not warm, just a fuzzy feeling
Dec. 28th, 2006 11:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adrian_turtleI've been stalling on going to see an eye doctor for a long time now. I know I *should*, because of the glaucoma risk, but I really can't stand the glaucoma test. With my current medication status, I should be getting tested every year, but it's been more than three years. The only thing pulling me to make an appointment now is the nagging suspicion that my eyeglass prescription is no longer quite right.
Well, I've been avoiding eye doctors because I can't stand the glaucoma test, and also because so many eye doctors are mind-bogglingly stupid...and I can't bear to make myself vulnerable to that kind of stupid. It's not stupid that so many eye doctors have become pushers for eye surgery. It actually makes sense for them economically. But it bothers me a lot that their interests don't line up with those of their patients. And it *is* stupid that eye doctors be prescribing Topamax for weight loss, or be concerned with patients' weight loss at all, even if it's just to advocate for it.
At a party last week, people were talking about getting glasses, and I asked for eye doctor recommendations. One was *extremely* enthusiastic. Most people aren't that enthusiastic about any health care providers except acupuncturists, midwives, and fertility specialists. So I made an appointment for next week. I'm feeling a little dubious about it now, after asking the office manager if my eyes would need to be dilated for this exam and getting what felt like a dishonest and evasive answer. I've been going to eye doctors since I was 7. I know what it feels like to have my eyes dilated, and I know I could not possibly drive myself home afterwards. While I have been known to have weird idiosyncratic reactions to drugs, I didn't think this was one of them. ("Well, I suppose a few people might have a little blurring.") I thought EVERYONE had badly blurred vision after having their eyes dilated with those drops. While this eye doctor's office is conveniently near a bus stop, and I would not be driving that day in any event, I had asked about the dilation to make plans for the rest of the day. But if they can't say, "we usually don't dilate eyes for a first exam," or "Yes, your eyes will be dilated after the exam and you should take the bus or plan for someone to drive you home," it makes me wonder what else they won't be straightforward with me about.
Well, I've been avoiding eye doctors because I can't stand the glaucoma test, and also because so many eye doctors are mind-bogglingly stupid...and I can't bear to make myself vulnerable to that kind of stupid. It's not stupid that so many eye doctors have become pushers for eye surgery. It actually makes sense for them economically. But it bothers me a lot that their interests don't line up with those of their patients. And it *is* stupid that eye doctors be prescribing Topamax for weight loss, or be concerned with patients' weight loss at all, even if it's just to advocate for it.
At a party last week, people were talking about getting glasses, and I asked for eye doctor recommendations. One was *extremely* enthusiastic. Most people aren't that enthusiastic about any health care providers except acupuncturists, midwives, and fertility specialists. So I made an appointment for next week. I'm feeling a little dubious about it now, after asking the office manager if my eyes would need to be dilated for this exam and getting what felt like a dishonest and evasive answer. I've been going to eye doctors since I was 7. I know what it feels like to have my eyes dilated, and I know I could not possibly drive myself home afterwards. While I have been known to have weird idiosyncratic reactions to drugs, I didn't think this was one of them. ("Well, I suppose a few people might have a little blurring.") I thought EVERYONE had badly blurred vision after having their eyes dilated with those drops. While this eye doctor's office is conveniently near a bus stop, and I would not be driving that day in any event, I had asked about the dilation to make plans for the rest of the day. But if they can't say, "we usually don't dilate eyes for a first exam," or "Yes, your eyes will be dilated after the exam and you should take the bus or plan for someone to drive you home," it makes me wonder what else they won't be straightforward with me about.
