there's something in my eye...

[fufaraw]

As you may recall, Bob, OH and I went to the eye doctor last week to have our eyes checked, update our prescriptions, and get new glasses.

I wanted to discuss the increasing number of PVDs I've been experiencing. Posterior Vitreous Detachments  are not dangerous, don't involve the retina (though they can be precursors of retinal detachments, so best to keep an eye on them). In a myopic patient, the eyeball is elongated, bringing the point of focus at the rear of the eye a distance past where it would fall in a normal-sighted, round eye. As we age, the vitreous humor in the eyeball gets thicker and takes up less volume, and the capsule containing the humor pulls away in spots from the eye socket. These gaps give the appearance of large "floaters". Floaters themselves are merely clumps of dead cells which quickly disintegrate and disappear from your vision. PVDs are supposed to eventually sink below the vision line, but mine stubbornly have not. And in the last several weeks, I've had new and larger ones appear. In addition, I've been waking with my left eye watering, which takes anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours to resolve. Eyedrops help it feel better, but the tears just have to run dry. Maybe one or two mornings a week for five or six weeks. The vision in the left eye is cloudy, and it can take most of the day for it to clear enough to achieve binocular vision, where both eyes work together. And then, some days are fine. A couple of times the lid was sore at the top of the socket, on top of the eyeball. So, I related all this to the eye doctor last week, and he made notes and reiterated that there really isn't a treatment for PVDs that doesn't do more harm than good. With amazing patience for my indecision over "Is this lens better? Or this one?" he got my combined vision to 20/30, and we were both happy with that.  OH had his exam after mine, so the doctor put the dilating drops in my eyes and sent me to the waiting room while he examined OH's eyes. And then the lights went out--for a couple of blocks. He had appointments scheduled for the afternoon, so we said we'd reschedule for this week. This morning, in fact.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I woke up with a bad eye day. Some days are fine, some days clear pretty quickly, some days, not so much. I was streaming tears from the minute I woke up--just from the left eye--and the vision absolutely wouldn't clear. I couldn't focus both eyes together. It's not been that bad but a few times, and I started to cancel the appt, but OH said, no, let him see what's going on, so we went in.

The doc was pretty appalled, actually. He rechecked my vision, and was upset because last week he got my vision up to 20/30, but the best he could do today didn't reach 20/40. He put the drops in to dilate and sent me to wait while he checked OH out (he's fine. He's pissed because he can't achieve 20/15 anymore, but he's fine). He let me sit for 30 minutes so they'd be as dilated as possible, and then he ran through a whole bunch of instruments, bright, bright lights--painfully bright. He hummed and mumbled, and finally called OH in to tell us both (so I wouldn't have to tell OH and have him ask questions I couldn't answer). I do have a number of PVDs, which are annoying. But I've also developed a posterior synechiae (sen-i-KIA), which is kinda freaky. The lens is positioned behind the iris and pupil--in my case, the lens has started sticking to the pupil. When the eye moves to focus, he said my pupil, which is supposed to be round, looked like an infinity symbol. And when the lens unsticks, it's pulling pigment cells off the pupil, which stick to the lens and cloud my vision.

So he's referring my case to specialists he knows, works with, and trusts, and they'll call me to set up an appointment. Further developments to be reported as they happen. I look at it like this: It's not cancer, it's not detached retina, it's not macular degeneration, and it's not retinitis pigmentosa. Those were the big four I was worried about. There may be a surgical treatment. We may not be able to afford it. I may be sporting a Nick Fury eyepatch, I don't know. We'll have to wait and see what develops.

But anyway, just in case you ever doubted that I am a speshul snowflake, now you know. And I am oddly relieved to learn that it's not just all in my head. Um. So to speak.

Comments

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

And I am oddly relieved to learn that it's not just all in my head.

I totally get that--and omg, you poor thing!! What the hell???

[fufaraw]

I do tend to be a weeee bit of a hypochondriac. But then I know this, and so I tend to stoicize to compensate. So it's actually good to know there's really something going on. Thanks for the good thoughts, and updates as they happen.

[fireheart13.livejournal.com]

Wow. I'm following your story closely, as you may imagine, and I am definitely mentioning this to my opthamologist. And I totally hear you on the "It's not all in my head!" thng.

*HUGS*

[fufaraw]

I felt kind of sorry for the doc, mumbling around and looking again, and humming and getting out another instrument and a different kind of light, and mumbling and humming. 'Dammit, woman! Why can't you have something straightforward!' He didn't say that, of course.

When he called OH in, the first thing he said was, "It's not terrible. But it's not nothing, either." So now we wait. Good thoughts appreciated.

And how are you doing?

[fireheart13.livejournal.com]

Well, I've had a little imroovement, but still quite obstructed. What I can see is still very hazy and lots of blockage still. I just talked to my opthamologist and she said I don;t have what you have, and now I have to call the neuro op and get a follow-up appt :-\

[fufaraw]

Oy, it's always something, isn't it? I hope they can clear your vision without too invasive a procedure. Eyes, man. We don't appreciate them enough when they're working normally!

I still haven't heard from the specialist group--and the longer it goes, the more antsy I get.

I wish you all luck, though. And as little frustration as possible, coping, meanwhile. *hugs*

[aerynsun5.livejournal.com]

Sweetie! That bites!

I'm glad it's not one of the ones you were worried about, but also glad it wasn't imaginary. I hate that. Hopefully, you'll get some good news from the specialists. Keep us informed.

(Though an eye patch, like Charlie's, could be pretty cool.)

[ameliacareful.livejournal.com]

It's not terrible is not the worst thing to hear but honestly, not the best either. Will wait to hear about the specialist.

[sophiap.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean by being relieved to know it's not just in your head. And I'm glad that you now know what's going on, and that it's not one of the big four. I'll keep my fingers crossed for good (and affordable) options going forward.

[tabaqui]

Good thing you went in like that! It's annoying he had to see it 'first hand' to get a grip on the real problem, but yay!

Hope it all goes well.