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rinkrat19 wrote:Uh, go to the doctor? LSAT or not, that's not normal.

The LSAT Trainer wrote:I seem to recall that years ago someone made a great, detailed post on TLS about how to deal with eye strain, but I can't find it now --

I have a lot of eye problems, similar to what you describe (and for the same reasons) --

Two short term suggestions --

1) get this -- http://www.amazon.com/Systane-Balance-L ... =eye+drops

2) for me, the symptoms are most extreme when i go from areas of dark to areas of bright -- if i'm working in my office all day, then go out driving somewhere, that's when it's the worst -- the concern with the lsat is that you get in there in the morning, and then the room will get brighter and brighter -- you certainly don't want to be distracted by eye strain -- one possibility is taking in sunglasses, or light-adjusting sunglasses -- i tried to look on the lsac site and couldn't figure out if they are permitted or not (so make sure to get the okay first), but, again, if your situation is similar to mine, limiting the amount of light your eyes have to deal with may be a way to get through the exam --

HTH and good luck -- Mike

Will_McAvoy wrote:Maybe I exaggerated -- not tearing up, but constant welling up with relatively painful straining.

It's really not normal? It happened both times I've done the LSAT and when I was in the home stretch of my thesis. So maybe 14 hours every day of constant eye use for weeks at a time. It's not normal to get these problems?

rinkrat19 wrote:

Will_McAvoy wrote:Maybe I exaggerated -- not tearing up, but constant welling up with relatively painful straining.

It's really not normal? It happened both times I've done the LSAT and when I was in the home stretch of my thesis. So maybe 14 hours every day of constant eye use for weeks at a time. It's not normal to get these problems?

No, it's not normal. I've stared at a computer for 16+ hours a day for 10+ years and my eyes only act up when I need to get new contacts. And even then, they don't do what you're describing.

Will_McAvoy wrote:

The LSAT Trainer wrote:I seem to recall that years ago someone made a great, detailed post on TLS about how to deal with eye strain, but I can't find it now --

I have a lot of eye problems, similar to what you describe (and for the same reasons) --

Two short term suggestions --

1) get this -- http://www.amazon.com/Systane-Balance-L ... =eye+drops

2) for me, the symptoms are most extreme when i go from areas of dark to areas of bright -- if i'm working in my office all day, then go out driving somewhere, that's when it's the worst -- the concern with the lsat is that you get in there in the morning, and then the room will get brighter and brighter -- you certainly don't want to be distracted by eye strain -- one possibility is taking in sunglasses, or light-adjusting sunglasses -- i tried to look on the lsac site and couldn't figure out if they are permitted or not (so make sure to get the okay first), but, again, if your situation is similar to mine, limiting the amount of light your eyes have to deal with may be a way to get through the exam --

HTH and good luck -- Mike

Thanks, Mike! I'll search around a little for that post.

I'll try these drops -- I've used a couple different kinds of Visine, but they don't seem to do anything. There's definitely a brightness component for me, too. I've basically turned my office in to a dungeon the past few weeks, so I can save my eyes for studying under florescent light.

I kind of get a fresh start eye wise every morning until I use my eyes enough, so I was fine my first test until about the fifth section, where it became a pretty big distraction. I woke up very early that day to try and be awake for a while before the test; maybe I'll try delaying that a bit more this time around.

Will_McAvoy wrote:

rinkrat19 wrote:

Will_McAvoy wrote:Maybe I exaggerated -- not tearing up, but constant welling up with relatively painful straining.

It's really not normal? It happened both times I've done the LSAT and when I was in the home stretch of my thesis. So maybe 14 hours every day of constant eye use for weeks at a time. It's not normal to get these problems?

No, it's not normal. I've stared at a computer for 16+ hours a day for 10+ years and my eyes only act up when I need to get new contacts. And even then, they don't do what you're describing.

All right then, I'm probably close to due for an eye checkup, at any rate. My condolences on your work load.

Will_McAvoy wrote:I also have a severe astigmatism and anisometropia, and pretty poor binocular vision. Whenever I've brought up eye strain in the past, I basically get a non-answer and am told that lenses are simply going to cause strain when I try hard to focus. As my focus durations are never too prolonged in normal circumstances, it's always something I've just fought through. I'll have to talk with a doctor about dealing with it better, at the least, as, like you say, law school will require this level of strain for months at a time.

Thanks for the tips on drops, I'll throw out the visine!

The LSAT Trainer wrote:

Will_McAvoy wrote:I also have a severe astigmatism and anisometropia, and pretty poor binocular vision. Whenever I've brought up eye strain in the past, I basically get a non-answer and am told that lenses are simply going to cause strain when I try hard to focus. As my focus durations are never too prolonged in normal circumstances, it's always something I've just fought through. I'll have to talk with a doctor about dealing with it better, at the least, as, like you say, law school will require this level of strain for months at a time.

Thanks for the tips on drops, I'll throw out the visine!

btw - just a quick note -- i think the drops i suggested are not for people who wear contacts, so (as i'm sure you would) you should investigate further b4 deciding -- i also second that blink is awesome (reminds me i should get some more of that too).

deebanger wrote:Hey! check out flex http://justgetflux.com/. It adjusts the lighting on your computer automatically. Ive been using it for a while and it really makes a difference. So, basically, it adjusts the light so that your eye does not strain that much. Give it a go, it might take a day or two to get used to it, and after that you will be used to it.

akg144 wrote:I likewise experienced severe eye issues post-LASIC while working at a place that required extensive computer work and LSAT studies in addition - I highly recommend Refresh Tears

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041E ... UTF8&psc=1

Hope this helps!