Eye CAN’T See Clearly Now
I have been acutely aware that my vision has been deteriorating ever since I moved to the US back in 2008, and now it has gotten to the point where it is affecting my ability to work, I am struggling to read text on my 3440×1440 34″ monitor at it’s native resolution; and when I renewed my drivers license back in 2017, I barely passed the eye test, and I am 100% sure I could not pass the same eye test today.
I was coping with my deteriorating vision before the new year, when suddenly on January 2, 2021, I woke up with extremely blurry vision, that stayed with me all day. Thankfully, my vision cleared up somewhat the next day, but did not go back to where it was before the new year. Which, made my job very difficult on Monday morning as my work is 100% on a computer, I needed to use 200% zoom in Chrome to work.
After struggling until lunch on Monday, I made the call to my optometrist to make an appointment as this situation is not tolerable. And on Thursday, January 7, 2021 I saw my optometrist, and she confirmed that my prescription had changed, and that my cataracts had worsened, but not to the point where surgery is necessary. The third thing she said is that my allergies are a big reason for the decline in my visual acuity.
The outcome is that I have two new pairs of glasses ordered, one for every day life, which are bifocals with Transitions and Crizal coatings, and a second pair for use with my computer work, which has no blue filter, tint or Transitions as I work with photography where color accuracy is a requirement. The total cost, with vision insurance was $846, yes, I could have gotten cheaper frames, not to say I went with super expensive designer frames, and done without the coatings, which is what bumps the overall price up, if I went to straight clear lenses, it would have been more than 40% less than what I paid.
The last thing my optometrist suggested was a regiment of eye drops and sprays to help with my allergies and dry eyes. She recommended that I start my day by spraying Heyedrate onto my eyelids, then 5 – 10 minutes later, a single drop of Pazeo into both eyes, then another 5 – 10 minutes later, use Optive Mega3 drops in both eyes. It’s kinda expensive, around $55 per month, but I have been using this method, and my eyes are hurting less and my visual acuity has improved. It’s a hassle, but I’m going to stick with it, and hope that my vision improves enough to renew my drivers license on my birthday in October 2022.
In addition to this, I need to get myself a new primary care doctor, as I have neglected my health for a couple of years now, due to ‘Murica, I could not afford medical insurance, my wife needs good insurance as she has multiple medical issues, I don’t make enough to pay for medical insurance for the wife and kids, and myself. But, this year, I was able to get basic insurance for myself, and plan to see a doctor regularly to get my A1C checked, and get back on some sort of drugs to help control my diabetes.
I have cut out 85% of my sugar intake to help control my diabetes, but it seems I need drugs in addition to my reduction of sugar use as my optometrist showed me how diabetes is affecting my vision, with white patches on the photo of my eyes she took, which is uncomfortably close to my scope of vision.
Bottom line here is that I need to take my health more seriously, if my health gets to a point where I am unable to work, I am unable to provide for my family. I already feel like I am failing my family, not being able to earn enough money to buy everything my family wants, with $20,000 of debt hanging over us. I don’t think I could live with myself if I could not earn any income due to neglecting my health.
Photo by Daniil Kuželev on Unsplash