I have no eyes, yet I must read the Dope

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Actually, I do have eyes. No offense to the blind or eyeless intended. But I do have iritis aka uveitis and it really hurts to open my eyes because I am very light sensitive. Yet here I am with a pair of dark sunglasses on and peeking at the screen with my less painful right eye by opening it a crack for a few seconds. I could wait until later to read the Dope after a few doses of my eye drops kick in, it’s usually better later in the day. It’s always much worse in the morning, but I have to go to work in 30 minutes and I think that trying to use my eyes will get them working sooner - I’m probably wrong, resting my eyes is probably the best option but I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep.

I had pneumonia recently, too (yes, I’m a mess) and although I attempted to read the Dope I was just too sick. I could only sit up for a few minutes and I couldn’t focus my brain. I could only manage a quick trip through the forums each time.

So, anyway, anyone want to commisserate, or tell their heroic stories of “I must read the Dope now despite a) being eaten by rabid squirrels b) skydiving without a parachute c) being in the Marianas Trench d) Other, explain.”?
[sub]Yes I have seen an eye doctor and go back tomorrow for a recheck. I have expensive eyedrops and I also know the connection of iritis to other disorders which I am having checked out on Monday by another doctor.[/sub]

2

This sounds like the awkwardly worded sequel to I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream*

*Which would make a REALLY good title for a future Dilbert collection.

3

The best I can do is, I have blearily but happily read the Dope when it was really, really late and I ought to have gone to bed.

4

That was the intent but I guess I should have replaced the “yet” with “and”, I blame my squintiness and pain.

Trying to function with a semi-permanent squint at least lets me know what it must be like for Renee Zellweiger.

5

Didn’t we used to have a member who was blind and used a screenreader or something?

6

If you don’t mind and can squint your way through it, can you give me an idea what this looks/feels like when it starts - my daughter was diagnosed with JRA two years ago and we go every four months to get her eyes looked at (Uveitis is the major problem with her type of JRA).

I know her eye would be very red - but I am always so worried that I will miss something, or mistake a case of pinkeye for it…

7

Not to make light of your situation (pun not intended), however the combo of your screen name, unusual hobby and your current condition, I would suggest laying off the Roadrunner… :slight_smile:

8

Does drunk posting count?

9

I had iritis once. Did they give you the drops that paralyze the pupil? Freak out your friends and loved ones!

10

Have you tried using pinhole glasses? They are better than squinting, and if you do it right they don’t let in much light, and so function like dark glasses in limiting light flux. I don’t recommend them for long-term use or as a substitute for eyeglasses, but for temporary use when you’ve got dilated pupils they might be just the thing.
You can buy them off the internet, or, much more cheaply, make your own by putting heavy cardboard or aluminum foil in an eyeglass frame and punching a regular series of holes with a needle or tack. You might want to put some sort of light block around the edges as well, if your eyes are sensitive.

11

My bladder is full to bursting yet I must read the Dope.

12

Didn’t the end of that story end with the main character turned into a gelatinous blob of jiggly but thinking goo? That’s pretty much what the Dope has done to me.

13

It actually hit me fast. I woke up Saturday morning and thought I was having sinus problems because everytime I went near a window or door I felt a lot of pressure around my eyes, like the pressure of a sinus headache. It was like a punch in the face. I didn’t really notice the redness until the next day. I looked stoned, my eyes were sort of bloodshot but the schlera was more of a pinkish color and it looked a little puffy. I tried decongestants still thinking it was sinuses, but the light sensitivity got worse and so did the pinkness and puffiness in the eye. The pain was so bad I was having trouble opening my eyes in the morning and decided I needed to see an eye doctor.

I had pinkeye when I was a kid and I remember it feeling like I had a bunch of sand and grit in my eyes and they were very itchy. My eyes really aren’t itchy with this and the pain in my eyes is more like severe eyestrain - until light hits them and then it’s that whapped in the face feeling.

14

Sounds familiar. I started going blind from rapidly developing cataracts late last year, and had 3 surgeries in May and June to get it fixed.

15

My eyes hemorrhaged overnight in 2002. I am now legally blind, but can see a little. I must compute/watch video with one eye closed. I can sympathize with your problem. My eyes are light sensitive as well. The only thing that helps consistently is using Firefox and hitting <ctrl>+<+> until the font is large enough for my eyes at the time.
Best of luck, SDMB eyestrain is a painfull fact of life…

HSM

16

Wow, that’s scary. I’m sorry to hear that happened to you. I’m hoping that my problem is only going to be temporary but if there is another underlying cause it could recur.

I did not know that about the Firefox trick, so thanks for that info.
ETA: I saw the eye doctor today, the inflammation is not better but that could be because I could not read the tiny writing that said “shake vigorously” and for a couple days I was probably using diluted drops. He gave me atropine to dilate my eyes and help with the pain. So now my eyes look really freaky.