Tag: eye

SoCS: new eyes

“Yes, it is strange not to wear glasses.”

Since I had my cataract surgeries earlier this month, I’ve been asked many times if it is weird/strange not to be wearing glasses every waking moment – and it is.

I’ve worn glasses since I was six because I was near-sighted. As I got older, I also developed presbyopia, which meant I was also having trouble seeing close up. For the last couple of decades, my glasses have had progressive lenses, which means they have a zone for far, mid-range, and close vision. I also have astigmatism in one eye which was built into my prescription. As I developed cataracts in both eyes, I was also having a lot of difficulty with glare.

And, I also sometimes had trouble with dry eyes, so a lot going on.

I decided to have cataract surgery last year. It took several months to get an appointment with the doctor who had done spouse B’s cataract surgeries, and my parents and mother-in-law’s. He uses advanced laser techniques and gives options to use advanced lens that deal with multiple issues.

B had had good luck with his multifocal lens and only uses glasses for very fine print and low-lighting conditions. In the five years since his surgery, they have added astigmatism correction to multifocal lenses, so I chose those.

The timing of the surgeries was awkward, as they happened while the UK branch of our family was visiting for Easter, but I’m happy with the still-developing results. My distance visit was clear within a day of each surgery. (They were a week apart.) My mid- and near-vision are improving day by day. I’ve used supermarket/drugstore cheaters for a few tasks, although now even the weakest ones are too strong for my “new eyes.” I also have been adjusting the size of my text on screens, although I’m typing this at my prior screen settings, so improvement is definitely happening. It will probably continue for a few more weeks as my eyes heal and my brain adjusts to the new, clearer input.

As I am adjusting to life without glasses, people I know are adjusting, too. I’ve had people comment on it. A few have said I look younger without my glasses. I had thought I might look older – or, at least, more tired – because you can now see all the wrinkles around my eyes and I don’t use make-up so, if I have dark circles under my eyes, they are now easier to see. Of course, I don’t think anyone would tell me I look older without my glasses, even if that is what they thought.

At some point, I suppose I will have to replace the much-beloved headshot I use for Top of JC’s Mind, which B originally took to go with this poem for Silver Birch Press.

Someday, when I’m more used to my new look.

Yes, someday.
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is yes-. Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/04/28/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-april-29-2023/

One-Liner Wednesday: cataract surgery

I had my first cataract surgery yesterday and it’s very weird to adjust to that while not being able to wear glasses to help the other eye see clearly.

This informative post/excuse is brought to you by Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday. Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2023/04/05/one-liner-wednesday-time-flies/

SoCS: the reason for yawns this week

I have been yawning more than usual this past week.

Last Saturday night, daughter E was lying beside granddaughter ABC, reading her a bedtime story. ABC was having a drink of water from her covered tumbler and, in her excitement, hit her mom in the eye with the bottom of the tumbler.

E called for me and I rang into the room. Her eye was already swelling, so I got her an ice pack and calmed ABC down and got her to sleep.

E had been hit hard enough to see stars and lose her vision in that eye for a moment, so we weren’t surprised when she had a headache the next day. And the next. But then, she started to feel dizzy a lot and get nauseous. I was afraid she had a concussion, so we went into the doctors’ office. It turns out that the symptoms of concussion are very similar to the symptoms of bleeding in the orbital socket, which has a lot of nerves that are very sensitive.

The treatment is also similar to concussion: rest, quiet, avoiding activity and eye strain and loud noises, taking pain relievers, not lifting heavy things.

None of which is inherently easy with a toddler in the house.

It turned into everyone else in the house taking over as much of ABC’s care as possible.

Which brings us to yawning. I have been taking over the nighttime care, sleeping on the couch on the first floor rather than in my room on the second floor. ABC is a pretty restless sleeper, so I would go into her several times a night to cover her or sing her a song or read her a book to get her back to sleep. When my husband B would come down between 5:00 and 6:00, I would sneak back upstairs for another couple hours of sleep, but I admit that I have been tired and, thus, yawning a fair amount during the day.

Last night, ABC didn’t wake up at all, so I got to sleep for a long stretch myself, which was nice and resulted in much less yawning today.

Let’s hope it is the beginning of a trend.

(By the way, E is improving, so there is some hope that she will be able to be more active soon.)
*****
Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week was to write about the first thing we thought of after reading the word “yawn.” Join us! Find out how here:  https://lindaghill.com/2019/02/15/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-16-19/

Eye One

This will really be “just a jot” today. B had cataract surgery this morning, which went well, but today has been super busy.

There will be an early morning recheck tomorrow and his vision should improve as the eye heals.

There are lots of eyedrops to use over the next few weeks.

And two weeks from today, it will be time for the same drill with the other eye…
*****
Join us for Linda’s Just Jot It January! Find out more here:
https://lindaghill.com/2018/01/16/jusjojan-daily-prompt-january-16th-2018/

 

The eyes have it.

Yes, it is a bad pun. It also illustrates why I almost never engage in wordplay; I am not good at it.

For the past several years, I have been having increasing difficulties with my vision. Last summer, my optometrist told me he could no longer fully correct my vision in my left eye. When I did get new glasses made, I had so much trouble seeing that I reverted back to an earlier prescription. Still, I was having periods where my vision was very blurry and my eyes were often very tired.

I blamed allergies or lack of sleep or some undiagnosed something. After months of frustration, an optician friend suggested that it could be low blood pressure. When I called my optometrist’s office, they consulted my records and said they didn’t think that was it because my blood pressure wasn’t low enough and that it was probably my dry eye and to use these drops four times a day for two months and call them back after that if I wasn’t better.

At which point, I was thinking “what dry eye?” as they hadn’t told me that that was the problem. Or considered that that was why they couldn’t correct my left eye fully. Or thought that that was why I couldn’t see well even with the new prescription.

I was not amused.

While the drops helped, it wasn’t enough.  My parents had seen an article for a new treatment offered by the ophthalmologist who had done their cataracts surgeries. I made an appointment for a consultation. He is busy so it was weeks away – and then he cancelled it right before the day arrived.

To expedite things, I made an appointment with one of his younger colleagues.

She confirmed the dry eye diagnosis and I started on some prescription drops in addition to the over-the-counter ones that I was using. My eye improved quite a bit, but I still couldn’t reliably get through a movie or a chorus rehearsal without my eyes bothering me.

I decided to try the new treatment, which would directly help the root problem, which is that the glands and channels which deliver the lipid components of tears were compromised.

Although the treatment was more arduous than I expected, it appears to have worked. I go for a six-week follow-up appointment later this week and am happy to report that I only have to use the over-the-counter drops a couple of times daily most days. I have even have some days where I did not need them at all.

I’m hoping that I will soon be able to have a standard eye exam and get a prescription for new glasses that I can trust to be accurate.

One less thing to worry about will be good.