Living with Vision/Eye Issues

I am not yet 50 yrs. old, and have never had diabetes just “bad” eyes.
I have been near-sighted since second grade. My eye doctor suggested I try hard contacts in 8th grade to slow down the progress of myopia. This helped some, but my eyesight continued to worsen throughout my teens, twenties, (childbirth) and thirties. I now have a prescription of -10 in my left and -8.5 in my right. I have mild astigmatisms in both eyes. I first became aware of “floaters” in grade school. By the time I was in my early forties, I had complete posterior vitreous detachment (PVD) in my right eye and nearly complete PVD in my left. It seemed to happen suddenly - driving, reading, even making out faces over ten feet away became extremely difficult, due to the excessively large floaters.

I saw a specialist who agreed to remove the vitreous fluid (and floaters) from my R eye, but would not operate on the L eye due to chance of making my vision even worse. Within six months, the L eye also had complete PVD. Amazingly both PVD was without any retina tearing on either eye. I had the surgery on my R eye and was very pleased with the results. Clear vision at last!

Before the surgery, I had begun developing presbyopia in my right eye. Two years after the surgery, both the myopia and presbyopia worsened in the R eye. The myopia by -.5. For the presbyopia, I now wear reading glasses (power of 2) along with soft contacts in both eyes. I tried bifocal contacts but found them very uncomfortable. I have tri-focal glasses to wear when not wearing contacts, but find them more difficult to function with outside of the home.

Along with this, I developed facial rosacea in my thirties. That progressed, even with treatment, into blepharitis in my eyelids. I now use a baby shampoo to wash regularly but after five years have noticed a loss of at least half of my eyelashes. I also have a dry R eye since the surgery, and just recently began wearing a silicone contact in that eye. It helps. I have a wonderful optometrist who really works with me. My specialist who did my surgery was also very, very good.

Eight years before my surgery I acquired my B.A. degree, began a new career, then suddenly went through early menopause for no known reason. I have other health issues, but I’ll stick to the eyesight, here. After my eye surgery I was even able to acquire my M.A. degree. I thank God every day for my blessings. I have a full-time career and a wonderful family - even grandchildren! Bottom line–Never give up hope, and NEVER stop “looking” at the true beauty in your everyday life.