Get your eyes checked! - Stig's losing vision

[Stig / Major Tom]

Us older guys need to get our eyes checked every year!
I waited too long between eye appointments (7 years)...thinking my glasses were working fine.

I finally decided I must have a cataract in my left eye as it was causing a blind spot just below my line of sight.
So, off to the optometrist I went.

I do have cataracts in both eyes - "normal for my age" - but the loss of vision in my left eye is due to the onset of glaucoma. There are various treatments for glaucoma....however...the blind spot and general fading of vision in my left eye is permanent. And it is something which could have been spotted, and slowed or stopped,  with annual eye check-ups.

The treatment goal at this point is to slow or stop any more loss of vision in that eye, if possible.

So, bottom line - SENIORS, GET A YEARLY CHECK-UP WITH YOUR EYE DOCTOR.
I get routine check-ups with a family doctor - but they do not check the eyes.

And, if you haven't had your two-part Shingles vaccine - get that done, too!

You can neglect your valves - all that happens is you can't get your scooter to start.....don't skip the eye appointments!

Tom

Kicked this around for 2 weeks - decided it needed to be shared.

Humorously.....
Once recovered from the sad news about my vision ...Daughter, remembering my diminished hearing - now refers to me as Hellen Keller. Or just, "Mom, tell Hellen his lunch is ready!"

[Neil955i]

Kids eh?  Gotta Love 'em. 

Sorry to hear your news Tom, but thanks for the tip.  I have sometimes gone 18 months or 2 years  between appointments which is daft as I too have had cataracts - one traumatic cataract (long story) in my teens which was operated on in my 20's and the one in the other eye I had removed about 6 years ago.  Two implanted lens using technology 4 decades apart - I'll leave you to guess which is the better!  Happily I can still ride without glasses as I only need them for reading.

[Iahawk]

Tom, we appreciate the reminders. Our health is equally as important (maybe more? ) than our scooter health and we all need the occasional reminder.  A young woman who works for me recently lost her 38 year old husband. Arteries almost completely clogged, history of family heart disease, no exercise and no doctor visits in years.  It was all avoidable had he been to the doctor, regularly.

Just like our scoots we all need our own headlights, oil and rear end checked, occasionally!

[Kansas kymco]

Yeah we have some time on our bodies.  None of us ride 50 or 60 year old scooters.  So we probably need a little maintenance.

[CROSSBOLT]

Yes, Tom, your recommendation is right on the mark! Been seing (literally)the eye quacks annually through the VA civilian outpatient clinics. True, they use the kids in optical tech schools and undergrad opto docs but they are great! The VA has been great all around since we sicced our senator Fred Thompson on 'em years ago!

[randyo]

my annual eye appointment is this coming Wednesday, I have been at the point of annual vision checks for about a decade, I supposedly have cataracts forming, I'm ok where I live, no streetlights, no traffic to speak of, but I don't like driving/riding in a metropolitan area on a rainey night. the glare attacking from every direction is more than I can handle 

[Stig / Major Tom]

Yes, Tom, your recommendation is right on the mark! Been seing (literally)the eye quacks annually through the VA civilian outpatient clinics. True, they use the kids in optical tech schools and undergrad opto docs but they are great! The VA has been great all around since we sicced our senator Fred Thompson on 'em years ago!

You know Karl, I haven't even thought of visiting the VA since my horrible impressions formed in 1987. I swear - the attendants were thieving thugs with at least one felony, and none of the doctors could pass an EMS midterm exam.
I guess I might need to give them another try. You will remember how most Vietnam veterans considered them to be filthy death traps.
Stig