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So I head into the eye doctor today and tell the guy: "Look, I've had this constant headache right in my forehead for months now. My eyes just give out whenever I try to read or stare at a screen. Can I just take one of those computer vision tests to see what's going on?"

"Sure thing," he says.

Then we go through the whole routine—one lens, then the other. I can see everything perfectly except for that damn back row; everything gets blurry, here and there. After cycling through 4395723905 different options, he looks at me and goes, "Actually, you see pretty well. You don't need glasses, or maybe you should just go see an ophthalmologist for a full exam."

Now... look, I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure life would be a lot easier if I could watch TV, use my laptop, handle college presentations, or read my study guides without my head throbbing and my eyes feeling red and exhausted. Honestly, I wouldn't mind having some glasses to wear specifically when I can clearly see that I... NEED them.

What's the move? Should I hit up a different clinic tomorrow for a more thorough checkup? And should I even mention what this guy told me today, or just keep it quiet?😕

Nicole Castillo26 said:So I go into the eye clinic today and tell the guy: "Look, I've had headaches in my forehead for months. My eyes tire out so fast whenever I'm reading or looking at any kind of screen. Can I just do that computer vision test you guys have so we can see what's going on?"

Sure thing, kid.

Then he starts swapping lenses on me—one after another—and I can see everything except that damn back row; everything is just blurry, shifting here and there. After about five minutes of this, he finally says: "You actually see pretty well, young lady. You don't need glasses, or you could always go to an ophthalmologist for a full exam."

Now... look, I'm no expert, but I honestly think it would be a lot easier to deal with the TV, my laptop, college presentations, textbooks, and all that other stuff if my head wasn't constantly aching and my eyes weren't burning, tired, and red... So, I feel like I'd actually love to have glasses to wear just during those moments when I can clearly see that I... NEED them.

What should I do? Should I go to a different clinic tomorrow where they do more thorough exams? And should I even mention what that guy told me today, or just leave it out?? 😕

When he said you "see pretty well," it might mean you have a very slight prescription, but you still have one, which is why your eyes are getting exhausted and all that... the same thing happened to me a few years ago. I was straining myself looking at my watch and the dashboard while driving, so I went to an eye doctor. I still have the same prescription today (maybe a tiny bit stronger)—not like a -3 or -4, but it's different in each eye! That caused me quite a few headaches too. It’s actually pretty nasty because of how your brain tries to merge the images; if you have a very small but uneven prescription (which that guy likely missed since he didn't notice you couldn't see a size 50 font from 10 feet away), that could definitely be why you're suffering. Personally, I also have astigmatism in just one eye (where things look warped/oval, as doctors say), and that gives me trouble without glasses, especially at dusk. 😲 total blind bird 😁

In my opinion, eye exams where you read off a wall are kind of amateurish. That distance is maybe 6 to 10 feet, but in reality, when you're sitting in a lecture hall, you might be 50 feet away. Not to mention driving, where you have to spot something dozens of yards away...

Go find a decent ophthalmologist. If you're near a major city, I'd recommend a big hospital like Mayo Clinic or any reputable specialist center; they do proper exams. I think some even do them for free, though that's usually just the basic computer screening. The big hospitals do great work; yeah, you might have to wait in line, but I recommend it just to end the misery.

If they still tell you that you don't have a prescription, then try finding a solution by changing your lifestyle habits regarding eye usage—computer time, TV, reading in dim light...

And yeah, don't mention that you already went for an exam. 😉

Thanks so much for the reply.

So I actually headed over to that Mickey Mouse optical shop on Rockefeller today because a friend swore by them. 🙂 They did the whole nine yards—full eye exam, digital scans, all that stuff. Turns out I’ve got a -1.25 prescription. It’s honestly the worst kind because you don't even realize things are blurry, but my eyes just absolutely wreck themselves after staring at my phone, laptop, or reading too much...
I grabbed some frames right then and there (my head was killing me, felt like Harry Potter, but now I look like Harry Potter 🙂) and I'm picking them up tomorrow!!

Sweet!

Nicole Castillo26 said:Thanks so much for the reply!

So, I headed over to that Mickey Mouse optical shop today—a friend recommended them, they're over on Rockefeller 🙂. They did a full exam, used all the high-tech computer stuff and everything, and concluded I'm at a -1.25 prescription. It’s actually the worst kind, honestly—you don't even realize you need them because nothing looks blurry, but my eyes just get so incredibly tired, especially when I'm working hard—looking at my phone, the monitor, whiteboards, reading, you name it...
I went ahead and picked out some frames right then and there (my head was hurting worse than Harry Potter's, but now I actually look like Harry Potter 🙂 ) and I'm picking them up tomorrow!!

Yay!

With a -1.25, it's actually impossible to see everything clearly without anything being blurry. That prescription wouldn't give you more than 50% distance vision, unless you're in bright daylight, squinting, or really straining. In dim indoor lighting when your eyes are relaxed, your sharpness with that prescription is probably only about 30% of your max. Basically, what you can barely see from 10 feet away with glasses, you might only be able to see from 3 feet away without them in low light without squinting.
It's likely either a +1.25, or maybe it's just -1.25 in one eye while the other is fine or has a smaller correction—it could even be astigmatism in one eye; that's usually marked as "cyl."

It’s not astigmatism, just a slight difference in prescription on one eye—maybe like -1.12 or something.

Nicole Castillo26 said:They did a full exam, everything on the computer and all that, and they concluded I have a -1.25 prescription. It’s actually kind of the worst kind because you don't even realize you need them since everything looks fine and nothing seems blurry.

I have a -1.25 in one eye and a -1.5 in the other, and things are definitely blurry for me 😁 and quite a bit, too. I guess I don't know how it wasn't blurry for you. For me, I can barely make out faces in the dark unless someone gets within a foot of my face.😁 Even watching TV is hard; I can't really read anything without my glasses because it gets pretty blurry, especially on cloudy days or once it gets dark outside.

They probably misread it as 0.25 instead of 1.25
There's absolutely no way she would have noticed an S reading of -1.25.

Exactly. A 1.25 prescription is pretty significant, whether it's nearsighted or farsighted. Since you couldn't see the eye chart clearly, it’s likely a minus prescription. You might even have a weird mix where one eye is -1.25 and the other is a slight plus... if that's even possible lol. Either way, it doesn't matter much right now; the important thing is noticing the difference between seeing with glasses and without them. Just a heads-up: your headaches might actually get a little worse for about the first week while your eyes adjust to wearing glasses for the first time. Anyway, I'm glad you finally got this sorted out. 🙂

Prescription values move in increments of 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, and so on... which determines if you have "good" vision or not. I honestly don't know how that guy missed it.
Besides, when you get your first pair of glasses, you usually don't even realize your sight is blurry until you actually have the chance to test it against a chart. Until then, you just assume everything looks fine.

Elizabeth Jackson64 said:exactly... 1.25 is actually a pretty significant prescription, whether it’s nearsighted or farsighted—and since you couldn't see the eye chart clearly, it's almost certainly a minus. You might even have a weird mix going on, like one eye being -1.25 while the other has a slight plus... if that's even possible, lol! But honestly, it doesn't matter much right now—the main thing is that you can finally tell the difference between seeing with glasses and without them. Just a heads-up though—your headaches might actually get a little worse for about the first week or so while your eyes adjust to wearing glasses for the first time. Anyway, I'm just glad you're getting this sorted out. 🙂

I didn't catch the OP mentioning she couldn't read the eye chart, but if there's a mismatch between the eyes, vision at a distance is usually okay because the brain tends to favor the image from the farsighted eye and basically ignores the blurry input from the nearsighted one. That discrepancy between the two eyes can definitely trigger headaches, though it isn't the only culprit—there are plenty of other reasons why someone might be dealing with head pain. If there was a -1.25 in either eye, an American optometrist would have caught that immediately during a standard exam, unless they didn't test each eye individually—which seems unlikely. Also, with a +1.25 prescription in younger people, distance vision usually stays fine because their eyes have strong accommodation to compensate for it. Unfortunately, accommodation can't really make up for a minus prescription.

Melissa James70 said:They probably actually measured her at 0.25 instead of 1.25.
There’s just no way she’d be feeling things with an S of -1.25.

Honestly, I think it's almost impossible for a -0.25 prescription in both eyes to cause headaches when reading up close or staring at a computer screen—I mean, sure, maybe that was what they measured, but that wouldn't be the culprit behind the headaches. A tiny bit of nearsightedness (especially without any astigmatism or a big difference between the two eyes) doesn't usually trigger headaches during near work; if anything, you might feel even less strain than you would wearing glasses.

I totally get where you're coming from! I was in the exact same boat—my prescription was just a tiny bit off, like -0.5 in one eye and -0.75 in the other. My optometrist at the local Eye Care Center actually told me I didn't even need glasses, but honestly? I pushed back for the same reasons you did. I was dealing with those nagging headaches, and whenever I’d try to look up from my laptop to the whiteboard during a meeting, everything would just go blurry. It was such a struggle! So, I finally went ahead and grabbed a pair, and let me tell you, it was a total game-changer. I am so incredibly happy with them.

Sandra Rivera59 said:I had the exact same thing happen. My prescription was -0.5 in one eye and -0.75 in the other. My optometrist told me I didn't even need glasses, but I pushed back for the same reasons you did. The headaches were real, and my vision would get blurry whenever I looked up from my notebook to the whiteboard. I eventually got them, and honestly, they’ve been a lifesaver.

I have that same prescription. At night, everything is a total blur. It's probably because the eyes aren't matched perfectly, and my brain struggles to merge the two images. 🤷 Either way, driving at night would be a disaster without them...

It really depends on the person. I used to get those same headaches during college lectures just from constantly switching focus between my desk and the front of the room.

Sorry about the mix-up. I was reading a similar thread recently and mixed up the details. 😛

Anyway, the OP ended up getting her issue sorted out. 🙂

Elizabeth Jackson64 said:I have the exact same prescription—at night, I honestly can't see a thing. I think it's because my eyes struggle to merge the different focal points into one clear image... 🤷 either way, driving at night would be a total disaster without my glasses...

It really varies from person to person! I used to get those same splitting headaches back in college during lectures—just constantly switching my focus from the chalkboard to my notebook over and over again...

Oops, sorry about that mistake! I was reading a similar thread the other day and totally mixed up my facts 😛

Anyway, the girl who started this whole discussion actually got her issue sorted out 🙂

-0.5 is definitely enough to make your vision significantly worse in low light. I actually looked this up on a medical site, and apparently, with a -0.5 correction, average visual acuity drops to about 60%. And honestly, for people with wider pupils (which can range anywhere from 5-9mm), it could be even lower in dim settings. When you aren't using any corrective lenses, that tiny difference in prescription doesn't play much of a role for distance vision—if both eyes were at -0.5, your far-off vision would look pretty much identical or just negligibly better.
In my opinion, it's a real oversight when an eye doctor won't prescribe glasses for a -0.5 prescription—especially since if the DMV finds out you're even at a -0.25, they'll slap a restriction on your license making glasses mandatory for driving.