My bad-ass corneas
Finally, finally I had my eye appointment with the Mayo people today. I had to reschedule the first one because the person who sold us our house wanted to close on my appointment day. I had to reschedule the second one because I wanted to drive down and see Ellen while she was in Florida. So almost three months later I got to see a real MD who knows his eye stuff. Third time's a charm.
Dr. S in Tucson scared the poo out of me for slightly unfounded reasons. Yes, the pressure in my eyes is a little high. But nothing compared to other people. And as Jacksonville Dr. S informed me, high pressure does not necessarily indicate glaucoma. Even more interesting, new Dr. S measured the thickness of my cornea and discovered it's rather thick compared to other people's corneas--he said it wasn't a bad thing--and that might be contributing to my high pressure, because in order to get a pressure reading on my eyeballs, the technician has to press a bit harder, due to my bad-ass corneas.
Near the end of my two-and-a-half hour visit new Dr. S explained he's not really worried about glaucoma in my case. What he is worried about is some scarring he noticed on my retina. I explained to him that detached retina runs in my family (paternal grandmother). He wasn't surprised. He said most people with giant peepers who are horribly near-sighted like I am have problems with their retinas. So he wants to see me in a year's time to examine my retinas. In the meantime, however, he warned--and I have to laugh, even though this is a rather serious issue--if I start seeing bright, white dots or lots of lines I should come in immediately and see him.
He's had the retina-saving surgery, himself, and apparently it's not that horrendous.
Gross.
I'm just so happy that I was able to see a doctor who knows what he's doing--a doctor at the top of his game--who can advise me, explain the reasons why these sorts of things happen, what they mean, how I should proceed with my life, and what to expect. I'm also incredibly happy that my insurance (after I begged my primary care physician to refer me) covered the visit and the tests. It's such a weight off my mind--I've been so worried.
Oh, and they gave me new glasses and contacts prescriptions for free, even though that's not why I went to see them. Got to love that.
Okay, back to preparing for the interview.
Dr. S in Tucson scared the poo out of me for slightly unfounded reasons. Yes, the pressure in my eyes is a little high. But nothing compared to other people. And as Jacksonville Dr. S informed me, high pressure does not necessarily indicate glaucoma. Even more interesting, new Dr. S measured the thickness of my cornea and discovered it's rather thick compared to other people's corneas--he said it wasn't a bad thing--and that might be contributing to my high pressure, because in order to get a pressure reading on my eyeballs, the technician has to press a bit harder, due to my bad-ass corneas.
Near the end of my two-and-a-half hour visit new Dr. S explained he's not really worried about glaucoma in my case. What he is worried about is some scarring he noticed on my retina. I explained to him that detached retina runs in my family (paternal grandmother). He wasn't surprised. He said most people with giant peepers who are horribly near-sighted like I am have problems with their retinas. So he wants to see me in a year's time to examine my retinas. In the meantime, however, he warned--and I have to laugh, even though this is a rather serious issue--if I start seeing bright, white dots or lots of lines I should come in immediately and see him.
He's had the retina-saving surgery, himself, and apparently it's not that horrendous.
Gross.
I'm just so happy that I was able to see a doctor who knows what he's doing--a doctor at the top of his game--who can advise me, explain the reasons why these sorts of things happen, what they mean, how I should proceed with my life, and what to expect. I'm also incredibly happy that my insurance (after I begged my primary care physician to refer me) covered the visit and the tests. It's such a weight off my mind--I've been so worried.
Oh, and they gave me new glasses and contacts prescriptions for free, even though that's not why I went to see them. Got to love that.
Okay, back to preparing for the interview.