Thursday, April 17, 2014

Seeing things differently!



Oh friends, I am now officially in the "Eyes going bad as I get older" Club. 

This morning the kids and I had our annual eye exam, well annual until now because from here on out it's every two years since my husband is now retired. 

Anyway, I have mentioned before that I have dry eyes, it's one of the things that I developed when we moved to Arizona back in 2007.  Boy did I have serious issues, I had never expected nor known that dry eyes could make someone so miserable.

Since then, it's just been something I've had to deal with, I use my eye drops every day, I try to stay out of the wind or wear sunglasses if I'm out in it, and I just do what I can.  One of the things I've noticed though, and my doctor had warned me about, is that dry eyes do affect your vision.

I had noticed that before, but the past year my eye sight has been slowly deteriorating and I find myself squinting a lot at the TV or to see something in the distance.  I can see it, I can read the signs but it's not clear and everything seems fuzzy and slightly blurry.

I knew that my eyes had been getting worse and so I kind of knew that by the time I made it to the eye doctor, things wouldn't be looking too good for me.  And true enough, he told me that not only are my dry eyes affecting my vision BUT the changes I'm experiencing are normal and unfortunately your eye sight does change with age.

I now have a prescription for bifocals.  Mainly to wear when I drive, or if I'm watching TV while doing crochet etc.  I know it's going to get some getting used to, having to go from wearing nothing to bifocals can't possibly be a simple adjustment, but for the joy of seeing perfectly clear, I will do whatever it takes.

We take our vision for granted when we don't have issues with it, but the minute it starts changing we suddenly become very aware of how much we need it, and how unbalanced we feel without it.

Just another new chapter in my life, after all, I am about to turn 40 in just a few months.

So tell me, did you notice a change in your vision as you approached your 40's? 
Do you wear bifocals and was it easy for you to adjust to?

7 comments:

Mary said...

I was prescibed bifocals when I was 47, they do take getting used to. You need to start out slowly, even going down stairs takes getting used to, and you might get dizzy. You need adapt to a new way of looking through the lenses. I resisted them for a year, which didn't help things.

Connie said...

Seems as if I've worn glasses or contacts most of my life. I am near-sighted. I just had cataract surgery recently. But I do need glasses with bifocals for reading. I also have the beginnings of glaucoma. I do drops morning and night. But you do what you need to do....it could be much worse. I have a brother who is legally blind. So I'm thankful for my sight.

Unknown said...

I am 42 and was given the option to get bifocals now or wait. I chose to get new glasses for distance only, but am regretting not getting bifocals because I need to take my glasses off whenever I need to see something up close. I'm interested to hear how well you do with them. I may check into having my lenses replaced before my next exam, but then again, I know bifocals are more expensive so that's something to consider. Keep us updated on how you do with the bifocals. :)

Simply Quaint said...

Welcome to the middle age era lol.. I started wearing readers at 40's my doctor prescribed me readers with bifocals but oh boy did I hate them....I just use cheap readers from the discount store, I have various strengths laying around I use the less strong to just do daily things stronger for reading, crocheting, stitching, painting etc...I have probably 10 pairs about the house and car... The joys of aging lol along with flapper arms, turkey neck, oh the list goes on...isn't it fun 😀 I just turned 49 in january it can only get better..... Have a wonderful weekend.....enjoy your easter....
Blessings
Rhonda

Mari said...

I've worn glasses since I was 7, and got bifocals when I was 47. It did seem weird at first but I adjusted quickly!

Kar said...

I had to get progressives a couple of months ago. Not my favorite. They are still a bit weird for me. I kept my regular ones for when I drive because I don't feel comfortable wearing the new ones driving. I'm still getting use to the new ones.

Rachel said...

I have had the same prescription since I was around 16 years old. This past year when I went to have my exam my eyes were slighly worse and the eye doc said it was because of age (I will be 35 soon)...so I guess I am in that realm of eye sight getting worse as I get older. Hope you adjust well to your new glasses!