Trigeminal dysphoria and neurolens

laur5446

A friend sent me this link: https://www.reviewofoptometry.com/article/the-dry-eye-misalignment

I was diagnosed with convergence insufficiency and have been doing weekly vision therapy for over a month (but it is prism therapy--no traditional eye exercises). My symptoms have not improved at all. What do you all think of the information in this article about trigeminal dysphoria and has anyone tried the neurolenses? Apparently they are different from a regular prism? I did search the forum but there's not much as far as personal experience re: these lenses. I may contact the nearest provider to inquire.

Also: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCr51sA8HLQ

martin

laur5446 I think we spoke on skype already, but if not - one month is not enough even if you do it every day for 30 minutes and perfectly well. It really takes time, even adjusting to glasses with prisms takes more than a month and that is if you wear them all the time.

The "neurolens" is just a new marketing name for progressive lens with prisms - https://www.reviewofophthalmology.com/article/binocular-vision-keeping-it-together
Its been around for long and is nothing new. It also shouldnt cost 850. The machine he uses for assessment could be good, but I still think a proper evaluation by an optometrist that takes close to 2 hours and not few seconds is more thorough.
Maybe he found a way to make it more effective and quicker, but still - I have two pairs of glasses because it would be more difficult to adjust to "neurolens" - first I adjusted for near and then for distance. I was offered to get progressive lens, but only when all the visual theraphy is finished. Esp. because I need the glasses to do the therapy and progressive lens would be very confusing.

It seems like a marketing scheme to sell to people looking for quick solutions, but if its proven to work then why not. But you can still get similar or better care elsewhere, it might just take a bit longer.
However if american visual therapy is so expensive, maybe this is a much cheaper option that can work a lot sooner if the deviation you have is not too large. And if it is, hed probably tell you when tested. For me glasses alone wouldnt fix the whole problem, but again I was very off norm-charts.

Angetastic

laur5446 did vision therapy work?

Lauda89

It sounds very interesting. I looked at the neurolenses site but there are no doctors in Europe to do the test and buy glasses. 🙁

JTL

Lauda89 Same but Canada.

And I' not certain it would do anything to me due to preexisting eye damage.

laur5446

martin

Hey Martin! Yes; we have spoken on Skype twice! I got back in town last week and I have printed out some of the material you provided and will be starting on that soon. The doctor and vision therapist who do the prism-only therapy think the CI will be treated after 10 visits. As I have mentioned before, I am very skeptical. Maybe that will treat standard CI symptoms in their experience but my [our] symptoms are not standard. My symptoms have not improved at all doing their therapy.

I have never had a 2 hour assessment with ANY of the doctors I have seen (1 optometrist and 2 ophthalmologists). It seems you have had better luck with the eye professionals...although if I recall it did take you a while to find the right one!!

I do not need a progressive lens as far as my standard vision goes. I am strictly nearsighted/myopia...but after reading the article you linked, it makes sense. I do experience eye strain with electronics near and far. Unfortunately, the ophthalmologist I am currently under the care of is out of town but I will be asking him if he has heard of the neurolenses. If they are, indeed, a gimmick, I may consider trying regular prisms full-time...and not just a prism patch occasionally that is embarrassing to wear. I am honestly skeptical that prism lenses will help at all but I feel desperate.

The neurolenses apparently comes with a money back guarantee so if they don't work, I could get my money back. What is terrible is that you would have to pay that same price to update a change in prescription down the line! Ugh.

The vision therapy here that employs the exercises you have learned to do is so unaffordable...if CI is truly the culprit of my eye strain, I would love to solve the problem and not rely on a crutch but it comes at a steep price. Like I said, I will be starting one of the exercises you gave me soon! I just need to find the notes I took.

If I end up trying the neurolenses, I will report here! I was hoping someone else on here had some personal experience.

laur5446

martin Its been around for long and is nothing new.

Also, the article says "...we've had prism compensation for misalignment for years, but we've never had a progressive lens that provides different compensation for distance and up-close in the same lens". But you say this has been in use for years? Do they just call it progressive prism?

martin

laur5446 Im not sure as they pruposefully dont disclose whether such option is available elsewhere or not. But my specialist has progressive prism glasses that he wears for both near and distance for a few years now. Id say go with it, esp. if they return money if youre dissatisifed and see if it actually helps. Im curious, let me know.
Still, in my case, its not fixed completely. Just a lot better with a lot of rest needed and fatigue/eyestrain/headaches on worse days.

bkdo

Did anyone here end up trying Neurolenses? I'm very interested if these could possible be a solution, any thoughts on these?

daniel_mate

I might be testing these out in Oct, when my insurance eligibility renews (1y since my previous BVD visit).
I'm hoping that the digital measurements might be more correct than the manual ones, but these lenses sound to be helping people who have problems both near and with distance, where my issues is with near distance screens only. I just stare at the monitor, not looking around…

…"Contoured prism is a neurolens proprietary technology in which the amount of base in prism increases (or base out decreases) gradually from the top to the bottom of the lens. This allows me to correct binocular misalignment at distance, intermediate and near in a single lens"

ryans

daniel_mate

I emailed them, and it looks to me there are options for near-work only, quoted below:

We offer three styles of lenses. Our single vision, which has contoured prismatic but no add power, is meant for everyday use but can be designed to be near only. Our progressive lens is also for daily use but has add power for those who need it. Our office lens is similar to our Progressive but meant for indoor use only. This lens has our contoured prism but extra add in the intermediate and is perfect for in office use. I recommend scheduling an exam with one of our providers to determine what would be best for your needs

ensete

I spoke to my vision therapist and opthomologist and he warned me that nuerolenses are no different than prism lenses. They are overcharging you for their "proprietary" diagnosis tool and then upselling you the product.

You can get prism added to lenses at any eyeglass maker for FAR cheaper, and any optometrist can do a detailed exam to determine if prism is needed. I paid a $20 medical copay for my 2 hour exam, and $45 to have my lenses made. Unfortunatly they made no difference in my symptoms.

ryans

ensete

Have you given your eyes enough time to adjust to the prisms?

I suspect the neurolens will give you a more accurate prism rx.

ryans

ensete Curious if you remember what your diagnosis and prism Rx was?

Tmeinke

I just got my Neurolens yesterday. I was shocked at how the dimension of objects was so different. The instrument cluster in my vehicle is angled… didn't know that.

Today… After working 12 hours at my computer at work,, I am a bit fatigued and feel like I have a ghosting effect on everything I look at. Plan to call tomorrow to see if this is something that will pass.

Lauda89

Tmeinke

Do you have to use the Neurolens all day or only in front of the computer / TV etc..?

How do you feel if you work 12 hours on that computer without the Neurolens?

ryans

Tmeinke Plan to call tomorrow to see if this is something that will pass.

Wonder if it ever passed for you?

Lauda89

Tmeinke

Any updates?

degen

I have a Neurolens appointment on Wednesday. I will be getting them and reporting on my experience and the lenses fully. It might a few weeks after the appointment though to get the lenses.

ryans

degen

Nice, I hope this works and becomes your solution. I come to this forum every couple of days and hope someone else found something that works for them!

If your optometrist decides you are a candidate, it would be helpful to post your measurements here (if you don't mind). I think it'd help compare with others.

I plan to visit a Neurolens provider once I get the COVID booster.

degen

ryans

He diagnosed exophoria.

Here is my Neurolens reading:

Neurolens value: 1.4 BI [base in] (0.75 each eye)

They wouldn’t give me the readout to keep but the picture they showed me indicated that I look far beyond the content I’m looking at, especially while doing close work. When I asked him about this he agreed with my saying “convergence excess” (Edit: This doesn’t make sense, see my next post)

@martin

I would appreciate your thoughts on this.

This seems like a couple of different problems.

Edit: See my next post in this thread for additional information on whether I have convergence insufficiency vs excess.

ryans

I've been reading a lot of positive (anecdotal) experiences about the Neurolenses on Reddit and such. They can correct vertical heterophoria as well. I've read they take up to a few weeks to get used to.

They seem to help a lot of people. I really hope it's you! Because they are prism, I read they can make the "floor" look weird at first, almost like you're moving up/down when you are not.

Hoping they work well for you!

bkdo

Just to add my experience -

I tried Neurolens for about 3 months. The first 2 weeks were rough, they were uncomfortable to wear and made my eyes feel slightly water-y. I did get used to them, and they were totally comfortable to wear about 3 weeks in. They helped with my general eye strain, but I didn't notice any improvement with flicker. I noticed that my eyes were less tired at the end of the day, but nothing super dramatic. I'd definitely recommend trying them if your doctor says you're a candidate though.

ryans

bkdo Do you still wear / use them? Neurolens is basically just a prism, what @martin has. In his case, prism helped but wasn't enough, he needs vision therapy as well.