Ophthalmology update

[taxlady]

I went to the ophthalmologist today, well, yesterday at this point. I'm not sure what to make of her. I showed her a printout that gives an idea of what I see, when my vision goes weird.
I explained that I see any one of those, depending on how severe the episode is. The last one is what I usually see.

She gave me the eye chart exam. She had me look through a thing with a bunch of tiny holes. She put eye drops. She did a bunch of tests. She put those awful drops that dilate your pupils. She looked in my eyes with some very bright lights shining in my eye.

She said I need glasses. She said it was an eye problem, not a neurological problem, because I could see more clearly through the thing with the tiny holes (pin hole camera effect). She also told me I have glaucoma. Yikes. She gave me a prescription for eye drops. I am only supposed to use them in my right eye. I have an appointment to come back on 31 July so they can see if these drops work on me.

I really don't understand about the glasses fixing the problem. Sure, I need glasses, but the problem varies enough that I'll need four or five different prescriptions.

She said that the skin below my eyes was puffy. That might be age or it might be thyroid. So, I will be having my thyroid levels tested as well as getting tested for diabetes, which could also affect my eyes.

One of the possible side effects of the eye drops is that my eyelashes might get darker, thicker, and longer. She said most women don't mind that one.

Comments

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

I feel, well, I'm not sure, about it. Sometimes doctors bamboozle me with logic. But, I catch the flaw in the argument later. What she said made a certain amount of sense. Sure, the thing with the holes in it made my vision sharper but, that's not the current problem. The problem is seeing double. The problem wasn't happening while I was there, so I don't know what that tiny-hole-screen would do while I am having the problem. It doesn't make it easier to explain, since my usual, age related presbyopia (need glasses to read) looks like a tiny drop shadow to me. So, I'm a bit mad at the doctor. She also couldn't tell me why it comes in episodes or how (the science) glasses would help. I'm also annoyed with myself for letting another doctor do that. I want to understand the fricking science of what my body is doing and of what the doctors are doing.

I'm a bit freaked by the glaucoma. That can be a pretty scary eye disease. I think I do see that I have slightly less peripheral vision than I used to have. On the other hand, I'm really, really glad it got caught at an early stage.

I'm also really pleased with that doctor for suggesting the blood tests.

I'm afraid that this is a case of two steps forward and three steps back. I either have to get glasses (which I can't afford) and/or find another ophthalmologist. I really don't think this is just an eye problem. Until I have an ophthalmologist who agrees, I won't be able to go forward on this from a neurological viewpoint.