These Photochromic Glasses Are Great!

[jesse_the_k]

My eyes are sensitive to light—bright lights trigger migraine and anxiety. It’s the major reason I’m almost always wearing a hat.

I’m farsighted, astigmatic, and I have double vision, so my glasses are thick. I think I’ve tried every possible light-management approach:

• contacts & sunglasses (not enough vision correction)
• Rx glasses with customized clipon sunglasses (terrible fit, always losing them)
• gray or brown dark Rx glasses (distracting color distortion, trying to track two pairs of glasses was hard)
• Rx glasses with Cocoons and Fitovers (effective and least expensive, but still must track two pairs of glasses)

Top: outside on cloudy day (dark: can see my eyes but not distinguish my eyelashes)
Middle: inside on sunny day (clear)
Bottom: different pair of glasses with clear lenses on same sunny day (just as clear)

These are the standard Transitions brand

Comments

[esteefee]

yis! I switched to gray transitions for all my reading lenses (as well as my distance lenses) years ago...it's fantastic. so glad they are helping you, my friend.

now: if they would only make an equivalent for noise levels...they have noise canceling ear buds, but they aren't the same concept at all.

<3

[jesse_the_k]

I get the theory behind noise cancelling earbuds but I'm hella dubious. Though I did try on a noise-cancelling headset while on an airplane. The annoying whine of the jet engines was replaced with the panicked beat of my heart. Is that an improvement?

Re: <3

[esteefee]

Right?? Just what I wanted, me giving myself the heavy breathing treatment.

[niqaeli]

Light exposure is also a major migraine trigger for me, so I know this feel sadly all too well. The best solution I've found for myself is polarised prescription sunglasses, but it is definitely tedious tracking two pairs of glasses.

I'm so grateful for modern high index plastics. My glasses would be a nightmare if they weren't made from those. (In my case, I'm just very nearsighted and very astigmatic.)

High index changed my life.

[jesse_the_k]

My first glasses (back in 1960) were glass, and I had pressure sores on my nose for decades--that's why I switched to contacts. But contacts just can't do correct enough (not even the hard ones I wore back then).

Latest discovery is air pillow nosepads, the silicone tear drops that transfer the weight on to the bridge of my nose. These ones have air in the center, and it makes a difference.

I've tried saddle bridges with marginal improvement: I have a really little nose, and even pediatric ones don't seem to fit me. I wish I could 3D print silicone.

[sovay]

That's really cool!

[jesse_the_k]

<3

[sasha_feather]

How do they deal with fluorescent lights?

[jesse_the_k]

Sadly, no joy there. So I still wear a hat.

[killing_rose]

I live in bright rose lenses inside and dark black outside. Since no one makes a "backlights are the worst and you're light sensitive" transitions, I just run around with two pairs. (Gods bless modern glasses and zenni.) I also have a pair for "...what's the actual color of that yarn?" But that pair is frequently lost so most yarns have to be observed at the end of my nose.

Master Juggler

[jesse_the_k]

I love the "actual color of the yarn" concept.

I kinda want to find you a bandolier with three rapid-draw glasses cases.

Re: Master Juggler

[killing_rose]

(The rose/red also cuts down on fluorescent issues; there's a reason they're billed as migraine reducing glasses. Mind, the Official Brand is...200 just for basic, without adding in "my script is fairly complex" so i go with zenni, where I pay about 30 or so per set.)

We had a household friend visit a couple weeks ago and he finally asked how I could get an accurate read on the color of the yarn after observing that I was in tinted glasses the entire time he was staring at me, to which I said a bit sheepishly that I regularly think the color is something totally different until I can track down the pair in question or I finally get curious.

Also the bandoleer would be hysterical and fabulous.

[lilysea]

I'm glad that they work for you! ^_^

I am also light sensitive, and I found transition lenses didn't work for me as they don't go dark inside a car - the windshield blocks the UV - even though the light coming through the windshield is painfully bright. I also found they didn't go dark inside shopping centres, even though the fluorescent lights = pain.

Neat tip about the air pillows for the nose, thanks! ^_^

It's a puzzle.

[jesse_the_k]

I had the "too light in car" issue for years, and Fitovers solved that problem for me.

But when I got new lenses last fall, they darkened more. And maybe my light sensitivity actually decreased?

Fluorescents are always evil--that's a hat situation.

Re: It's a puzzle.

[lilysea]

I often need bulky ear defenders/ear muffs in shopping centres to protect me from screaming babies/toddlers, loud music etc etc - especially since shopping centres are a sensory hell of sound-reflective surfaces - so I wear dark sunglasses inside. Can't wear a broad-brimmed hat AND bulky earmuffs - they don't physically fit together.

Re: It's a puzzle.

[jesse_the_k]

I'm thinking of an entirely new fashion category: LifeInsuLaTor. Form factor brings to mind an astronaut's helmet. Supplies air filtration, noise cancellation, and light management. Magic technology in the glass lets you control brightness and which wavelengths get through. SuperMagic upgrade permits an anti-flicker program that nullifies fluorescent lights (on the same principal as noise cancelling headphones).

Yeah, it's all a dream, but who knows? In our lifetimes?