osso and her eyes, again

Eventually I'll do a little rehearsal tape for you. Thanks for the interest.

Great check up today.

I mentioned to butrflynet who took me to the clinic that since my surgery eye seemed fantastic that I should watch out - I have this old sardonic view re expectations and fulfillment. I did get a surprise, but it was a wonderful one, not a bad one.

First of all, recent surgery-eye is healing as expected and hoped.

The newest cool thing was that all this rather simple effort to deal with my earlier surgery mess eye and its, ah, weirding out, my words, encompassing glare, sometimes extreme tearing, diminishing focus - the first two coming on fast and the lack of focus slowly progressive - or was it slowly progressive, trying to remember) ... turned a corner, and I was hoping only that the glare and tearing would lessen.

No, not only have glare and tearing quieted way down - the vision was markedly better today. Last several months I haven't been able to see the big E with it clearly, and that was with my glasses. I had given up on that eye (despite advice re compresses. etc. and beginning to follow it) and was hoping for the lid surgery (next up) to help with general sense of space - which has been led through my whole life by the recent surgery right eye.

Today with the left - the left!!!, I could see the big E and letters next to it spot on, and many down the chart, almost better than the new-surgery eye which was looking through too strong glasses. I didn't ask the numbers, but way down on the chart. This has been what I (and I think we) conjecture primarily from hot compresses twice a day and lubricant eye drops (and I do clip fish oil capsules and put them in soup, eat a lot of soup, which sounds like iffy magic, might not be, might be).

The right surgery eye has not had those problems before or after the surgery (so it's not just desert air or my not drinking enough water or too much wine or many hours on the computer but the mishugas of that eye - but I'm doing the compresses on that one too in a kind of preventative thing - which is to say that I put the folded hot facecloth across both my eyes and hold it for 10 to 20 seconds at a time, up to ten times or until I get bored. It feels great and my attention deficit has to kick in to get to me to turn to brushing my teeth. I did that about three hours before this morning's eye tests.

The doc said something like that people tend to dismiss this and don't follow through. Maybe I can do it since I bought a fat wad of facecloths at a local market, and they're perfect for the job.

This (if I understand at all) has to do with lipids.



* note to self, type up thoughts on dark glasses for people with rp.

Yes. I can remember, late in December I wasn't able to read the big E. All I could see was the white eye chart. I'm happy for you.

And myself, needless to say.

There's another whole story here.. not my place to post about, but Roger has been through a lot.

No problem if you talk here, Roger.

Sounds minor when I read back on this thread, but sure, two eyes are better than one.

Mister Cool. I'm glad.
Not that you're cool, a given, but that you are better.

Good news - this morning I met the surgeon who will fix my droopy eyelid, and like her a great deal. Easy communication, good listener, clear about details. It's a go for May 5th if Medicare will pay, which will be decided after a new kind of visual field test for me, that not until April. She thinks they will., since it is for vision, not for cosmetic reasons. I'm the one who put the dates off as I need to pay for the leftover due on the last surgery first (and find out why the hell the expensive supplemental didn't just cover that).

Ha, she also wears Dansko shoes. Noticed mine.. my faux pony ones.

That's pretty good all-round, isn't it. mrs. hamburger was very happy with the results of having her eyelids fixed. Sure made reading a lot easier when she didn't have to hold her eyelids up.

That sure doesn't sound like a cosmetic enhancement to me. This should be a shoo in.

Yeh, it's huge. It really is the vision, as I've gotten used to myself as looking cyclopean. I can raise the lid, not all the way up, but it wants to rest below half mast. They always hold it up for various tests, films, etc.

Of course it's the vision!

Let me write the report!

Of course it's the vision!

OK, there's a wee bit of cosmetic in the mix, but that's dwarfed by other needs..

If it had no cosmetic benefit, it would still need to be done. Therefore, it is medical necessity.

If there's a positive cosmetic side effect from IT'S THE VISION well then that's just a nice little treat

osso, Medical necessity and other side benefits. Sounds good to me--although I can't say I would look forward to any kind of surgery. But you sound positive. Bueno.

I oddly like surgery, from a curiousity point of view, if I get to pay attention. Even the horrible bad eye surgery was beautiful, visually. I talked to the surgeon from this December about that. That one worked so well, it wasn't near as cinematic... I think it's my vestigial pre-med self showing up.

I hope it works out for you, osso. A friend had it done and he looked so bright eyed after. He was thrilled.

Hope the medicare gets sorted Osso... we like IT'S THE VISION



that made me smile!

I didn't tell her they cost $2.99 at Goodwill. (But I've paid full price for all my other decades' worth of danskos.) She said she had some 'print' ones too.



Oooh, I like these..

I'm in a wonderment period.

We are not clear that medicare will approve my surgery, and I won't know until the 3rd of May.

My test for visual field re lid surgery came in lame, at a lesser percent than approved, but not entirely less. But, I have a totally f.up visual field (that particular visual field test) to start with, because of my retinitis pigmentosa.

Medicare has not answered, and I can't do it if they don't.

I'm being told by the clinic to take it as "go for it".

We'll see, she says sardonically.

If it is a go, it happens next wednesday.