Eyes and Neuropathy

@rwinney Rachel and @avmcbellar (prepare yourselves for possibly dumb question). Just wondering, if you guys occasionally (or often) close one eye to read or see do you think you might benefit by getting an eyepatch? Seems less tiresome than using muscles to keep an eye closed. Also, Rachel, is Simply Strong the fitness outfit based in Oregon? Just wondering. Best, Hank

I'm not sure Hank. My Aunt bought it for me last year from a local retail store here in NY. I love it! There are days I wear it to remind myself. ... I got this.

No eye patch for me. Wore enough of them after my surgeries. Light makes me do the eye closed thing.

@rwinney HI Racheal I too have to wear dark eyeglasses when out since I am sensitive to the sun and have macular degeneration . I have lighter sunglasses for inside . Have you looked into the Braille institute this is the organization I got my sunglasses from ---free. They came to my apt and talked with me . I also have a thing you put on a cup to let you know how much water to pour in so you dont burn yourself when for tea or coffee . All free . A friend who legally blind they fixed her microwave up with big numbers so she can use it . All from the Braille institute . This organization works with them Im sure you probably have something similar in N.Y. Stay safe Linda

Thank you Linda. Yes, my mother-in-law utilizes these services and also has macular degeneration. I'm doing ok with my sunglasses but do need to invest in better quality ones. Be well and stay safe.
Rachel

@hopeful33250 Hi Teresa. I looked online and see that the neuro-ophthalmologists are in Portland. My ophthalmologist didn't suggest anything except the prism, which does bring my right eye in alignment with the left. His only statement was that if/when the diplopia gets bad again I'll just have to get used to it.

I've been living with this for a while, and I've adapted, but I got tired of it. I like the doctor I have, but maybe it's time to see a specialist. I'll give it some time and see if it gets bad again. The Casey Eye Institute has a location in Portland at OHSU.

Jim

@jesfactsmon Hank, I welcome names of eye surgeons and I will follow up with any recommendations as the time approaches. I will like to do the surgery in a year and a half. The locations in the US does not matter if I can find a surgeon who has good outcomes with lots of practice. My husband and I have a travel trailer so the location won’t be a problem. He is able to drive. I prefer Florida but will consider a surgeon elsewhere that meets my criteria. You are not far in Tennessee. Years ago I drove through Knoxville where I purchased a Vols sweatshirt at the University. Thank you for your best wishes. The eye surgery will be my next concentration for eliminating the motion sickness so I can be active once again. I hope your wife can find the right surgeon to help her. It just takes research and each others help. Best of luck to both of you.

Hi @jimhd Jim, I can recommend one excellent opthamologist in Portland, Robert W. Bentley MD. Linda and I went to him for several years and he was such a great doctor. So thoughtful and so smart, and really a nice guy to boot. Not sure if he is a neuro opthamologist. You might not need him but I would recommend him to anyone. We really miss him now! Hank

@jesfactsmon Thanks Hank. I think that my next step will be to find a good neuro-ophthalmologist. Hopefully that won't be necessary for a couple of years.

One of the problems with the prism is that it's only in my primary glasses, not my sunglasses - I can wear flip ups - or my computer/piano playing ones. I suppose I could spend the $170 and have the piano glasses done.

Having binocular double vision means that my eyes get tired if I do anything within my six foot social distancing bubble very long. I do most of my online stuff on my phone, and I can do it with my bifocals or I can do it for a while without glasses. It seems as though my eyes get tired either way.

My 30 minute timer just went off, telling me it's time to move a sprinkler. It's an amazingly beautiful day here, in the 70s, with a light breeze. I finished the trimmer work, and decided I needed to sit in the shade during this one 30 minute set.

I appreciate your input in various discussions.

Jim

Hi Rachel @rwinney. Your positive attitude alone will get results for you. I think you are awesome! We do what we need to do to keep going. You won’t know unless you try, is a good attitude to have. Great idea to use a lower tint for sunglasses inside. I am trying to not use any tinting inside for now. I don’t want my use to get used to the darkness. I read long periods of darkness can worsen the photophobia. I did wear shades in the house before. My 20 pound pet house rabbit is almost an adult. We got him 4 months ago. He is currently shedding. His new coat of fur is a much darker shade, lol. I know rabbits try to adapt to their environment to be undetectable for a safety measure. I had no idea how dark the room was.
Closing one eye helps. I take breaks often, but you are right, many times we pay for using our eyes. Difficult to do things without them.

Hank @jesfactsmon, not a dumb question at all. I can speak for myself with my experience using an eye patch. After a few months into my AVM, my neuro ophthalmologist told me I could either wear an eye patch, cover up the glass lens with frosty tape, or wear clear glasses while my eyes settled. It didn’t matter because there was no sufficient data to prove what was best. It was unknown how much the eyes would correct themselves during the healing time. I decided to use the black eye patch. After using it a month, I tried to see with both eyes but the image of the previously covered eye was very dark. It remained that way. It was very bothersome so I never used the patch again. I then tried covering the glass lens with frosty tape. It allowed the light in while eliminating the double vision. Thankfully, the dark image eventually went away. I used the frosty tape for a couple months until my next eye visit. When my ophthalmologist examined my eyes and said, “let’s see how your eyes adjusted”, I thought how would they adjust when my eye was covered? I was told to give it longer for my eyes to settle. As soon as I got home I removed the frosty tape and only wore the glasses. After a while I went back to the frosty tape because the double vision became too much for me. I was fine for a while until the eye dryness and photophobia kicked in.
Good idea to wear a patch but my eye got used to the darkness.