Bogieblog

Bi-Annual Eye Check

For years I have had eye testing every 4 months as the pressure in my eyes has been elevated (19/20 right/left), which could be pre-glaucoma. In February, the pressure was down to 15/16 so my eye doctor decided I only needed to go in twice per year.

With kerataconus, permanent floaters in the left eye, cataracts in both eyes, and the high ocular pressure, I go thru extensive testing. A visual field is done yearly since with the previously mentioned problems, it would be difficult to tell if I was losing eyesight to macular degeneration (or glaucoma). The visual field was performed at my last visit, so wasn't done this time. This visit I went thru different types of deep eye scans and topical geometry scans, along with other routine tests.

Tuesday's testing revealed that my left eye has improved vision-wise. Which normally would be great news except:

• We can't trust improvement since my vision can change hour to hour.
• The improvement is most likely due to a second type of cataract that has formed in the left eye, so most likely won't be permanent as that cataract continues to develop.

Eye pressure has resumed at 19/20, which is not cause for added concern, just disappointing. The right eye cornea has thinned out a bit from previous tests, but is still okay at this point.

To add to the fun, the specialty contact brand/type I have worn for 20 years has been discontinued so all baselines for fit and orientation are out the window. The eye doctor ordered a trial pair of a different type of lens from the same brand. They came in quickly and I picked them up on Friday but didn't try them until yesterday. It is apparent to me that the left eye prescription is lacking, but it is just a distraction and not terrible or unexpected I'm guessing the adjustment up in strength probably will not go to my previous point. I'll get a better idea of how they perform when I drive to work in the dark Monday morning. That will be the true test on the orientation for both eyes - the prescription can be modified from there.

I am lucky to have an eye doctor who takes a lot of time with me, regardless of how busy she is. She explains things in general, what her thoughts are,  and if I have questions, is happy to go more in depth (although she has generally given me "just enough" info that I don't feel the need).

Not Funny

I got an email (from a person whose identity shall remain a mystery) that had a picture taken of a sticker showing an android peeing on an apple logo.

I'm not a fan of "peeing" stickers. Never understood the Calvin sticker, and certainly don't get the android sticker. Don't find either of them even remotely funny.

Just sayin'.

New Glasses

After 12 or 13 years I finally got new glasses. I wear contacts almost exclusively, because of my Keratoconus, but need something as a backup for when I can't wear them (like in the mornings). My old glasses are okay for that job, but my eyes have changed quite a bit and I can't see distance as well, and I certainly can't read in them. However, I can see the computer screen quite well with them, so up to this point they have done the job.

I went in Monday to look at frames and order glasses. Looking at frames is a mis-nomer, whatever seemed to fit well off the shelf is good enough. The lady helping me asked if I wanted Progressives. I said I had no clue what Progressives were. She took that to mean I just wanted the basic prescription and not the bi-focal part. No, I assured her, the main reason I want to get new glasses so I can read if I need to (something about having whatever it is I'm trying to read jammed up to within 2" of my eyeball just doesn't work too well). I explained that I wore contacts to help correct a condition, and the glasses are only for when I can't wear contacts. So once I got that straightened out (by the way, she never actually explained Progressives, I just assumed by her reaction that means bi-focal type lenses) she went on to a few more questions.

"Do you want the special anti-glare coating?" she asked. "No."

"But it will keep you from getting halos while driving at night," she she said in her best you really need this voice. "No, I don't drive at night with my glasses because I get halos, stars, ghosts, smears and waterfalls. It is way to dangerous for me to try with all that going on - that is what my contacts help correct."

Yesterday I picked the new glasses up, and I wore my old glasses in, just so I could tell if I could see out of the new ones. The lady said that this would be quite the change in looks for me, and was quite taken aback when I said that I would only be wearing them when I can't wear my contacts. "Oh, like at night?" she inquired.

"Uh, no, like in the morning before I put in my contacts." [does she think I just wake up and pop in the contacts before doing anything else? After all, it is quite evident from my perscription and from the thickness of the lenses that I can't see anything further than a couple of inches without correction.]

She wanted to adjust them behind my ears because they are "loose". Everytime someone has done that, they end up sending shooting pains into my skull, so I declined. They really aren't loose and stay in place fine when I look down, so there isn't any issue there.

Then she wanted to put my old glasses in the case so I could wear my new glasses home. Um, no, I'm putting in my contacts, but thanks anyway. And I sat right there and put in my contacts (obviously, I had brought everything I needed with me). I think I also flabberghasted her because I never once looked in the mirror to see how they looked.

Contact Trial One

The first pair of trial contacts was not successful. I left work for 2 hours in the morning to try them and have the doc check out the fit and my vision. The first thing I noticed was that the vision in my left eye was noticeably worse than with my present pair of contacts. With the Snellen test, it was also shown that I see worse with my right eye (and I see the chart better than my actual functional vision is).

The doc said he wanted me to try them for a couple of weeks anyway because it might just be a case of my having to get used to that particular type and fit (plus, the machine said I should be getting good vision even if I couldn't see the barn when it was whirring about).

While I ws driving back to work, it felt like I got a piece of lint in my left eye. Fine, as soon as I got to work, I took out the contact, washed it off with saline, and re-inserted it. It felt better for abot 10 minutes, then the lint feeling again. Usually, if I let it go, small debris will eventually wash itself out, so I tried to ignore it. After about an hour, I tried washing the contact off again.

It felt better for a while, then the debris sensation again. I let it go, then after an hour or so, washed off the contact. At that point, I noticed both the upper and lower eyelids had slight swelling. The rims of my left eyelid were also turning red.

Time to call the doc.

They weren't really thrilled to hear from me on a Friday afternoon, especially since it would take me about 40 minutes to ge there, but they had me come in anyway. After looking at things, the doc decided I should go back to my old contacts and he would order a different type for me to try.

This is coming at a bad time. I took 4 hours off of work on Friday at a time when I needed to put in extra time (only put in 7 hours instead of the 11-12 I had planned). I only have 2 1/2 more weeks to get everything in order and I was hoping that long hours during the week would keep me from having to go in on the weekends.

That was wishfull thinking!

No Pressure

At my last annual exam, the pressure in my right eye was elevated, so I had to go back in last week to monitor the pressure. Thankfully, the pressure is back down to normal. However, the elvation in pressure apparently left its mark. For the the last 3 months I have had problems with my right contact; feeling as if an edge is lifted and hitting my eyelid along other comfort problems - with soft contacts (and no, it isn't turned inside out - this has been thru 3 sets of contacts).

I first started wearing this type/brand of contacts in 2000. However, there are new contacts on the market, and we are going to try a different type to see if it helps.

For my left eye, which is my bad eye, there is the possibility that I would be able to see better out of the newer contacts, because they can power them higher. My understanding, which is most likely imperfect, is that the main reason we went with the last type of contacts was because they were the only ones that the doc could get (at the time) that were powerful enough to get my left eye to see as well as it does (anywhere from 20/40 to 20/60). Of course, docs have thought they could get my left eye to see better before, and it hasn't happened, so I will find out when the contacts come in. 

I expect it to be a week or two before the new set is in, and I'll report back then.

New KC Site

I have been remiss in pointing out this new Keratoconus forum. It is very new, so not many people have posted yet, but it looks like the curator took some care to make it readable and to cover most of the concerns of KCers.

Once again, that is Keratoconus International.

Eye Sight Check

I went to the eye doctor last Friday for my yearly checkup. As usual, my left eye has deteriated a bit more, but now there is an added complication. I have a lot of floaters in that eye and they have congregated into a large black mass that likes to sit near the middle of my visual field. It is like I have a fly that is constantly hovering about 5" in front of my face. It has slowly been breaking up, in the last couple of weeks, and I am hopeful that it will continue to do so. There is a type of laser surgery that can be done, but the risk is high for complications that are worse than the problem, so for now, nothing will be done.

The perscription on my left eye has not been increased because I always end up seeing triple or quadruple when we try that. So now the vision in that eye is around 20/60. NOne of this is particularly new to me, so it was business as usual.

My Eyes, My Eyes!

Since the KCForum abruptly shut its proverbial doors, I have been interested in finding a new forum to participate in. I thought that perhaps the KCGlobalForum would do nicely when I heard about it the other day.

I went to check it out today, and from the main site it looks pretty good. Their logo "A site for sore eyes" is impressive sounding too. Then, I clicked on the forum link and found much to my horror (and bemusement) that the forum is in black, with white writing, with tiny type and evil colors running rampant. If I concentrate very hard, I can tell what stuff is, but I don't need that headache. This is one of the hardest to read websites I have run into in a long time.

I didn't bother registering after I clicked on a few of the forum subjects and found that they were just as hard to read. I am thinking that whoever designed the site has no clue what KC does to ones eyesite, and neither does whoever is running it. After going back to the main page, and looking at the site meter at 665 visitors (and that wonderful "As Seen On TV), I decided that this has to be someone's idea of a joke and/or money making scheme.

Thanks but no thanks, the website just makes sore eyes as far as I am concerned!

Multiple Subjects and Categories

I'm still at work waiting for my calibration guy to finish with the optical machine. He recently informed me that he would have to come back tomorrow (after telling me at 6PM that it would only be a couple more hours). I have no idea how late he is planning on staying tonight, but I hope he is ready to go soon (15 hrs and counting for me)!

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The clothes washer made me really happy and stopped working last weekend. Last night I was at the laundrymat; a place I haven't been in forever. I have someone coming in tomorrow to fix the washer, so I didn't do WS's clothes (they get done on Saturdays).

The only bad thing about having a front-loading washer is that they are wicked expensive to fix. I'm hoping it is just the locking sensor and not the on/off button (guess which is more expensive to fix). Guess I'll know tomorrow.

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We have had a georgous week weather-wise. It has been so nice that Mt. Washington has had record warmth the last several days.

Today the summit basked in its fourth straight day of record breaking warmth. The month of October has seen no fog, or even overcast, an aberration at a site that is in the clouds 60% of the time. Today’s high of 62 degrees broke the old October record of 59 set way back in 1938 and fell a mere 10 degrees shy of the all-time record. This all comes on the heels of the Hottest Summer Ever.

Naturally, this weekend it is supposed to cold and rainy - all weekend. And, with great timing, another load of plants and bulbs came in the mail, so I'll get to plant them in the yucky weather.

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If anyone has been trying to get to the KC Open Topic Forum, it is no longer running. The guy that ran it decided not to do so anymore. It would have been nice if we had had some notice, but all we got was a "Site not found" message when we tried to access it this week. There was some good stuff in the archives, but it is lost now. Fortunately, there is an email-based forum that I belong to which is hosted by the NKFC that is still alive and kicking.

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I have finally had a couple of days without any pet-sitting duties (I've been continually busy for about 2 months now). I thought that would give me shorter days, but if today is any indicator, that was a pipe-dream! I don't even get to sleep in tomorrow morning (my Friday off - if I ever get out of here) because the washer repairman is going to call me at 7 AM to set the time for his arrival. Maybe I can take a nap later in the day.

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And that is all my fuzzy brain can come up with to write. It is 10 minutes from my bedtime and I am an hour drive away from my bed. That is not a good combination!

KC Sight

From the Keratoconus forum that I lurk on, comes a site that shows some common problems with KC vision. I have all of the problems to some degree (except the intact ring problems of course). The double vision affects one eye, with my contacts in - with my glasses, several moons is the rule (christmas lights are quite amazing to see too).

Fortunately, I only get the mild glare (thank goodness!), but the halos I see are a bit worse (and with glasses, their downright horrid). The night vision pictures are pretty accurate for when I am wearing glasses (except I have a lot worse "starring"), but my contacts help out there too and reduce the problems in that area.

Nothing earth-shattering here, just a little something to help people understand what KCer's are going thru. For a long time I thought everyone saw night traffic the way I saw with glasses. I certainly am glad that my contacts help me out!