Pocket duties please if possible

GraceB
GraceB Member Posts: 1,595
edited 7. Apr 2019, 13:49 in Living with arthritis
Hi,

If any of you are able do pocket duties this Thursday morning (4th Apr) I'd be eternally grateful. I have an Opthamology appointment and I'm dreading it.

Not only have I inherited my Dad's osteoarthritis, but I had it confirmed at the opticians in February this year that I've also got his Glaucoma. Thanks Dad! :roll:

I had the opportunity of having an in-depth scan done of my eyes for the princely sum of £10. With my risk of Glaucoma I thought it well worth the money and, although I'm still getting my head round this diagnosis, I'm grateful I had the scan. It has given me a diagnosis of this 3-4 years before it would have shown up, so I now have the chance to get early treatment. I've had yearly sight tests for years and I always knew this was likely to come my way, but even the optician says I'm young to get it. There's no change to my vision at the moment which is good, and for which I'm thankful.

Only one issue - I'm phobic about anyone touching my eyes. I've always been terrified of that! Thankfully my friend is taking me as the letter says they may need to use drops and I shouldn't drive just in case my vision is blurry as a result. I'm hoping that drops aren't needed as I'm concerned about the risk of falling over afterwards and damaging my knee replacements, not to mention not being able to get back up afterwards! My friend will bring me home, but her husband has health issues so she can't leave him all day.

If any of you are free for pocket duties I'd be very grateful.
Thanks.

GraceB
Turn a negative into a positive!

Comments

  • Slosh
    Slosh Member Posts: 3,194
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    You can count me in.
    He did not say you will not be storm tossed, you will not be sore distressed, you will not be work weary. He said you will not be overcome.
    Julian of Norwich
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,697
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Definitely in, Grace.

    If it's the usual optician drops Mr SW and I find they barely affect our vision at all. For safety's sake we don't drive home for the requisite time (Coffee? Lunch?) but I usually have to restrain him as he feels he's fine to drive.

    A friend put off cataract surgery for ages because of a similar fear re eyes. After it was done he couldn't wait to get the other eye done. No fear at all by then.

    I hope all goes well. My father-in-law had glaucoma but the only difference it seemed to make was that he couldn't drive at night. of course, there are the drops though.

    Also an optician once diagnosed my brother with glaucoma and I got several free eye tests as a result. Then they decided he didn't have it after all :o

    Good luck. I'll be there.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 3,635
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    You can count all of us mods in Grace :)

    Ellen
  • daffy2
    daffy2 Member Posts: 1,636
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I'l be thinking of you Grace. I had to have the eyedrops/test thing a few years back when my sister was diagnosed, and like Sticky didn't find them too blurry-making, so I think you should be OK once you're home - just take things slowly when moving around. What was a problem was light sensitivity. I had to wait a while for them to take effect so went to potter round outside rather than sitting on an uncomfortable chair in a busy cramped indoor space. It was a bright sunny day and I quickly found I had to go and find somewhere shady to sit down and wait! Fortunately I was able to walk to the appointment so didn't have to worry too much about getting home.
    I get free annual eye-tests now as a result of my sister having glaucoma, but I would much rather it wasn't as the result of what she has gone through - for various reasons(not least no risk factors) it wasn't picked up early enough.
  • GraceB
    GraceB Member Posts: 1,595
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thank you all very much.

    I need to do this appointment as I value my vision greatly. I saw my Dad struggle in the latter years of his life with his vision as a result of Glaucoma and I don't want to be in that position. Driving for me, is my independence as I can't walk very far so it's important I retain that ability for as long as I possibly can.

    As far as I know my friend and I will definitely be having a coffee afterwards, if not lunch, depending how late the clinic runs. I'm hoping that as I have a 9.40am appointment, and it's an outreach clinic rather than at the Hospital, they won't be running hours late.

    Thanks again.

    GraceB
    Turn a negative into a positive!
  • daffy2
    daffy2 Member Posts: 1,636
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    How did it go Grace?
  • GraceB
    GraceB Member Posts: 1,595
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi,

    My friend got me to the appointment and I got through it. I didn't get much sleep last night worrying about this, so I'm knackered now.

    After the necessary tests (which I found difficult) the Ophthalmologist told me he couldn't confirm I had Glaucoma, nor could he say I didn't have it. I have an astigmatism in both eyes and am quite short-sighted. The scanning machines at the Opticians (and also in the clinic) therefore couldn't cope with my eyes! I'm an anomaly. :shock:

    I have to go back yearly for the next two years as he said they'll have to monitor this by my eye pressure alone, and discount the scans as they aren't accurate enough in my case. This way they'll be able to confirm the diagnosis (or disprove it) by comparing my eye pressure readings. I suspect it will be proven as my readings have changed for the last 2 consecutive years. I'm also to continue with yearly sight tests at my opticians.

    My vision was a bit blurry as a result of the drops but it wasn't that bad. I'd explained I was concerned about the risk of falls and not being able to get up.

    Oh, the Ophthalmologist kept asking if I had joint hypermobility. No idea why though. I explained I had chronic, wide-spread Osteo-Arthritis which my orthopaedic surgeons had all said was likely to be genetically influenced in my case due to family history. Ophthalmologist said that wasn't possible! :o Naturally as this isn't his field, I'm ignoring his views as he's not an orthopaedic surgeon! I know who I believe, and I also know the incidences of OA in my family can be proven to be genetically influenced as there's too many of us who have/had it.

    My friend took me for a coffee afterwards and we also did a bit of retail therapy whilst in the garden centre.

    My right eye is now extremely sore and sticky, despite my rinsing it several times with water since I've been home. I'm hoping this will clear by tomorrow but, if not, I'll get my practice nurse to have a quick peep as I've got stitches coming out after a couple of skin biopsies. (It's all medical appointments for me at the moment but never mind; it could be a lot worse).

    Thank you again for your support; it has been very much appreciated.

    GraceB
    Turn a negative into a positive!
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,332
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Well done Grace you did very very well :D

    Sounds as though you don't really have answers, but will be monitored now closely so a good outcome for you I think.

    I hope the stitches are ok (nothing to do with your eyes I'm sure) and that your eyes are no longer sticky ((()))

    Love

    Toni xx
  • GraceB
    GraceB Member Posts: 1,595
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thank you Toni. Yes, I was pleased to get it over and done with. :D

    The stitches are where I've had to had two biopsies re skin lesions. One on my left forearm; the other on my right leg. Two stitches in each wound. I suspect both are scar tissue (I hypertrophically scar), but dermatology said they needed to do punch biopsies, so they were done last week as there's a history of skin cancer in my family and they couldn't be 100% sure what these were. Stitches came out ok on Friday; although one of them on my arm had started to bed in. I'll get the results in about a month's time.

    GraceB
    Turn a negative into a positive!