Eye Tests

[ben5575]

My wife has had three eye tests over the past 10 months: Nov 20, June 21, Aug 21

Results:

R +0.75 -1.25 155 Near +1.25
R +1.50 -1.00 165 Near +1.25
R -0.50 +0.75 80 Near +1.25

L +1.00 -1.25 15 Near +1.25
L +2.00 -0.75 25 Near +1.25
L 0 0 0 Near +1.25

She bought reading glasses on the strength of the first test which work, but she can also watch TV whilst wearing them which she shouldn't be able too.
She bought varifocals on the back of the second test which she cannot use despite 6 weeks of trying.
Today's third test was a sanity check to see whether 'it was just her' who couldn't get away with varifocals or whether the second test and therefore her varifocal prescription was wrong.

And before anybody says it, yes she did go to specsavers for the first test (then Vision express, then an independent).

These tests make no sense to me. Can any opticians on here make any sense of them? Advise next steps please?

[APontus]

Why has she had 3 tests and then used different opticians?

[ben5575]

First one was a routine test as it was due and 'I'm blind - I can't read anything'. Reading glasses bought on the back of this test. Work fine.

Second one was that she liked some frames in that particular shop and they offered her an eye test at the same time. Varifocal lenses bought on the back of it. Didn't think to compare this second test with the first one, as why would you?

Third test was because the varifocals just don't work for her and the first two test results (having now checked them against each other) appeared to a lay person like me to be very different. So the third test was a sanity check to hopefully show which of the two previous tests was the correct one.

Sadly the third one is nowhere near the first two either

Or maybe they are and I have no idea what I'm talking about which is the most likely interpretation.

[APontus]

You don't need an eye test every time you want new glasses and you can take your prescription from one optician to another. I'd question the ethics of an optician who encouraged someone with healthy eyesight to get another test only 2 months after their last one.

As for the differences, you have a different optician with different skills using different equipment to test on a different day in a different commercial environment.

I try to keep to the same optician for consistency.

[HelenT]

The third prescription is written in a different form, you can either work in positive or negative cyl format so swapping them all to the same notation gives

R +0.75 -1.25 155 Near +1.25
R +1.50 -1.00 165 Near +1.25
R +0.25 -0.75 170 Near +1.25

L +1.00 -1.25 15 Near +1.25
L +2.00 -0.75 25 Near +1.25
L 0 0 0 Near +1.25

As an Optometrist you are always going to get a slight variation even when you test the same person on different days as it's a subjective process. If I got variations like the above the first thing I would be doing is sending the patient for a diabetes check as that can cause variable prescptions. With the first prescription it would help on reading but might not blur tv too much (especially if close to the screen) as there is an element of hyperopic (long sighted) distance presciption there.
Hope that helps

[ben5575]

Yes it does, very much. Thank you Helen.

So stick with the first prescription that works for her and arrange for a diabetes test.

[HelenT]

ben5575 said:

Yes it does, very much. Thank you Helen.

So stick with the first prescription that works for her and arrange for a diabetes test.

Yes if it works stick with them, it strikes me as a bit odd that all the prescriptions have the same reading addition (+1.25) usually if you under correct the distance you need to increase the reading addition so they can see. The first and third prescriptions are reasonably normal for first reading glasses most people would have been in specs for a few years before they got to the second one.