Health scares.

[John Shaw]

Update on mine -

Glad you're feeling better.  

Thanks yo. Still don't have insurance cards but will within a day or so.

Been sorta trying to figure out exactly what the deal is with my eye. I'm not supposed to be self diagnosing (And I won't look up conditions anymore.) but here is what I've found -

What I see it this -

Circular area, out of focus, causing semi double vision because my right eye is fine. Image in left eye is actually smaller than right eye. I didn't notice until yesterday but it's not new. Came with the problem.

So I was sitting there blinking each eye and I see the difference in size.

Now, again, I ain't no doctor but I know a cubic fuckton about optics and the physics of light. I spent YEARS studying cameras. Filmmaker, photographer, owned a darkroom for years, the whole works.

When a light sensitive surface is farther away from the lens, an image gets bigger.

That means that something on the back of my eye has gotten closer to the front of my eye, or the other way around. Shit is smaller. Space between lens and retina has gotten shorter.

There is this blurry rim around the area where things are smaller.

Here's sorta what it looks like -



There's no doubling of the image in the blurred area but that's basically what it's like. The darkness in the area is much less pronounced than my photochoppery.

So I played around looking at grids and things and squinted and on and on. It's like there's pressure or a really clear swelling at the back of my eye. Macular degeneration would be a completely blurred circle. This is more like an imperfect convex effect.

So as an experiment I grabbed one of the $1 reading glasses we had sitting around, in this case, a +1.25.

Reading glasses are just basically magnifiers.

So I popped the right lens out (Because my right eye is fine.) and tried them on.

Almost perfectly fixes the size of objects in the center of my vision. Or at least it's so close that I can't notice it anymore. Of course the ring of blur is still there, and my peripheral vision is now slightly fuzzy (Because it was fine before and has now been magnified.) but I can see very well at my center of focus, and can read easily again.

So now I no longer have weird semi double vision from seeing two different sized things all the time, and the eyestrain is better.

Major plus until I can get to the eye doctor. Now I just look like a goon with reading glasses and only one lens in 'em.

A +1.25 monocle would be classy as fuck though.

[Bill Brasky]

You have macular degeneration.  

[John Shaw]

You have macular degeneration.  

NO U

But I worried about it for a couple days.

[Bill Brasky]

You have macular degeneration.  

NO U

Haha.  +1 for you, gotta stay sane with the humors. 

I'm not being cold about it, thats just the way it sounds to me.  With the splotch and all.  It can make you woozy and fucked up, kinda like vertigo.

Sucks, but non fatal. 

In any case, you'll get your fortune cookie read in a couple days.  I hate sitting in rooms with my ass hanging out of a paper dress.

[John Shaw]

Haha.  +1 for you, gotta stay sane with the humors. 

I'm not being cold about it, thats just the way it sounds to me.  With the splotch and all.  It can make you woozy and fucked up, kinda like vertigo.

Sucks, but non fatal. 

In any case, you'll get your fortune cookie read in a couple days.  I hate sitting in rooms with my ass hanging out of a paper dress.

Macular degeneration doesn't leave a clear spot in the middle. Also doesn't happen instantly. This was like, I was looking at the computer screen, and a few minutes later I look again and notice it.

<<<Been reading dozens of possible causes, almost all are temporary or fixable. Macular degeneration is the only one that doesn't get better.

Things that it is more likely to be -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_serous_retinopathy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macular_pucker

One can be caused by stress, the other by inflammation. Both of which I had. Massive inflammation around the left eye because of the sinuses, and massive stress that week.

[Bill Brasky]

Well, those would be preferable, 'eh? 

I wear contacts, so even though I don't see regular doctors I usually end up going to some "Eyeland" kinda place, where they peer into my eyeballs with complicated devices. 

I always ask the chick if I have a soul.  They never get the joke.

[John Shaw]

Well, those would be preferable, 'eh?  

Yes, and central serous retinopathy can happen in a matter of minutes or hours.

And would possibly explain why my symptoms are getting slightly better rather than worse over time. (Very slowly but noticeably)

But again, I dunno until I see a specialist. So Xanax it is to keep my fuckin nerves down until we know for sure.

The whole thing makes it hard for me to concentrate on anything important right now. It's a major inconvenience. I just gotta be chill and relax.

But one thing is true, I've shared it with a couple peeps... Xanax is fucking therapy in a bottle yo. I can still concentrate and be creative but I don't get all fucking wound up and feisty in the bad way.

[John Shaw]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirataki_noodles

Aw shit son.

[Bill Brasky]

I use klonapin as you use xanax.  Agreed.  

I prefer klonapin because it has a longer, mellower activity in the body. (for me)   Xanax hits me hard, makes me want nap time.  

Klonapin just keeps me from exploding, and I can function better on it.  

[Bill Brasky]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirataki_noodles

Aw shit son.

I just had that Inglorious Baserds Hitler come crashing through my head.  Nein!  Nein, nein, nein!!

[Lindsey]

I have polycystic ovary syndrome and insulin resistance.  It sucks, I take medicine to maintain, and I'm always trying to lose weight.

Curious, why not get them removed if they cause so many problems? Between health and hormone issues...

What Joy said is true.  Also not many doctors bring up the option unless there is something massive and you're in life-altering pain from it.   Usually it gets brought up more when women try to get pregnant as well

[Bill Brasky]

I'll take 'em out for ya.  I have my Doctorate in Vaginal Studies from the Universidad de Columbia (or Nicaragua, I forget). 

I need the knife time to keep up with my CE credits.  I've just pioneered a new technique where I spray that black shit in a can into the wound and instantly seal off all bleeding.  Its much safer than my old molten plastic technique. 

[Lindsey]

I'll take 'em out for ya.  I have my Doctorate in Vaginal Studies from the Universidad de Columbia (or Nicaragua, I forget). 

I need the knife time to keep up with my CE credits.  I've just pioneered a new technique where I spray that black shit in a can into the wound and instantly seal off all bleeding.  Its much safer than my old molten plastic technique. 

I did see some fancy new rubber in a can on TV a few nights ago...

[Bill Brasky]

I'll take 'em out for ya.  I have my Doctorate in Vaginal Studies from the Universidad de Columbia (or Nicaragua, I forget). 

I need the knife time to keep up with my CE credits.  I've just pioneered a new technique where I spray that black shit in a can into the wound and instantly seal off all bleeding.  Its much safer than my old molten plastic technique. 

I did see some fancy new rubber in a can on TV a few nights ago...

Thats the stuff.  Gutter leaks, row boats.  Space age polymer. 

[Lindsey]

I'll take 'em out for ya.  I have my Doctorate in Vaginal Studies from the Universidad de Columbia (or Nicaragua, I forget). 

I need the knife time to keep up with my CE credits.  I've just pioneered a new technique where I spray that black shit in a can into the wound and instantly seal off all bleeding.  Its much safer than my old molten plastic technique. 

Sounds like it should work just fine!   

I did see some fancy new rubber in a can on TV a few nights ago...

Thats the stuff.  Gutter leaks, row boats.  Space age polymer.