The Case of the Migraine Monocle
As mentioned in a previous post, my new IC! Berlin glasses arrived Friday, and I put them right on. It took a few blinks, but all seemed pretty normal, until about 5pm when I was waylaid by a killer migraine headache right over and behind my right eye. I swapped back to my old pair, and things seemed to stabilize, but the headache (along with nausea and a bit of a fever, actually) persisted all night. I went to bed as early as I could with two kids under age 3.
Saturday morning I put on the old glasses for my daughter’s swim class, and then switched to the new glasses about 11am. By 2:30, I had the same symptoms – searing headache in the same place, fever, nausea, etc. I took off all glasses for a while and played with the kids, but then took a nap for a few hours. My temperature was up to 101 degrees. Keep in mind I had felt fine that morning.
By Sunday I was suspecting the new glasses as being off in their prescription, so I wore my old ones all day, and didn’t get the migraine, but did develop a mild headache in the evening.
So, putting all the info together, there are the clues of the mystery. This is what we know to be fact:
- My left eye is dominant, and my right eye is limited to mostly peripheral vision.
- The prescription for my left eye didn’t change from 2006 to present, while the right eye only got slightly weaker.
- The prescriptions for my “old” Oakley glasses and my Oakley prescription sunglasses are identical.
My assumption was that the new glasses were not correct in the right eye, which would be hard for me to gauge, but were just out-of-whack enough to cause headaches. I thought it possible that prolonged exposure to blurry vision may cause a little nausea. But I doubt it was possible to get a fever from all of this (which I did have).
After visiting my optometrist here in town (Eye Care Professionals) they reviewed all three pairs, and came up with the following:
- The new IC! Berlin lenses are spot-on accurate with the prescription, though the right lens could have been made to a higher standard, it was well within all acceptable tolerances.
- However, the prescription itself (determined at that very facility!) may not have been accurate in the astigmatism, but it was again within the acceptable tolerances.
- Put together, these two pieces of information still should not have caused headaches, especially for a non-dominant eye.
So what’s the culprit? Short answer: Me. And my kids, probably. And my previous eye shop. Let me explain.
- My “old” glasses (Oakley Jackknife 4.0) had been purchased in May of 2006, and replacement lenses had been provided (as part of the warranty within one year) in May of 2007. The problem is that the right replacement lens isn’t correct to the “old” prescription. A-Ha!
- As my kids and I rough-house, as well as (let’s be charitable here) “involuntary” arm swipes that pull off my glasses, the “old” frames have loosened a bit, and now sit a little lower on my nose.
- Wearing them normally, I no longer look through the optical center of the lens, but more through the top of the lens, which is a prism or two off-kilter.
As a result:
- My eyes have gotten used to this over the past two years, especially since most of the time I’m doing close work – reading or computer work (2 feet) or television (10-15 feet), where the effect wouldn’t be as noticeable.
- And I use my “correct” prescription sunglasses when outside or driving, so there were no problems there either.
- The only trouble I could have had was driving at night, as my distance viewing through the non-center of the lens (at night) was a bit impaired, though I didn’t notice anything wrong.
So, what’s the fix?
- Finish off today in the old glasses. I did a lot of switching at the optometrist, and my eyes are already tired.
- Start tomorrow fresh with new glasses. Try to work through any headaches. Try to rest eyes more by taking breaks from the computer screens.
- Give the new glasses a week to see if they work out. My eyes should adjust to looking through the center of the lens again.
- Once they’re okay, then update the prescription in my sunglasses. It is still okay to use my “old prescription” sunglasses for driving and distance for now.
We’ll see. Good to know that Adam’s glasses are top-notch, and it was my face’s fault.
Oh, and it’s entirely possible that I actually had the flu over the weekend as well, what with the fever, chills, nausea, joint pain, and weakness. Hopefully has passed as well.
Update (7/24/2009): It’s been three days, and no issues with the glasses or my vision. Still have a fever and general fatigue, though.
Update 2 (8/3/2009): Well, that’s interesting. According to my doctor, I had mono. Never had it before, not sure where I got it. I’ve lost about 8 pounds, and I’ve had a loss of appetite, fever, chills, joint pain, etc. Unlike the teenage version, adults don’t get the seriously contagious strep-throat symptoms. Although I have to watch out for my kids jumping on my spleen for a few weeks. Nifty!
I see London! I see France! IC! Berlin?
Back in June I had a routine eye exam, with an eventual goal of getting new frames (which is something I do basically every 3 years or so) and of course updated lenses.
My previous two frames have both been Oakleys (first the O2 – far left, and the current Jackknife 4.0 – near left), and I’ve been very satisfied with them, but I wanted something a bit new.
I was interested in the IC! Berlin product line I had seen in “Speed Racer” (Benno Furmann’s character “Inspector Detector” wears IC! Berlin Arnaud frames). I even visited Optical Shop of Aspen (the local authorized retailer) for a fitting. The retail estimate was $994, with the frames listing at $420. Yikes!
Prior to visiting the store, I had looked online for eyeglass providers providing discounts for web orders. I found a purveyor of eyeglasses online (www.glassesbyadam.com) that carried the IC! Berlin line, and placed the order. Great customer service from Glasses by Adam, which is the online storefront for Adam Simmonds, Optometrist, in Regent’s Park, London, UK. Once I entered the details of my prescription, the estimate was $602, priority shipping to the States included. A savings of close to $400 bucks. Nice.
I had also done research, and the FAQ’s were thorough and their return policy was well stated. I placed the order June 30th for the IC! Berlin Dorian frame in “chocolate”. That day, a chipper woman named Cat contacted my local optometrist to confirm the prescription (I’m inferring her “chipper-ness” to the tone of her communiques). There was a 3-4 day delay as they needed to get the frames in my color from Germany, and it was shipped on July 7th.
Now, the villain in this story is actually the US Postal Service, who, truth be told, delivered the package safely and in a reasonable time. According to Adam’s FAQ’s, the parcel should have come “priority” and required a signature, but the softpack envelope was merely jammed into my mailbox (without damage, of course). The stickler was that Glasses by Adam shipped them on July 7th, they were entered into the system of the Royal Mail (and assigned an international tracking number) in the wee hours of July 8th. The package was then a ghost for the next week.
Having not heard anything for a week, I checked the tracking info with the USPS. The tracking number only said that it was anticipating arrival from the UK. I pinged Adam himself, and he said they should be arriving by the 15th at the latest.
On the 15th, I actually called the USPS, and they didn’t have a tracking update, and had no information.
The next day, on the 16th, the status had “magically” been updated to indicate “Your item arrived in the United States in ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS) at 4:21 PM on July 12, 2009″. Nice notification 4 days later. The magic of computers. But still there was no word on their arrival from New York, until the mail arrived Friday the 17th, with the glasses bundled in with a new Pottery Barn catalog. Then I get alert email about an hour later that the package had been delivered. Nice job. Glad that wasn’t an organ for transplant.
I didn’t do unboxing photos, but the package included a note, a separate receipt, wipe cloth, and the envelopes for the lens blanks verifying their construction, all from Adam Simmonds. Additionally, the IC! Berlin case, instructions for temple adjustment, warranty, and an IC! Berlin-branded wipe cloth as well.
As a further endorsement of Adam Simmonds’ work, my local optometrist complimented the handiwork when I came in later to have them fitted, and he indicated that “This is excellent. Those European’s do really nice work.”
Glasses by Adam carries many (but not all) models of IC! Berlin, Oliver Peoples, Paul Smith, Tom Ford, and several other brands – both men’s and women’s, and sunglasses too! (Single-vision lenses only online, no bi-focals).
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