I'm 24 years old and former nursing and kinesiology student who lives in Ontario, Canada. I was unable to finish my studies because of migraines and extreme eyestrain. My main area of interest is pharmacology and human physiology.
I have always been a huge gamer. I experienced mild eyestrain in my early teens from CRT monitors. It was mitigated by increasing the "refresh rate" from 60 to 85Hz. When I did experience eyestrain, it dissipated with a night's rest. When LCD monitors hit the market, I was an early adopter. My eyestrain dissipated completely and I was symptom free for many years.
Fast forward to 2011. I had not used a monitor extensively for a couple of years because of bad repetitive strain injury's caused by excessive gaming. In this way I missed using a monitor extensively until a few years after LED-backlit monitors hit the market. When I found good treatment for my RSI I was able to return to computer use and bought a Lenovo T410s. This was the beginning of my problems. At first my eyes had some resiliency. Looking back, the screen was never as comfortable to use as my old CCFL-backlit monitors, but I endured. At some point I started getting very dry, strained eyes. This is where my fatal mistake began. I was very devoted to school at this time and I chose to push through my studies regardless. The effects were devastating. I ended up with sharp pain in the corners of my eyes, spasm of the ciliary muscles (spasm of accommodation), headaches, migraines, and intensely dry eyes.
Since that semester I have been exquisitely sensitive to light. Eco-friendly store lighting triggers all of my symptoms, and all but a select few monitors are pure hell to use.
Currently I can use an old CCFL-backlit monitor and a monitor from BenQ's flicker-free line for a limited amount of time.
My family purchased a Panasonic ST60, a plasma TV, and at first it seemed promising. It too now gives me eyestrain quickly.