Ow!

Hey, I'm still here. Sorta sick....but nothing to do with the virus. Awhile back I apparently scratched my eye. It went back and forth a bit, but then felt better. But, it started bothering me again last week. On Thursday I decided to go see the eye doctor. The last time I went for an eye exam and new glasses I went to the optometrist in Costco. I don't have a Costco membership anymore and really didn't want to deal with going to Costco anyway, so I looked online for another eye dr in that area (none in our tiny town, of course). I got in to see one later Thursday morning. He said my eye was scratched and prescribed me a steroid drop to use 4x a day for 4 days.

Nights have been awful. After I've been asleep a few hours my eye dries out and my eyelid was basically rubbing against it and instant pain. After seeing the eye dr on Thursday, Thursday and Friday nights were just as bad, if not worse. I figured at a minimum I needed some type of ointment to put in my eye during the night. I remembered when I had looked them up on their website it said they were open Saturdays, too, so I called first thing Saturday. I was told that starting Monday they were closing for 2 weeks due to the virus and they had no doctor in today (Saturday). I asked if the doctor could at least follow up with me with a phone call? to address an existing condition? Nope!
Wow. I get that they are closing down from seeing patients, but can't even do a phone consult with an exiting patient problem? That's pretty bad.

So, I get online to see if there is some other place open on Saturday morning. I need something to help me. I then notice that the eye doctor I had seen before, for my exam and glasses at Costco, had a different address. He apparently moved out into his own office a few months ago and I didn't not realize this (or I would have called him to begin with). His website also said he's closed now to routine visits but will be seeing emergency care only for a couple hours each morning. I called and he said to come in Saturday morning and he'd see me.

He was so much better than this other doctor! He said that steroid drops were not going to do much for me at all. He did what I kind of figured would happen. Put me on an antibiotic drop (he didn't see an infection, but just wanted to be sure/safe), a day time lubricating drops and then an ointment for night time. Come back in Monday morning. He also took a picture of my eye so he could compare Saturday to Monday and see if it's healing. He also said he may end up putting a contact lens over it, to help it heal, but wanted to make sure I get some antibiotics in my eye a couple of days, first. I had to go to Walgreens and get the prescription and the drops and ointment were a special OTC kind called Muro 128, that apparently only Walgreens carries. They had the ointment, but were out of the drops. The dr. had given me his cell ph# in case I had any issues finding the stuff, so I called him. He said to just use the ointment also during the day as well as at night. He said the ointment was more important and helpful to me at this point, anyway.

Saturday night was a little better, but I still had a point where I guess the ointment dried out enough that it "sloughed off" (as he referred to it) again. Pain. But, at least the pain didn't last as long as the previous nights had. Sunday it felt a little better. And all this time since Thursday my right eye is totally blurry. Can't read anything with it. Last night I decided to set my phone alarm for about every 2 to 2 1/2 hours so I could get up and put some more ointment in it, hoping to avoid the pain if it sloughs off again. (the pain is awful) I made it until about 4:30am (my next alarm time was 5am) and it did it again. I got up, put some more ointment in it and this time the pain only lasted 5-10 minutes, at least. (instead of an hour or more)

I went in to see him again this morning and he compared it to the picture from Saturday and it's has definitely improved, but still needs more to get all the way healed. He put the contact lens on it, so that now should really help let it heal, without my eyelid rubbing on it. I do have to go back again tomorrow morning, so he can take off the contact and take a look at it again. I can already see a little better with the eye today, so that is good, too.

Hopefully it is now heading the the right direction with healing up. At least it feels much better, comfort wise and I am actually glad that other doctor wouldn't follow up with me because I think this doctor is so much better and thorough. I'm glad he's not through Costco anymore and I'll just continue to still see him as my eye doctor going forward.

I've been taking off work since Thursday. It's just too hard to sit at my computer for very long. I did this post in like 3 different sessions. Please excuse any typos (or any more than usual)

Next post..........the shed/chicken coop project.