Category: Hospital Appointments

Posted in Hospital Appointments, My Tests Explained

My Hospital Appointment – ERG test – Electroretinography Part 2

Posted on by One Vision
Photograph of a womans eye with white dot sensors around the eye. Electroretinography
So, this is sort of what an ERG ( Electroretinography) test is.
Did you wince? ☺
First of all you have some anesthetic drops popped in your eyes.
A cotton/hair thickness wire is then put to your eye and pads put on your face. Forehead and at each temple.
Around 5 wires run from your head to be plugged into a machine.
Then you have to look at the flashing chequered grid for sometime.
After this, dilating drops are put in your eyes.
Then you sit in the dark without doing anything to let your eyes become accustomed to the darkness.
The next machine is like the visual field test I had.
You place your chin and face into the machine, then for about 20 minutes, white light pulsing and flashes at intervals.
You have to stare at a small red light and not blink while it flashes. You get a countdown to the next set of lights so you can time your blinking.
After that, it’s done, so you are unplugged.
Felt like an eyelash was annoying me in both eyes but it wasn’t as bad as I first thought.
It was more uncomfortable with the bright light. Which I’m photophobic anyway now as light hurts my eyes, hence part of why I’m having these tests for.
This tests finds out the condition and health of the light sensors in your retina, By electrical responses.
They feel better now but still slightly painful 2 days later.
Posted in Hospital Appointments

My Hospital Appointment – ERG test – Electroretinography Part 1

Posted on by One Vision
A close up of my green eye. With dilated pupils due to Electroretinography test
My dilated pupils today for my ERG test. Which was very interesting and abit like something out of a 70s sci-fi show and was all abit Clockwork Orange.
I will explain more in another post but had sensors put inside my lower eyelids and across the eyeballs, on each eye.
Anyone that knows me will know know how freaked out I was about this 😕 especially when the letter said wires… In eyes.
Then, pads put around my eyes and forehead were then plugged into a machine by coloured wires from the pads on my face ☺
Posted in Hospital Appointments

My Hospital Appointment – Consultant

Posted on by One Vision
Photograph of trees with autumn leaves
Photograph of a Holly Bush with red berries
Photograph of trees in a park in autumn
Photograph of trees, by a path with autumn leaves on it
Well in an complete anticlimax and now like a cliffhanger episode, dallas style… I won’t get the results till after my ERG test and when I actually see the main man.
Today, I saw the lady who diagnosed me the first time I went to the eye centre.
Had the drops, had the visual acuity test, macular photography then went in to see her.
There is slightly more damage to my Macular which shows a hereditary Macular Dystrophy pattern. Which one that is unknown as yet. The most common is Stargardts Disease.
I haven’t had any results from the tests yet, so this was just a comparison with earlier macula photography.
There are some dystrophies that cause total blindness, I didn’t know this and today was an interim check up to keep an eye on things… Doctors words… not mine ☺ see what she did there.
So, I have to wait.
So the walk back was interesting. Emotionally.
She said there is nothing they can do with a genetic eye disease as yet.
If you ever win the lottery, then chuck some to the Macular Society. It’s the only way they can find a cure to stop this getting worse.
I was angry, and abit upset, and I’m frightened to be honest but at the moment ignorance is bliss.
But then after seeing a squirrel for a bit and meeting a lovely person I haven’t seen for a while and coming home without my gloves and hat, because I gave them to Dawn, who’s need is greater than mine, I loved my little old eyes again because they have lasted this long regardless, in quite an epic way really.