"Doctor, My Eyes", part 6

I had the surgery on my right eye earlier today. Nothing much to report about the procedure itself; I went in, they poked around for a few minutes, and then we were done. I got my favorite cabbie to pick me up and bring me home after the procedure, because he's cool like that.

Now my right eye feels like it has something in it, and there's a peripheral reflection there, but I'm given to understand that's normal, and will fade in a few days. Likewise the blurred vision that I currently have in that eye. I guess it takes a little while for the eye to adapt to the new lens. Meantime, I can definitely tell you that I no longer seem to be looking through dirty glasses!

(For parts 3-5, check my blog on Communities, where I'm known as MagpieCat. I know I should have cross-posted them all here, but I didn't. Oh, well.)

"Doctor, My Eyes", part 2

Well, since it's an outpatient procedure, the insurance will cover 90% of the amount over the $300 deductible. Ouch. Well, I spent 3 times that on the cats' health in January, so it's more than reasonable that I spend this on my own health. Usually Honey's the expensive one for health care. (femme that she is, when she said she was high-maintenance, I always thought it would be clothes. sheesh!)

Anyway, next Tuesday morning, I have the pre-op appointment with the ophthamologist to see whether "the lens is ready to come out", whatever that means. Then in the afternoon, I have an appointment with my primary doctor, so that he can assert that I'm healthy enough to undergo cataract surgery. I think I'll be able to schedule the surgery once we've done that.
Now I have a week of waiting, before then next stage of the process. I hate waiting. I'm nervous, but I know that worrying won't help at all.

Doctor, My Eyes

I went to see the eye doctor today, because I need computer glasses. I need distance glasses, too, but my old ones are still okay for that.

I've been noticing lately that my vision is blurry, as if I'm looking through dirty glasses. Today I found out why: I have cataracts. I can't see them in the mirror, but I definitely have them, especially in my right eye. So I'm not getting glasses until I get at least the right eye taken care of, because my eyes will be different - literally. The doctor says that they basically open the cornea, slip out the bad lens, and put in a prosthetic lens. He gave me contact info for a couple of surgeons who can do the surgery.

Now I have to contact my insurance company to find out what hoops I have to go through to make it happen. You know, am I allowed to go directly to the specialist, or do I have to get a referral from my primary doctor, or is the referral from the eye doctor enough? If I have to go through my primary doctor first, that adds a whole other layer of delay to the process. He's a great guy, but he's not the easiest man to get hold of in a hurry.

Here's hoping this will be pretty straightforward.

It's Been Awhile...

Boy, it's been quite awhile since the last time I posted here. Sorry aout that. I've been busy, and a little down. I felt as if I had nothing to say, so why post?

I suppose the biggest news is that i joined WeightWatchers in late September. As of last Saturday's weigh in, I've lost just over 20 pounds. I've got quite a bit more to lose, but I'm well on the way. At first, I was just doing it online, but last month I started going to meetings as well; I figured I could use the extra help, especially during the holidays.

Busy, Busy, Busy

I know it's been way too long since I've posted here. I'll try to do better going forward.

Meanwhile, the highlights of life since my last post:

• Honey wants me to side with her in "encouraging" my daughter to get a job and move out. Yes, I want my house back, but no, I don't want to throw my daughter out to get it.
• Honey has been having episodes of dementia; the most recent one lasted almost four days, ending late Monday night. I'm getting worried, because Alzheimer's does run in her family. I wasn't expecting to have to start looking for assisted living for her for at least a few more years, but I may have to move that up.
• On the plus side, I started WeightWatchers Online this week; I need to get rid of this excess I've been carrying around.

Doctor joy

Finally, I think that Honey and I have found another doctor who's as good for us as Dr. Steve. Yesterday, we spent all afternoon with Dr. B, who's qualified both in Neurology and Psychiatry. He listens! And he tells all about our conditions and the medications, including side effects and how well they play together.

So, he's going to be taking over Honey's pain management and mental health treatment for both of us (it turns out that instead of being just depressed, we have bipolar depression). He's also figured out that my tremors are probably being exacerbated by the combination of meds I've been on, so we're changing those. This is great news, considering that I stayed home most of this past week because the tremors had shifted to spasms on a seizure-like scale. I started one of the new meds last night, and got the first decent night's sleep I've had in what seems like ages!