Like a sharp stick in the eye
Jun. 25th, 2009 14:50![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torquillI went to the eye doctor today. My insurance runs out July 1, so I figured I should get in quickly.
The doctor was quite pleasant, but brisk enough that I didn't ask what he was doing when he gave me drops and a dab to each eye (other than checking to make sure they weren't dilating drops, as I had to drive home). Two minutes after that, as he went to get something, I had a full-blown panic attack. Sure enough, he had given me an anesthetic, and I had the panic reaction I have to almost all topical anesthetics. (We discussed it, and he finally put "anesthetic" under my allergies list... it was the simplest notation we could think of.) The good news is that it was over in about five minutes, and he was able to do the glaucoma test.
I was borderline on the glaucoma test, and with my high prescription, he got very insistent that I get checked out. The result was no great surprise to me, because 1) my dad has the same result simply because he has thick corneas (and I suspect I got it from him), and 2) when has my body ever been standard? I'm not concerned, despite how much I use my eyes, as I suspect that even if I have high pressure, I doubt anything would develop from it for decades yet. But that's just my gut feeling, knowing how my body works.
So they crammed me in for another appointment tomorrow when I'll get the full workup. I also ordered lenses, which are insanely expensive there -- but I didn't like Costco when I went there, and Lenscrafters (which used to be my usual) cleans with 409 now. So I ended up shelling out over $500 for lenses, the insurance picked up the frames; I suspect the frames maxed out the coverage by themselves, so I'm left with the lens expense. There's a reason I don't get glasses more often than every four years or so. *sigh*
So I'm flagged as a patient at risk for glaucoma, unless something tomorrow clears me -- and I may react further to the drops etc. they're using. Wheeeeeeeeee....
Edit: Almost forgot about the first thing... while I was filling out forms, I noted that the release consent form referred to a sheet detailing their privacy practices which accompanied the form... but I could find no such document. I asked, and the receptionist handed me another copy of the office policies. When I asked for the privacy policy, she said, "oh, that's what you're signing." I begged to differ (there was nothing talking about what information they share, nor specifically with whom, nor what happens if they get a court order etc.), but all I could get out of her was "those papers, that you're signing, those are the privacy policy." She looked like she could get very irritated fairly quickly, so I dropped it, but I did find it amusing.
The doctor was quite pleasant, but brisk enough that I didn't ask what he was doing when he gave me drops and a dab to each eye (other than checking to make sure they weren't dilating drops, as I had to drive home). Two minutes after that, as he went to get something, I had a full-blown panic attack. Sure enough, he had given me an anesthetic, and I had the panic reaction I have to almost all topical anesthetics. (We discussed it, and he finally put "anesthetic" under my allergies list... it was the simplest notation we could think of.) The good news is that it was over in about five minutes, and he was able to do the glaucoma test.
I was borderline on the glaucoma test, and with my high prescription, he got very insistent that I get checked out. The result was no great surprise to me, because 1) my dad has the same result simply because he has thick corneas (and I suspect I got it from him), and 2) when has my body ever been standard? I'm not concerned, despite how much I use my eyes, as I suspect that even if I have high pressure, I doubt anything would develop from it for decades yet. But that's just my gut feeling, knowing how my body works.
So they crammed me in for another appointment tomorrow when I'll get the full workup. I also ordered lenses, which are insanely expensive there -- but I didn't like Costco when I went there, and Lenscrafters (which used to be my usual) cleans with 409 now. So I ended up shelling out over $500 for lenses, the insurance picked up the frames; I suspect the frames maxed out the coverage by themselves, so I'm left with the lens expense. There's a reason I don't get glasses more often than every four years or so. *sigh*
So I'm flagged as a patient at risk for glaucoma, unless something tomorrow clears me -- and I may react further to the drops etc. they're using. Wheeeeeeeeee....
Edit: Almost forgot about the first thing... while I was filling out forms, I noted that the release consent form referred to a sheet detailing their privacy practices which accompanied the form... but I could find no such document. I asked, and the receptionist handed me another copy of the office policies. When I asked for the privacy policy, she said, "oh, that's what you're signing." I begged to differ (there was nothing talking about what information they share, nor specifically with whom, nor what happens if they get a court order etc.), but all I could get out of her was "those papers, that you're signing, those are the privacy policy." She looked like she could get very irritated fairly quickly, so I dropped it, but I did find it amusing.
