Eye Freak

My eyes are fine. I'm turning 40. Apparently that means the eyes stop working properly. Or more accurately, many people's eyes lose their ability to focus around the age of 40. I need reading glasses and "progressive lenses." I hope they come soon and that they will enable me to read and focus and will stop my eyes from aching. (Although I have had 3 good days of no pain, for which I am truly grateful.)

I am an eye doctor freak. Actually, I'm an eye freak. I can't even hear about other people's eye problems without starting to get antsy and needing to leave the room. Just talking about eye problems too much can make me light-headed. And then there are the eye drops. I always warn them. I let them know when I make my appointment that I'm a passing out person. I give them fair warning that I can't do drops. The eye doctors who don't heed me always end up getting out the smelling salts. I thought I was safe this time because they have a camera that for $30 extra dollars will take pictures of your eyes so they don't have to be dilated. I thought I was safe.

But no. They wanted to check my eye pressure. The doctor asked me if drops would make me pass out. I said yes. (He very kindly had not worn his white coat because he thought maybe that made me nervous. Could of left the coat on. Should have not tried the drops.) I told him he was welcome to try but that I was known for passing out. Yellow dye. Within a minute of him getting the drops in, my eyes started to feel horrible. My face got hot and I got lightheaded. This has happened so many times that I feel the symptoms coming on. He started to move the testing equipment toward me. I put my head between my knees. For about 15 minutes while the dye made my eyes feel terrible pressure, I couldn't sit up without getting dizzy. I didn't pass out, but he couldn't do the test because I couldn't sit up without passing out. He got me some water, was calm and kind and said he'd pushed things by trying the drops.

Why don't they listen? Only one eye doctor has listened. He is in GA in my parents' town. My chart is flagged with orange stickies alerting everyone to my freakishness. But he never puts drops in. I have passed out in his office, but it was from something different, and he remained very calm and waited for me to recover. He's just too far away though. And each time I go to a new place, they think that they will be the ones who can get the drops in with no problems. I wish I wasn't an eye freak. But I am. If they would only believe me.