Wednesday, April 08, 2009

The eyes have it!

So I think that all people who examine other human beings for a living should be taught the dangers of saying “hmmmmhhh?” as they examine their patients.

This morning during a routine eye exam (okay I hadn’t had one in years) my optometrist after looking in one eye and then the other and then back to the first eye again, opined “hmmmmhhh?”

Turns out that it’s no big deal. So what if one optic nerve (actually bundle of nerves) looks a lot different from the other? I have no other risk factors for glaucoma (including perfect pressure) and he emphatically told me “I don’t think you have glaucoma”, but still, did he need to do the “hmmmmhhh?" We'll check again in 9 months to see if everything is still looking okay. Unsymetrical, but okay.

You know, it wouldn’t have been so bad if he’d been uncommunicative during the whole exam, but he was one of those peppy “you’re doing great!” kind of guys.

So, anyway, after my anxiety raged for a moment or two I was fine. Turns out my right eye is near sighted and my left eye is far sighted. That explains a lot about my recent vision strain. Looks like I’ll be getting what are called progressive lenses (sort of bifocally with no line.)

Ah, another day, another $200. -Monica

1 comment:

Casey said...

You're right, they should teach them to have better poker faces. My OB once gave my husband a near panic attack when she walked in the room and asked if he was feeling ok since he looked tired. He suddenly got all "sick" looking and said "you know, I AM tired" and took on a fake illness at her suggestion.

Sorry about the money spent on glasses but hopefully they'll make your eyes feel better. Also, be careful walking on stairs with your new lenses, apparently progressive lenses mess with people and make things seem closer/farther away.