Is It Aging...

...or Radiation?

We all know that growing old isn't for sissies.  I just didn't expect it to start so early.  

Of course, having cancer and aggressive treatment exacerbates the aging business, 

at least I feel it does.

Anyway, I went to the eye doctor early this month.  I have been having problems with my left eye for at least six months including wavy lines, small print and a spot in the middle.  When I talked to the nurse at the eye doctor’s in Oct, I felt she rather pooh-poohed the issue and said call if it gets worse.  It didn’t, so I made an appointment for a regular check-up and since my doctor is in high demand, I went in the second week in January and she acted a bit startled that the nurse told me it wasn’t a big deal.  Long story short, after a whole bunch of pictures, there is fluid in my macula (which is the stuff right dead center in the eye) and she wanted me to see a retina specialist to find out what was the best thing to do for it. That bump in there is causing the above mentioned problems.

 

I saw the retina specialist yesterday.  My eyes were dilated, and a whole bunch of other drops put in, dilated again and after another whole bunch of pictures, the Dr. comes in and says the fluid is gathering there because a blood vessel is blocked.  (This could be because of the radiation or because I’m over 50.) And, there is nothing to do about it, permanently, anyway.  What does get done, is an injection to stop the swelling.  IN.MY.EYE.  So, what to do.  Do I leave it be and let the other eye take completely over in the reading department and will there be other problems?  So, after a few more drops, one for numbing and other that does something to the eye that make the needle go in more easily, my eyelids are propped open by some little tool and away he goes.  I felt the pressure, but no pain.  What bothers the most is the “making it easier” drop which stings for several minutes. 

 

After making appointments for my next two shots, 4 weeks apart, we went to Walmart to restock my eye drop supply and get some gel for night time. Then I sat on the couch feeling slightly miserable and more than slightly sorry for myself, while putting in drops to relieve the itchy feeling in between naps.  My dilation didn’t go down until bedtime, so the light from our big front window wasn’t very comfortable.

 

I won’t have pictures every time, maybe not until my third appointment.  I’m hoping when the pictures aren’t taken, I won’t have the dilation to worry about and it won’t be as big a deal.  In other words, I should be able to do normal things in between drops.  It’s hard to see with pupils dilated and a bit painful.

Just another misstep in my journey.

What will be next?