From eye patch to prisms

“Try a new pair of glasses! They might sort your vision out!” a work colleague told me and handed me a pair of funny bright yellow sunglasses. She had just bought a fizzy drink and received this free pair of glasses. It might have been a great deal, but I wasn’t in a jokey mood so I politely refused and marked my territory with a fake smile. I usually appreciate jokes as a good laugh may be always therapeutic in dealing with issues that risk to become overwhelming and overly serious. However that day though nothing seemed to work for me; no pair of glasses, no joke, nothing…

I think I gave up hope too soon as I had been offered another pair of glasses the very same day. This time not by one of my colleagues but an ophthalmologist. And it wasn't a pair of cool sunglasses on offer but prism glasses. I had read about prisms on the Internet before and found out how beneficial they can be in correcting double vision. My doctors have never suggested prism glasses so I had to force their hand to explore this option. I thought that after almost six months of appointments I should be provided with a better way to deal with my double vision than an eye patch…

I’ve tried a series of lenses of different strengths and at various angles during that appointment. Some of them made my vision even worse (I didn't even know that that could be possible!) while some others seemed to improve it. Step by step the we came to an optimal solution. They are called Fresnel prisms and apply directly to the spectacle lens. They are not built-in prisms which I found out that are more effective (and expensive as well). I was told that this is going to be a bit of a trial and error. Fortunately so far they seem to help a lot which I wouldn't have expected considering how fluctuating my vision is depending on distances and angles and light conditions etc. It was such a big relief and the feeling was similar to having my usual vision back (at least the frontal one) including the 3D perspective which was obstructed by the eye patch. 

My doctor told me that the prism glasses were mainly for reading and working on computer which I find particularly difficult at work. However after a while I tried them while I was walking and I was pleasantly surprised that they worked brilliantly. Just the occasional headaches and Instagram-like visual sensations due to the light refraction/aberrations (especially in bright sunlight or at night) but hey, no worries, I can live with that! I was relieved to retire my eye patch and embrace a more discreet way to deal with my double vision. This was a real confidence boost especially after my partner told me how sexy I looked in glasses!