Is it really that unlikely that my eyes have changed in 3 months (details inside)?

It could be the prescription is a little strong for you. If I have the prescription that’s apparently right for me, I can’t read my computer properly so they have put in lenses based on my old prescription. I spoke to my eye specialist who is an eye health guru and he said eye tests ‘are subjective you know?’ Perhaps try getting another test with another doctor and see if the prescription is the same.

Also, think about whether you have changed something in your life. Are you sleeping the same? Doing the same things? Have you been using your computer more? Could your eyes be tired? How’s your diet? No other health issues? Your eyesight can be affected by other things like blood sugar levels for instance.

Maybe you have Astigmatism(eye).

I have it and my vision changes slightly quite often.

Severe dry eye can undermine the quality of your vision. Get some over the counter drop for dry eye and if that is the problem you should notice an improvement in a few days. With central heating in the winter (assuming you live where it gets cold, this could be a possible explanation.
If you are diabetic, (unlikely at your age unless it is Type I), your eyes can change quickly but rarely much in three months.

I have astigmatism in both eyes. I am near sighted my long distance vision is such that I can’t legally drive w/o corrective wear. I spent years not wearing anything and my eyes guess or fill in the blanks in day to day life. It took several yeas of exams before I felt like my script was correct.

Even now I occasionally have eye fatigue. I like gentle eye drops. Rest my eyes by alternating focus or closing them for five minutes or so.

I’m guessing you spend a lot of time on a computer. That can really affect you eyes.

Did you see an optomitrist or opthamologist? If it gets more severe I would get a second opinion and make sure it is an opthamologist.

Depends on your eye problem. Are you far sighted or near sighted?

If you are shortsighted wearing the glasses whilst computing will mess with your eyes, depends on what sort of corrective eyewear you were given, you may need another pair for close up.

In both type1 and t2 diabetes visual changes are an indicator of elevated blood glucose levels it might be worth having this investigated if the problem persists.

I got glasses in 4th grade. I needed a new prescription every six months after that. By the time I got to HS there were some concerns that I was going blind, so my folks got me contacts…and the astigmatism didn’t progress any further.

Not sure what it is about contacts, but that’s what they do.

When I was a teenager I experienced rapid vision changes that were related to a growth-spurt.

I agree that what you are describing seems as though it is from wearing the glasses in a situation where you don’t really need them. Other things can fatigue you, like dehydration or poor nutrition, or being under the weather, stressed or sleep-deprived. Migraine headaches or aura without headache can also cause visual issues.

I have astigmatism. It’s not very bad. From what I read here, it seems that astigmatic eyes change more often that normal eyes. Is that right? I don’t think anyone said that exactly – I’m just putting things together.

@hearkat – I’m farsighted (I think that’s the term for when you can see close-up but not farther away, right?). Could it be that I’m wearing my glasses for schoolwork? When I got them, the doctor said it would be easier to adjust if I just wore them every waking moment. That was no problem. It took all of an hour to adjust. I lose them on my face now, lol! If I take them off for close work, that’s when my head hurts especially (which makes sense – your eyes have to work to focus differently than they had been). It seems like switching back and forth would be too stressful. Or is it possible to train your eyes to get “used to” both? Can you get to a point where there’s no transition when you take the glasses off?

No..you’re near sighted. You see things more clearly when they are closer to you.
No, you can’t get to a point when there is no transition. I take my glasses off to read and to do computer work. I leave them on to drive (I had Lasix in 1996. Before that I was legally blind….)

I have astigmatism and my eyes don’t seem to be unstable. Do you need to wear them all the time? I used to have to until I had surgery to correct a different problem. I take my specs on and off all the time and change to different specs. It doesn’t make me dizzy.

I’m not an optometrist but unless you need to wear them all the time, why are you being told to do that to get used to them? That would seem to me to be more likely to make your eyes dependent on them? Of course if you do need them to see and need to wear them all the time, fine. If so though, why are you taking them on and off?

I think you need a second opinion on your eyesight and ask the doctor when you should wear them. Just for reading? All the time?

@Bellatrix: I need them to be able to see farther away. I was originally told that it would make the original transition easier to wear them all the time instead of making my eyes switch back and forth all the time between reading without them and looking at the rest of the world with them. I just stuck with that because I spend the majority of my life in the real world. Could that be giving me problems?

I’m hoping I’ll be able to see the doc (I think he’s an ophthalmologist) this week and just ask him.

If you only need your specs for distance and you are wearing them all the time, that makes no sense. Wearing my distance specs all the time would quite possibly make me feel unwell because the prescription isn’t designed for close work. Definitely get a second opinion. If you don’t need to wear glasses for reading close up, you shouldn’t be wearing them. Do you feel better if you only wear them when reading from the blackboard or at times like that?

@Bellatrix I actually feel fine if I wear them all the time. It’s more of a problem if I take them off and have to adjust. I’m so confused! I think I’ll just wait.

That sounds like a good plan. Ask him to explain again why you are wearing them and when you should and if you’re in any doubt, get a second opinion. If you feel fine better wearing them. Wear them that way until you can clarify his instructions. I doubt a few days is going to do you any harm.

Like you, I am nearsighted (myopia), meaning that I can see up close, but not at a distance. Glasses in my teen years were necessary for driving and seeing the chalkboard in the classroom. I took them off for reading and computer work, if it was going to be more than a few minutes. I also have astigmatism, but once that growth-spurt issue resolved, my prescription remained fairly stable.

Our eyes use muscles to focus, and the lenses change how they work to do so. Our eyes will become dependent on the glasses if they are worn when they’re not really needed.

Now I’m in my 40s, so I have presbyopia – age-related reading issues – so I have progressive lenses, which supposedly correct for different distances. I still take them off for most reading because I get that eye-ache. I find it’s really just tiny fine print that the glasses help with.

@hearkat you sound exactly like me, I have moved to multifocals and don’t spend all my time looking for my specs, but I still take them off to read :)

@RandomGirl I have to use glasses for distance vision. I try to take them off for close-up stuff.

I thought you guys might like to hear the outcome of my eye appointment this morning.

Back in the fall when I first got glasses, it was for my weak right eye that was slacking off. Now, my left eye has “caught up” to the right one, and they’re equally messed up. My vision problems just took their sweet time in showing up completely. The ophthalmalogist actually said he sees this sort of thing happen often with teenagers who are about to have their last growth spurt. I hope that’s the case with me – I’m only 5’2” and could use it! ;)