Wednesday 4 August 2010

Eyes and getting older

So It's like this ..... You go and see an Eye Surgeon who says 'I can make you see without glasses ' well, sort of, cos you might still need glasses anyway and you may not be able to see properly when its dark and there is a 1 in 10,000 chance you will go blind and an even Greater chance that your retina will become detached and you will need  a major operation (but we can help you jump the queue!!) and all of this for just £6K - which is only half years school fees!!  


Ok - so i understand statistics - If there was a one in 10k chance that I could win the Lottery then I would play it every week - those are good odds !! But I ain't risking my sight!! So .... I'm thinking... Surely they must make Bifocal contact lenses!!?? A quick Google later and I find out they do and make the appointment after reading all the reviews and being convinced that Accuvue Bifocal lenses are for me! !! 


After an exhaustive 45 minutes of tests which confirm the prescription I gave them when I arrived, the opticians confirm that I owuld suit contact lenses and try these - the best (not Accuvue) and they are varifocal so cover all 3 of the distances where you have problems. 12"" (for reading) 24" (for screen work) and long distance. So They pop them in and suggest I go for a walk for 1/2 and hour to allow my brain to adjust to them. 


After 25 minutes I establish that nothing has changed since they first put them in - my long distance vision is now worse than before and my near vision also - things between 6ft and 8ft away though are much better!!!!???? 


Ok - lets try changing one of them they say to see if we can improve the situation - so they take one out and replace it -....twice but to no avail and then suggest that we try another method altogether!! yes ---it gets worse.... lets try 'mono vision' ..a simple technique where we put a long distance lens in one eye and a close up lens in the other - now this works straight away  of course - my left eye can see the print on the shop window across the road and my right eye can read time on my watch.!! So effectively I now have complete vision at all distances!!! UHHHMMMM - Ok I UNDERSTAND THAT BUT......!!! Isn't the idea to see with both eyes as you look a bit strange constantly closing one eye and opening the other. You should get used to it they say - Ok well 'I'll give it a go for a day or so' ... "Good" they say and in the meantime we'll order the lenses you said you wanted in the first place to see if they work any better!! 


Right - but we need to teach you to take your lenses out by yourself...... cutting a long story short - 30 minutes later, both  my eyes are red from poking them with my fingers and both lenses are still in position!!! "It takes most people about an hour to take their first lens out"... I go back to the office and look up the routine for taking out lenses, even watch a video .. nothing like the way they have been teaching me!!! 


to be continued!!!