[ysw0]

Anecdote: I used to get new glasses/prescriptions every year. Every year my prescriptions would get stronger. Last couple of years I stopped renewing my glasses and whenever I absolutely need to get new glasses, I have the store use my old prescription. For whatever reason, my eye sight stopped getting worse. I think by wearing stronger prescriptions, your eyes adapt to it and you get more and more myopic.

[lucb1e]

Warning to anyone taking the above as medical advice: perhaps it might work for you, but do discuss with your doctor and check that you are not driving vehicles with worsening sight while believing it's fine. By all means try it, but get it checked so at least you have the data to know whether it works for you.

[war1025]

> but do discuss with your doctor

This requires having a doctor you trust.

My experience with most doctors is that I can trust them about as far as a used car salesman.

[burmanm]

It's also your age. I kept having stronger and stronger glasses (until -9.5) but then it suddenly stopped and vision stayed at this one point.

This was also what a eye doctor said to me ~20 years ago, although his prediction when it would happen didn't quite match.

[programmertote]

Your experience is similar to mine. I got glasses at the age of 13, but didn't like wearing the glasses, so never did. Both my late father and my sister (since she was about 12 years old) have to wear thick glasses. My sister started out about the same eye power as I did, but she wears her glasses everyday. My sister's glasses got thicker year over year, and finally she got LASIK a couple of years ago. My sister doesn't work with computers whereas I spend ~10-12 hours a day with computers/TV screens (when I use computer, I don't wear glasses and my eye doctor told me that's okay). For me, my eye power stayed about the same and never got stronger glass prescription over the last 25 years or so.

Having said that, I started wearing glasses about a year ago when watching the TV between 10pm-12am (thanks to my wife who likes watching movies and I joined in). Turns out, my eyesight (near-sight) got a bit worse in a year and now I have a slightly thicker glasses. Again, this is all anecdotal and maybe age comes into play here with my eye sight (but the common knowledge--not sure how true that is--is that the nearsightedness gets better as people age, so what I'm experiencing is the opposite).

[lern_too_spel]

Studies of deliberate undercorrection show a slight acceleration in myopia progression. Myopia progression slows and stops naturally after adolescence, whether you wear the correct prescription lenses or not.

[ant6n]

I got myopic in my early thirties. It was annoying, up to that point I was the only one in the family without glasses. Still don’t like to wear them.

[andrewzah]

The same thing happened to me where I got continually stronger prescriptions, but I stabilized anyways at around 18. My optometrist told me that's very common after adolescence.

I really wouldn't recommend using an incorrect prescription. In the US anyways shops won't let you use a prescription older than 1 year.

[outworlder]

That is a trial with N=1

Your eyesight might have stopped getting worse on its own. As is the case for most people (myopia doesn't run away to infinity after all!). Which is why corrective surgery is only indicated after your prescription has been stable for some time.

[pessimizer]

You're probably just getting old. Normal people get farsighted as they age. Myopic people stop getting worse, or even improve a little, and start developing astigmatism.

[Solvitieg]

Me too.

And to everyone saying "its just age"... well, it doesn't seem that way.

I noticed this pattern and stopped going to the Optometrist for five years. When I finally went again, my myopia was -0.25 worse, so I got new glasses. Then I went again the next year and its -0.25 worse again.

My myopia didn't worsen over a period of five years. Then suddenly worsened over a period of one year.

[alliao]

so I have 2 pairs of glasses, one for clarity at infinity for driving, and another one that's clarity at arms length when I work in the office and staring at monitor all day. I do that because I want my eyes to relax, give it a try!

[dmitryminkovsky]

How do you get stores to use your old prescription? I’ve had no luck with that.

[ysw0]

I asked the optometrist. He was a little offended that I wasn't going to use the new measurements but I pleaded with him enough that he relented.

One very interesting thing that convinced me to start doing this: if you get measurements taken at night (vs early in the day), your prescriptions will be stronger as your eyes are already tired. So your new glasses may be too strong for you but your eyes will adapt to it and become worse.

[sct202]

Some of the online stores especially the ones based in China don't actually check your prescription.