Dang my eyes - a whiney post

That might work for some of you, but I've asked several eye doctors
about this, and they say that's not true. Too much can "strain" your
eyes, however. But, that's different than doing a task and having it
deteriorate (in physical terms) our vision.

I find that 20- to 30-minute increments and resting in between is much
better than sitting for hours . . . which I can't do anyway. Not my nature.

Dianne

Russell Miller wrote:
My experience is much the same! I blame it wholly on my needlwork
though. The more hours I spend at it, the worse my eyesight gets. But
take a few weeks away from it, and you'll find your eyesight improves!

Maureen In Vancouver, B.C.

dutchie wrote:

Hi all

I haven't posted for awhile, but still read the group a lot. I used
to be the type of person that would sit for hours working on my
stitching. I have a wonderful wedding sampler next to the couch, that
is already 1 1/2 years too late for a wedding gift. I have to swing
my Lowrey over to sit on the couch. In other words, it's in my face
every day. So how come I haven't wanted to work on it? Or anything
else, for that matter? Because in the past year my eyesight has
gotten so bad it's depressing to try to stitch. One year ago I didn't
need reading glasses, but now I can't do anything without them. I
know it's age, but it got so bad so fast I'm scared that I won't be
able to see to do anything at all someday. I just have a pair of
glasses from the dime store, not prescription. Putting them on and
trying to stitch just reminds me of how I suddenly got old
overnight....

I guess I'm looking for reassurance of some kind. I don't even know
what kind!

Thanks for letting me drop in and whine.

Dutchie

Dianne Lewandowski wrote in message ...
That might work for some of you, but I've asked several eye doctors
about this, and they say that's not true. Too much can "strain" your
eyes, however. But, that's different than doing a task and having it
deteriorate (in physical terms) our vision.

I find that 20- to 30-minute increments and resting in between is much
better than sitting for hours . . . which I can't do anyway. Not my nature.

Dianne


Oh did I strain my eyes doing needlework. I had just been laid off
and was doing resumes and needlework 8-10 hours a day (more needlework
than resumes) for about 10 days. On day 11 it hurt to focus from near
to far and to turn my eyes up and down. After resting - no TV,
reading, stitching- for a couple of days I was fine. Now I stitch
with the TV on and look up at the sound of squealing tires, breaking
glass etc. which provides a lot of rest given today's programming. I
also will focus progressively closer if I'm having a problem with
close work or hold it just closer than comfortable. It seems to help
the muscles that focus - at least for now.
A woman in my church had a form of lazy eye as a child. Her eyes
tracked together but only one eye would focus and relay info to her
brain. The doctor recommended a specialist who used a device to make
her see an object with one eye and then draw it using only the "bad"
eye to see with. Not only did she become a graphic artist but didn't
need reading glasses until her sixties because she did the excercises
from her childhood as a habit.
I've always had to use magnification for Brazilian embroidery and
anything on a dark background. The dark background is understandable
but I still can't figure out why Brazilian. I use rayon threads in
other techniques and don't need it. I don't mind but it's rather
curious.

Anne

Dutchie,

i second the motion that an eye exam - with or without glaucoma should not
be painful! either tell that practitioner that they put you off your
checkups or go elsewhere. these days, most practitioners here no longer use
the little instrument that sits on the eyeball to measure eye pressure
(tonometer I think it is called) but rather a machine that uses a puff of
air and measures the bounce back - weird, but not painful. And the other,
older machine is supposed to be used with numbing medicine in the eye -
which may sting momentarily, but should not be painful.

Others have posted about not ignoring your visits or self-diagnosing and eye
strain and needlework. All valid information. We should all change our
focal point every 20 minutes or so (commercials on TV happen about every 10
minutes) to let the tiny muscles that focus our lens relax or change their
contraction length. Exercising these muscles will actually improve vision
at all focal lengths. It is important to go from close-up to far to
intermediate. Try to find a straight line like a tree trunk, telephone
pole, corner of building etc and really look at it for at least 20-30
seconds and make it come into sharp focus when doing extended close-up.

And finally - the final result may not be glasses for those who have never
worn glasses, or already wear contacts. Over the past year, my close-up
vision really deteriorated and outgrew my arms. G This was especially
noticeable in the three-four months from March to July. I finally went for
a checkup and am in bifocal contacts - not mono vision with different
strengths in different eyes, but true multifocal contact lenses. My brand
are concentric circles of different strengths...-3.5 and +1.5 for close-up.
There are no lines, there was no adjustment period in my case, and it is
wonderful to really be able to see clearly again. The brain just "knew"
where to look for what it needed. Between the computer and my job as
Operating Room scrub nurse, I figured about 80 percent of my day was
intermediate vision, but also needed to be able to read medicine bottles and
their expiry dates, as well as tiny suture needles used in cardiovascular
and other surgeries. The best strength for the intermediate and close-up
made the distance vision a little off, but I deduced that distance is most
often driving or sightseeing, which in Texas means sunglasses are used. So
I had a pair of sunglasses made with an additional -.25 to -.75 and this
gives me perfect distance vision without affecting the other two much at
all.

There are solutions that work....some may take more time than others, but
all require a caring eyecare practitioner who listens to what your vision
issues, needs, and usage are to come up with a workable one for you.

Cheers, SpringPam

"Reuben" wrote in message
om...
Linda and Dianne,

Thanks for the straight talk. I've been wearing glasses or contacts
since 4th grade. Every year I'd go to the optometrist to get a new
contact prescription. But 1 1/2 years ago I was told I had the
beginnings of glaucoma. The eye exam was really painful, and that's
why I don't want to go back. I've had a bad year as far as my health
is concerned, and the last thing I want to do is get slammed with a
new medical problem.

I'm just down because stitching was one of the things I could always
count on, no matter how bad my health was. And to have my close-up
eyesight go bad so quickly just made me think it was another kick in
the head. Like Ha Ha - you think your problems are bad now? Here's
another one. It's not life-threatening like the others, but this one
really cuts into your day to day life.

So now that you know how full of self-pity I am, how do you deal with
it? I have a Lowrey stand. Should I get a magnifying glass for it?
I don't imagine there is any help for this kind of sight problem other
than magnification. Like Dianne, I can't see anything now unless it's
in a really bright light. What gadgets do the rest of you use?

Thanks for sharing any coping strategies --

Dutchie

"kirby19711" wrote in message
om...
Oh did I strain my eyes doing needlework. I had just been laid off
and was doing resumes and needlework 8-10 hours a day (more needlework
than resumes) for about 10 days. On day 11 it hurt to focus from near
to far and to turn my eyes up and down. After resting - no TV,
reading, stitching- for a couple of days I was fine. Now I stitch
with the TV on and look up at the sound of squealing tires, breaking
glass etc. which provides a lot of rest given today's programming.

This is very important--I worked as a cardiac monitor technician (I had to
watch 32 heart rhythms simultaneously and record any changes while notifying
the nurse). I was told by my ophthalmologist that I needed to look up and
focus on something far away for a few seconds every 10-15 minutes in order
to prevent eyestrain. I found that this really helped me!
--
LittleBit

People who don't read newspapers are better off than those who do because it
is better to be uninformed than misinformed.
-- Thomas Jefferson

SpringPam, I have been told that the "puff of air" machines are not nearly
as accurate as the ones that touch the eye. Yes, you have to have the
numbing drops, which may sting a little, but accuracy for this is truly
important. Both the optometrists and opthamologists that we use, use this
kind of test, and both have said that it is better.

Dutchie, I am prone to migraines, and the eye exams almost always bring them
on because of the dilation and the bright light. I usually have to have
someone take me, just in case. But I go every year, because it is that
important. Do whatever it takes to get there and have your eyes examined.
If I were in your city, I'd drag you there myself! A friend of ours at work
has glaucoma and before she knew, kept self-diagnosing her eye problems. By
the time she went, she had lost some of the vision in one of her eyes
permanently! So go!

Allie Orange
Tallahassee, FL

"SpringPam Thompson" wrote in message
. ..
Dutchie,

i second the motion that an eye exam - with or without glaucoma should not
be painful! either tell that practitioner that they put you off your
checkups or go elsewhere. these days, most practitioners here no longer
use
the little instrument that sits on the eyeball to measure eye pressure
(tonometer I think it is called) but rather a machine that uses a puff of
air and measures the bounce back - weird, but not painful. And the other,
older machine is supposed to be used with numbing medicine in the eye -
which may sting momentarily, but should not be painful.

Others have posted about not ignoring your visits or self-diagnosing and
eye
strain and needlework. All valid information. We should all change our
focal point every 20 minutes or so (commercials on TV happen about every
10
minutes) to let the tiny muscles that focus our lens relax or change their
contraction length. Exercising these muscles will actually improve
vision
at all focal lengths. It is important to go from close-up to far to
intermediate. Try to find a straight line like a tree trunk, telephone
pole, corner of building etc and really look at it for at least 20-30
seconds and make it come into sharp focus when doing extended close-up.

And finally - the final result may not be glasses for those who have never
worn glasses, or already wear contacts. Over the past year, my close-up
vision really deteriorated and outgrew my arms. G This was especially
noticeable in the three-four months from March to July. I finally went
for
a checkup and am in bifocal contacts - not mono vision with different
strengths in different eyes, but true multifocal contact lenses. My brand
are concentric circles of different strengths...-3.5 and +1.5 for
close-up.
There are no lines, there was no adjustment period in my case, and it is
wonderful to really be able to see clearly again. The brain just "knew"
where to look for what it needed. Between the computer and my job as
Operating Room scrub nurse, I figured about 80 percent of my day was
intermediate vision, but also needed to be able to read medicine bottles
and
their expiry dates, as well as tiny suture needles used in cardiovascular
and other surgeries. The best strength for the intermediate and close-up
made the distance vision a little off, but I deduced that distance is most
often driving or sightseeing, which in Texas means sunglasses are used.
So
I had a pair of sunglasses made with an additional -.25 to -.75 and this
gives me perfect distance vision without affecting the other two much at
all.

There are solutions that work....some may take more time than others, but
all require a caring eyecare practitioner who listens to what your vision
issues, needs, and usage are to come up with a workable one for you.

Cheers, SpringPam

"Reuben" wrote in message
om...
Linda and Dianne,

Thanks for the straight talk. I've been wearing glasses or contacts
since 4th grade. Every year I'd go to the optometrist to get a new
contact prescription. But 1 1/2 years ago I was told I had the
beginnings of glaucoma. The eye exam was really painful, and that's
why I don't want to go back. I've had a bad year as far as my health
is concerned, and the last thing I want to do is get slammed with a
new medical problem.

I'm just down because stitching was one of the things I could always
count on, no matter how bad my health was. And to have my close-up
eyesight go bad so quickly just made me think it was another kick in
the head. Like Ha Ha - you think your problems are bad now? Here's
another one. It's not life-threatening like the others, but this one
really cuts into your day to day life.

So now that you know how full of self-pity I am, how do you deal with
it? I have a Lowrey stand. Should I get a magnifying glass for it?
I don't imagine there is any help for this kind of sight problem other
than magnification. Like Dianne, I can't see anything now unless it's
in a really bright light. What gadgets do the rest of you use?

Thanks for sharing any coping strategies --

Dutchie

SpringPam Thompson wrote:

I finally went for
a checkup and am in bifocal contacts - not mono vision with different
strengths in different eyes, but true multifocal contact lenses. My brand
are concentric circles of different strengths...-3.5 and +1.5 for close-up.
There are no lines, there was no adjustment period in my case, and it is
wonderful to really be able to see clearly again.
Pam, I'm glad you posted this--I was just about to ask if any of you
had gotten bifocal contacts! My eye doctor said that, in his
experience, most people who have gotten them were not happy with them.
I really hate glasses, living in a part of the country where the
cold winters make them fog up instantly when you go inside and am one of
those people who glasses just don't look good on them no matter *what*
style is chosen! Since I'm nearing 50 (ugh!), my eyesight has been
going downhill for awhile now.
I do have two pair of contacts--one for distance, the other for closer
work--and for awhile I was switching back and forth when coming
to/leaving from work. That got to be a hassle after a while and now I
only wear the distance ones when driving long distances (and I know I
won't be stitching on the trip!), so that was really kind of wasted money.
So, my question now is, who has bifocal contacts (not monovision) and
do you like them?

--
Joan

See my first-ever design he
http://www.HeritageShoppe.com/heritage/temp/joan1.jpg

"Stitch when you are young and poor, frame when you are old and rich."
- Elizabeth's (rctn'r) sister's MIL (Barbara Marr)

Hugs to you, Caryn! And all the others out there coping with health
issues. It ain't fun. I feel for your bronchitis/asthma stuff. Been
there more than once. But I found that going in for breathing
treatments was better than the *@#)+@ steroids - which don't help.
Dianne

Caryn wrote:
Ok, in the last year alone, I have had my first case of bronchitis turning into
asthmatic bronchitis, laid me up for 6 weeks, between a delay in diagnosis and
then the steriods that treated it kicking my butt. Then I sprained an ankle to
the point of needing crutches. Then I had my gallbladder go south and need
out. Then I was still having belly pain and found out, after a colonoscopy,
that I have diverticulousis (sp?) and have to eat high fiber daily or be in
pain. Then I fell and sprained that ankle again.

And then the eye doctor stuff started, and I found out I might have glaucoma
(which apparently I don't, thank goodness) but also chronic inflammation of my
eye caused possibly by genetic weirdness. And if that isn't fun enough, my
astigmatism has changed polarity! It was Horizontal, now it's Vertical. Eye
doc is a bit stumped.

Now.....if I can keep going to doctors, and getting poked and prodded and
operated on. And return to the eye doctor 4 times in 3 months, then you can go
back after 1 1/2 yrs!

Glaucoma is nothing to mess with.

Whining isn't gonna help.

Caryn (stepping off soapbox)
Blue Wizard Designs
http://hometown.aol.com/crzy4xst/index.html
Updated: 7/7/03 -- now available Dragon of the Stars
View WIPs at: http://community.webshots.com/user/carynlws (Caryn's UFO's)

Probably one for Victoria!

MANY years ago, when we had a vast fence to cover, like an idiot I planted a
Russian vine. Since a couple of years later we`ve been trying to get rid of
the cotton-pickin` thing! Poisoned it, chopped it, dug it, burned it, but
it STILL appears and is completely gobbling up everything in sight. Anyone
got a foolproof remedy that won`t kill a couple of oldies like that at the
same time?

Pat P.

Try asking on rec.gardens. Some of these things have to have *all*
of thier roots dug out to remove them, as they'll keep sprouting from
the roots. I'm having the same issues with a campsis vine and some
#(#*$@(* privet plant the builder stuck in front of my front windows.
Dug them out 4 years ago, and they still come up from the roots!


On Sat, 30 Aug 2003 18:53:53 +0100, "Pat Porter"
wrote:

Probably one for Victoria!

MANY years ago, when we had a vast fence to cover, like an idiot I planted a
Russian vine. Since a couple of years later we`ve been trying to get rid of
the cotton-pickin` thing! Poisoned it, chopped it, dug it, burned it, but
it STILL appears and is completely gobbling up everything in sight. Anyone
got a foolproof remedy that won`t kill a couple of oldies like that at the
same time?

Pat P.