Feel the Neurolens Impact

I would like to share an experience I recently had with one of my patients that has caused me to reflect on the impact I am having on my patients, but let me start with two years ago. 

Approximately, two years ago a representative from a new company called Neurolens called me on the phone and asked if he could stop by my office and speak with my office manager and myself about a new lens on the market that we had to learn more about.  This rep was our first lens representative when I opened my practice back in 2008 and he was amazing at what he did.  He came in and trained my team the ropes of running an optical and I was deeply indebted to him for helping us grow from the ground up.  After a few years he left the optical industry, but he helped give us a great foundation of providing quality products to our patients. Because of the esteem we felt for him, we invited him to share with us more about the Neurolens.  We knew nothing about it.  When he visited with us, he shared that he came back into the optical industry because he wanted to be part of this company that was providing amazing results to patients who were suffering from a diversity of symptoms including headaches, neck soreness, tired eyes, difficulty using the computer, light sensitivity and dizziness.  I asked him the price and, at the time, I felt it was a bit more than I could chew off right then to bring that new technology into my office without ever having heard of it before. I thanked him for his time and we parted with the understanding that he was welcome to send us more information. 

Fast forward to one year later.  The Neurolens company was updating its technology with the second generation equipment and he knew we would be able to help a lot of people if we were to bring it into our practice.  Again we declined, but asked him to contact us once the new version was actually on the market.  Six months later he reached out again and he offered to get us a free pair of Neurolens glasses just to try it out and see for ourselves.  At about the same time, one of our long-time employees reached out to my office manager voicing her frustration that she did not know how to help her 11 year old son who had been suffering with headaches daily for the past 6 years.  He had been to several different doctors and despite trying several test and treatments, could not find relief. My office manager had the bright idea to reach out to the Neurolens rep and ask him if he would give this little boy a pair of the glasses.  He agreed and we were able to arrange for this boy to receive a pair of Neurolens glasses.  Immediately, his headaches diminished significantly.  Here is what his mother had to say: “Within the first couple of days my son noticed relief, especially after doing homework and up-close reading.  It’s now been a couple of months and still no headaches!  Neurolens gave my son his life back!”.   For me, that was very convincing.  In August 2021, we decided to invest in this instrument and join over 400 other locations across the country capable of diagnosing and prescribing for Trigeminal Dysphoria. 

Trigeminal Dysphoria occurs when the eyes are misaligned and the relentless strain required to maintain single, clear vision at distance and near triggers the trigeminal nerve to create pain and discomfort in the head and neck region specifically resulting in headaches, stiffness in the neck and shoulders, discomfort with computer use, eye fatigue, dry eye sensation, light sensitivity and dizziness.  This lens is a new option now available to our patients with headaches that creates real results.  In fact, there is a 93% acceptance rate to these lenses. 

Fast forward once again to April 4, 2022. I had just pulled up to my children’s bus stop and one of my patients walked toward my van.  I rolled down the passenger window to greet her and as my children were climbing out of the van she said, “Thank you for investing in the Neurolens technology.”  Now granted, I knew she had been excited about receiving her Neurolens glasses because I spoke with her the day she picked them up.  Plus, she had already told me how much they had impacted her life even after that.  She had shared with me that she had been having migraines almost daily since she was a child.  The weekend after she picked them up from our office, a storm rolled through our community.  The next week she told me that it was the first time in her life that she did not experience a severe migraine with the change in barometric pressure due to a storm.  She had the same symptom free experience with a storm that came through the following week.

I have a consultant that I use that talks about earning a spot on someone’s hand.  He asked the question, “Other than your mother or father, how many people can you list that have had a positive and lasting impact on your life?” He then explained, ”Most people struggle to come up with even 5 people – one for each finger of your hand.  My goal is to be included on one of those fingers.”  He then taught me about the Impact Diagram.  At the center of the Impact Diagram is myself. Extending off from this center are areas of influence that I can impact such as my family, my office team, my patients and my community.  Just as my consultant desires to impact my life in a meaningful way, I hope to impact my patients’ lives in a meaningful manner as well. 

What the Neurolens technology has allowed me to do is impact my patients in a truly meaningful manner.  What struck me the day she stopped by my van at the bus stop was how genuinely grateful she was for what these Neurolens glasses have done for her life.  Every time I speak with her, I feel like I participated in a miracle.  I feel with the Neurolens, I am impacting the lives of my patients in ways I never dreamed of and I am grateful for the opportunity. 

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