No longer exceptional ...
Ever notice how much retinal photos look like a bird's egg being candled?
At any rate, my retinas are beautiful and undamaged, and I was given jpgs of the images to ... I dunno, turn into wallpaper? "Ultimate computer biometrics!"
So that's how the recent trip to the optometrist went, my first time in about 30 years. Mostly I went to double-check that there wasn't anything actually *wrong* going on behind the scenes, and to establish a baseline. Like a baseline mammogram, but you get to keep your clothes on.
The last couple of years I had noticed a definite deterioration in both near-field visual acuity with itty-bitty type, and even more so in the distance with birdwatching. I could detect 'em just fine, but it was harder to make out the details.
My father merely said "Welcome to middle age, pumpkin" and reminded me of how I'd grab Grandpa's newspaper and back away several feet "is it far enough now, Pappy?"
My husband, well, let's just say I'm getting no sympathy from him. He's the kid who didn't know where trees "kept their leaves" until, around age 5, he was fitted with glasses and learned the big fuzzy blobs at the top of trees were actually lots and lots of leaves. He's spent almost his entire life in glasses or contacts. He even introduced me to his optometrist, and the receptionist, as "my wife, who is one of those disgusting people with 20/10 but I love her anyhow".
The whole thing went a lot quicker than expected, even with the lengthy discussion on dyslexia, fad diagnosis, presbyopia, and so on. No dilating drops, there wasn't any need to. The only thing "wrong" is ... normal aging. Which is what all of us were hoping was the case.
I'm down to 20/20 and 20/25. That's not really a "down to" for most people, but since I was at 20/10 and 20/15 in my teens, from a relative standpoint it's a large change.
So now I have a (completely optional) prescription for progressive lens, which I'll hold off on for a while. The distance thing doesn't bother me now that I know it's not a Symptom Of Something Else Wrong. The reading thing (presbyopia), well, I'll go ahead and get a pair of drugstore reading glasses and see if they help me read the itty-bitty Ingredients on my spice bottles. It'll give me a chance to try out different frame styles on the cheap, and get into the habit of keeping track of the glasses.
But *whine* 20/20 is NORMAL. I'm no longer BETTER, no longer SPECIAL. waaaah NOT FAIR !!!
At any rate, my retinas are beautiful and undamaged, and I was given jpgs of the images to ... I dunno, turn into wallpaper? "Ultimate computer biometrics!"
So that's how the recent trip to the optometrist went, my first time in about 30 years. Mostly I went to double-check that there wasn't anything actually *wrong* going on behind the scenes, and to establish a baseline. Like a baseline mammogram, but you get to keep your clothes on.
The last couple of years I had noticed a definite deterioration in both near-field visual acuity with itty-bitty type, and even more so in the distance with birdwatching. I could detect 'em just fine, but it was harder to make out the details.
My father merely said "Welcome to middle age, pumpkin" and reminded me of how I'd grab Grandpa's newspaper and back away several feet "is it far enough now, Pappy?"
My husband, well, let's just say I'm getting no sympathy from him. He's the kid who didn't know where trees "kept their leaves" until, around age 5, he was fitted with glasses and learned the big fuzzy blobs at the top of trees were actually lots and lots of leaves. He's spent almost his entire life in glasses or contacts. He even introduced me to his optometrist, and the receptionist, as "my wife, who is one of those disgusting people with 20/10 but I love her anyhow".
The whole thing went a lot quicker than expected, even with the lengthy discussion on dyslexia, fad diagnosis, presbyopia, and so on. No dilating drops, there wasn't any need to. The only thing "wrong" is ... normal aging. Which is what all of us were hoping was the case.
I'm down to 20/20 and 20/25. That's not really a "down to" for most people, but since I was at 20/10 and 20/15 in my teens, from a relative standpoint it's a large change.
So now I have a (completely optional) prescription for progressive lens, which I'll hold off on for a while. The distance thing doesn't bother me now that I know it's not a Symptom Of Something Else Wrong. The reading thing (presbyopia), well, I'll go ahead and get a pair of drugstore reading glasses and see if they help me read the itty-bitty Ingredients on my spice bottles. It'll give me a chance to try out different frame styles on the cheap, and get into the habit of keeping track of the glasses.
But *whine* 20/20 is NORMAL. I'm no longer BETTER, no longer SPECIAL. waaaah NOT FAIR !!!