Problems with fluorescent lighting

[LizzieD7]

Whenever I'm under fluorescent lighting (including those compact fluorescent bulbs often called energy saving bulbs) my head becomes heavy, I can't focus on anything like conversation as I mentally just can't think. It's like I get a crazy mental-fogginess-confusion that spirals out of control under these lights. It's worth noting that I get a lot of glare from daylight anyhow and even though using an LED laptop solves the issue, the brightness is turned right down. I use FL-41 tinted glasses that buy me time (which is essential to even function at all day-to-day), and these tinted glasses reduce the glare when outside also - but has anyone else found anything to help with these situations regarding fluorescent lights. It goes without saying that I can't work under fluorescent lighting, but it even impacts when I socialise at friends' houses who have energy saving bulbs (the twisty fluorescent type).

[Wayward]

Hi, I'm interested to know if there's anything else to help as well (I was recently diagnosed with Irlen syndrome which is the light sensitivity you talk about but by another name) You seem to be doing more than I knew you could (can you expand a bit on the LED laptop comment please?!)
Would it help to take a break from the lighting in the room now and then? Maybe go somewhere darker and calmer...or would that make the contrast worse when you came back?

Hmm when it's your own home you can stick to soft lighting, uplighters etc...but in other peoples homes or workplaces I don't know what you could do...

[LizzieD7]

I find that I'm OK with LED lighting - we have mostly LED lights in our house as well as halogen bulbs. Halogen bulbs like tunstan can be easily dimmed, and generally I find that the bulbs last longer if they are turned on with a dimmer. Fluorescent lighting affects me badly - the glasses I mentioned only buy me time. It must be some mixture of the flicker and wavelengths emitted that is the problem - but if an energy-saving fluorescent bulb catches my eye it is painful. It is sort of blurred and straining. This I find the same issue with fluorescent-lit screens though luckily LED seems to be replacing LCD in new TVs and computers. I still find that controlling the brightness of the laptop is handy. As for phones it is only Samsung at the moment who do LED options instead of all LCD, but it's called AMOLED - however, I wish that the brightness could be altered more as the only time I have the brightness turned up is when I'm outside on a sunny day with sunglasses on!

As for having breaks idea - I can spend short periods in fluorescent lighting with long breaks away, with my glasses of cause. Often it doesn't really solve the problem.