Thursday, June 9, 2016

Eye Eye, Sir

Monday afternoon, I found myself swatting swarms of gnats and here and there a fly away from my face.

I never once hit one.

Floaters. In my left eye. It was very disconcerting.

Tuesday, the floaters were worse. Along with flies and gnats, I now had the most unusual inky looking swirling lines that changed in pressure and varied from black to sepia. I thought, "Well this is kind of beautiful and not at all annoying." But the swirls were quickly gone, leaving only the gnats and flies.

Wednesday, when I noticed that, in addition to the floaters, the vision in my left eye had become slightly cloudy, I remembered that San Geraldo had recently had a similar experience in his right eye (the floaters, not the cloudiness). He didn't describe his as anything so interesting or beautiful (but then, he wouldn't). He went to the ophthalmologist and learned that he had a vitreal detachment, a common problem with sometimes dangerous results. He was fortunate that his required no treatment and has gotten less noticeable with time.

I thought, "Well, maybe I should call for an appointment."

Then I told San Geraldo about the cloudy vision, and he said, "We need to go to Urgent Care."

Well, I didn't just have a detachment, I had a torn retina (probably a result of a violent sneezing fit early Monday) needing immediate surgery. The tear was medium in size and went far back, which made it difficult for the doctor to reach it all during laser repair. But so far so good. I have to go back Tuesday.

The worst part of all this — other than the fact that I can't do any kind of physical activity for two weeks, although the doctor did tell me I could "stroll" if I liked. (I don't know how to "stroll"! There's fast and there's less fast.) — Anyway, the worst is that I lost my mobile phone somewhere between the hospital and home and had to buy a new one today.

There is a lesson here: I probably should listen more to San Geraldo. Oh Captain, My Captain!

MY PUPIL IS STILL DILATED... IT REMINDS ME OF MY UNIVERSITY DAYS!

33 comments:

  1. Oh, no! Oh, dear Mitchell! Thank heavens you did listen to yourself, and then to San Geraldo, and got this looked at right away. I had no idea that a violent sneezing fit could do this kind of damage :(
    So sorry for your two weeks of imposed lack of activity :(

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    Replies
    1. Judy:
      Apparently, it's very, very common (when you pass 60) for the vitreous to detach from the retina, which puts you at risk for tears in the retina and for a detached retina. That's the part that really ticks me off. I'm not THAT far past 60! Also, I was feeling so smug last week because my annual physical included a whole slew of preventive tests and I am apparently the picture of screaming health. Isn't pride a sin?

      I think I'll head to the beach!

      Delete
  2. Oh sweetie, glad you got it taken care of before things got worse. Huge hugs to you and San G. Your lost phone and my dead laptop, sheesh!

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    1. Cranky:
      Oh, sorry about your dead laptop! My phone was easy and comparatively cheap to resolve.

      Delete
  3. YIKES! Never a dull moment around your place, Mitchell. Happy that you listened to SG and that you are on road to recovery.
    Now....listen to what the doctor has advised and get SG to put a lead/lease on you to control your 'strolling speed'.
    Please do take care, we send gentle hugs and a bib sloppy lick from Sophie, our dog, in case anyone was wondering.

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    1. ......and a big sloppy

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    2. Jim:
      When we finished our coffee this morning, Jerry head to the market and I headed home. I was reminded to STROLL. (And, admittedly, I need to be reminded.) By the way, I thought the "bib" was to protect from the sloppiness of the "lick."

      Delete
  4. So glad you went to Urgent Care... that's nothing to mess with! I know what my floaters are all about and just have fun trying to move them about... but that's when you get old, have cataract surgery and the residual problems..... you're too young for that, so take care of those eyes!

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    1. Sharon:
      I find floaters great for passing the time -- although these were really disconcerting. But, yeah, I'm so grateful to Jerry for saying, "urgent care." This could have been really bad.

      Delete
  5. I have an urgent care in my hood; a gift when I cannot breathe due to my asthma or bronchitis. I hope your eye gets better soon; have san geraldo (or the cats) wait on you.

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    1. anne marie:
      Dudo makes it easy. He stays high up on his tree so I can cuddle him there. Moose likes to roll on the floor and get petted! So sorry about what you have to deal with concerning asthma and bronchitis. That has got to be really awful. Glad your urgent care is nearby. Ours is about a 15 minute drive but in major emergencies, we have an emergency helicopter service around the corner. May we never, ever have to use that!

      Delete
  6. Yipes! May your recovery be swift and may you find things that are easy on the eyes. ;-)

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    1. Michael:
      Well, the "daring" clothing combinations are on parade and now I have to remind myself to not do double-takes!

      Delete
  7. Take it easy, Mitchell. Maybe Dudo and Moose will let you rest in the new cat house.

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    1. Wilma:
      I have never been to a cat house in my life and I'm not about to start now...

      Delete
  8. Since I started putting turmeric in my cooking more often, my eye floaters have almost vanished. :) Very glad you went to see someone and got this sorted!

    And yes, do listen to the dr re exercise - I pushed myself too hard to begin with and ended up costing myself more recovery time. :)

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    1. Snoskred:
      I've never heard about turmeric being used for that. Fascinating. I am definitely doing as told. I sure don't want a detached retina!

      Delete
  9. Ouch! luckily for San Geraldo's demand for an urgent care visit.

    And, I'm no expert but I think "less fast" walking is a stroll. Just sayin'.

    PS "Doctor" Carlos swears by turmeric for the eyes ... not in them mind you, but in your cooking.

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    1. Bob:
      My less-fast walking doesn't qualify as a stroll. My fast walking is more like a jog. I was told last night to try walking "more less-fast.| Snoskred (above) mentioned turmeric for the eyes. I had never heard of that. I'll check it out. Imagine the shock when I go to our local market and ask for turmeric!

      Delete
  10. Curses! Such do our lives turn on the head of a pin! Who knows how much (even) worse - and possibly untreatable - it might have got if you'd brushed off the suggestion that it was as serious as it turned out to be. I think you're going to consider S.G.'s advice on anything at all with extra weight in future - and who could blame you? Onward with your recovery with all speed!

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    1. Ray:
      I've always been a bit lax about seeing specialists. "Oh, if it's not better in a few days, I'll make an appointment." Jerry has been training that out of me and I'm really, really glad I listened this time!

      Delete
  11. The way to slow down is to put a small pebble in each shoe and then you will definitely go slow, then remove the pebbles after one hour and continue to mimic the pebble pace ;-)

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    1. Heron:
      That's sounds like a very practical idea. However, I'd probably step hard on one of the pebbles and bruise the bottom of a foot. I might just possibly be untrainable (although the way the cats have me trained, I suppose that's debatable). I DO have a pair of excruciatingly uncomfortable shoes in the closet. I could start with those.

      Delete
  12. My eyes looked like that during most of MY university days. I hope this problem goes away for you. Take care.

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    1. Stephen:
      I wonder if my mother knows what I'm talking about there! If so, I'll soon be hearing a "Mitchell!!!"

      Delete
  13. Well that truly sucks, but at least you got surgery quickly. Speedy recovery my friend!

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    1. Cheapchick:
      All is well. Very lucky to have caught it early. I expect to be back to my usual quick moves soon!

      Delete
  14. Good wishes for a speedy recovery! I have a feeling this strolling stuff just isn't going to cut it for long for a fella on the go. :)

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    1. Michelle:
      I'm getting better at the stroll, but I'm glad I won't have to do it for long!

      Delete
  15. dear me, what did you study in college I wonder?

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  16. What a drag but I am so glad you got yourself to the doctor asap! Because I'm extremely near-sighted and at a higher risk for retinal detach me, my eye doctor warns me about the symptoms every time I see him!

    Take care and do what the doctor ordered. :) Maybe listen to San Geraldo occasionally... no need to overdo it! ;)

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    1. Knatolee:
      I've been so good these last few days. And so bored and boring! But I'm listening (mostly) to San Geraldo.

      Delete

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