>LOL! Okay, so that people don't overly worry. I've had extreme myopia >(extreme nearsightedness) for ages, and it's been bad enough that for >over 30 years I've been legally blind Well, as long as you make it legal .. >WITHOUT glasses but luckily even now I correct pretty well, not as >well as I used to, but I'm not complaining about what I get. Glasses >are great! Yah, 'specially when you wear cool looking specs making you look like Ozzie Ozbournes sister. Rock on! >Since I have heard that someone is giving an absolutely whacky I swear to God I had nothing to do with any such whackyness! I don't "do" whackyness. We all know that here. >and untrue "explanation" for why my eyes are as they are, I'll take a >bit of time telling about some eye problems I have and how they are >handled. The reason I am annoyed about that rumor when i ignore so >many other rumors related to me is because it insults my excellent >care givers. >Now, nearsightedness is caused by a change in the shape of the >eyeball, and if it is extreme enough that has its own considerations >over long enough time. As the vitreous gel in the eye thickens with >age it can tear and sometimes tug on the retina (which is why if >anyone here ever sees what looks like bouts of lightning in your eye >you need to get the retina pretty much immediately checked to be >safe; usually if the symptoms don't include folds in vision or loss >of visual field the appt will be the same day but not immediately, >whereas if those additional symptoms exist you will be seen right >away). Oooooooh, I see bolts of lightening, dude. But not for those reasons! >That can be more pronounced if a person has been very nearsighted >for a long time. Sometimes it can even result in the vitreous gel >completely separating from the retina. That also causes a need for >checking the retina, and also a complete separation can damage the >macula so that needs to be checked. Obviously, if either has great >enough damage then repair is needed. Complete vitreous separation is >unusual in those who do not have extreme myopia but pretty common with >extreme nearsightedness. Usually it happens pretty slowly so people >may not notice it. I had symptoms: a shadow down the center of my >vision when both eyes were used, and a sudden closing in that went >beyond the peripheral vision loss I've had from glaucoma. What you were seeing was actually the Impending doom from the tarradiddling on the FML (oh shut up, I can conjugate a noun if I feel so inclined, I'm Da Wolfy, not that i"m pulling any whackyness mind you ...). >Those symptoms went away over several weeks, and the macular hole I >have from it is tiny and stable so not a concern unless it changes. Translation: Sukie has a hole in her head. But she is stable. By the way, this is not news, Sukie. >Glaucoma is a different problem. It is damage to the optic nerve. Oh you have what my great grandparents called, "nerves". >Most forms have increased eye pressure (ocular hypertension), but >there is an exception. >Translation, Sukie is under a great deal of pressure. >Ocular hypertension that does not go over a certain point and does not >involve any loss of peripheral vision can exist without glaucoma. The >optic nerve can be imaged, too, meaning I can whip out one of my 2,3, or 4 well known cameras and take pictures to send you via phone or youtube. Not sure if a an uncovered nerve would be eye porn and break the terms of service however ... >and other tests done. According to excellent resources like the >Glaucoma Foundation http://www.glaucomafoundation.org/ most cases >of ocular hypertension do not progress into glaucoma. I had ocular >hypertension for something like 15 years before I began having >peripheral vision loss. Lol, yeah right ... Time adjustment: back in the days of the great pioneers. Or for you Europeans, the days when those crazy Britts shoved ferrets down their pants while sharing a pint. >In my case my highest pressures seem to happen during sleep. No comment. >We monitored it closely, of course. Oh I just bet you two did. >As soon as it became obvious that I was following the normal course >for Dad's family (where every sibling had glaucoma) treatment began. >There are four classes of drops for glaucoma. I can't use one class >due to being allergic to it. There is a second one I can't use >because I have asthma. A third class has worked quite well for me. Yet more classes from Sukie ... >Over time I have progressed to the strongest drop in that class. No way! You dropped in class? >The fourth med grouping didn't work for me at all. Finally, I also >had laser surgery I just knew you were a Star Wars geekazoid. Where do you keep your light saber ... really. Wait . don't answer that. >while continuing drops and that will be repeated as needed as many >times as it can be, then there is the option of a more invasive and >trickier operation. People vary in how well treatments work, but >in the vast majority of cases catching glaucoma in time prevents >blindness. The sad thing is that so many are not caught in time. > >Astigmatism is from an irregular curvature of the eye. Translation, Sukie is very "curvey", oo-la-la! >Presbyopia is just "aging eyes". Most people deal with that. Translation, Sukie is old as sh*t!!!! >There. Hopefully, someone learned something useful beyond that 90% of >rumors on the internet are typically false. (Really, ignore rumors for >your sakes and others'.) >And now with apologies for taking up time Oh puh-lease, you're not sorry! >and space about my own eyes I will tell you a bit about albino ferret >eyes because albino ferret eyes are studied to learn about the eyes of >humans with albinism. So, here are references from a great resource >with some on BOTH pigmented and nonpigmented ferret eyes: I call Cheater!!! BIIIIIIIIIIIG ... She's cheat-in'! ::pointing my finger:: She's trying to slide this in by bringing up ferrets at the end. She didn't even put forth the effort of inserting "Ferret" between each sentence. Ferret. [Posted in FML 6214]