2022 brings me deteriorating eyesight!
Ten days into 2022, I wake up, sit at my computer, and I can’t read anything on my 1440p ultrawide monitor at the native resolution. I immediately put in some Refresh Optive MEGA 3 eye drops, thinking that my eyes were dry. This was not the situation, my eyesight remained blurry throughout this week.
My vision has been deteriorating for years, slowly but surely, but to see my vision drop to a level where I cannot work effectively, nor drive safely overnight is very, very scary. I have my desktop scaling set to 150%, and my Firefox browser scaling set to 120% to even be able to write this blog about my vision.
I’ve been working on getting my diabetes under control in an effort to save what vision I have left, prior to this sudden drop in visual acuity. My A1C has dropped from 10.5 to 6.7 in just 3 months, after finding a good combination of medications, which makes my sudden degradation in vision all the more frustrating.
I had stopped driving at night before the new year, as I did not feel safe on the road, even before this recent change in vision. Everything felt so dark, almost like my headlights were not on, they were, of course, it was my eyes that were not adjusting to the darkness allowing me to see better in dark conditions. And in bright daylight conditions, sometimes, it’s blindingly bright causing my eyes to water.
I was thinking that it was cataracts, as my optometrist had previously mentioned it, but when I visited her office yesterday for my regular appointment, I found this was not the case. I have fluid on my right eye, potentially caused by Retinal Vein Occlusion, which is the preferred diagnosis, or it could be a significant advancement of my glaucoma, which I hope it is not. I have been referred to a specialist to have an injection in my eye to hopefully roll back the recent and sudden change to my vision.
My vision is currently at 20/60, which means I am barely able to drive in daylight, and not at all allowed to drive at night. And even after this injection, it’s unlikely to bring my vision back to a point where I can drive at night, meaning that at best, I will have a restricted driver’s license, or at worst I won’t be able to drive at all, come October 2022, which is problematic given I need to drive to properties to take photos for work.
I’m super freaked out by, firstly, an injection in my eye, secondly, the possibility that I will not be able to work. My job requires me to drive and to be able to use a computer competently, which right now is not possible. For example, when I process photos; because I am losing light; when the histogram shows the photo is correctly exposed, it looks 1 – 2 stops underexposed, that’s a lot of light into my eyes being lost.
At this point, I cannot read anything, other than the time, on my Pixel 4 XL phone, which has a 6.3in screen, and I have my computer resolution set to an equivalent of 720p, on a 34in 1440p panel, and that is not clear at all, but I can extrapolate what is on screen well enough to get my work done.
My biggest fear is that I will not be able to provide for my family. So much so, that I am considering moving back to the UK, as my wife and kids would have access to financial assistance to help them out, and I would be able to claim disability, which is not an option for me in the US, not being a US citizen, and would not be a drain on Erin’s resources. Obviously, it’s not my preferred option, but I have to do what is best for my family. I hope that I am able to regain my vision enough to be able to see my phone and computer screen at their native resolution and be able to at least drive in daylight conditions.