what the fuck is up with my eyes?
So today I visited a second Ophthalmologist in 3 years to get an eye exam and a second opinion on what's up with my eyes being strikingly different from each other:
I went to the first doctor in Athens to find out why my left eyelid is drooping. He quickly (he barely spent two minutes with me) diagnosed that it wasn't that my left eyelid was drooping, but that my right eye was bulging out. He wanted to be sure it wasn't caused by Thyroid disease so he sent me to another doctor for bloodwork and had me come back with the results and with pictures of me at various ages to note any changes in the difference between my eyes. As my blood came up disease free and becuase he had to get on to one of the million people it seemed he had (over)booked for that day, he quickly dismissed my bulging eye as congenital development that was harmless and sent me on my way. So, hours of my life gone and $40 in co-pays later I find out that my eyes are the way are, essentially, "just cuz."
This answer never suited Amanda, who was worried that maybe it was something serious. I wasn't worried about it though, becuase it doesn't bother me or cause me any vision problems. To ease her mind, however, today I went to a recommended Ophthalmologist (for whom Amanda used to temp). After the standard eye exam, he tells me that the problem is *not* that my right eye is bulging out, in fact, he points out that it's not bulging out at all. He then goes on to diagnose me with, in great detail, a condition called Ptosis. Essentially, the muscle in my left eyelid either gave up the ghost or retracted, causing the lid to droop lower than normal. My brain, sensing the drooping eyelid, fires signals to *both* eyelids saying "raise the fuck up!" (my brain is foul-mouthed) This is of no effect on my left, muscle-less lid, but causes the right lid to overcompensate. I use the present tense becuase this is going on ALL THE TIME in my head. To verify he looked at my forehead and could see how the muscles were a bit more stressed on the right side of my brow where a flurry of signals are keeping my right eye in a permanent "holy shit look at that!" state of wide-eyedness. To further illustrate his point, he used his finger to hold my left eyelid up, and watched as the right one relaxed becuase my brain finally stopped censing the drooping lid.
This condition is nothing to be worried about, it's congenital, probably heriditary, and in my case, causes no immediate threat (though when I get old it may cause dryness problems in my more exposed eye). So essentially, I got the same answer from this second doctor, though one that is much easier to live with... even if it means there is a perpetual war (you know, like the ones on terrorism and drugs) going on in my head. Comparitively, the Ophthalmologist I went to in Athens really sucked, and if I could remember his name right now, I would totally tell you never to visit him. I mean, he was wrong about this, but what if it was serious...
In unrelated news, all you cats with high speed connections at home, particularly those with DVD burners and nice software like the Nero suite, should check out the British documentary series The Power of Nightmares It brilliantly traces the rise of neoconservativism and Islamic fundamentalism, and is highly entertaining.
I went to the first doctor in Athens to find out why my left eyelid is drooping. He quickly (he barely spent two minutes with me) diagnosed that it wasn't that my left eyelid was drooping, but that my right eye was bulging out. He wanted to be sure it wasn't caused by Thyroid disease so he sent me to another doctor for bloodwork and had me come back with the results and with pictures of me at various ages to note any changes in the difference between my eyes. As my blood came up disease free and becuase he had to get on to one of the million people it seemed he had (over)booked for that day, he quickly dismissed my bulging eye as congenital development that was harmless and sent me on my way. So, hours of my life gone and $40 in co-pays later I find out that my eyes are the way are, essentially, "just cuz."
This answer never suited Amanda, who was worried that maybe it was something serious. I wasn't worried about it though, becuase it doesn't bother me or cause me any vision problems. To ease her mind, however, today I went to a recommended Ophthalmologist (for whom Amanda used to temp). After the standard eye exam, he tells me that the problem is *not* that my right eye is bulging out, in fact, he points out that it's not bulging out at all. He then goes on to diagnose me with, in great detail, a condition called Ptosis. Essentially, the muscle in my left eyelid either gave up the ghost or retracted, causing the lid to droop lower than normal. My brain, sensing the drooping eyelid, fires signals to *both* eyelids saying "raise the fuck up!" (my brain is foul-mouthed) This is of no effect on my left, muscle-less lid, but causes the right lid to overcompensate. I use the present tense becuase this is going on ALL THE TIME in my head. To verify he looked at my forehead and could see how the muscles were a bit more stressed on the right side of my brow where a flurry of signals are keeping my right eye in a permanent "holy shit look at that!" state of wide-eyedness. To further illustrate his point, he used his finger to hold my left eyelid up, and watched as the right one relaxed becuase my brain finally stopped censing the drooping lid.
This condition is nothing to be worried about, it's congenital, probably heriditary, and in my case, causes no immediate threat (though when I get old it may cause dryness problems in my more exposed eye). So essentially, I got the same answer from this second doctor, though one that is much easier to live with... even if it means there is a perpetual war (you know, like the ones on terrorism and drugs) going on in my head. Comparitively, the Ophthalmologist I went to in Athens really sucked, and if I could remember his name right now, I would totally tell you never to visit him. I mean, he was wrong about this, but what if it was serious...
In unrelated news, all you cats with high speed connections at home, particularly those with DVD burners and nice software like the Nero suite, should check out the British documentary series The Power of Nightmares It brilliantly traces the rise of neoconservativism and Islamic fundamentalism, and is highly entertaining.