That's weird. My vision is IMPROVING with age

[dreamshark]

My distance vision, anyway. I've been vaguely aware ever since I entered the bifocal years that each time my bifocal prescription increased, the distance prescription got a little less strong. But this process seems to have picked up speed, to the point where I was actually AWARE of the fact that the prescription in my 2-year-old glasses was over-correcting. Road signs were getting blurry, and I had to tilt my head back to look through a less strong part of the lens to see them clearly.

So I got my eyes checked, and sure enough, the distance correction was a bit too strong. Then I LOOKED at the prescription she wrote down. It's -3 diopters in my bad eye and -2.75 in the other. Seriously? I'm pretty sure that my prescription used to be -5.0 and -4.5 diopters. The prescription dive mask I got in 2001 is -5.0 and -4.0 (because they didn't have 4.5).

I'm still not particularly happy about this whole aging thing, but in the midst of the encroaching stiffness and slowness it's nice to find a little Easter egg.

ETA: This is even stranger than I thought. I just looked up how to read an eye prescription and discovered that the -3.0 is in my LEFT EYE (OS) and the -2.75 prescription is my RIGHT. For my whole life my left eye has been the "good eye." The one that used to be -5.0 was the right. Unless the eye doctor mixed up the prescriptions, my right eye has caught up and passed the left eye. Which can't be right, because I definitely see better out of the left. I'm confused. I hope she didn't write down the prescriptions wrong.

It turns that "diopters" are the inverse of meters. So a prescription of -3.0 diopters means that I can see clearly up to 1/3 meter (13"), and after that things get fuzzy. That seems about right, actually. That's about where I hold my iPhone when I look at it with my glasses off (and I always take my glasses off to look at things up close - never could get used to bifocals).

Anybody else notice that their vision is improving with age?

Comments

[mle292.livejournal.com]

My distance vision is improving, but my very close vision is gone. I used to be able to read microprinting on checks, and see very small details. Now I just remember that it's there.

[barondave.livejournal.com]

When I first got bifocals, my next pair was a bit of an improvement. I attributed this to less eye strain due to correct lenses.

Since, my close-up fuzziness gets worse than my distance. It's now been more than two years on these glasses, and I can tell I'm due for another check up. I think my Obamacare health plan covers one (non-bifocal) pair...

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

My eyes have gotten better as well. Maybe it's not old age, mayyybe we're MUTATING!

[carbonel]

It happened to my father; he always wore glasses until he turned 45 or so. Then a decade or so later he started needing reading glasses for close work, and still does.

[buttonlass.livejournal.com]

I found it to be surprisingly common when I was an optician. Especially for people who are nearsighted. It mostly started happening right before they needed bifocals. I have no idea what causes it but it's definitely not just you.

I actually dread going to the optometrist and finding out my vision improved for just this reason. :)

[mle292.livejournal.com]

You will know it's an issue without your optometrist telling you, all the doctor will do is confirm what you already knew.

It's not so bad. Denying the signs of aging becomes like something you wear. You put it on like a coat and it keeps you feeling warm and safe.

[buttonlass.livejournal.com]

I don't deny my age. I am proud of it. But I hate wearing glasses. My eye sight is crap but I get by with contacts currently. I do not look forward to the return of the headaches I always have with glasses.

[rubel.livejournal.com]

I should mention that my mother recently found out she has beneficial cataracts. Right? I didn't even know such a thing existed. Anyway, they aren't great for night vision but they help her vision otherwise...until eventually they get worse, and things will start to suck again, and she will have to have them removed at that point.

She wears trifocals.

So for those others out there, if your vision just starts getting better, it is still a good idea to get it checked out, just in case.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Wow, beneficial cataracts! Who knew? Maybe if we were better at controlling our own bodily processes we could all grow beneficial cataracts.

Great icon, btw. I even recognize it, which is rarely the case with clever pop reference icons. Of course it helps if the pop-culture icon is from 20 or 30 years ago.

[rubel.livejournal.com]

Thanks, it was either going to be that one or this one. :)

I can't keep up with pop culture either.