Getting dizzy when I put my glasses ON.

[marti]

I know I've brought this up before, but can't remember the answers I got. There might be a few newbies here since then.

This has been happening for several years so it's not a matter of a new prescription. I've changed prescriptions a few times since this began. When I put my glasses ON I start to get woozy. After awhile I'm better but I still feel better without them. I read without my glasses, but have to be very close to the book or paper. And when I use the computer I have to lean forward and this makes me dizzy. Especially if I lean my elbow on the desk to get a little closer to the screen.

I remember some others saying the glasses thing happens to them. So I'm just looking for some recent replies. I do not have any problems with optic neuritis.

Thanks guys.

[jreagan70]

Hi Marti:

This has been happening for several years so it's not a matter of a new prescription. I've changed prescriptions a few times since this began. When I put my glasses ON I start to get woozy.

This happens sometimes with people who wear their glasses only for certain tasks and don't have to wear them all the time. Because they don't wear their glasses all the time, their brains never have a chance to adapt to what it feels like to be seeing with glasses on. Because they never have a chance to adapt, every time the person puts their glasses on is like a new experience for their brains, so they feel dizzy every time.

It happens sometimes no matter what the glasses prescription is, although certain prescriptions take more time for the brain to adapt to than others. But the problem isn't really caused by the prescription, it's caused by the amount of time the glasses are worn and whether it's long enough for the brain to get used to seeing that way and accepting it as normal.

People who wear their glasses all day every day don't have trouble with putting their glasses on every day because their brains long ago adapted to what it feels like to be seeing through the glasses. (There might be a little adaptation time when the person gets a new glasses prescription. But because the glasses are worn all day, the brain has hours to get used to the new feeling and adapt to it as the new condition of seeing. And because the visual input is consistent all day, the brain's job is easier than if it had to get used to different visual conditions that come with glasses being on and off -- and usually only off -- during the day.)

The slower a brain is at processing all kinds of information in general, the slower it will be in adapting to how it feels to be seeing with glasses on versus glasses off.

After awhile I'm better but I still feel better without them.

Feeling better after wearing your glasses awhile is the sign that your brain is starting to adapt to what it feels like to be seeing with glasses on. That's a good thing.

But because you take your glasses off when you're done doing whatever you're doing with them, your brain has to go back to what it feels like to be seeing without them, so the adaptation process stops there every time. Your brain has to shift back to what it feels like to be seeing without glasses again. And because no glasses is the condition your brain is used to seeing in, you continue to feel better without your glasses on.

If you spent more time doing things that you wear your glasses for, your brain would have more time to adapt to seeing with glasses on. If your brain were able to adapt to both conditions -- glasses on and glasses off -- you would feel comfortable with your vision no matter if you have your glasses on or off.

And when I use the computer I have to lean forward and this makes me dizzy. Especially if I lean my elbow on the desk to get a little closer to the screen.

Fortunately, it has become pretty easy these days to make the font on computer screens larger. If you make the font bigger and easier to see, you won't have to lean forward to read the small print because it will be big enough to read from where it's comfortable for you to sit. That should help eliminate the dizziness that comes from leaning forward.

There are different ways to make the print on the screen bigger. Some settings apply only to the website on the screen, so the usual Windows menus and task bars don't get bigger. But whatever you're reading gets bigger, which is usually only what a person needs anyway.

I have to do this sometimes when I'm having an attack of optic neuritis and my vision is too blurry to read the screen at the normal smaller settings.

If the Windows menus and task bars need to be bigger too, there are setting inside the Windows control panel that make those bigger.

So no matter what a person needs to have bigger on the screen there's a way to do it. That will eliminate the need to lean forward into the screen to read small fonts. And for you, Marti, it can eliminate the dizziness that comes with it. I hope you're able to try changing your computer settings.

[marti]

Hi Marti:


This happens sometimes with people who wear their glasses only for certain tasks and don't have to wear them all the time. Because they don't wear their glasses all the time, their brains never have a chance to adapt to what it feels like to be seeing with glasses on. Because they never have a chance to adapt, every time the person puts their glasses on is like a new experience for their brains, so they feel dizzy every time.

It happens sometimes no matter what the glasses prescription is, although certain prescriptions take more time for the brain to adapt to than others. But the problem isn't really caused by the prescription, it's caused by the amount of time the glasses are worn and whether it's long enough for the brain to get used to seeing that way and accepting it as normal.

People who wear their glasses all day every day don't have trouble with putting their glasses on every day because their brains long ago adapted to what it feels like to be seeing through the glasses. (There might be a little adaptation time when the person gets a new glasses prescription. But because the glasses are worn all day, the brain has hours to get used to the new feeling and adapt to it as the new condition of seeing. And because the visual input is consistent all day, the brain's job is easier than if it had to get used to different visual conditions that come with glasses being on and off -- and usually only off -- during the day.)

The slower a brain is at processing all kinds of information in general, the slower it will be in adapting to how it feels to be seeing with glasses on versus glasses off.


Feeling better after wearing your glasses awhile is the sign that your brain is starting to adapt to what it feels like to be seeing with glasses on. That's a good thing.

But because you take your glasses off when you're done doing whatever you're doing with them, your brain has to go back to what it feels like to be seeing without them, so the adaptation process stops there every time. Your brain has to shift back to what it feels like to be seeing without glasses again. And because no glasses is the condition your brain is used to seeing in, you continue to feel better without your glasses on.

If you spent more time doing things that you wear your glasses for, your brain would have more time to adapt to seeing with glasses on. If your brain were able to adapt to both conditions -- glasses on and glasses off -- you would feel comfortable with your vision no matter if you have your glasses on or off.


Fortunately, it has become pretty easy these days to make the font on computer screens larger. If you make the font bigger and easier to see, you won't have to lean forward to read the small print because it will be big enough to read from where it's comfortable for you to sit. That should help eliminate the dizziness that comes from leaning forward.

There are different ways to make the print on the screen bigger. Some settings apply only to the website on the screen, so the usual Windows menus and task bars don't get bigger. But whatever you're reading gets bigger, which is usually only what a person needs anyway.

I have to do this sometimes when I'm having an attack of optic neuritis and my vision is too blurry to read the screen at the normal smaller settings.

If the Windows menus and task bars need to be bigger too, there are setting inside the Windows control panel that make those bigger.

So no matter what a person needs to have bigger on the screen there's a way to do it. That will eliminate the need to lean forward into the screen to read small fonts. And for you, Marti, it can eliminate the dizziness that comes with it. I hope you're able to try changing your computer settings.

Thanks so much. Very reasonable explanations!!

[marti]

jreagan70... back to you

Can I assume this thing with glasses on/ glasses off is NOT a MS thing? It sounds too logical to be related to my faulty brain. Thanks.