> Up until 2002 (then age 23) I had 20/20 vision. Over the course of a
> few months I started having problems focusing on things - especially
> text on computer screens and small print in books and magazines. I
> went to an eye doctor. She diagnosed me with astigmatism and gave me
> some glasses. That helped immensely and I took to wearing the glasses
> all of the time. However, about 4 or 5 months ago, I've noticed that
> my vision seemed to be getting worse again suddenly. The glasses
> didn't help so much anymore and sometimes seemed to make my vision and
> eye fatigue worse.
> I have since heard that astigmatism generally gets worse over time
> with the use of corrective lenses. (Is this true?) About 2 weeks
> ago I decided to stop using my glasses and for about a week it seemed
> to actually help my vision about 50% of the time and my eyes were less
> tired at the end of the day. So I kept them off. This week, though,
> it seems to be getting worse again and I'm finding myself considering
> going back to the eye doctor and getting a new prescription since my
> eyes have clearly diminished in quality over the past few years.
> I guess my question here, though, is what causes astigmatism to begin
> with and are there any ways to correct it or at least attempt to
> reduce/eliminate the degradation? Is it true that astigmatism gets
> worse the longer it is corrected? If so, why?
> And perhaps most importantly: What would cause the sudden onset of
> astigmatism to begin with - especially with no prior vision problems
> on my part. Back in 2002 I was concerned about how quickly it seemed
> to appear and my doctor had nothing to say about it when I expressed
> that concern. The only people I've known who went from no glasses to
> wearing glasses later in life have been in the 40-50 age range and the
> excuse given is always that it's just part of getting old. The fact
> that this hit me at age 23ish has me slightly concerned that by the
> time I'm 50 I'll be blind or something!
> Thanks,
> Sean

> Dom:
> 1. Yes, the latest deterioration seems to affect both near and far
> vision.
> 2. Sometimes I do find myself rubbing my eyes. It was actually worse
> when I was wearing my glasses which was one of the things that prompted
> me to remove them since I always seemed to want to rub them. I have
> discovered that blinking a lot can sometimes clean up my vision for a
> short time but I don't know why that would be the case.
> Thanks,
> Sean

> Up until 2002 (then age 23) I had 20/20 vision. Over the course of a
> few months I started having problems focusing on things - especially
> text on computer screens and small print in books and magazines.
> That helped immensely and I took to wearing the glasses
> all of the time. However, about 4 or 5 months ago, I've noticed that
> my vision seemed to be getting worse again suddenly.

> I have since heard that astigmatism generally gets worse over time with
> the use of corrective lenses. (Is this true?)

> I guess my question here, though, is what causes astigmatism to begin
> with and are there any ways to correct it or at least attempt to
> reduce/eliminate the degradation?

> And perhaps most importantly: What would cause the sudden onset of
> astigmatism to begin with - especially with no prior vision problems on
> my part.