day after surgery

I woke up with my eye feeling much better.  I went to the doctor for a scheduled check, and I could read the 20-20 line on the eye chart.  I was very happy.

But living with one eye fixed and the other not is a mess.  I got fed up with wearing my glasses and having my brain trying to put together a clear image and a totally fuzzy image, so I asked the optical shop at the doctor's office to pop the lens out of my glasses on the side that is fixed. I also  bought $6 reading glasses and sunglasses at Dollar General.

The doctor was right that it wouldn't work to take one lens out of my glasses because the size and angle of the two sides would be too different.  I had a lot of double vision trying to wear them that way walking around.  It might work better than anything else if I were sitting still doing close work, but I didn't get much chance to try that because I put the glasses in my purse just in a soft case and they broke (they were 4 or 5 years old).  Outdoors I find the sunglasses a big help--wearing just non-prescription sunglasses and using the good eye is working well for me.  For reading and the computer I am struggling to get used to using reading glasses that only work for one eye.  It is doable, but not fun.

Getting used to reading glasses is hard.  I am someone who adjusted smoothly to progressive lenses, so I am used to having the whole range from distance to closeup just by tilting my head.  I needed to buy different reading glasses for my laptop than for actually reading.  And what am I supposed to do about eating?  It is nice to be able to see my food clearly, but then I can't see my family members as clearly.

I may in the end decide that I want a pair of glasses with progressive lenses, particularly for things like cooking and eating.  But I want to wait a few months and let my vision fully settle in, and get used to using reading glasses.  For now, I'm tired and discouraged (just for the moment--I know it will be better in the morning).  I did too much today--was out of the house almost all day.

Posts in this series (reverse chronological order):
Eye Surgery Follow-up
Brain Adjustment
Second Vision Correction Surgery
The Week Between Surgeries
Day after Surgery
First Surgery
Refractive Lens Exchange