Going Blind ??

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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 12:00 am

Since the death of my wife Feb.27,2016,i have been struggling with health issues. Some of them i figure are from Lyme disease doing it's thing. I had it pretty much under control,but the trauma of my wife dying set it full fire again. This summer,i noticed some blurry vision,but was not concerned as it is just 1 of the issues with Lyme.Late summer i quit driving so i was not a hazard on the road.Still seemed to be a Lyme induced issue,but i got someone to drive me to an eye specialist. They examined my eyes & said i needed glasses ($268) & another exam the following week. That exam led to an appointment on Nov. 29 with another specialist. Meanwhile, my glasses are almost worthless to me,the bi-focals require me to hold my food or work at 12" from my eyes to see clearly.The larger part of the lenses help me see more clearly from 10' - infinity. What is missing in this equation ??? 9',yep,from the 12" where my bi-focals quit,to 10', where my lenses clear up what i am looking at... 9' of clear vision is missing. I have never held my food bowl/plate so close to my face to be able to see what i am eating... computor work like billing my customers is a complete disaster , I can't even really work properly on equipment,had a friend helping me as i guided him thru the repair work. My son did a bunch of the billing & such on Fri. his day off from his job.Living without a wife has been hard to do,living without a wife & sick is even tougher, living without a wife & blind....my mind has not been able to completely comprehend that at all. I am of course still praying that God will spare my sight, even if it isn't 100%. BUT, God knows what is best, i will continue to follow His leading & see what He has in store for my future.
My son made the font real big to make it easier for me to slowly peck this post. I have been trying to follow some threads on here,but it is very difficult to read clearly with blurry/cloudy vision. My new glasses are actually a detriment for this. Can't say that i am excited to get to the next exam,but am anxious to know what can be done.


 
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Post by cabinover » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 6:40 am

Sorry to hear this news Windy. The only thing I can add is good pair of progressive lenses will help the in-between distances. Not polycarbonate though, spend the extra for better ones. First pair I tried were polyc and terrible. Tunnel vision was all I had, with having to turn your head constantly due to blurred vision other than straight ahead.

With the new ones I may get the slightest blur off to the peripheral but I can still see what I'm looking at.

 
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Post by Lakehouse » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 7:40 am

Good morning Windyhill,
I am sorry to hear of your vision difficulties.
I second the Cabinover on the progressives. Although no glasses can be as good as your own good eyesight.
Myself I straggle with nearsightedness and farsightedness at the same time, so my best solution so far is to wear my progressive glasses when driving, in church, and overall when need to see farther than few feet away, and a cheep magnifiers from the drugstore, for reading and such. It’s a pain, I always have both pairs on me, one on my face, the other on top of my head.
Hopefully your upcoming appointment will bring some good news, and the most important is to be thankful for the years You had with good eyes, and stay faithful to God and know that He has you in His plans.
rm.

 
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Post by samhill » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 7:47 am

Hope someone figures out for sure what the problem is Windy in the meantime do the best you can, rely on others as much as possible & pray for the best. I'm sure you will have plenty of help in the last part from all of us coal burners.

 
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Post by franco b » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 9:01 am

Get a cheap pair of reading glasses to wear over your bifocals to cover the gap in clear vision.

 
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Post by Sunny Boy » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 9:08 am

Sorry to hear what your going through. Losing good sight is very frustrating.

When my near vision started to blur, I went through the eye exam and expensive glasses routine, too. As your having, I found it tough to adjust to them. I hated having to use them because they were only good at the distance set for them.

So, I started experimenting with different strength inexpensive "reading glasses" from Walmart. I found that by tailoring the magnification to what I was doing it helped greatly.

So, I have "work glasses" that are the right magnification for working at arm's length distances, such as at the work bench, or leaning over a fender working on an engine. I leave a few pair of them hanging up in the shop work areas. They are less than $20.00 a pair, full sized plastic lenses, so they double as my work safety glasses.

I have half-lens "computer glasses" that are the right magnification at the distance to the screen, but I can look over the tops at any distance around the office without having to keep taking them off. I leave them on the computer desk.

I have half-lens "reading glasses" that are the strongest magnification. I leave them next to where I do reading and I carry a pair of those around in my pocket. I can see over the tops of those if I have to look up at anything distant. The half-lens "cheater" reading glasses at Walmart are about $8.00 a pack of three in many magnification levels. With the way I trash glasses, that works well for me for the past 20 years that I've needed glasses.

By switching to those different strengths, they do what the guys have suggested for progressive lenses. All my family members who wear glasses have gone to using progressives after being steered to bi-focal and finding them frustrating like you have. Sometimes they can be dangerous. Melissa has almost fallen coming down stairs using bifocals because of trouble judging distance when only able to look through the bottom high magnification section. Switching to progressives helped.

Because of my type of dusty, dirty, and paint overspray work, plus dropping and losing them, glasses don't last long for me. Having to replace progressives would get very expensive. By using less expensive glasses tailored to what I'm doing at the moment, it works better for me - far less frustration now trying to see what I'm doing.

Just something to consider that might help elevate some of your frustration.

Paul

 
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Post by franco b » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 9:30 am

Getting used to bifocals or astigmatic correction is frustrating
to optometrists as well. So much so that they frequently avoid full correction to avoid complaints. I have had that happen several times until i told the optometrist to go full bore. No matter how distorted things may appear at first, your brain will sort things out in a few days.

With bifocals you might want to lower the bifocal line a bit to avoid that problem on stairs.


 
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Post by lsayre » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 9:57 am

I agree that Progressives are better than Bifocals, but I must warn you that there is a learning curve wherein it takes up to several weeks to get used to wearing them and functioning with them.

 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 10:27 am

I used to only use reading glasses for very fine print or extended periods of reading. The cloudy/blurry that i mentioned b4 is for my whole vision range now. My new glasses now allow me to see distant things clearer but still not right, result is the same with bi-focals,i can read more clearly but still not rite.I was given a pair of reading glasses that do fine for reading 12" from my face,but looking over the top of them is all a blur. My vision is like looking thru cloudy plastic all the time. I just hope the specialist can find what the problem is.
I do thank all for your prayers & advise given as this is totally foreign territory for me.

 
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Post by titleist1 » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 10:35 am

windyhill4.2 wrote:
Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 10:27 am
I used to only use reading glasses for very fine print or extended periods of reading. The cloudy/blurry that i mentioned b4 is for my whole vision range now. My new glasses now allow me to see distant things clearer but still not right, result is the same with bi-focals,i can read more clearly but still not rite.I was given a pair of reading glasses that do fine for reading 12" from my face,but looking over the top of them is all a blur. My vision is like looking thru cloudy plastic all the time. I just hope the specialist can find what the problem is.
I do thank all for your prayers & advise given as this is totally foreign territory for me.
Its the obvious thing and should have been easy to identify right away....but with that description of your vision have they eliminated cataracts as the cause?

 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 11:10 am

titleist1 wrote:
Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 10:35 am
Its the obvious thing and should have been easy to identify right away....but with that description of your vision have they eliminated cataracts as the cause?
The eye doctor mentioned cataracts but said they are not far advanced... she also advised the lady who typed the report to " make a note to refer to specialist"
Last edited by windyhill4.2 on Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 1:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
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Post by franco b » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 11:35 am

With cataracts oncoming car headlights will have a starburst effect when looking at them.

 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 1:35 pm

franco b wrote:
Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 11:35 am
With cataracts oncoming car headlights will have a starburst effect when looking at them.
I haven't been on the road at nite for many months.... i could watch cars go past my place on the hy-way to see if that is the problem.

 
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Post by lsayre » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 1:53 pm

Vitamin A is claimed to improve night blindness. Orange vegetables and fruits are generally good sources.

Carrots
Sweet Potato
Butternut Squash
Cantalopes
Orange Bell Peppers

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 3:17 pm

Been there (I think) and done that. Color perception was terrible and at night I could not see worth a damn. Now both eyes have plastic lenses . My long distance vision is 20/20 or better and night driving is fine. I do need 1.75 lenses for reading. Bought a case from the dollar store for a buck each 20 years ago and I am still working through the batch. Best deal ever. I hope this is your issue as it is easy to fix.


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