Migraine by nature can be a visually disruptive disease, and as a result subtle vision changes can be overlooked like they were for me personally with the assumption that various things are blurrier because I am currently having a migraine.

This spring I discovered instantly upon trying to drive that my vision had changed rather abruptly since the fall before and I ought to go get my eyes looked at as this was definitely not something I could continue brushing off as a migraine like I had been. My first hint that something was off was my need to kind of dim the lights to focus on my TV in order to really see it well. It wasn’t an all the time thing, until it was! And once I noticed how blurry the street signs were, well there was no denying it – for reference I don’t drive over the winter months.

And so like all pieces that eventually make it here to be shared broadly with the migraine world, this is a story and hopefully a helpful guide, about my experience going from no glasses to a pretty strong prescription and all the ways migraine has thoroughly complicated it!

My biggest concerns going in to my appointment – which was somewhere around the end of July or early August – was what on Earth I’d do if I was having a migraine attack during my exam. I was really worried that my vision would blur a little more and mess up the results of the exam – as it had when I was a kid.

Of note, in fifth grade I went in for a vision exam because I was getting headaches when reading in class, I ended up with the world’s ugliest bifocals, which after a few months became very obvious I didn’t actually need. I waned off wearing glasses by early 7th grade because I could see just fine. I had a migraine! That was all!

The Day Of The Exam

I lucked out and was feeling pretty good come exam day.

I worked as hard as I could to communicate with the techs my concerns about migraine interfering with the results, and although I was acknowledged nothing really seemed to be done as a result. Towards the end of the eye exam I was exhausted. Thrilled because I was brutally failing the eye exam and could tell I’d be able to see again when this was all over, but exhausted. Towards the very final adjustments I was experiencing pain in my eyes, something I wish I’d spoken up about because this would be a problem later. They also only did an Rx for glasses, I think with migraine being relevant that they should have also gotten my contact lens Rx if I decided to go that route.

I was then shuffled to pay (seriously call you insurance and check what’s really covered I do not actually have vision insurance and was totally misunderstanding what was considered preventative eye care so months later I got a very high surprise bill).

Then off to the little eye glass center to make selections. I cannot express enough how much I would not recommend getting glasses at the eye clinic you visit this was the most manipulative process I have ever been through and I now have a pair of $450 glasses I cannot return and never will be able to wear.

In selecting frames I was still pretty much unable to see, so I couldn’t see price tags or anything. The glasses technician sat with me going over all kinds of stuff – really confusing stuff – and empathized a ton with my migraines and my concerns. But not enough to actually address my concerns. I reiterated how important it was that the glasses not worsen my migraines, that anything touching my head would be a problem. She insisted that all of my concerns could be addressed by properly getting a fit on the frames once they had the prescription in them. She was also very clear in her steadfast belief that I’d be so fortunate I’d even most likely see an improvement in my migraines!

She knew full and well I could not afford the glasses and at no point directed me to a case full of lightweight and inexpensive glasses that would have probably better addressed everything I needed out of glasses.

Getting the Glasses Fitted, Again and Again and Again

Within the weeks that went by between my eye exam and ordering my first set of frames I was stuck at home! Legally I couldn’t drive due to how poor my vision suddenly was.

When I got the call that my glasses were ready I went right away. The first fitter was so deeply disinterested in helping me and didn’t actually adjust the glasses. Man oh man was I in agonizing pain. And she kept insisting that I had to wear these glasses all day every day and I’d adjust. spoiler alert: I did not adjust!

At home, I tried… I really tried to wear these glasses. I felt so unsafe, especially in the kitchen, with the idea that I could use a knife and the distortion I was experiencing would cause me to cut off a finger. For the first week I couldn’t see both my tv and my phone. Something was terribly wrong and the glasses were literally cutting into the side of my skull.

I went back to meet with the initial glasses tech and she did a ton more work to really loosen up the frames. She also helped go over my questions and agreed that if I don’t want to wear them for cooking (they are distance glasses) I don’t have to. She said to continue trying to wear them to finish out the week and if I was still experiencing distortion they would remake these glasses with a subtle pink tint – of note I had ordered a pair of sunglasses from EZContacts and was not experience such an extreme distortion when wearing those. She also changed out the nose pads to be some awful non-slip silicone.

My migraines over this time were so incredibly unbearable. No meds work when your head is just being squeezed into oblivion and your eyes strained beyond belief. I was mostly just wrapped up in icepacks hoping for any relief and I hated that I had to have glasses.

I went back AGAIN because I was still uncomfortable and in tracing the arms of the glasses around my head they were still hitting behind my ear and pressing. I also wanted the nose pads changed back out. Another tech helped me and completely understood the concept of getting the loosest possible fit. Finally, the glasses “fit” as they should.

I gave myself another weekend, but I couldn’t get myself to wear the glasses all day, and my eyes ached. My jaw ached. I could barely chew solid food there was so much tension happening in my face.

The prescription was wrong.

Back Again For An Eye-Exam Redo

Before actually being able to get another eye exam because all information on the internet said what I was experiencing was beyond normal for a new pair of glasses, I had to once again consult the eye glass girlies. This time I got sat with the most condescending and blame shifting tech of them all!

She frankly didn’t believe the problems I was having and tried to convince me everything was normal. She insisted there was no way my jaw pain was from the glasses. So on and so forth.

In my eye exam redo, this technician was much nicer and more communicative. She expressed that she saw this kind of issue often and that some younger people really want the most crystal clear vision they can possibly have but a slightly lesser correction can and often is more than enough and will alleviate the strain.

For reference we went from a -3.25 and -2.00 to a -2.50 and -1.50 SPH readings for each eye to reduce the prescription.

Before leaving I had to go back to the glasses tech who continued to berate me about how being so migrainey made me such a difficult case and that it’s really no surprise I’m having such a hard time I am after all the one with the health problems this is really all my fault! I passed off my glasses to her, as at this point I am so sick and tired of coming back to this clinic the sheer thought that they’d make lenses that wouldn’t fit and I’d have to forfeit the next pair two weeks down the road again was horrendous. She could just have them. I’d been watching blurry tv for months, I could manage two more weeks.

The only useful information she provided was when I asked about my new sunglasses, and why I might be experiencing some tearing when I get out of my car. Seems likely I hadn’t added UV protection to my order. Helpful!

The Right Glasses In The Wrong Frames

We find ourselves now in the early throws of October.

Back again I go and thankfully the lenses in the glasses needed no real adjustment. My replacement sunglasses this go around were a bit tight, so they fixed those.

I had immediate relief with the correct prescription. I didn’t feel the need to rip off the glasses after my 2 hours of TV viewing in the evening. I had absolutely none of the distortion. My jaw was not aching.

Although I had thought all those ladies were foolish assholes insisting the right glasses would make my migraines better, I didn’t really anticipate an entire shift in my migraine presentation. I had a newfound constant sinus pain. My eyebrows ached. Long into the night, hours after I’d taken off the glasses. The only relief came from going to bed with ice packs wrapped around my face. My migraines were on average, worse and it was because we picked out one of the heaviest frames possible.

I didn’t personally like the idea of spending another penny on light weight glasses, but the longer the thought lingered I felt foolish not at least exploring the option. I could have comfortable glasses or I could sleep with ice packs for ever.

A friend shared some tips online, exposing me to Eye Buy Direct as an online glasses retailer that had incredibly low cost glasses. This discovery was enough to push me to try.

My research suggested that the lightest weight frames would be titanium.

Although there were some cheap options, this go around I decided to get a sleek pair of rose gold titanium frames, this cost around $75. You can see the original frames above on the left which weighed a whopping 31 grams, and the new titanium frames that came out to 21 grams.

The difference was so remarkably noticeable when putting them on my face. I really could have lightweight frames and it was criminal that this hadn’t been immediately prioritized by the glasses tech who helped me pick out the ones on the left.

A Lesson In Frame Materials

To no surprise, the journey did not end here! Eye Buy Direct provided helpful instructions for performing frame adjustments at home and as we recall from above I needed my glasses to avoid touching as much of my head as possible.

I ended up going to Lenscrafters and asking them to try and adjust my new titanium frames, which had quite the snug curve around the back of my skull which was truly unbearable. They were so helpful and nice at Lenscrafters, had the coolest arm warmer to make adjustments and helped me understand that due to the nature of titanium they just weren’t going to budge. They also broke down some of their in store costs for them to do an exam (1/4 of the cost of the one I got) and I felt really confident in this chain, even though in store they also sell pretty high end expensive frames.

With the inability to adjust them, unfortunately they had to go back.

Eye Buy Direct has a really nice 14 day free returns policy, and a less clear email to start the return and find a replacement we’ll adjust the cost process, which allowed me to pick out a pair online that also weighed less and would hopefully be more adjustable.

I decided to go with an all plastic frame, assuming that plastic would be the most malleable material. At this point, I’d also learned a good bit about something called lens indexes. This is the thickness of the lens related to the type of material. What is good about a higher index lens is that for those of us with a thicker lens and higher prescription, the higher the index the thinner (and lighter) the lens part is. On my original glasses the one lens was pretty chunky, and with the plastic frames I’d picked out being a lot less expensive than the titanium ones, I decided it could only be in my best interest to upgrade to a higher lens index of 1.6 and really see if I could optimize my glasses.

This exchange ended up getting me a refund of about $15.

My new plastic frames arrived a little over a week ago and they weigh even less at only 17 grams!

The main difference with this pair, aside from easier adjustability, is that the plastic frame does not have nose pads and luckily these sit comfortably on my face. I think the wider nose bridge touching more of my nose is also beneficial to more equitable weight distribution compared to the isolated pads.

I was completely correct with how much easier to manipulate these frames are and was able to completely adjust the arms to go straight back, not touching anything but the tip top of my ear. It has taken a handful of adjustments to get it just right, but it’s right! The prescription is correct, the weight is correct, and I even on multiple occasions have completely forgot I’m wearing them after watching TV.

They are not the stylish frames I’d hoped for, although they are not the ugliest ones I’d been considering but they truly work.

What I’ve Learned and Hopefully You Take Away From My Glasses Experience

1. If you feel pain during your exam, speak up!
2. If you want to purchase from your optometrist office come back when you can see more clearly, but ordering online is totally a viable option.
3. Get a cheap vision insurance policy if you don’t have one! We’re at almost $1500 in costs for this whole ordeal.
4. Ask for a contact eye exam during your regular eye exam, your glasses Rx is NOT a contact RX and if you find all glasses to be too uncomfortable you shouldn’t have to go back to get another exam. Better to have it up front.
5. Titanium and Plastic are both lightweight options for frames.
6. A higher lens index can also help reduce the weight of glasses.
7. When ordering your sunglasses online make sure you select UV coating.

And finally, if you feel like something is wrong keep pestering everyone until you can find a solution that works. Millions of people wear glasses, they make you feel like you’re the only person in the world with specific requests but you have every right to comfortable eyewear.

There are also migraine specific tinted lenses, ask to try them on! I didn’t really like them and didn’t want to watch tv through a pink tint, since I don’t experience normal eye strain these migraine glasses aren’t for me, but they exist!

Some Other Things To Note:

I really recommend buying frames online from Eye Buy Direct. I had such a pleasant experience and they share the weight of glasses on each frame and have a variety of upgrade options. I was very pleased with customer support in the exchange process. They also have a referral program if you’re interested you can get a $10 credit and I’ll get one too using this link.

I also ordered from EZ Contacts, and I hesitate to suggest others do the same. My first pair of sunglasses (I picked a classic Juicy Couture frame) was improperly notated as in stock and it took a substantially longer time to get them. I have friends who have waited months for their frames here too. I messed up my return process myself because in not receiving the initial pair I started a chargeback, which I reversed when I received them, but that further complicated the refund when I had to send back the sunglasses to get the new prescription. That part is totally on me. However, their return policy begins counting down your return window from the day you place your order, and as mentioned above… it might take months to receive which would mean your return window very well could be closed. My sunglasses are the correct prescription and they are authentic Juicy Couture, but again I don’t think I’d recommend them.

Finally, this whole process convinced me to go out and get vision insurance.

I was able to pick up a policy that will cost me $11 a month and cover eye exams, plus a certain amount towards glasses and contacts. I chose a policy that will allow me to use Lenscrafters to get the eye exam because my experience with them really felt so much more welcoming I think it’s only fair to offer them my business after their glasses tech was the one who finally got things moving in the final direction. I don’t know when I’ll need another eye exam, but I already know I’d like to get some night time yellow tinted glasses and it’ll just be so nice to have that expense covered. Had I understood my existing vision coverage, I would’ve had the opportunity to avoid all of these unnecessary costs, but you live and you learn and $11 a month is truly so inconsequential compared to everything me and my family have spent thus far.

Glasses didn’t cure me, I didn’t expect them too. I really hate that anyone there ever suggested that someone who at one point had perfect vision and was on disability for migraines would be cured by this unrelated thing, but y’all already know this is just how it goes.

But after four very long months, I can finally fucking see and it doesn’t hurt at all.

I even decided to splurge on the cutest glasses chain (so necessary with the lightweight frames I don’t want them to fall in the toilet) with little rattlesnake bones. Bones are lightweight right! Right?

A.