Eye Update

I didn't get the shot. The doc told me to come in today if my eye was not better today. Well, it's a little bit better. Just enough for me to avoid the large needle plunging into my eyeball (gulp)! So, I've been thinking more about this Iritis. See www.iritis.org for a description. In a nutshell, as I understand it, Iritis is an inflammation inside the eye. It causes aching, redness, a film over the eye and sensitivity to light. The symptoms are treatable with steroid eyedrops and usually resolve within a few weeks- in my experience. The problem is the cause. Generally, in cases where Iritis is recurrent (I've had mine about 6-7 times since 2001) there is an underlying systemic condition. The various ones I have heard thrown out there by eye doctors and opthamologists haven't been pretty. Lots of debilitating diseases. So, I'm scared to check into this more. However, there was a statement on the above website regarding the risks of not being treated by a specialist and finding out the underlying cause- retina detachment, cataracts, tons of other really long words that don't sound good, and potential blindness.

So, really, I need to get in with a specialist. I'm looking into that. It looks like there may be a couple of options about 3-4 hours away. The thing with me is, I tend to have slight hypochondriac tendencies. If I know I have a chance of getting something, you can bet, I will "think" I have it. If I read the side-effects of medications and it says, "you may experience blah,blah,blah, sweaty palms, fast heart rate, blah,blah,blah" you can bet, before I get to the end of the sentence, I will start wondering if my palms aren't a bit moist. Go figure.

To end on a positive note: my eye is indeed getting better, very slowly. Also, my husband encouraged me to take our big goofy golden doodle for a walk tonight. I followed his advise for once. It was GREAT! Aside from the fact that my dog is a great walking companion, It was an absolutely, undeniably, completely gorgeous night for a walk. I loved that walk. Thanks, honey!