The End of Visual Frustration? Maybe

Ok, I admit it. I've been a slacker. I haven't blogged much. I have been knitting, but not as much as I'd like. But the really depressing "not enough" in my life has been reading. I just haven't been reading. I love books; I love to read and I always have. I have stupidly wondered over the past year or so why I'm not reading. Has my brain fallen victim to entropy? Have I gotten stupid? Well, I was wondering for a while when I realized: I can't ##(**&* see! My contact lenses weren't correcting my vision well enough for reading. Removing my lenses and donning my glasses didn't help. Taking my glasses off has been the only way I could read comfortably, but then I can't see anything at any distance beyond about three feet.

I asked around and got the name of a highly-recommended eye doctor. So highly regarded was he that I could not get an appointment, but I was desperate. I went to see one of his colleagues. He dilated my eyes; he refracted my eyes; he advised me to get lasik (I'm not ready). I saw another doctor who spent a long time fitting me with new contact lenses. I got new reading glasses. My "regular" glasses, he said, were the "perfect" prescription. All was (supposedly) well.

Not. After about a week with the new lenses, I was wearing the reading glasses almost constantly. My eyes were getting really tired. I couldn't see my computer screen at work with or without the reading glasses. I'd come home, take out the lenses, put on the glasses and still I couldn't see. This is a bad situation for someone who is about to return to school, to reading many hours a day, in several arcane and foreign languages.

Add to this dilemma an itching, redness and general cranky-eyedness. I went back to the doctor. This time, I got to see the highly-recommended doctor. He comes from a long line of rabbis. He was cool and fun and helpful. He gave me drops and said "come back in three weeks".

I went back today. He said the contact lenses I had been prescribed were too big. He said my glasses were the wrong prescription and that is why I can't read with them on. He said he had to refract my eyes AGAIN to get a good read on what is happening (pun intended).

So now I have new lenses, I'm getting new glasses and a very different pair of reading glasses. My vision is really important to me. I am a very visual person. I really hope I can get some good vision now, read more and get on with things. In the meantime, nine hours later, my eyes are still dilated and I can't really see anything very well.

Good thing I know how to touch type.

I'll be back with photos when I'm able to see them.