Dilation Experience

Still somewhat dilated after 3 hours

Yesterday I went in for an annual eye exam at a new optometrist. Our insurance covers the exam itself, but the renewal of my contact prescription is always extra and it isn't covered. I had been told when making the appt that it would be between 70-110 dollars depending on how extensiive the contact portion of the exam needed to be. I have been wearing contacts for over 20 years and I have had no problems, so I am usually just going through the steps to get a new prescription so I can order contacts through the mail, and I wasn't excited about having to pay at least 70 dollars out of pocket (on top of the costs of contacts and solutions).

This new place was awesome (I'll be writing up a full review for my review blog soon), the staff was super friendly, and the exam was more thorough than any I have ever had before. I think I moved between 4 different rooms while I was there, and the entire exam was 1 hour and 45 mins. I was starting to think that I was going to be paying the $110 for sure, but I was kind of okay with it since I was getting the full meal deal treatment.

Near the end of the exam they did the pressure test (but not with the puff of air, thankfully), and then they dilated my eyes (my first time). What a weird experience that was. I could see everything okay (obviously the far away stuff was blurry, as it normally is when I don't have my contacts in) but once I put my contacts back in, all of a sudden I couldn't see anything that was within an arms length from my face. The doctor even said that it was like instantly having the vision one might have at 75 or 80, in an instant, and that was no joke...I was basically blind to anything close to my face.

They told me the effects of the dilation would last for a few hours. I went up the counter to pay, and much to my delight and surprise, I was only charged 20 bucks!! That is their renewal visit cost, and I think because neither of my prescriptions changed, they felt like that was the best way to go. I was thrilled. Of course, signing the credit card receipt was a lot of fun when I couldn't even see the line on the piece of paper....LOL.

When I got in the car, I had to hold my phone as far from my face as I could reach so I could text my sister the good news on the payment. The weird part was that my distance vision (with the exception of the sensitivity to light) was not affected at all so driving was not a problem. The effects wore off mostly after a few hours, and by this morning, it was all back to normal.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Loving The New Contacts