Eye doctor

I got my yearly eye exam yesterday. I've needed corrective lenses since I was about 10 years old, so this has been an annual ritual for most of my life. Eye exams have changed a lot since I first got glasses. They seem to be faster now. That may be attributable to my perceptions of how long they took when I was 10 (I have never been a particularly patient person), but more likely, I think this is an actual change that results from better equipment. The machines get pretty close to my prescription, and then the doctor and I get to play the "which is better" game. That's always a fun part of the exam. My eyes may be in between prescriptions, because I'm never sure which lens works better. As a consequence, over the last ten years or so, I've bounced back and forth between prescription levels. Last time I went to the eye doctor he said that I was a good candidate for laser surgery because my eyes aren't changing. I like the idea of not having to wear corrective lenses, but until I get good insurance, it's not gonna happen.

Even though I've been to the eye doctor many dozens of times, I had a new experience yesterday. Since I'm nearsighted, he wanted to dilate my eyes so he could check to make sure there was no strain or tearing of the retina. He said I wouldn't be able to focus on something close up without taking off my glasses, and that I would be very sensitive to light, but that those effects would fade in an hour or two. I didn't need to do any reading that day, so I had him do it. He put a drop of solution in each eye. I assume that it contained some sort of muscle relaxant, because after 15 minutes my pupils were HUGE. Seriously, you could hardly see the iris at all. It was kinda creepy-looking. It reminded me of the pot-head kid that sat next to me in middle school. His pupils were almost always dilated, among other symptoms. :-)

My eyes checked out fine -- no tearing or worry signs -- so the doc sent me home with a prescription and a pair of "solar shield" sunglasses. (Think old man sunglasses and you'll know what they looked like.) Becca was outside playing with Lindsay when I came home, and she burst into laughter as soon as she saw me in my slick shades. They weren't exactly what you would call fashionable. In fact, I kinda felt like an old man, because I had to peer over my glasses to see anything up close. I felt like I needed bifocals. I closed all the blinds in the house because everything was so bright to me. I couldn't really do anything like write, cook, or type, so I ended up just watching TV for part of the afternoon. I have this week off, so it worked out okay. But the doc apparently underestimated how long the drops would last; it was almost 4 hours before I stopped needing sunglasses. I'll keep that in mind next time the eye doctor wants to dilate my eyes; it wouldn't do for me to walk into a job interview or conference later that day, looking like I just dropped acid.
Photo credit: deqalb.