I have wore glasses since for 20+ years and since the TN has came into my life, there are starting to become more of a hindrance than a help. I have a horrible astigmatism that makes contacts an less than ideal. I LOVE wearing my glasses, but I can't wear them most of the day because of the incredible pain that they cause by sitting on my nose. The nerve pain shoots up my nose and around my eye.
Does anyone have any similar issues and if you do, have you found anything to help you? I use lidocaine up my nose, but it doesn't make much of a difference. Do contacts cause triggers for you? Do you use lidocaine gel on your skin and does that work? Have you had to purchase extremely light glasses?
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and provide your input.
I have astygmatism too so can't really use contacts ... I have only had TN a few weeks now and tried my glasses one day and they annoyed me (luckily not extreme pain, more of a worsening of the aching headache behind the TN). Luckily I can see okay without them though like you I love my glasses, I think they compliment my personality :)
So I'm not much help being newly diagnosed and not needing my glasses to see (though things are a lot clearer with them on) ...
BTW I get cheap as glasses from a site (have about 4 pairs now!) that I can recommend, they have really lightweight titanium-type frameless glasses (hubby has some) ... www.zennioptical.com ... the most expensive ones are about US$30! And shipping is only US$10. Shows how much opticians rip you off. You could try those, really reliable and fast shipping.
Thank you both for responding. Porcelina, haven been an optician for 7+ years, I agree that the costs are high, but would never go anywhere besides a private dr and lab for my glasses after having toured and have known friends that have worked in commercial and cheap labs. Btw, Is your hair pink or red? Too funny, my hair now is hot pink. It is nice to already have fun hair since this new diagnosis has happened. ;)
So glad you brought this subject up! I have had a terrible time wearing my glasses ever since my failed MVD surgery - I love the glasses but they sit right behind my ear & put a lot of pressure right where they did the surgery so I'm going to have to try to find a lighter, looser pair to wear...I've also had horrible eye pain since my failed surgery which is driving me nuts because I LOVE to read & now I rarely do because of the pain. I can't wear contacts because my eyes are very dry with lots of ridges so I don't have that option...wearing my current glasses for more than a few minutes is a trigger for me.
I have just reached the point in my 40's that I need glasses and I can't wear them when I'm having face pain. I'm so glad that I'm not the only one to have that complaint. I only need them for distance so I don't need contacts. My sunglasses in the car really bother me - so I folded a tissue up to pad them! Ha! I looked like a fool, but it helped.
My son has an astygmatism but he has worn contacts for years, they cost about 3-4 times more than the regular one. I can't wear my 'heavy' glasses at times, but I found that a pair of light wire or rimless ones are not to bad. Zenni optical has them and they are really inexpensive. I have bought all my glasses there in the last few years and they perscription is alway right.
Aimee, thanks so much for bringing up this topic! And thanks for everyone's comments! These are the types of things that can be so helpful, no matter how big or small, when dealing with TN! I'm going to schedule another eye exam (my right eye vision has been getting worse since my failed MVD - this will be my 4th exam since then) so that I can get another "lighter" pair of glasses & see how it goes! ;D