Eye update

Today I had a follow up appointment at the eye clinic following the ulcer diagnosis on Monday.

While I am loving this gorgeous weather we are finally getting, I am also struggling with it as I have been using dilation drops 3 x a day to stop me using my eye so much and give it a chance to recover. These drops dilate my pupil so it is almost as big as the coloured part of my eye which means bright lights hurt. Problem is I can't wear my contact lenses so have to wear glasses which means I can't wear sunglasses. Solution - go half blind! Wear contact lens in my good eye and wear sunglasses!

Anyhow my appointment was 9.10, how a clinic that opens at 9.00 can be running an hour and 50 minutes late within 10 minutes is beyond me, but it was so I wasn't seen until 11am. Thankfully the tiredness I am now experiencing from 48 hours of hourly antibiotic drops has been worth it as the ulcer is almost healed. There is no scarring which is good. They don't know if my eyesight has been affected as the dilation drops gives you blurred vision, hopefully not.

The consultant (a different one to Monday) did say however, I have the start of a cataract in that eye, FFS I am 38 years old not 78. It will take a good few years to develop but I just feel like sitting and crying now (tiredness induced I am sure). I am assuming this is a combination of my high prescription, a family history (my mum had one) and the hysterectomy at such a young age.

I also have a condition called blepharitis which is basically dry eyes, I no longer produce enough fluid so have to use false tears which I need to get from a pharmacist - long term and bathe my eyes in these eye bags daily which I also need to get, all to help my eyes stay healthy.

I am hoping the drops can be got over the counter and are not just prescription only (she wasn't sure). If they are prescription my monthly charges will be £15.00 just for essential stuff as I have to pay for my HRT as well.

I am so pleased the ulcer is fine now, I can wear lenses again in 2 weeks but for some reason I also feel like sitting and crying!

On another note, I rang Boots Opticians on Tuesday to complain that their optician had missed an ulcer on the eye but there are no managers in this week so I rang customer services instead. I almost feel guilty as my aim is not to get anyone into trouble but more to highlight that if an optician isn't sure they should get a second opinion. Anyhow, i got a senior manager call me back to tell they had launched an official investigation into it as it shouldn't have been missed and they would be in contact over the following weeks. I am glad they have taken it seriously and looked into it.

My next battle which is about to commence is to ring about the monthly plan I pay for. II have just paid over £100.00 for a new pair of lenses which got sent at the beginning of this month but as they are not the right fit, I am on a second pair and need to get these checked. I know they are still not right. However, I have no faith left that they will get them right so want to start again with a new optician, but don't want to lose the money I have already paid or be left with a pair of lenses that are not right. So I am going to see if I can have a refund under the circumstances and not take lenses from Boots. Wish me luck, I think I already know the outcome but if you don;t ask....