Migraine and FL-41 Glasses
“The brightest light casts the darkest shadow.”
― Jess C. Scott, The Darker Side of Life
Most migraineurs would agree with this quote. Bright light during a migraine? May as well stick a screwdriver in my eye socket. Dark shadow is right! Bright lights make my pain much worse during a migraine, and have also seemed to trigger migraines for me. In my obsessive dedicated search for migraine relief, I learned about specially tinted glasses that have been shown in actual studies (here and here) to benefit migraineurs or others with photophobia. The secret is FL-41, a rosy or boysenberry-ish shade.
Currently, two companies are selling FL-41 glasses to the public: Axon Optics and Theraspecs. Both companies offer multiple options: frames with non-prescription lenses for those blessed with normal vision; frames made to fit over prescription glasses; and custom-made glasses with your prescription.
Both companies recommend buying a pair of their ready-made glasses before investing in a pair of custom ones. They offer generous return policies so you can give the glasses a good try. I bought a pair of fit-over glasses from each company to test.
Both pairs of fit-over glasses are one-size-fits-most, which means they are HUGE and exceedingly dorky-looking. It’s a testament to my desperation that I actually wore these for multiple days at work, despite being very self-conscious about it (Theraspecs pictured below).
I tried the Axon Optics glasses first. I love the tint; it casts a rosy glow over the world. The tint is very noticeable, but does not look like a weird color.
The Theraspecs glasses (below) are much more orange. They make the world look more orange, and the first things anyone who looks at you will notice is that you are wearing orange glasses.
Here’s what the lenses look like looking through them (Axon above, Theraspecs below):
I found that I quickly adjusted to the tint of both the glasses, so colors generally didn’t look wrong or strange. Both were very soothing to look through, and when I took them off during a migraine, I felt like my brain winced in pain. However, I don’t think they made a significant impact on my headaches. The week I was trialling them was the worst headache week I’ve experienced yet - a coincidence, I’m sure.
If I didn’t wear prescription glasses, I would probably buy a pair of ready-made FL-41 glasses, which will set you back around $100 - $150. But since prescription glasses are so expensive - progressive glasses like I need typically run $400 to $600 - I don’t think the investment is worth it. I will still have the test glasses for a few more weeks, so I could change my mind, but so far I don’t seem to be one of the lucky people for whom the glasses make a significant difference.
