the ears, a perfect fit is a necessity, that changes every now and then and it drives me crazy when they slide down my nose so I'm constantly pushing them back up. However that all of that beats the awful headaches, constant squinting and not being able to see without putting a lot of work into it, If your like me you will come to enjoy wearing glasses at least as the lesser of two evils. I found that once my eyes adjusted to wearing them I can't switch back without pain and getting used seeing correctly with them took a lot of time, far things came easily however close things were uncoordinated for a while. The visual of seeing myself in glasses was hard to get used too, I got used to the prescription at home a few hours at a time and got used to seeing myself with them on before venturing out in public.
Although I have only bought one pair in my life I like metal wire frames because I can bend the frame to fit my face at any time and if they get crushed like mine did once they can be twisted back into shape, if you have plastic your often out of luck then again I'm a decent fabricator so I gravitate toward steel things when I purchase. I pick the most boring no frills frames I can get as I don't want them to be a focal point, style feature or anything. I'm nearsighted about 20/100, not too hefty however enough to make anything more then about 2 feet in front of me unreadable. At least we are no longer alone in this, it seems like 50% of teens-20 somethings have terrible eyesight now a days.
Well I got my glasses. They feel alright but it's very strange wearing them as my vision dramatically changes from blurry to seeing everything. It's kind of like a visual sensory overload.
The glasses feel alright but when I look down (like I do when using my iPad, reading a book etc) they slowly slide down my nose so I'm going to see if I get them tightened or if there's some kind of thing that I can buy that will keep them in place (is there a thing I can buy that will keep them in place when I look down?).
I also received a nice hard case for them so I won't have to worry about their safety when I throw them in my bag.
Anyway, they feel nice so I'm happy.
_________________
Diagnosed with Autism, ADHD and OCD in 2008, aged 11.
Your neurodiverse (Autistic) score: 193 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-Autistic) score: 23 of 200
"Different but not less."
The glasses feel alright but when I look down (like I do when using my iPad, reading a book etc) they slowly slide down my nose so I'm going to see if I get them tightened or if there's some kind of thing that I can buy that will keep them in place (is there a thing I can buy that will keep them in place when I look down?).
I also received a nice hard case for them so I won't have to worry about their safety when I throw them in my bag.
Anyway, they feel nice so I'm happy.
I'm glad you're happy with them so far! I actually usually take my glasses off when I read or do anything up close, but I think getting them tightened will probably help with the sliding down problem. If not, they do sell straps you can wear if you don't mind the look and feel of them, like this: http://www.amazon.com/Bluecell-Eyeglass ... ses+straps
You need to have them adjusted so they fit better behind your ears, and also the nose pads may need to be turned in to fit your nose more closely. That will keep them from sliding down. However the tighter fit may be more uncomfortable to you until you get used to it. Go to any shop that sells glasses and they will adjust them for you.
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