Another eyeglass question - is it normal for astigmatism to change?

[Guest Xapis10]

In my first question, I was skeptical about my prescription getting less strong, but I think I'm ok with that now. I got a second opinion (was able to get to an America's Best where I had free exams left), which confirmed a slight improvement, but not the big improvement that the first exam showed.

 

So I went to order glasses online, and I noticed that for the prescription with the glasses I currently wear, there was slight astigmatism. With my new prescription, no astigmatism was listed. I felt like the exam had been rushed, and I assumed they were maybe lazy to deal with a slight astigmatism? So for my order, I put those astigmatism numbers in, and the resulting glasses make my vision pretty weird. Rats! Anyone understand how these things work? Did I used to have astigmatism and then it corrected? Or did a slightly different prescription strength cause a need for astigmatism correction, which my new prescription doesn't need?

[Anne Rittenhouse]

Yes, My astigmatism ebbs and wanes with the amount of reading and computer work that I do. The more I have eye strain the stronger it is. Stick with your prescription as written.

[nicolehmom]

As you get older, the shape and strength of your eyes change. I had awful vision as a child but it is slowly getting better. Also, don't expect big huge improvements every time you have an exam. Go with the original RX numbers. If that doesn't work, go back to America's Best and tell them your prescription isnt working well for you. They will be able to help you.

[kitten18]

I got glasses when I was 5 years old. Mostly for an astigmatism. By the time I graduated from college, I didn't need glasses at all, my astigmatism was gone.

I wear glasses again now but my correction is very small and I pretty much only wear them for driving.

[Guest Xapis10]

Thanks - it's good to know that astigmatism changes.

I'm still confused about how prescriptions work, since I can wear my old glasses with no problems (and they had the astigmatism figured in). So is there some intricate connections between prescription strengths and astigmatism figures? If I went with my old prescription all the way across, theoretically, that should work as well as my old glasses that I still wear.

Still, I'm leaning toward using my new prescription all the way across (leaving out astigmatism), and hoping that it will work out and be a slight improvement over my current (old) glasses.

[catz]

I had astigmatism at age 6, was told I didn't need glasses at all by age 10. Then developed near-sightedness in one eye and far sightedness with a little astigmatism in the other. So yes, prescriptions and astigmatism can definitely change!