First Doctor Visit of 2011
I went to the eye doctor the week before Christmas with an eye infection so I informed them of all my medical changes (aneurysm, brain surgery, etc.) then. The infection has cleared up for the most part. I just have a little scar on the eye that needs more time to heal. So I can't wear my contacts as much as I would like.
Today, I went for my annual eye exam. My eye exams usually last about an hour but today I was there for around two hours. Not because the doctor was behind but because he wanted to do more tests to make sure my eyes were working properly since I had the brain surgery. I had retinal photography done and a visual field test. The retinal photography was simple. Look at a green light, don’t blink, FLASH! A ridiculously bright light flashes and takes a picture of my retinas. Technology is pretty neat. The visual field test was pretty easy too. I went to a small room and sat in front a small machine that tests the scope of vision – central and peripheral vision. I started with the right eye and it took about five minutes. No big deal. I stared into the machine at the little black square in the center of this white backdrop. I clicked the button every time I saw the little flashing bars. I thought I did pretty well. Left eye…I thought I bombed. There was a delay between several clicks and I thought I was missing something. I knew that I had failed miserably since I was not as trigger-happy on the left as I was the right eye.
Today, I went for my annual eye exam. My eye exams usually last about an hour but today I was there for around two hours. Not because the doctor was behind but because he wanted to do more tests to make sure my eyes were working properly since I had the brain surgery. I had retinal photography done and a visual field test. The retinal photography was simple. Look at a green light, don’t blink, FLASH! A ridiculously bright light flashes and takes a picture of my retinas. Technology is pretty neat. The visual field test was pretty easy too. I went to a small room and sat in front a small machine that tests the scope of vision – central and peripheral vision. I started with the right eye and it took about five minutes. No big deal. I stared into the machine at the little black square in the center of this white backdrop. I clicked the button every time I saw the little flashing bars. I thought I did pretty well. Left eye…I thought I bombed. There was a delay between several clicks and I thought I was missing something. I knew that I had failed miserably since I was not as trigger-happy on the left as I was the right eye.
After the tests were complete and I was dilated, the doctor came in and checked my IOP (eye pressure) and looked at the retinal photographs. He said my retinas look great, pressures are great. I asked him how I did on the visual field on the left eye. He said I did great…with the left eye. But the right eye is the one I think we need to talk about. Oh no. Here we go again. ‘Look, Doc. I am so looking forward to and praying for a “normal” 2011. I want it to be as uneventful as possible. What’s wrong with my right eye?’ There is a small area in the central vision that did not show up on the field. That means I didn’t click something. A lot of somethings. He didn’t say what he was concerned about but I know. Having worked in an optometrist’s office for a few years, I learned quite a bit. When you see those gray areas where something didn’t get clicked, you know there’s something that needs to be addressed. So he wants to do a re-test after my new contact comes in. If I still have that small, gray area in my central vision, I will have to be re-tested again in three months. I guess we’ll discuss what his concerns are in the coming weeks.
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