I actually went to see the family optometrist check on a condition I have called Pseudotumor Cerebri (aka Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension.) I was diagnosed back in 2000. The very same optometrist saw that my optic nerve was swollen, and got me in to see a specialist the same day. I'm very thankful that they caught it early. Some people go blind. Fortunately, I had only lost a very small amount of my vision field, and it came back once my pressure was under control.
I had a spinal tap and took medication for a while. Eventually I tapered off and stopped the medication, and haven't had any symptoms since.
Except in the last few months, when in the midst of all my other medical crap, I started having headaches. They were mild, but they were almost everyday.
So I added the optometrist to my list of doctor appointments. I've seen other specialists, but today was my first visit with the optometrist since that scary day in 2000.
It turns out my optic nerve is just fine. They took a digital retinal photo and did a visual field test to prove it.
But my vision is somewhere between 20/40 and 20/50, enough to require a corrective lens restriction when I get my driver's license renewed. Apparently my astigmatism went from 0.75 in 2000, mild enough that we forgot about glasses after I was rushed to the specialist, to 2.0 today, bad enough to cause the headaches I keep having.
I'm just excited that there is a solution to the headaches that doesn't involve medication.
Granted, I am experiencing a little bit of medical device fatigue. I just got the CPAP last week, and I'm having trouble adjusting to it. Now all I need are orthopedic shoes and a back brace. Then all the kids at school will beat me up.
(No disrespect to anyone who actually wears orthopedic shoes and/or back braces.)
Seriously, I don't think there's much stigma connected with glasses these days. But there's another adjustment period I have to go through. Apparently with an astigmatism like mine, things are going to look kind of weird and "swimmy" for the first few days.
It'll probably be a few days before I pick the frames and order the glasses. I think I want Lisa Loeb glasses.
1 comment:
Contact lenses ARE available for people with astigmatism. There is considerable time and skill involved in fitting patients with these lenses but it can be done for ALL astigmatisms if the patient is highly motivated to try.
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