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Going the Wrong Way

Monday, 10 May 2010 By Leave a Comment

Since Wednesday or Thursday, I’ve noticed that my vision didn’t seem to be as good as it was earlier in the week.  By Friday, after talking with Eliz, we decided it was probably a good idea to try and visit Dr. Ayres, the surgeon that removed the cataract (and performed the endothelial transplant in Dec. ’08.)  Fortunately, they were able to squeeze me into their busy schedule at Wills Eye at noon on Friday.

We didn’t have to wait long in the waiting room.  I was very curious about reading the chart.  The E was not a problem.  I could see the SL on the next line, but it didn’t seem as sharp as my previous appointment about 10 days earlier.  I could not read the OPLB line.  That was a step backward.

When Dr. Ayres came in, I told him about what was going on.  He took a look and said everything seemed about the same as my previous appointment.  No signs of retina detachment, the new lens was still in place, and there was no signs of rejection on the previously transplanted endothelia.  My IOP was at seven, which was down from 10 at my previous appointment.  As he put it, the good news is that it is not a problem from the surgery, but that means I don’t really have any way of fixing the issue.  He prescribed a non-steroidal eye drop just in case there was a little swelling that he didn’t notice.  He said it was like Advil in drop form.

On Tuesday I have a scheduled appointment with Dr. Pro, who is my glaucoma doctor.  I want to have a Fields test, because one of the things I have noticed is more blind spots, especially in my central vision.  Hopefully, he’ll find something that can be corrected.

So, it seems I’ve missed my opportunity to go to the movies or a Phillies game.  It might also be time to learn how to do things without much sight.  I was waiting for the surgery before I tried anything new, but I think it is time.

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Second Post Op Visit

Wednesday, 28 April 2010 By Leave a Comment

I was looking forward to my second visit to Dr. Ayres since the surgery on 15 April.  The last few days have been trying.  I began to notice that my vision was changing.  I was getting a bit nervous as I was having difficulties seeing things close to me and up to five to 10 feet away.  Some of the problems, I figured, had to do with my eye healing and changing.  The eye drop regimen also could play a part in my vision.

While we were in the waiting room, Eliz and I did the word scrambles in the Inquirer (her mother gives that section to us after she finished the crossword puzzle, so we usually have a few days of scrambles to do.)  I realized today while we were doing the scrambles that I am a visual thinker when it comes to these puzzles.  That is not good since I can’t see the puzzles at all.  I have no trouble doing math in my head without seeing the numbers, but I am slow, usually, with the words.  I do occasionally get the words before Eliz, but she is usually quicker than I am.

After completing three puzzles, we were called back to Pod 2.  I was able to read the OBLB (20/100) line, though it didn’t seem as crisp as it did the day after the surgery.  The pinholes brought it into focus, but I couldn’t read any of the CAV8 (20/80) line.  Dr. Ayres came in and had a look.  He said things looked very good.  My IOP was up to 10 (which is higher for me than normal,) but he believes it is from the steroid drops that I was taking four times a day and believes that will fall back a few notches as I lower the amount of those drops (I take them three times per day for the next week and then two times per day until I see him on 21 May.)  I hope he is correct about the pressure…

After he finished looking, we talked about what is going on with my vision.  I told him of my difficulties seeing things close to me and the trouble I had since the weekend even on the computer.  He apologized about not giving me the whole story before the surgery and said that the lens he put in was for distance.  I told him I was happy with how I could see things in better detail than before.  He explained that, like a person 10 to 15 years older than me, I had lost the ability to focus at things close up.  He hoped that the problem could be fixed with glasses, but it was too soon for that since my eye is still healing and will continue to change as it does.

I brought the pair of reading glasses I’d been using since the surgery to read on the computer and see food on my plate so he could check the strength.  I’ve used several different magnifications since the transplant in December ’08 and I wasn’t sure which pair these were.  I was also concerned, since they were less effective over the last few days.  Fortunately, they were 3.5X.  I knew that I had a pair of 4x glasses at home, somewhere.  When we got home, I found them and was relieved that they made reading my screen much more comfortable than the 3.5X pair.  I hoping I don’t need to go up to 5X, but they would still be cheaper than prescription glasses.  They will do a refraction at my next visit on 21 May.

I don’t know if it was the 4X reading glasses or what Dr. Ayres had to say about how good things looked, but it seems that I can see better after the appointment.  I only have to wait two weeks before I see my glaucoma specialist, so we’ll see how the IOP is doing then.  I’d also like to get a fields test to see how that has changed since the surgery.  Maybe I can have that done then too.  I’ll post it here on the blog if I have it done…

Generally, I’m happy with the results so far.  Eliz and I may go to the movies this weekend (her birthday is Saturday and she’s requested Mexican Post for dinner, then a movie at Regal across the street.)  Jane’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah schedule (six in the next eight weeks) may force us to reschedule…  I tried to help Eliz prepare some parts of dinner tonight, with limited success.  Shooting pictures and video is something I’d like to try soon.  I tried taking a picture a day or two after the surgery, but couldn’t see well enough through the viewfinder.  I may have to leave the lcd screen on for pics and videos to be usable…  For now, lets see what tomorrow brings.

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One Week After Cataract Removal

Friday, 23 April 2010 By Leave a Comment

By this time last Thursday I was sleeping.  I guess I still had the pain and sleepy meds running in my system.  So I’m getting back to my “normal” routine.  It seems I get the most work done when everyone else in the house is sleeping and I don’t have phone calls to answer.  11:30 to whenever I go to sleep (usually between 1:00 and 2:00) is probably my most productive time working on the site or promoting it.

The fact that I can do that with some confidence is a result of the surgery.  I use reading glasses that enables me to see the computer screen more clearly than I did prior to the surgery.  I have the font size at +2 (two steps above medium,) which is where I used to have it.  I am now also able to read, briefly, without the screen being reversed.  For those not familiar with Macs, you can easily reverse the screen to see a negative view.  Fonts that are usually black on a white background are reversed and become white on a black background.  If my eye improve a little more, I may even be able to use a Windows machine (though why would I want to do that?  Our point-of-sale system runs on a Windows machine…)

Other achievements I’ve had in the past week include seeing colors more vividly.  I love just walking outside and looking around.  The grass and leaves are so green and the sky is so blue.  Flowers seem to have so much more color.  I can also see cars on the road, signs on buildings, and, on the down side, marks and dirt on the carpet and walls.

Watching TV has become enjoyable again.  I can now tell characters apart, where as before the surgery I was happy if I could tell if a character was white or black.  I’ve also noticed that I am reading the ticker(s) at the bottom of the screen while I watch Bloomberg, CNBC, FNC or CNN.  All the graphics on the news and sports looks sooo good.

The best thing for me so far on TV has been watching the Flyers.  I don’t know if it is just from the surgery or also from watching in HD, but I can follow the puck much better that I’ve been able to in a long, long time.  I guess it doesn’t hurt that they’ve been winning either.  Lets see if I enjoy watching them play the Caps…  I do like Ovechkin — he is one of my favorite players.  He is a complete, tough player, unlike Crosby who is a gifted player but the worlds biggest crybaby.

My first outing to a sporting event was this past Monday.  I went to Jane’s softball game against Abington Friends.  I was very happy how much more of the action I was able to follow.  I did lose track of the ball on some hits though.  I enjoyed the game even though Jane’s team lost (though Jane knocking in a run and scored another) and the umpire was terrible (though that is not why they lost.)  I am looking forward to watching some of Jake’s lacrosse games.  His last game before my surgery, I had trouble seeing the players who weren’t near the sideline we were on.

Lets face it, my eyes still suck in a big way, BUT, I can see so much more than I could before the surgery.  I have more confidence wondering around a store by myself (of course, until I get glasses or better reading glasses, I still can’t see what is on the shelf…)  I’d also be comfortable finding the bathroom on my own in a restaurant, which is something I would not do before the surgery.  I am still hopeful of reading printed material and throwing a ball around with Jane or Jake.  Maybe next week…

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