The story of how I was refused when trying to get reading glasses...
It is already June, isn't it?
Thinking that this is the final month of the first half of the year makes me feel a sense of urgency. Time really does fly, after all...! It makes me quite anxious, haha.
Well, today is another story about my eyes. Or rather, since my recent eye troubles seem endless, I hope you will bear with me...! While interviewing Dr. Rui Hiramatsu, who wrote the "Complete Guide to Solving Eye Troubles" that I am currently working on, so many concerns came up that I started taking various actions to keep my "eyes that can see for a lifetime," such as going for regular checkups at the ophthalmologist and changing my morning routine. One of those actions was finally getting reading glasses. This turned out to be troublesome... I was actually refused service! I was quite surprised by this... haha.
First of all, there were several reasons why they couldn't make them, but I feel the main reason is that my eye condition was not as simple as I thought.
The timeline is quite important (haha), so please be careful when you go to get your own reading glasses.
A certain day in April, past 18:00
I rushed into a chain eyewear store. I was planning to have my vision tested and have them help me choose reading glasses. However, when it came time to measure my vision and try different lenses to find the appropriate prescription... the trouble was that nothing changed no matter which lens I put in. I thought, "Wait, is that even possible?" but the clerk ended up asking me, "Normally, you should start to see better and the horizontal lines should look thicker... are you really not seeing any change?" Yes, I really wasn't seeing any change at all, *sob*.
So, the clerk declared that measurement was impossible and told me to go get a prescription from an ophthalmologist. At that time, they only gave me the advice, "Are you coming from work today? Your eyes might be tired, so it might be different if you measure during the day." Needless to say, I panicked, wondering if it was a disease rather than just vision loss or presbyopia, and out of fear, I went straight to an ophthalmologist.
The day after a certain day in April, morning
I made an appointment at a local ophthalmologist and asked, "I couldn't get reading glasses made, so could you please perform a vision test?" When I took the vision test, it became clear that my nearsightedness had progressed, "Oh, you can't see..." and my original astigmatism had also accelerated... on top of that, presbyopia had set in, making the situation very complicated. The doctor said, "Perhaps you couldn't choose a prescription for reading glasses because you have astigmatism."
However, when I compared regular reading glasses and reading glasses with astigmatism correction at the ophthalmologist's office, there wasn't much difference. When I told the doctor, "They both seem about the same to me," she said, "Well, it would be expensive to write a prescription, so you should just choose reading glasses with a +0.1 strength." At that point, I still didn't really understand why they couldn't make them at the eyewear store.
A certain day in May, night (or rather, middle of the night!)
After that, I obtained a pair of off-the-shelf +0.1 reading glasses, but I didn't feel like I couldn't see well during the day, so I spent most of my time without using them. However, when I work all day looking at my PC, smartphone, and tablet, my vision definitely becomes worse at night. I think, "Okay, time to use them!" and put on the reading glasses, but I still can't see well...!! Why is that? I was in a state of confusion. When I had them measured properly at the ophthalmologist, I should have been able to see clearly with +0.1 reading glasses, so I couldn't help but wonder why I couldn't see. Then, I remembered something.
Although I have lived with my naked eyes all my life, when I was in my 30s, my vision became poor only at night while driving, and I would often pass by signs because I couldn't see them until I was right in front of them. Thinking it was finally time for glasses, I went to get some made a long time ago. At that time, I was advised, "I don't think you need vision correction glasses. However, it might be good to include the lightest astigmatism correction." So, I had glasses made with only astigmatism correction. It was true that I didn't need them during the day, even while driving, but when I wore them at night, I could see so much better.
That means that at night, the difficulty in seeing due to astigmatism doubles. That's why simple +0.1 reading glasses weren't enough after all. I understood that I needed reading glasses with astigmatism correction for when it gets dark at night or after I have overworked my eyes during the day. I think it is most efficient to go to the ophthalmologist at the time of day when you personally feel your vision is at its worst.
Once I understood, it all clicked into place, but it was quite complicated for a layperson.
It was an event where I experienced firsthand what Dr. Hiramatsu said: "The condition of your eyes is different in the morning and at night." There are quite a few things you should know to maintain eye health. If you judge by yourself that it is "just vision loss" when it is actually a different disease, or if you leave it alone because you feel something is slightly off and end up with a visual field defect, eye troubles of some kind will inevitably accompany you once you reach your 40s. The regret of "I wish I had done that back then..." is the scariest thing of all. If you feel something is a little wrong, please visit an ophthalmologist. Of course, you can also keep a copy of this book at home as your bible! Haha. We have included four self-check methods, so checking yourself once a month is also recommended as you can track the progress.