No Risk Low Vision Promise

You may have been told by your eye doctor that nothing can be done to help you. You may be hesitant to schedule an appointment with a doctor dedicated to helping persons with low vision achieve their goals. Having special glasses that will allow you to return to activities that you’ve given up may sound too good to be true.

To help you decide to schedule a low vision evaluation I make the following promises:
1. I will accept you for a low vision evaluation only after I have interviewed you on the telephone and I sincerely believe I can help.
2. If I accept you as a low vision patient it is because, as a result of your answers to my questions, I believe that you will benefit from low vision glasses or other devices.
3. During the first few minutes of the visit I will demonstrate to you that I can help you see better. The remainder of the evaluation will be used to determine the best low vision devices for your needs. The evaluation fee is $235.
4. If, during the first few minutes, I cannot demonstrate that I can help you see better, the evaluation will be terminated and there will be no fee charged.
5. During the evaluation I will show you exactly how various low vision glasses will help you. You will see exactly how they help and what they look like.
6. At the end of the evaluation I will tell you exactly which glasses I am prescribing for you and their cost. You will have the opportunity to choose how much help you want and how much you wish to pay.
7. When you receive your low vision glasses I will again demonstrate that they help you more than your previous glasses. If you do not see an improvement the fees that you paid for the glasses will be refunded. The evaluation fee is non-refundable.

I make these promises based on years of experience helping persons with macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other eye diseases. Because of this experience I have the skills to identify people who I can help and to prescribe appropriate low vision glasses for their needs. Call me for a free telephone consultation. 1 866 321-2030 (toll free)

Dr. David L. Armstrong, Optometrist

About Low Vision

Low vision is not the same as blindness. A person with low vision has some useful sight but has difficulty with the performance of daily activities. Conventional glasses do not provide sufficient vision for reading watching TV, using a computor, driving and other visual activities. Many eye conditions cause low vision.

A low vision doctor, like Dr. Armstrong, is often able to prescribe special glasses or other devices which magnify what is seen, making it easier to see. Many people who have been told that they are legally blind can be helped. When possible, we prefer to prescribe the magnification in glasses so both hands are free.

Patients with macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy or other conditions are often told by their doctor that nothing can be done that will help. The doctor is correct that nothing can be done to cure these conditions causing low vision. A low vision doctor can help by evaluating the remaining vision and prescribing microscopic or telescopic eyeglasses that maximize the remaining vision.

To schedule a low vision evaluation call toll free 866 321-2030 for a free telephone consultation with Dr. Armstrong. Dr. Armstrong always speaks with low vision patients by phone and questions them to determine if low vision glasses will help. The appointment is only made when Dr. Armstrong feels that he will be able to help the person.

Low vision glasses are prescribed to meet the needs of each person so the costs vary. Usually low vision glasses for reading cost between $750 and $850. Telescopic glasses for driving or distance vision cost between $1750 and $2000.

Medicare, supplemental and other insurances do not pay for either the low vision evaluation or for the low vision glasses.















































Monday, December 19, 2011

Some things can't be rushed

I have had a couple of low vision patients recently who both commented on the length of time that I spent with them doing the low vision evaluation.  The patient yesterday came to me from Maryland.  Over the 5 years that he has had macular degeneration his vision has reached the point that he requires someone to do his driving and has given up some of the very detailed work that he has done in his hobby of making reproductions of antique furniture.  His occupation requires that he use blueprints often.  His, off the shelf, hand magnifier was not helping him much with the blueprints.  He had been seen many times by the doctors at Johns Hopkins and at the National Retina Institute.  One had recommended that he begin to learn braile.

I spent well over an hour with him, carefully evaluating his vision with various low vision devices.  The end result was that when he receives his low vision glasses in a few weeks he will be able to easily read his blue prints, see TV better and be able to drive safer.  The same glasses that help with the blueprints will help him with the fine details of furniture making.

The earlier patient, a lady from West Virginia,  was also suffering from macular degeneration.  She had traveled to Germany where she underwent a stem cell procedure intended to improve vision.  The results of that were very shortlived.  Later she received acupuncture in New Mexico at a clinic that helps people with reduced vision.  When she discovered that she would have to continue going there every month or so she discontinued her treatment.

As always, I spent well over an hour with her ,evaluating her vision, with a variety of devices.  My goal was to help her with the activities most important to her, reading and watching TV.  For reading I prescribed a handheld electronic magnifier.  She was able to read newspaper or magazine print with it.  Help for the TV was provided by telescopic glasses that magnified the picture.  An additional lens that she can easily add to the telescopic glasses helps her read from the screen of her computer.

Both of these people had been seen by many doctors in many different locations.  Both had been told that nothing further could be done to help them.  Neither of them had a low vision evaluation until coming to me.  Helping people with low vision takes time as well as skill.  It is not something that can be done in a 10 minute exam or delegated to a member of the staff.  A doctor, almost always an optometrist, who is serious about helping patients with low vision will arrange his/her schedule to allow enough time for the evaluation.

If you have macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt's disease or any other condition that has reduced your vision call me.  I will return your call and spend a few minutes with you discussing your present condition, your goals and will give you an honest opinion of whether I can help you.  Only if I feel that I can help you will I schedule you for a low vision evaluation.  Because I have had lots of experience with these phone interviews I am able to help over 90% of the low vision  patients who I see for an evaluation.   The call and the telephone interview are free.  Call me toll free at 1 866 321-2030.  I look forward to speaking with you.
Posted by at 8:36 AM
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