Doctor Visit Results

Good afternoon!  At least I think it's afternoon.  I'm not sure of anything I'm seeing anymore.  Yes, I picked up my no-line bifocals from the eye doctor yesterday.  The technician smiled brightly & said "Let's give them a try, shall we?"  What choice did I have?  I put them on & she disappeared into a cloud.  I looked at the poster on the wall behind her.  Another cloud.  I looked down on the counter & thought "How did all these stupid clouds get in here?!?!?"  However, it did not appear that I was seeing things in a bowl.  When she said "What do you think?" I politely replied "I think it's too soon to tell if they're going to work for me or not."  She then said "Well, give them a couple days & if you aren't happy just bring them back & we'll do something else for you."  I'm sure she'll be seeing me again very soon.  I'm wearing them now but I honestly can't read what I'm typing.  These particular no-lines have 3 "tiers."  The top half of the lenses is supposed to correct my distance sight.  If I look through them to see something across the room & try really hard to notice a difference between looking at whatever is there through the glasses & then looking at whatever is there without them, there appears to be such an infinitesimal bit of difference between the two that I really can't say it's worth the bother.  The bottom half of the lenses is divided into the remaining 2 tiers.  I have no idea what the largest tier in this area (the top part, about 3/4 of this half of the lenses) is supposed to correct.  It doesn't help me see what is written on my computer screen, anything beyond that, & nothing closer than that as far as I can tell.  The remaining sliver of a tier at the very bottom of the lenses ... & it is a teeny, tiny sliver ... sort of helps me see a couple words on the computer screen which are directly in the center of my vision.  All other words to the left, right, top, & bottom are cloudy.  I also have to tilt my head up a bit toward the ceiling in order to look through this slivered area & if this were to continue I can just see myself before too long making trips to the chiropractor or physical therapist in order to have neck adjustments.  I should not (should not, SHOULD NOT) have let that eye doctor talk me into trying no-lines again but I thought perhaps since they were being made by a different company than the ones I tried last year they would be different.  They really aren't.  Another trip to Lexington is on the horizon.  Sigh!

The visit to my regular doctor was also interesting but in a different sort of way.  You may remember that a couple months ago she suspected that I have Lyme disease.  She ordered lab tests which confirmed this.  I, however, knew better & said there must be some mistake.  When I came home, Googled Lyme disease & read several articles about it, I was even more convinced that I do not have this malady.  My doctor has the patience of Job & ended up letting me have labs done a total of 3 times (using 2 different lab facilities) & yesterday I was told that the third series of lab tests likewise revealed Lyme disease.  I told her okay, I would give in ... she can treat me for Lyme disease.  However, she has also now discovered that I'm anemic (I guess this is unusual for a postmenopausal woman) & I have some type of inflammatory process going on somewhere in my body.  I cannot start the treatment for Lyme disease (which is just a very long course of low-dose antibiotics) until we take care of the inflammation & anemia so the next month will be spent working on those 2 things & then we'll take it from there.  We also talked about how I've allowed myself to gain back half the weight I lost last year.  She told me I need to focus on a healthy diet again which means no more dinners like this.

This truly was my dinner the other night.  No, I'm not kidding.  John insisted I take a picture of it to share with everyone.  In what I know is my pitiful defense, we had a big lunch that day & neither of us were wanting a big dinner.  I think John had opted for a simple cheese sandwich.  This was my choice.  Anyway, no more dinners like this apparently but we won't be focusing on a healthy diet until after the anemia & inflammation are taken care of.  I just sat in her office shaking my head.  I have got to be the poster child for strange ailments.  This doctor is always telling me how I challenge her & what a fascinating patient I am.  As we were ending our visit I said "You ought to do a case study on me."  She smiled & said "I am."  I guess my physical condition will be providing me with my 15 minutes of fame when I will be focused upon in her next book.  

More lab tests today but that should be the extent of ... oh wait.  I forgot about having to return to Lexington to visit the eye doctor's office again.  Surely there will come a time when all these visits will be a thing of the past?  I hope so!