WH and I make our eye exam appointments on the same day each time we go. We have to same optometrist, so it just makes sense to go together. The first time we went together was also the first time that either of us had been in for an examination in a very long time. We both came out of those appointments with our 20/20 vision affirmed and joking about "passing" our eye tests with flying colours. I think we even went out to dinner that night to celebrate.
Last night was Eye Appointment Night, 2009. WH passed with flying colours again. Chorus? Not so much.
At my appointment a couple of years ago, while there were no problems with my vision, the doctor remarked that I had a weird little cataract thing in my left eye that would have to be removed when I was little old lady. He framed it at the time as more of an interesting thing than something to be concerned about. I haven't given it much thought since because, hey, 20/20 right?! My eyes are awesome!
Sigh. The cataract has gotten much, much worse in the last two years and the vision in my left eye has gone from 20/20 two years ago to 20/40 today. The funny thing is that I haven't noticed any problems with my eyesight. But there was no doubt when he asked me to read the littlest line of print with my left eye, that I couldn't do it. In fact, I couldn't read the second littlest either. Or the third. The first one I could read was the second biggest one, and it was still blurry.
"Hm," he said.
So here are the two sides of the decision of what to do about it. On the one hand, if we do nothing, I'm a happy camper with a cataract who feels like she can see just fine and has, to this point, not been bothered by said cataract. On the other, if I have cataract surgery, my left eye will be as good as my right eye for all things except reading, for which I would need glasses.
We're going with the first scenario until I start to be bothered by the eye. It makes me wonder if it's not so much that I haven't been bothered by the problem as it is that I have just been confident in my "perfect" eyes that I haven't noticed the problem. So I'll keep an eye on it, as it were, for the next little while and see if, now that I'm aware of the problem, it starts to bother me.
It is somewhat surreal to be considering cataract surgery at the ripe old age of 29.
Pitchin' In
11 years ago
4 comments:
Sorry to hear about this! Do they have any idea how it could have developed?
wow, interesting..... and I 2nd chunklets question!
I'm told that cataracts can develop out of steroid use, so if I used an asthma puffer... or I guess if I was trying to bulk up... that would be a good sign. As neither of those are true, the best explanation is that the eye suffered some injury at some point and the cataract developed from that.
I, too, did not realize that this could happen for a seemingly inexplicable reason at such a young age.
My mom has always had 20/20 vision and it killed her to buy a pair of reading glasses last year. I truly thought she might die.
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