eye exam, all is well

I saw my eye doctor this afternoon. All is well, and he wants to see me again in a year, both to monitor my corneas and because of my now twenty-year-ago history of optic neuritis. ( discussion of eye stuff )

I also discovered that, post-cataract-surgery, the dilating drops they use so the doctor can see certain things work differently. I was in the waiting room, expecting the doctor to call me when/shortly after I was having trouble reading relatively small print on my phone. Instead, I was still reading with no trouble when he called my name. I asked about that, and he said that the reason the drops have that effect is that they limit the ability of the lens to change shape, and I now have artificial lenses that don't reshape themselves in response to light.

I have a new, very slightly different eyeglass prescription; I asked for a printed prescription (rather than just refraction/measurement) because I want to get prescription sunglasses. If there'd been no change, I would have just told the optician "Ron, I want prescription sunglasses, use the prescription you have on file from April, the doctor says there's no change."

I mentioned occasional pain, and the doctor said I should be using artificial tears. He also said he could give me some samples, but we both forgot; I remembered this an hour later, while waiting for a bus. (It's a cheap over-the-counter medication, which I will put on my shopping list; I have some from last winter, but I asked and he said they're good for a month or two after opening.)