Tag Archives: eyes

The Waiting Game

Like most people with multiple sclerosis, I am now an old hand at waiting around for appointments and yesterday was no exception. The eye saga continues and I was back for my follow-up.

Armed with my mum, a book, a notebook and pen (to jot down my musings, natch) and a bag of raisins, I went to hospital again. We have our routine down to a tee now – shops, coffee, loos. To shake things up a little, mum bought me a fruity, chewy cookie instead of a biscotti.

First, I had a Humphrey Field Test – a bit like sitting in front of a Space Invaders screen, clicking a joystick whenever I saw a little light. I scored nearly 100% and was absurdly pleased. Next, it was over to the other clinic to wait to see the eye doctor.

Being an old hand, I registered the expected crowd of people and expertly (and with some panache) wedged myself into one of the seats and casually took out my book.

Twenty minutes later, I got called through to have drops put in my eyes to dilate my pupils, which blurred my vision so I put my book away and people-watched instead. An old man in loose trousers trumpeted into his tissue then closely examined the contents. An astonishingly well-behaved toddler toddled around his pregnant mother. The receptionist directed endless people to the loos and a couple argued under their breaths.

I used to be such an impatient person, huffing and puffing if I was kept waiting, dramatically tapping my watch and rolling my eyes. Why? It didn’t do me any favours and no amount of loud sighing would bring the appointment round any sooner. I guess MS, in its own way, has made me a much more patient person. I am almost zen-like in waiting rooms now, like a little Buddha.

Eventually, I was called in, pupils fully dilated. Ran through the symptoms, no change. Retina is still a cause for concern so I have a follow up in four weeks time. Same time, same place, same waiting room…

(If you’re new to this blog – the eye saga is here: Eye See and Eye Don’t Believe It)

Tagged , , , ,

Eye Don’t Believe It…

The dodgy eye saga continues. Yesterday I went to the eye specialist at the hospital after being referred by the neurologist. So far so good. I settled down with a newspaper and waited. And waited. And waited. No mobile phone reception either, grrr.

Then a nurse called me in and squirted my eyes with stinging liquid to dilate my pupils. I joked that a glass of wine would have done the trick just as well, but the sun wasn’t yet over the yardarm. She popped me back to the waiting room with the warning that my vision would be blurry for up to six hours.

After the receptionist had left for lunch, I was still waiting. I picked up my book but couldn’t read it, so played solitaire on the phone for the next hour, squinting at the screen through one eye. Finally, I was called in and my eyes were  squirted again and I was weeping yellow tears. Ewww.

Lots of eyeball to eyeball contact with the doctor, then he went off to consult with someone else. By this time, I’m quite worried. I had seen that he’d drawn two eyeballs on his notes with lots of squiggly lines on one of them. When he came back, he told me the good news was that I didn’t have optic neuritis. Phew. But. Oh, a ‘but’.

He had detected that the retina in one eye had a weakness. He wants to see me again in two weeks and if the weakness is still there, he’ll recommend laser eye surgery. Visions of that scene in ‘Clockwork Orange’ sprang to mind. I clutched my appointment forms and left, telling my mum the news. ‘Oh, they’ll clamp your eye open and inject it before zapping you’, she said. Thanks mum.

Anyway, in my new spirit of positive thinking, I am so, so relieved it’s not optic neuritis or even MS-related and incredibly grateful they’ve picked up on a potential future problem which can be fixed sooner rather than later. How lucky am I? Plus, I’ve just found a whole bag of Bombay Mix in the cupboard. Simple things, eh?

Tagged , , , , ,