Dexter (with Update)

Big day—this morning I'm off to Geneva (no, not Switzerland) to get temporary eyeglasses for Dexter. Very exciting.

"Dexter" is my recently surgically treated eye—Oculus Dexter being the optician's term for "right eye," from the Latin. That's why your vision prescription cryptically says "OD" and "OS." The latter stands for Oculus Sinister, or left eye.

My uncorrected eyesight is much better than before the operation—no more Vaseline-on-the-filter haze, no more flare—but not particularly good. It still has blur and astigmatism at any distance. Good contrast and color transmission, however. I've been assuming I'm one of those whose implant (technical term pseudophakic intraocular lens or IOL) will end up having to be corrected with eyeglasses.

On the other hand, my doctor brother, who has had 11 eye operations, says his eyesight continued to improve for a whole year after his last corneal surgery, so who knows?

I'll update this later.

Mike

UPDATE Tuesday afternoon: A bit anticlimactic. They really just wanted to check my eye pressure (it's fine), take a look at the graft ("It looks really good, really clear"), and make sure my eyesight is at least no worse than it was when I last saw the surgeon. (I saw a colleague of hers today.)

And indeed, like Dr. Charlie said, a DMEK can continue to improve for a up to a year...so the prognosis is, broadly, that "it's still a work in progress."

Dexter has supposedly improved from 20/40 to 20/30.

But you know me, I've got lots of unpedigreed theories which are the effluvium of thinking too often. And we see with both our eyes and our brains. So, as I've said before, I've long been of the opinion that I do better on eye-chart tests than I should, on account of my brain is better at seeing than most peoples' brains are. I'm aware when I'm looking at tiny, indecipherable letters that I am almost intuiting what they "must" be, and that I make good guesses. No one's in a position to test such a hypothesis, but I would guess that I can detect a "G" where the average person with the exact same eyesight as me would default to an "O," and that I can guess "O" for the O-like letters (Q, G, O, D) where other people (not you; average people) with the exact same eyesight would have so little clue that they'd give up altogether.

What big eyes you have!

This sounds like I'm bragging, but I'm pretty convinced of it. I think my brain sees better than the average brain. I certainly do exercise it, after all—I see things other people don't—and people who exercise abilities become better at them than people who don't. Seeing is play to me; "Seeing is the soul's perfect delight." The good become better.

A counterexample: I'm really bad at throwing objects at targets with my hands (basketballs into hoops, wads of paper into wastebaskets ten feet away, playing catch with a Koosh ball), and, sure enough, I never practice that. And the bad become worse. I have no doubt that I'm inferior to the average, normally coordinated male at throwing objects at targets.

So what I'm saying is that I don't actually believe Dexter is 20/30 as measured. He just tests well is all. On account of my great brain.

We have had astonishing weather today. In the Finger Lakes you are often very aware that the atmosphere is an ocean. When I went into the grocery store after my appointment, it was sunny and hot; when I emerged it was pouring down rain. All the way home I traced the edge of a storm front, the sky on the left storm-dark, the sky on the right with towering high roiling clouds against pure sky blue. It was like I was driving in a line down the boundary.

Pictures left and right, or should I say picturae sinister et dexter.

But the bottom line is that all is well and everything's fine. I did get a new prescription. I paid $30 to get my PD measured in fancy dual numbers (all the best people know their dual PD), and ordered a new pair of computer glasses from China, corrected for 18 inches. The better to see you with, my dears. —M.

Original contents copyright 2019 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

Amazon.com • Amazon UK • Amazon Canada
Amazon Germany • B&H Photo • Adorama

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Fred Haynes: "I am looking forward to you eye update. I too have had many eye operations, though not as many as your brother. And I’ve been following your eye health posts from a year or two ago. Medicine, in general has made such strides, and there’s this parallel between a post you made a few days ago, where things happened in photo technology, autofocus, image stabilization, etc. just in time to make a difference. And I might not be alive today were it not for a tricuspid valve repair that wasn’t possible until just a year or two ago. And I would not be able take pictures without autofocus, or my doctor at Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat hospital. I think we’re two lucky dudes, having good doctors and advancing technology to make our photo passions a possibility."

Mike replies: Makes me choke up a little. We are assuredly fortunate and blessed in this regard, Fred.

Comments

[Peter Wright]

Your post reminded me of a quote of a British Conservative politician (might have been Churchill), when referring to the Labour opposition: They are, he said, "more gauche than sinister."

[David Bennett]

Having had a DSEk and IOL, I would expect full recovery in 3 months with 90% in 6-8 weeks. Good Luck Mike, as an Optom who sees the resultes of these and images them...(amazing OCT results) then on the whole the prognosis is VERY good indeed and some resudual rx is required. :-) BOL David

[Kurt Kramer]

I cannot believe I am the only one who has mentioned Harry Callahan.
Although, I AM enjoying the diversity and there are several (many) names I have to look up.

[Ray Maines]

I'm wishing you the very best.

[MikeR]

Glad to hear the good news.

Modern medicine has become indistinguishable from magic. (And my plagiarizing is quite distinguishable from originality).

[hugh crawford]

Apparently the lenses that they put in can easily correct for astigmatism but the insurance companies consider that to be cosmetic and won’t pay for it.

I’ve been developing cataracts for some time and I see a double image with my left or right or both eyes open. My hypothesis is that I have a bulge in the upper part of my corneas because if I put a black card very close to my eye just above my field of vision it makes it much better but has no effect on either side and makes it much worse if I occlude the lower part of my vision.

Perversely I see pretty well in low contrast scenes and I am pretty good at reading black text on a white background with more than one letter height of spacing in between them for example an eye chart but I am terrible at making out to high contrast situations or reading light text on a dark background like for instance road signs, oncoming headlights, and shinny things in the distance.

Anyway the point is I seem to be in a similar situation as you where my brain can unscramble some pretty murky input. One of the interesting things that I have noticed however is that I can read serif typefaces much more easily than san serif. Also Apple’s dark mode for the Mac makes it unusable. I’m really hoping that the whole dark mode thing doesn’t catch on.

[John Camp]

Because I feel sorry for you with your throwing handicap, I'm going to tell you how to mostly fix it in one second. You can report back later. Throw from above your head. That is, instead of throwing from the side of your head, lift your throwing hand directly above your sight line, and then throw down your sight line. You can thank me later.

[Jay Burleson]

"Scientists Create Contact Lenses That Zoom with Blinks and Looks"
https://petapixel.com/2019/07/30/scientists-create-contact-lenses-that-zoom-with-blinks-and-looks/

Your next appointment?

[Richard Parkin]

Though I think you are onto something with the eye-test chart hypothesis (what about font designers for instance) your reasoning is flawed regarding 20/40 versus 20/30 - did you have a different brain installed between the two tests?

[Mike Chisholm]

Mike,

What you probably *should* say: ad dextram picturae sinistramque...

I think you're right about the charts though, and I point this out myself every time I have a test. It would probably help if they changed the order of the letters from time to time, too...

Best wishes,

Mike

[David Bennett]

"...and ordered a new pair of computer glasses from China, corrected for 18 inches..."
For goodness sake, Go see a proper Optometrist, Get them to make the rx up CORRCTLY and ACCURATELY!! That's what we are trained to do! Use us! You gave no guarantee that the Chinese ones (despite claims) will be any good at all. :-( :-(

[Well, I got the prescription from the O.D., and I did consult with the onsite optician, who measured my dual P.D. The glasses I ordered are *temporary*, because my prescription is expected to change over the coming months as my DMEK continues to heal. In fact the optometrist advised simply using my old computer glasses for the time being.

I think when get my "final" glasses I will go to a good optician in addition to the optometrist...

...To double-check my prescription. I might still order the actual glasses from Zenni Optical. There has been a lot of press recently about price-gouging among the major manufacturer of eyeglasses, such as this piece in the LATimes from last January:

https://www.latimes.com/business/lazarus/la-fi-lazarus-why-are-eyeglasses-so-expensive-20190122-story.html

...and I can't afford to spend $400 for a pair of glasses when I can get the same prescription for $100 from Warby Parker or $60 from Zenni Optical.

Ever the empiricist, the last time I bought glasses I ordered one pair from China and one pair from the local optician so I could "see for myself" (no pun intended). Same prescription, sourced from an optometrist in Wisconsin. The local pair cost $360 and the Chinese pair cost $58. There was no difference in function or quality that I could discern. I use them interchangeably. (I keep one pair inside and one in the car.) As an aside, the Chinese glasses arrived weeks before the local prescription was ready for pickup.

I'd be happy to be educated about this from your perspective, so I'm all ears if you want to explain more about the situation. I'm far from close-minded about this and I do not imagine I have all the answers.

But all of the eye doctors I have seen in recent years have been O.D.s or M.D. ophthalmologists. --Mike]

[Bob Gary]

Sounds good, Mike. Get plenty of eye rest. A question: So current camera technology targets those who need the improvements and seemingly can also afford them (or not)? And, possibly a whole class of therapeutic cameras that address optical and physical age-related disabilities? Maybe I can deduct my next autofocus, stabilized camera as a required medical device?

[Michael Perini]

I'm very happy you are doing well and am sure you will continue to improve. I know what you mean about your brain helping your eyes along,--I feel it every time I take an eye exam.
But since everyone's score is made up of physical and a mental components, and there is no way to measure the relative contribution of each component, your 'score' is what it is period, and there is no need to worry about it. Just relax and let it improve.

[adamct]

Mike,

I am clearly not one of the best people. What is dual PD? And I didn't realize (though I should have) that glasses are optimized for different distances. Can you share where you ordered your glasses from?

Best regards,
Adam

[Herman]

As long as you mind your Ps and Qs.

[Steve Jacob]

I still required minor vision correction post op.

I still wear glasses, but replacement lenses have no accommodation, so I would have needed them in come capacity anyway. As it is, I just have to use them for everything, which means I never forget to leave the house without them.

With a good prescription, my vision is laser sharp and contrast and colour are bewildering after years of muddy tones and glare.

However, it didn't happen overnight. I waited three months before finally opting for a permanent prescription.

[tex andrews]

I think your guess about the seeing-thinking connection is on the mark. I believe this is true with me as well.

As a child I had histoplasmosis, a disease of the lungs, but an insidious side effect is scarring of the retinas. I've had a couple of rounds of laser eye surgery at the Wilmer Clinic. This process included novocaine delivered to my eye via hypodermic needle (alarming!) and then, just before the procedure, the forceful admonishment to "Hold Still" (even more alarming!) while the laser burned my retina near the macula. So, I can empathize with you about all of this.

[Jerome]

So what I'm saying is that I don't actually believe Dexter is 20/30 as measured. He just tests well is all. On account of my great brain.

That doesn't really matter, as you can only test the entire eye/brain system, and only the entire system allows us to see. Exceptional hardware and subpar software yield the same result as mediocre hardware and excellent, optimised software!

That said, here's my personal anecdote: I had conjunctivitis of my right eye. Nothing dramatic, only inconvenient. I decided to cover up the eye and keep it cool, to reduce the itching. Decided to watch TV with the other eye.

That didn't work at all, I could barely see anything on the screen. OK, reading then. Again, I was frustrated. The page and letters were fuzzy and so hard to discern that I got a headache. I never knew my left eye was so bad! I gave up, off to bed.

As most things I do require me to look at something, I spent the next day dozing.

Well, after the right eye was fine again, I expected it to be very good. After all, my sight is OK and I assumed the right eye makes up for the left one. I tried, and big surprise: it was also bad, but in a different way. I can't describe it properly, it's not out of focus, but a general fuzziness, independent of the distance to an object.

I was stunned. My brain somehow manages to create a perfectly usable image out of two crappy sources.

[Mike Potter]

Sounds like a good and steady recovery, Mike. Wishing you continued good news.

[David Dyer-Bennet]

Yeah, I suspect my visual processing of being better than average, as tested on reading bus numbers at a distance say.

[scott kirkpatrick]

Mike, in struggling through an eye test, especially when it's not just a checkup but you need to pass to keep a license, most of us are Bayesians. We follow the principle that you do best by naming the most probable answer based on the evidence we can extract. It's sorta round? Then "O" is most probably. You seem to be a contrarian who adds some backstory -- They can't all be "O"s, and I see an extra smudge, so maybe they are trying to trip me up with a "Q"!

[hugh crawford]

I just bought 3 pairs of glasses from Zeni and think they are great. Three pair for $120. One pair was single vision, cost $9, and they are as good as a pair I paid $380 for a few years ago.

[Bruce McL]

I have given a few eye tests over the years, and I have taken thousands. For a while I had a couple of lines on one brand of charts memorized - “That’s an F, but I can’t really see it.”

My advice on getting good results is to respond quickly. Say something in the first second or two. After two seconds, “I don’t know, I think it’s a …” is the best response. You may score higher or lower than other people, but what’s important is for the Doctor to measure change in your visual acuity, or lack of change. I think the quick response method is the best way to achieve that.

It took my vision quite a while to stabilize after my DSEK surgery. For a while I was really uncomfortable with my new glasses, noticing every little thing that wasn’t quite right. Then I was told my uncorrected vision went from strongly nearsighted to slightly farsighted! I decided it was OK to be a little bit cranky and irritable while my brain was adjusting to that change. :-)

... and sure enough, I got used to it in a few months. My prescription for both near and far lenses is dialed in now.

[Matthew Miller]

On the eye test thing — I guarantee the optometrist has encountered this many times before. So, when you know that you are guessing or decoding, simply explain that. Don't just say "G", say: "It's a round letter. I'm pretty sure it's a G."