So. Yep. I got it. Went to the eye guy today who said my intra-ocular pressure is high, my corneas are thickening (and clouding up), and my optic nerves are damaged. I've been through the whole cancer thing in 1995, but somehow the idea that I might eventually go blind (OK, worse case scenario but it is a possibility) is much MUCH worse. Fortunately, I seem to have caught it in time.
I've noticed that my eyesight had been deteriorating but had chalked it up to normal aging. DH insisted I get an exam because my gramma had glaucoma and, well, the news could be better (but it can also be a lot worse). The statistics are pretty scary; glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the U.S. and is often called the "sneak thief of vision" because it is subtly progressive, and the damage done is irreversible. There is no cure but there is treatment that can delay or sometimes halt the progression of the disease. I cannot get back what I have lost. I can only hope that I won't lose more.
So where do I go from here? Good question. Now that they have a baseline to go by, they can begin to monitor the amount & speed of any continuing deterioration in my eyesight. They have to know how bad it is before they treat it - which I suppose is preferable to just jumping right into the whole surgery thing (sometimes that works, sometimes not).
I'm posting this to bring awareness to everyone on the board. When's the last time you went in for an eye exam? Do you even remember? For me, it was when I was 12.....32 years ago and far, far too long of a period. I can't say this loudly enough: [B]GET YOUR EYES CHECKED AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR[/B]. Please, please, please, do not wait until your vision is affected. Do not wait until you start getting headaches or notice funny rainbow auras around headlights and streetlights. We grow up hearing how important it is to get our teeth cleaned and checked every 6 months, but seldom do we think about our eyes. Vision is something you simply take for granted - until it's gone, that is. If you lose your teeth, you can get dentures. Lose a limb? They do marvelous things with prosthetics these days. Lose your eyesight and you're utterly screwed: there is no replacement for the human eye.
I've noticed that my eyesight had been deteriorating but had chalked it up to normal aging. DH insisted I get an exam because my gramma had glaucoma and, well, the news could be better (but it can also be a lot worse). The statistics are pretty scary; glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the U.S. and is often called the "sneak thief of vision" because it is subtly progressive, and the damage done is irreversible. There is no cure but there is treatment that can delay or sometimes halt the progression of the disease. I cannot get back what I have lost. I can only hope that I won't lose more.
So where do I go from here? Good question. Now that they have a baseline to go by, they can begin to monitor the amount & speed of any continuing deterioration in my eyesight. They have to know how bad it is before they treat it - which I suppose is preferable to just jumping right into the whole surgery thing (sometimes that works, sometimes not).
I'm posting this to bring awareness to everyone on the board. When's the last time you went in for an eye exam? Do you even remember? For me, it was when I was 12.....32 years ago and far, far too long of a period. I can't say this loudly enough: [B]GET YOUR EYES CHECKED AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR[/B]. Please, please, please, do not wait until your vision is affected. Do not wait until you start getting headaches or notice funny rainbow auras around headlights and streetlights. We grow up hearing how important it is to get our teeth cleaned and checked every 6 months, but seldom do we think about our eyes. Vision is something you simply take for granted - until it's gone, that is. If you lose your teeth, you can get dentures. Lose a limb? They do marvelous things with prosthetics these days. Lose your eyesight and you're utterly screwed: there is no replacement for the human eye.
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