Health update
Jul. 2nd, 2008 09:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kilroyOk, so now that I've slept, the results from the doctor.
I've been mis-remembering the story I tell about my corneas. The first time I got this thing, in my left eye, I went through about seven different doctors and two different surgical procedures before it got fixed. The first surgery was the one that I tell people about when I tell the story-- the one where they shaved the surface of my eye with a blade to correct irregularities in its shape.
This did, in fact, happen-- but it didn't work. The irregularities are a symptom, not a cause. The cause is pretty simple; the surface of my cornea isn't attached very well and has a tendency to erode off. Hence "corneal erosion." The friction from the interior of my eyelid is greater than the structural integrity of my cornea, and bits come off.
The second surgery, the one that actually corrected this problem in my left eye, sounds gross but makes sense. Basically they drill little holes in your cornea with a needle, and when the cornea grows back it puts down roots-- it grows into the holes and latches itself more strongly to the lower tissue.
My current eye doctor, who is the successor to the one who did the correct surgery last time, is extremely hesitant to do the surgery. It's not a complex procedure, but it's also not risk-free; there is a possibility of permanent vision damage that he's clearly not comfortable with. Obviously it worked for me last time, but that was six years ago and there's no guarantee it would work again. So in a few weeks, after the eye has healed from this round, I'm going to go see a corneal specialist for a second opinion; and if he or she approves, then I'll have the procedure done.
So, it's been escalated at least. They changed my contact, too, which helps; stuff builds up on it over time, irritating the eye in whole new ways.
The energy thing, though... at the end of yesterday I was just drained. Not quite to the "I can't get out of my chair" level, but a point where I could see that condition without binoculars. It's like my reserves were gone, as if just moving around was using the little bit of energy I had. I can feel it again today... my suspicion is that I'm going to hit a wall around 11:30 and be completely useless thereafter. I might take the afternoon off if Janice is willing. I don't know if it's because I'm sick, because I haven't managed to exercise recently, because my diet has been shaky, because I was/am depressed, or all of the above, but it's marked. And I'm not sure quite what to do about it.
I've been mis-remembering the story I tell about my corneas. The first time I got this thing, in my left eye, I went through about seven different doctors and two different surgical procedures before it got fixed. The first surgery was the one that I tell people about when I tell the story-- the one where they shaved the surface of my eye with a blade to correct irregularities in its shape.
This did, in fact, happen-- but it didn't work. The irregularities are a symptom, not a cause. The cause is pretty simple; the surface of my cornea isn't attached very well and has a tendency to erode off. Hence "corneal erosion." The friction from the interior of my eyelid is greater than the structural integrity of my cornea, and bits come off.
The second surgery, the one that actually corrected this problem in my left eye, sounds gross but makes sense. Basically they drill little holes in your cornea with a needle, and when the cornea grows back it puts down roots-- it grows into the holes and latches itself more strongly to the lower tissue.
My current eye doctor, who is the successor to the one who did the correct surgery last time, is extremely hesitant to do the surgery. It's not a complex procedure, but it's also not risk-free; there is a possibility of permanent vision damage that he's clearly not comfortable with. Obviously it worked for me last time, but that was six years ago and there's no guarantee it would work again. So in a few weeks, after the eye has healed from this round, I'm going to go see a corneal specialist for a second opinion; and if he or she approves, then I'll have the procedure done.
So, it's been escalated at least. They changed my contact, too, which helps; stuff builds up on it over time, irritating the eye in whole new ways.
The energy thing, though... at the end of yesterday I was just drained. Not quite to the "I can't get out of my chair" level, but a point where I could see that condition without binoculars. It's like my reserves were gone, as if just moving around was using the little bit of energy I had. I can feel it again today... my suspicion is that I'm going to hit a wall around 11:30 and be completely useless thereafter. I might take the afternoon off if Janice is willing. I don't know if it's because I'm sick, because I haven't managed to exercise recently, because my diet has been shaky, because I was/am depressed, or all of the above, but it's marked. And I'm not sure quite what to do about it.