Teleidoscope

Thu, May 17, 2007

Eyes

Posted at 9:07 pm MDT to Miscellaneous

My eyes are being weird.

I had my annual eye checkup today -- the first one in years that has happened right after a long day of computer work instead of on a Saturday afternoon, so I was actually having the seeing-double symptoms I get when my eyes are tired.

My eyes are in good condition except for the seeing-double thing: my distance vision has actually improved (maybe because I hardly ever use it) and my reading glass prescription is about the same as before. No tendencies toward glaucoma or cataracts or some weird side effects of tamoxifen that we are watching out for.

But the seeing double thing is really weird. This is a vertically displaced ghost kind of seeing double, not the sideways eyes-not-focussing-together kind that I sometimes get without my glasses, which goes away if I close one eye or the other. When this kind of double vision happens, I see the doubling even with one eye closed (either eye closed).

It takes talent to see double with just one eye open.

What's really annoying is that the doubling seems to be worse in my left eye, which is way closer to normal than my right eye. When I was young, I was slightly far sighted in the left eye and moderately nearsighted in the right eye. Over the years of close work and reading, the focus on both eyes pulled in until the left eye was slightly nearsighted and the other one was even more nearsighted.

Everything the doctor tried to make the doubling less -- lenses, prisms -- made it worse instead. She finally agreed that it is a muscular tremor (which she can do nothing about), which I had pretty much figured out already.

I should probably see if my acupuncturist can do anything about it

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