August 9, 2022 - EyeClarity Podcast
Navigating a vision exam can be hard, depending on your doctor. So I want to share some tips on how to make the process work for you. I’ll share what to look for in an eye exam and how to slow down the process, so you know you’re getting the prescription that’s right for you. Enjoy the show. If you want more, sign up for my newsletter at: www.drsamberne.com.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
doctor, eye, glasses, lens, exam, progressive lenses, prescription, technology, light, clarity, bifocal, drug, health, tick tock, prescription pads, studied, dilation, improve, eyelids, non threatening
Hello, everyone. It’s Dr. Sam, I’d like to welcome you to my EyeClarity podcast. This is a show that offers cutting-edge information on how to improve your vision and overall wellness through holistic methods. I so appreciate you spending part of your day with me. If you have questions, you can send them to hello@drsamberene.com. Now to the latest EyeClarity episode.
Hey, folks, it’s Dr. Sam, and I want to welcome you to another EyeClarity Podcast. I’m on my morning walk. And I want to take a question from Phyllis. And she’s struggling with her eye care. And she wants me to talk about what are some tips that I can give her so that she can have a successful outcome in her vision exam. And this is also being inspired by a video 22nd video I did on tick tock recently, on three things you can do to improve your experience at your eye doctor and get what you need. And then the video went viral. So either people like my personality, or they really received some value in what I was talking about. So I want to go through what you can do to make your eye exam more pleasurable.
So the first thing to note is that, you know, depending on what town you live in, it’s important that you do some research, you know, after all, this is your eyes, just like any other part of your body. And you have to decide, what is your philosophy, you know, for some people, they just like to go and they get their glasses strengthened every year, they get their eye health checked, if they get a cataract, they’re just gonna go get the surgery. And then there are people like in my community who go, you know, I don’t want to get a bigger, larger prescription every year. And if I’m told I have something, I would like some help to reverse it or improve it. So it starts with your choice. And that comes from your research. Ask around in your community. You know, I have to say that sometimes, the older doctors are a little less seduced by all the technology, and all the diseases that they’ve studied. And the younger doctors are voracious at looking for diseases being more involved in the allopathic model. And if you’re not interested in that, and you’re not interested in that aggressiveness. Look for a middle aged doctor. I know this is biased, but some of my women come up colleagues are a little more empathic and compassionate, and a little more open minded.
But you never know, it kind of depends on the person. So once you’ve done your due diligence, and you make the appointment even if you don’t think the doctor agrees with you. And you may need to take a friend or family member to share what you want. Because after all, it’s your body, it’s your eyes. It’s your philosophy. And even if they just they don’t follow what you do, you put it out there. Now, in the exam, actual examination for if you need glasses or contacts, and I shared this on the TikTok video. Ask the doctor to slow down if they are using the technique, which lens is clear one or two? I mean, I’ve seen some of my colleagues. They’ll do it this fast, which is clear one or two, one or two, one or two, one or two? Come on. And there’s no way anybody can answer that quickly. And by the way, if you choose a prescription, you know you’ve got to live with it for the next year or two. And it shouldn’t be that way. So you ask the doctor to slow down and you want to take at least 30 seconds in between his shifting back and forth and feel it in your eyes. Feel it in your body.
04:42
And I know that sounds kind of weird, but you can even look through the lens and close your eyes. And by doing that, you bring your aware awareness more internal and because the eyelids still lit up light into the eyeball at a much lower rate. But still, it lets light in through the eyelids because they’re like window shades. You can feel if the lens is too tight or too strong, you can even look and see if the lens is warping things or distorting things. And you’re choosing a lens that feels the most relaxing to you with giving you clarity. Okay, and that is the critical piece right there. Obviously, you want clarity. But you also want comfort. And you don’t want to do one without the other in terms of the lens prescription that you get. Now, for those of us that are, you know, over 40, there is this strong push for bifocals, and progressive lenses. And I would be very, very careful about going into those optical designs. It may sound like a good thing. But honestly, for most people who get progressive lenses, it’s very difficult for them to get used to them. And of course, the company line is when you go back to the doctor and say, these glasses make me dizzy. And what does he say? Don’t worry get used to it?
Well, no, I don’t want to get used to something that’s already making me dizzy. Because when he’s prescribing something, it’s like a drug. It is approved by the FDA. You know, we when we take our oath for our license, and we get our license numbers, we get prescription pads and we’re able to write out glasses and contact lens prescriptions. These prescriptions are like drugs. And like any drug, there is a side effect. In fact, there are many side effects. So you need to be careful about the medicine you’re looking through. So if you can get a single vision lens for distance, and maybe another one for the computer or reading and try to stay away from the bifocal trifocal thing, at least full time. Now in terms of the eye health, it is important to get a baseline on your eye pressure, your optic nerve health, your retinal health, there are different technology devices that can help you determine what your eye health is without the dilating drops. You know, you can get the dilation once and by the way, when you get the dilation.
Remember, it’s going to be very, very bright for you, there’s going to be the sensitivity to light because your pupil is stuck in a dilated wide state, you’re also not going to be able to read and it may be a good idea for you if they do have to get a dilated exam to have somebody drive you. And then you’ve got your sunglasses with you that you can put on after the retina exam. So after you’ve had the exam, and the doctor says, Well, you’ve got the beginnings of this or you’ve got that or, you know, you go Thank you, is there anything that I can do? diet, nutrition, you know, exercises. And, you know, unless it’s a unique doctor who’s studied some of the holistic principles that I’ve studied, you just take the diagnosis, you take the data, and then you can work with somebody like me, or even going to a functional medicine doctor or a naturopathic doctor, an osteopath doing cranial sacral acupuncture, and only wear your glasses or contacts when you actually need them. And it’s actually a good idea for you to go without your contacts or glasses and non demanding and non threatening situations. So it’s something that you definitely have to navigate especially because the way the education is presented to doctors.
09:40
It’s very allopathic. It’s very medical. It’s very technology driven. And technology is great for seeing the pictures and getting the information. And then after you’ve gotten the information, then there’s so many things that you can do You to improve the situation to reverse the situation. And you just go thank you very much. You got what you needed and move on. So, Phyllis, I hope that that’s helpful. I hope that’s helpful for everybody who’s watching or listening. I’m going to sign off now I want to thank you for tuning in today. Until next time, take care.
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