Thursday, January 20, 2011

Get(ting) Fuzzy

I went to the eye doctor a couple of days ago. It hadn’t been that long since my last trip, but my left eye only has one contact left, and it just so happens that contact is being used. By my left eye. At the rate I rip contacts; it was time to get a new box of them. Taking advantage of my glorious health insurance, I figured I would get an exam done as well.

Eye exams are always a bit of an adventure for me. Not the fun kind either. But I’ve got the routine down. Bring contacts. Bring glasses. Bring prescription and contact brand. Bring sunglasses in case of dilation. I actually walked in with my manly computer case filled with eye care products.

For some reason, the people behind the counter who are the first line of defense before I see the doctor, never actually believe my inability to see without assistance. And so they ask me to take out my contacts. And so I put on my glasses. And so they ask to see my glasses. And so I am blind. Fuzziness descends on me. Which is all fine and good if they allowed me to sit in one place and not move until my glasses were returned to me. Instead, having removed my only means of sight, they ask me to perform mundane tasks. Like tell them the brand name of my prescription. Or maybe fill out some paper work.

Because I have become more Swedish than I care to admit, I begrudgingly, but silently, attempt these tasks. Blindly. Apparently, when holding a box of contacts three inches from your face, the optometry gate keeper will take pity on you and return your glasses. Or it just so happened that she was done with them and never realized that their office had become so very fuzzy.

For those of you wondering, my eyesight has, in fact, continued to deteriorate. My contacts have, in fact, become even stronger. And every eye doctors I see has, in fact, laughed awkwardly when I ask about the continued decline of my eye sight while telling me not to worry. But a steady decline in eyesight for the past 20 years is cause for concern as far as I’m concerned (see what I did there?).

Welcome to Swedish-America. And my continued descent into fuzziness.

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6 comments:

  1. Sounds familiar (in contacts my prescription is -9 and -6.25 with a -1.75 astigmatism). For years I've had strong prescriptions tuned for distance and then I sit 3ft from a computer for hours and hours at work. For the last year I've been wearing a +1 dioptre pair of cheap off-the-shelf reading glasses for work on top of my contacts to make the prescription weaker and take the strain out focussing close all the time and so far things haven't got worse. YMMV.

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  2. Yeah, eye exams really can be a blast. I'm diabetic, so I have that exam added in as well. Always feel silly trying to "see" my way out the store.

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  3. Probably you should use more your glasses instead the contact lens. Or try like me: I got a prk surgery with acceptable results. Acceptable because I must be totally out of glasses, that never happen, but hey! I can manage my vision with lens sometimes. You could try the lasik or lasek procedure, or in the last case try to use rigid contact lens (I do not recommend that is painful as hell) Any way good luck with you vision, and keep it up the blog. It's been really helpful because I'd probably be in the same situation as you (hope better)

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  4. Just how bad is it? Number wise? Please don't rub chilli fingers in them anymore though, it won't help :)

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  5. I remember a time in highschool when Christopher switched your contacts in the case. You were so mad because you couldn't see and you didn't know what was going on ... and it was fun to watch you thank him when you found out what he did ;)

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  6. I have promised myself that if my eye sight ever stabilizes and if I ever finish my PhD, I'm getting the surgery.

    p.s. I wish I knew who this anonymous was telling high school stories. I only have vague memories of that happening.

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