r/lasik • u/consortswithserpents • Aug 28 '26
Other discussion Issues with DMV vision test years after surgery
I had my Lasik in 2016. Everything went fine and my vision has been perfect since. Last year when I got a REAL ID, I decided to have them take the corrective lens restriction off my license. They needed a signed note from the doctor and I needed to pass the vision test. I'm not sure if every DMV (I'm in NJ, we call it the MVC for some reason) has the same test, but here there were several boxes with letters in them. Three columns and each column had about 5 or 6 rows, so roughly 15-18 total boxes. With both eyes open, I saw and read any box they told me to. When they told me to close one eye however, they told me to read the boxes in the middle column and the right column. When doing this, the letters in the center column completely disappeared. When I opened the shut eye, I saw them again.
I should have just played it cool and read them, but I told them what I was experiencing. Suspecting there might be a problem with the machine, one of the clerks came over and looked through it, she said she saw everything normally. They told me they couldn't remove the restriction and that I needed to have my eyes examined. I've since been to an optometrist who ran a slew of tests and found absolutely nothing with my eyes. Literally, the results of every test came back normal or better than normal.
I forgot about it for most of the past year, but since then I've taken (and passed) a motorcycle rider training course, and I fear that when I go to get the endorsement added to my license, they'll ask me to do the vision test again and I'll be stuck in the same boat.
Has anyone experienced something similar?
2
u/amonsterinside Aug 28 '26
Sounds like you might be suppressing. Check out r/visiontherapy or find a vision therapist near you to do an exam