I have no idea if I spelt 'opthomologist' right, it's the specialist eye doctor that your optometrist referrs you to if you have special types of diseases that may effect your eyes. Like diabetes.
I do happen to have diabetes, so I get the referral, get an appointment and my dad takes the day off work to drive me down and back, because y'know, they're going to put drops in your eyes that relax the muscles of your iris which, in turn, dilates your pupil to its hugest diameter so that the good doctor can shine a light into it and look at the back of your eyeballs. All of the back of your eyeballs.
When you first get the drops in, it stings a little. I am not the best eyedrop patient, I blink, a lot, and half of the drop goes into my eye at the best of times, but Dr Wu (that's his name!) pulled down my lower eyelids and cheated! He put it in the little pouch and then let my eyelids relax. There was no escape! Aaaah. Okay so there's the tingly burning sensation type thing and he sends me back out to wait fifteen minutes or so for the drops to work.
First indication that they -are- working is that the outside is becoming very very painfully bright. Like the daylight outside looked sort of like ...y'know... the white paint behind a fluro light. And my dad started teasing me about being on drugs and high because clearly, my pupils were dilated.
Think of it this way. This, o.o is your eyes normally. O.O that is your eyes on this dilation thing. And you can't get them back to o.o because the dilation thing has made them temporarily forget how. So he shines the light in my eyes and I see stripes for thirty seconds afterwards, but, good news! My eyes are fine (aside from needing glasses, apparently I have 20/20 vision, whatever that means) so I'll see him in 2 years time and we'll be all sweet and dandy. ...And I am progressively able to focus less and less on stuff.
And then we go OUTSIDE. Oh god. I figured, because y'know, I was managing alright without sunnies on as it stands, inside, that I'd be alright outside. Uh-huh. My eyes immediately went squinty in the sunlight and then shut completely. I could manage point fuckall glances through my eyelashes to try and make sure I didn't walk into shit, and my dad very helpfully guided me to the car, where I then put on my sunnies. And they stayed on.
We went to the shops, and I was like some crazy person with my sunnies on inside. We wandered around a bit (and the colour of the air wasn't any different to if I -weren't- wearing them, normally) did some shopping, got some lunch, and then went to go back to the car.
Hisss. Daylight. Sunlight. Hiss!
Back to the car, in the car, and driving home. I can't focus on jack so I'm just sitting there, watching the scenery go by, and periodically drop the sunnies down to be blinded. Just for kicks and giggles, clearly, to try and see how well my pupils were getting back into the undilated thing. I went to the chemist to get some medication (legit drugs man!) and had the chemist there going 'oh god' because I looked high as balls with my pupils still all bugged out. Oiye.
And now I am home! It is 4pm, I'm sitting in the loungeroom with the curtains drawn, which block out 70% of the sunlight and I am quite comfortable and capable of seeing easily (apart from where there is a gap in the curtains and the vile sunlight is leaking through) to the extent where my dad, as he left for karate, called me a freaking bat. :D
So that's the adventures for today. Oh! I got the complete works of HP Lovecraft to add to my growing collection of collected books. You know. hardcovers of classics that any good library HAS to have. Edgar Allen Poe. The Odessy, The Illiad... stuff like that. So. Glorious. My literature e-peen is growing so big.
~Think of the Possibilities.
I do happen to have diabetes, so I get the referral, get an appointment and my dad takes the day off work to drive me down and back, because y'know, they're going to put drops in your eyes that relax the muscles of your iris which, in turn, dilates your pupil to its hugest diameter so that the good doctor can shine a light into it and look at the back of your eyeballs. All of the back of your eyeballs.
When you first get the drops in, it stings a little. I am not the best eyedrop patient, I blink, a lot, and half of the drop goes into my eye at the best of times, but Dr Wu (that's his name!) pulled down my lower eyelids and cheated! He put it in the little pouch and then let my eyelids relax. There was no escape! Aaaah. Okay so there's the tingly burning sensation type thing and he sends me back out to wait fifteen minutes or so for the drops to work.
First indication that they -are- working is that the outside is becoming very very painfully bright. Like the daylight outside looked sort of like ...y'know... the white paint behind a fluro light. And my dad started teasing me about being on drugs and high because clearly, my pupils were dilated.
Think of it this way. This, o.o is your eyes normally. O.O that is your eyes on this dilation thing. And you can't get them back to o.o because the dilation thing has made them temporarily forget how. So he shines the light in my eyes and I see stripes for thirty seconds afterwards, but, good news! My eyes are fine (aside from needing glasses, apparently I have 20/20 vision, whatever that means) so I'll see him in 2 years time and we'll be all sweet and dandy. ...And I am progressively able to focus less and less on stuff.
And then we go OUTSIDE. Oh god. I figured, because y'know, I was managing alright without sunnies on as it stands, inside, that I'd be alright outside. Uh-huh. My eyes immediately went squinty in the sunlight and then shut completely. I could manage point fuckall glances through my eyelashes to try and make sure I didn't walk into shit, and my dad very helpfully guided me to the car, where I then put on my sunnies. And they stayed on.
We went to the shops, and I was like some crazy person with my sunnies on inside. We wandered around a bit (and the colour of the air wasn't any different to if I -weren't- wearing them, normally) did some shopping, got some lunch, and then went to go back to the car.
Hisss. Daylight. Sunlight. Hiss!
Back to the car, in the car, and driving home. I can't focus on jack so I'm just sitting there, watching the scenery go by, and periodically drop the sunnies down to be blinded. Just for kicks and giggles, clearly, to try and see how well my pupils were getting back into the undilated thing. I went to the chemist to get some medication (legit drugs man!) and had the chemist there going 'oh god' because I looked high as balls with my pupils still all bugged out. Oiye.
And now I am home! It is 4pm, I'm sitting in the loungeroom with the curtains drawn, which block out 70% of the sunlight and I am quite comfortable and capable of seeing easily (apart from where there is a gap in the curtains and the vile sunlight is leaking through) to the extent where my dad, as he left for karate, called me a freaking bat. :D
So that's the adventures for today. Oh! I got the complete works of HP Lovecraft to add to my growing collection of collected books. You know. hardcovers of classics that any good library HAS to have. Edgar Allen Poe. The Odessy, The Illiad... stuff like that. So. Glorious. My literature e-peen is growing so big.
~Think of the Possibilities.
