Way OT: Would appreciate some good thoughts . . .

[Winston Psmith]

Hey, everybody . . .

 

Sorry to drop this here, but I could use some good thoughts today, around 1:15, U.S. East Coast time.

 

I noticed something odd with my vision lately, thought it was partly from allergy season, which is brutal in the D.C. Metro area.

 

Turns out, something is going on with my left eye, possibly retina damage, IDK? Looking out of my right eye, the world is sharp and clear, but out of my left eye . . . slight distortions, things look bent, for lack of a better or more descriptive word. Let's just say if both eyes were as bad as the left, I'd hand over the keys to my Jeep, forever.

 

Music and gardening are what I do. I could probably manage with slightly impaired vision, but I'm still scared stupid . . .

 

Going to get myself ready for my appointment, will check in later, if they tell me anything. Thanks, all . . .

[Larryz]

Brother Winston, it may just be a cataract...the surgery takes about 3 hours. I may have to have it done one of these days if mine gets worse. My right eye has vision problems while my left eye sees clearly. Glasses won't correct it. My eye doctor leaned forward as though she was going to break some bad news and said "you're getting old"...I responded with "I know that!" We both got a chuckle out of it and she told me it was a cataract and it can be easily corrected. Wishing you the best of luck at your upcoming appointment and keep us posted!

[Winston Psmith]

@Larryz - Thank you, brother.

 

I had cataract surgery a few years back - closest thing to a medical miracle I've ever experienced! OTOH, that means the current issue is something else, altogether. Heading out soon, will check back afterwards.

[desertbluesman]

Get to an ophthalmologist A.S.A.P. A medical doctor ophthalmologist not just an optometrist. Good luck.

[Winston Psmith]

Get to an ophthalmologist A.S.A.P. A medical doctor ophthalmologist not just an optometrist. Good luck.

 

Been there and back already, DBM. Some things you don't screw around with.

 

I have something called a Macular Hole. The graph of my left eye looks like someone dug a pit, then threw in a pile of construction debris, mostly bricks, and chunks of cinder block; it's ugly in there. The good news, if it can be called that, is that it should be treatable, most likely with surgery. I have an appointment with an Eye Surgeon next week.

 

Still nervous, but not terrified, so that's an improvement over this morning, I guess. Thanks for checking in!

[Larryz]

Sounds like good news WP! Keep us posted and we are all rooting for you!

[hurricane hugo]

[font:Verdana]Hope everything turns out well. [/font]

[KuruPrionz]

All my best to you, Sir Winston!!!!

 

I just had cataract surgery, second eye was a week ago Thursday. I go in for my final followup exam on Weds. Yes, it is a miracle.

 

In all the literature they gave me, one brochure mentions "secondary cataracts", which is a fogging of the tissue behind the lens due to microscopic residue of the cataract/lens they removed.

Some of us will get it, some won't. It is easily cured by laser treatment, got my fingers crossed for you!!!

 

And Larryz, you may spend 3 hours on your visit for cataract surgery but the surgery itself takes under 15 minutes, you will be awake and you won't see or feel a thing. It's still uber-creepy but I went from being super nearsighted - 20 / 240-ish to being somewhat farsighted - 20 / 30 or so. I will need new glasses for close up vision.

[surfergirl]

My Grandma has macular degeneration. She gets shots in her eyes about every 2 months. The thought of having needles stuck in my eyes gives me the chills. Hope everything works out for you.

[RABid]

I'm glad it is treatable. Did they give you a cause?

[Dannyalcatraz]

Good news on the condition being treatable! Modern eye surgery is amazing, as you"re apparently aware. I"m keeping you in my prayers, my friend.

 

I just had my eyes examined a couple weeks ago. Doc told me I"m developing cataracts in both eyes...slowly. She anticipates I"ll need surgery in 5-10 years. Or more.

 

Silver lining: she expects my myopia, etc. to improve DRAMATICALLY after that, and I sincerely welcome that possibility. My vision is bad but very stable, so my prescription doesn"t change much- the new prescription I got is only marginally worse than from 2016.

 

But it"s already really bad. My lenses alone cost @$600 per pair in 2016. With a 20% discount, that"s what they"re costing me in 2021.

[Caevan O’Shite]

The good news, if it can be called that, is that it should be treatable...

I am glad to read THAT... that it should be treatable, that is.

 

Be well, be calm, full and fast recovery to you, my Brother!! Best of health to you, positive vibes and good will...

[Sharkman]

Winston,

 

Everything is going to be fine. Yes, you'll have to wait a few more days while being a one eyed jack, and then the recovery from the surgery will take a little time, but then you'll be good as new. Take it from a guy who has had seven surgeries, seven broken bones, and a whole assortment of other injuries. You'll be fine after it's all over with.

[Winston Psmith]

Thanks, everyone!

 

Knowing what's wrong, and that my eye doctor was very confident about treatment, I feel a lot better, although I probably shouldn't take up motocross anytime soon.

 

With one screwed-up eye, and one eye with 20/20 vision, my poor tired brain is trying to mix-&-match two very different input signals, so with both eyes open, things still look . . . well, it's a little weird. I can read, and drive, and do pretty much anything I have any business doing - very early this morning I was up on a ladder, putting up hanging baskets for a restaurant client - but I'm being cautious.

 

I'm going to try to get as much work done as I can, in the next few days, so I'm not way behind if I lose some time to recovery. In the meantime, things may still look pretty strange, but my overall outlook is much improved.

 

Happy weekend, everyone, and once again, many thanks!

[Caevan O’Shite]

Be well and good, my good friend. Of ccourse, I'm going to 'Mother' you and remind you to be careful, continue to be cautious on ladders and such, what with your temporarily changed-up visual reconnoitering network and sh!t.

 

Oh, sorry- - I should've been less insensitive in posting that emoticon, one eye closed tightly and all... I wouldn't want to make fun of you, being at least momentarily a newly commissioned floricultural and foliamancer pirate...

 

Steady on the Larboard side, Matey...

 

 

Seriously, be well, and be careful, stay well- at least as well as you are for now- and knock out some mean riffs and strangely soothing sounds in the meantime, Brother Winston.

[Winston Psmith]

@Caevan - no joke, I'd seriously considered an eyepatch to shut out the "noise" from the left eye, since the right one is 20/20! I may yet get one, in which case, I'll definitely take photos!

[Scott Fraser]

The worst part of any medical malady, I find, is the not-knowing-what-it-is part. As soon as a doctor weighs in with a diagnosis, providing it's not terminal, the fear of not knowing is lifted. Glad you have a diagnosis, & a plan. This growing old sh*t stopped being funny a good while ago.

[Caevan O’Shite]

@Caevan - no joke, I'd seriously considered an eyepatch to shut out the "noise" from the left eye, since the right one is 20/20! I may yet get one, in which case, I'll definitely take photos!

 

Aaarrrghh!

[KuruPrionz]

Thanks, everyone!

 

Knowing what's wrong, and that my eye doctor was very confident about treatment, I feel a lot better, although I probably shouldn't take up motocross anytime soon.

 

With one screwed-up eye, and one eye with 20/20 vision, my poor tired brain is trying to mix-&-match two very different input signals, so with both eyes open, things still look . . . well, it's a little weird. I can read, and drive, and do pretty much anything I have any business doing - very early this morning I was up on a ladder, putting up hanging baskets for a restaurant client - but I'm being cautious.

 

I'm going to try to get as much work done as I can, in the next few days, so I'm not way behind if I lose some time to recovery. In the meantime, things may still look pretty strange, but my overall outlook is much improved.

 

Happy weekend, everyone, and once again, many thanks!

 

 

Since I had very poor vision, when the left eye was fixed with lens replacement life got truly weird for a week. I could still use my right eye for close-up things and my right eye with glasses on for distances. I took the left lens out of my glasses and could more or less function with both eyes but the glasses made everything smaller so depth perception and sense of location of things like stairs became a bit off.

That improved when the right eye was treated but now I have no close vision to speak of. I have to wait until May 12 to get an eye exam for prescription glasses for close up vision, meanwhile I picked up a pair of "readers" at a local store so I can continue to earn a paycheck - I work remotely as a maintenance coordinator for an association management company and I really like my job.

 

For me, with both eyes going through this situation means nearly a month of "no normal possible". Fortunately my job is part time, after about 4-5 hours I need a break from the readers. Soon...

 

Very glad to know they are gong to be able to fix you right up!!!!!!

[Larryz]

Lookin good WP, but stay off those ladders for now...the ground always looks closer than it really is LoL! Can't wait for the Long John Silver pics!

[skipclone 1]

Wishing you the best brother Winston.

My eyesight was never that great. There's a reason my nickname is not Hawkeye.

One thing i have found useful, is strengthening eye muscles.

i drew my own Tibetan kalachakra pattern, which I use for eye exercises.

Unfortunately I can't recall the title of the book I first read about it, way too long ago.

There should be google search stuff about it.

[Winston Psmith]

@skipclone 1- Thank you, brother!

 

My appointment is this morning, just a couple of blocks from my house. I'm feeling pretty confident about a good outcome, although I'm not sure they're going to do much more than look at the eye today? I may yet be sporting an eyepatch!

 

Seems like this is purely an age-related issue; it just happens, generally among people over 60. Nothing I did to cause it, nothing I could have done to prevent it; Entropy is the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, after all.

 

I'll try to check in after my appointment, with an update.

[Winston Psmith]

Here's the update, with a caveat for anyone else who's had cataract surgery - I went to see an eye surgeon, and came home with eye drops . . .

 

My eyes got quite a workout yesterday - all manner of bright lights, several different kinds of eye drops, and, for a whole new experience in somewhat invasive procedures, having dye injected into my veins. (Don't ask, the thought still creeps me out, and when the whole room turned RED . . .) When all of the varied photos and graphs of my eye were assembled, my surgeon looked at them and said, "I don't think it's a macular hole; it only looks like one." I asked if that was a good thing or a bad thing, and he assured me that it was a good thing; no hole, no surgery.

 

It turns out that after cataract surgery - even LONG after cataract surgery - you eyes can develop irritation, swelling, simple issues that seem scary as hell when all of a sudden the world looks very different. I'd told the surgeon about my cataracts, AND that I'm a landscaper/gardener, who'd just had a minor infection in my left eye, from working out in the high pollen count. He put all of that together with what he was seeing, and told me that as much as he enjoys performing surgery, he was glad that I didn't seem to need it.

 

There's a lot of swelling and inflammation in the back of my eye, which is causing the current problem. The eye drops he gave me should relieve the swelling and inflammation, after which, my eye should be fine. I have another appointment at the beginning of June, but for now, it's eye drops four times a day.

 

For any of you who've had cataract surgery, and suddenly develop a problem with your eyes, I hope whoever you go to see is as thorough and thoughtful with your diagnosis. I'm back out in my garden today, and back to my regular work tomorrow. Thanks again for all the kind words and kind thoughts.

[Larryz]

Thanks for keeping us in the loop Winston and so far it sounds like great news! I'll keep your information in mind as I may need cataract surgery in a few years. It looks like you won't have to go with the pirate look LoL! I wear glasses when I'm outside to keep some of the dirt and pollen from reaching my eyes. When I'm mowing, edging and blowing grass and weeds outside or spraying, I wear a pair of shooting glasses which look cool and protect my eyes which can be found cheap at gun stores. Anyway best wishes and let us know if those eye drops do the trick!

[KuruPrionz]

Here's the update, with a caveat for anyone else who's had cataract surgery - I went to see an eye surgeon, and came home with eye drops . . .

 

My eyes got quite a workout yesterday - all manner of bright lights, several different kinds of eye drops, and, for a whole new experience in somewhat invasive procedures, having dye injected into my veins. (Don't ask, the thought still creeps me out, and when the whole room turned RED . . .) When all of the varied photos and graphs of my eye were assembled, my surgeon looked at them and said, "I don't think it's a macular hole; it only looks like one." I asked if that was a good thing or a bad thing, and he assured me that it was a good thing; no hole, no surgery.

 

It turns out that after cataract surgery - even LONG after cataract surgery - you eyes can develop irritation, swelling, simple issues that seem scary as hell when all of a sudden the world looks very different. I'd told the surgeon about my cataracts, AND that I'm a landscaper/gardener, who'd just had a minor infection in my left eye, from working out in the high pollen count. He put all of that together with what he was seeing, and told me that as much as he enjoys performing surgery, he was glad that I didn't seem to need it.

 

There's a lot of swelling and inflammation in the back of my eye, which is causing the current problem. The eye drops he gave me should relieve the swelling and inflammation, after which, my eye should be fine. I have another appointment at the beginning of June, but for now, it's eye drops four times a day.

 

For any of you who've had cataract surgery, and suddenly develop a problem with your eyes, I hope whoever you go to see is as thorough and thoughtful with your diagnosis. I'm back out in my garden today, and back to my regular work tomorrow. Thanks again for all the kind words and kind thoughts.

 

Awesome, Sir Winston!!! Glad to hear the good news!!!! I am one of those who has had cataract surgery and I do have some allergies to pollen. I've learned to avoid the fuzzy pink trees and other afflictions. But, I am not a gardener so I may have more options than some in that regard. Sounds like you have a great doctor!!!! Cheers, Kuru

[Scott Fraser]

Very good news. Eye issues are truly scary stuff.

[Dannyalcatraz]

Congrats on the good news!

 

ALSO, thanks for the informative follow up. I"ve taken my Mom for both of her cataract surgeries, and don"t recall any kind of info like that. And since I can expect to have a pair of such surgeries myself- coupled with decades of allergies- this is kind of reassuring to hear.

[surfergirl]

I'm glad things turned out good.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Glad to read that, Br'er Winston.

[Danzilla]

Sorry I'm late to the party and missed this initially; but glad it wasn't anything major. Take care of your eyes, so that you can be a 20/20 Visionary".

 

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