The Eye Doctor

 
So, I went to the eye doctor today, and it was a very educational experience.

1. I have tons of tiny blisters on the insides of my eyelids. I am allergic to something in the contact lens solution that I've been using for a few years now. I have thought my eyes were so uncomfortable because of it being so dry here. Really, my eyelids have been BLISTERING (tiny blisters -- she could only see them with a machine) for maybe three to six years.

I had hated my last lenses SO MUCH because they would come loose and get up under my eyelids and become stuck to them, and I would try to massage my eyelid to get them to come down, and I would put in all kinds of drops to try to loosen them to come down, and finally I would have to turn my eyelid inside out and grab hold of the lens and PEEL it off of my eyelid. I found that very creepy.

Well, those blisters act like little suction cups, pulling the lens off my cornea and then holding on to the lens so that I have to peel it off.

Sometimes, I have felt like there was a piece of dust or something in my eye, and now I know that it was probably a blister that I could feel!

Obviously, I'm never using that brand of solution again! She said that it should get better after a few days without the solution.

Now, to be fair to my previous doctors, I have sometimes used other brands of contact solutions. So it's possible that I didn't have the blisters when I visited other doctors. Also, I had never complained about contacts getting stuck, because it had never happened before, so they never had that clue and looked at the insides of my eyelids. STILL, I wish that somehow they had noticed and told me to switch solutions years ago. Maybe I would like Colorado more if I didn't think it made my eyes so dried out all time!

I'm trying dailies this time, so there would be no need to use any solution -- you just take them out of their little packs and then throw them away at night. No cleaning, no rinsing, no storage. But, what she would have recommended was Clear Care, which uses hydrogen peroxide to clean them. You have to be really careful with that stuff, because it will burn your eyes if it's not neutralized. So, each bottle comes with a special case you use, which has a metal in it that changes peroxide into saline. There are no preservatives, which are what I am allergic to in the kind I've been using.

2. I have cataracts in the middle of my cornea that I got in utero. The doctor said they're caused when the mom gets a fever during pregnancy (I haven't confirmed this event with my mom, but if that's the case, poor Mom! Isn't it hard enough to be pregnant, without being feverish?). The doctor had a fever during one of her pregnancies, so one of her daughters has this kind of cataract. She said it looks really cool through the machine, like 5 snowflakes on each eye.

These cataracts are the reason why my eyes are so much more sensitive to glare than the average person. I have wondered about that before, because Jason will seem just fine driving at night, but the high contrast between the darkness and the bright, bright headlights of other cars will KILL my eyes.

It's better for me to be the driver at night, because somehow the lights from the dashboard make it less of a transition for me between the darkness and the headlights. Around here, they have laws about keeping streetlights dim to save energy and to not disturb people in their houses. So even in town, it is pretty dark.

Jason used to have an ipod charger or adapter or something in his truck that had a really bright light on it, and I always had to cover it up at night because it gave me terrible, long-lasting headaches. His current device doesn't have the same effect on me.

3. This VSP insurance is freaking awesome for glasses!!! I ordered a new pair, and I only had to pay $44.20. Without insurance, it would have cost $736.00. !!!!! Of course, I wouldn't have gotten all the features that I did if I had to pay out of pocket. I will take a picture with my new glasses on as soon as I get them. They are supposed to be ready in about 2 weeks.

This afternoon, I will go to the dentist to get a cleaning and 3 fillings. I am doing all my doctor stuff this month! It's nice to get it all taken care of and not worry about it for a while.