Category: How I’m Adapting

Posted in How I'm Adapting, No category yet

What I think about it all at this moment

Posted on by One Vision
One of the hobbies I loved doing and which I turned into a business at one point was drawing and painting.

I’m going to give it a go.

One day, I’m going to look through my big box of jewellery making and see if I can not get frustrated, as the last time I tried to it wound me up. Gave in and just stopped making anything.

The way I make it I have to draw on a plastic sheet. Suppose it would be better doing this now as I can’t wait any longer or else I don’t know how long I will be able to.

If I’m not under pressure making items to sell then maybe the teddy won’t be thrown out of the cot. The way you have to do it is quite precise, it’s not me thinking that I won’t be able to, it’s just that I don’t trust my eyes anymore.

I have canvasses I can paint on. Should try this again.

Last year I painted a canvass and enjoyed it but my eyesight has gone through a period of decline which I think it has stabilised for the moment.

I’ve read about this happening but the progression has been slow up until last year. The changes have been slight and I could adjust to them. My brain working things out and me slowly sometimes without noticing, changing habits.

Especially the last 6 months have been surprising the stuff that’s been happening. To the point where you suddenly realise this isn’t just going to go away.

This is why this blog emerged, from those moments. What put the ‘tin lid on it’ as my lovely Dad would say was the comment ‘your right eye is now classed as partially sighted’ comment a few weeks ago.
Before that the seeing things that aren’t what I thought they were more often. The black blob appearing more often. The weird eye thing trying to focus, tilting the screen when I’m reading. It’s harder in the darkness when you are walking around.
I’m feeling coins now if I’m stressed or tired. Didn’t do that before.

All more often.

I came out of that appointment different. Sounds dramatic, not meant to, but it changed me somehow. As this frightening condition was actually there. Here it goes. It’s now affecting me, slightly but it the start of what I’ve been scared of. I’m in it now, the race has begun.

But this is the best my vision will be the very moment I type this. So I have to do what I want to do now. Think that last appointment shocked me. Was on the bus on the way home glad there were people around me so I couldn’t cry. Because its like an answer to my question from May 2015 when I was diagnosed.

I researched, asked, tried desperately to find out how long I had before I would then be finding things harder.

5 to 15 years I read.

Its quite an odd feeling. Going from 20/20 vision to 20/80 right eye, 20/60 left. Since then and I reckon that’s what all that instability with my eyes over the last 6 months was.

It’s knocked my confidence, I fear I won’t have a relationship, people will treat me differently or avoid me, thinking ‘at least it isn’t me’, who will want me being like this, when I can’t do stuff, but I’m on my own, I’m scared. but I have to battle on, there is no other option,and I always hold out for good news at my next appointment.

This isn’t meant to be a depressing post.

Just an honest one.

I’m OK. I’m lucky and appreciate the way I am now without too many problems regarding eyesight. It\’s when you cannot work a way around a problem that then WILL become a problem for me.

There is no point moaning about it as in the future I will wish I was at this stage now.

Posted in Glasses, How I'm Adapting

But stronger glasses will help though won’t they?

Posted on by One Vision
Photograph of a pair of large rimmed tortoiseshell coloured glasses
But stronger glasses will help won’t they?
I love my reading glasses.
Panic if I can’t find them.
Not because they are especially fantastic or designer or anything like that. But they enhance and help my little eyes work things out and see better. At some point they won\’t. Until that point, I will make use of them best I can. So at the moment, it\’s all good ☺
They won’t repair and fill in the tiny blind spot that I have. Or will make any floaters that turn up temporarily, disappear.
But they do help so far.
It’s not just blurriness either, there is a double vision sometimes. Usually at the end of these day or through stress and tiredness.
People with the condition like me will have to study the words. I find it easier reading online as you can adjust the size of the font and zoom in.
Seeing pictures of a similar colour is hard. Every picture you show me has to be zoomed in so I can study it. Really detailed pictures take a bit of time to understand what’s happening. I may even ask you what it is so I can ‘see’ it.
This is all with my reading glasses on.
I bought them a year ago. They aren’t as good as they were but better than nothing, a lot better.
The floaters I have are grey to dark and don’t appear that often, more about these later in another post as they can make your vision puzzling and amusing sometimes.
I have started to clean with my glasses on as I’m paranoid I’m missing something. So they give me a bit more detail and can’t imagine not having them.
Posted in Glasses, How I'm Adapting

Visually impaired and labels

Posted on by One Vision
Woman holds up a hanger with a question mark on the labels
If I have my reading glasses I can cope with font that is a reasonable size.

If I haven’t got them on because I usually have my sunglasses on or distance glasses that aren’t good for the distance anymore really, I’m a bit lost.

In certain clothes shops they have a colour for sizes and I remember the colour on the hanger as I wander around.

Makeup has the smallest font that only someone with superhuman powers can see. I don’t think you have to have eye problems to have difficulty, so just mainly stare and hold it up close, move it around different angles and now I’ve started to ask people what the blumming colour is. I haven’t done this until recently as I was still in hiding.

I have a magnifying keyring on my keys but will not use that yet. At times I’ve not got what I wanted just because I cannot make out ingredients. Mainly as my son is vegan I look for food that may interest him to cook, but doesn’t have dairy in the ingredients.

It’s a good job I’m not allergic to any foods. That must be hard for someone who is. So I’m lucky that way.

One day I wanted a fish finger sandwich. Been shopping the day before and couldn’t read the jar properly. So off I went with my little jar of tartare thinking what a treat for my tea.

Sat down with my fish finger and horseradish sauce sandwich 😕 just because back then I wouldn’t ask.