My eyesight adventures

I went to see my médecin traitant (GP or Primary Care physician) a few days ago. I had a  lot of things to talk to him about, most notably my eyes and eyesight. I've been having vision problems for at least the past six months. I had cataract surgery two years ago. At first, I was thrilled with the result, which was much clearer vision, especially in my left eye, which has always been much stronger than my right eye. At the time, I was disappointed that the vision  in my right eye — the weak one — was not improved much, if  at all, after the cataract surgery.

When the surgery was finished in 2024 (two sessions, one for each eye, in June and then in September that year) the ophthalmologist wrote me a new prescription for my eyeglasses. I got that filled, and all went pretty well for about a year. The vision in my right eye was still fuzzy, but the new lenses in my glasses seemed to correct my vision overall. I was happy.

Things have changed in 2026. My left eye, formerly the strong one, has been in decline for several  months. I can't remember exactly when it started. When I first noticed the decline, it didn't alarm me too much, because I could still function. 

During the session when the eye doctor gave me the new prescription for glasses, he told me that in two years' time, I would need to call his office and make a follow-up appointment so that he could examine my eyes to see if all was going well. If I noticed a decline in my overall vision, I should let him know. He said that his examination would show him if one of my eyes, or maybe both, might need an adjustment that would come in the form of a laser operation to return my eyesight to its earlier improved vision (after the cataract operations).

When I realized two or three months ago that vision through my formerly healthy left eye was in a tailspin and getting a little fuzzier every day, I called the ophthalmology clinic up at the hospital in Blois and asked for an appointment with the doctor who had performed the cataract surgery. The woman who answered my call said she couldn't give me an appointment earlier than October, and I would need to call back in July to make the October appointment.

So I called back a few days ago and was told that the doctor could see me on September 9.  I tried to explain to the woman on the phone that I really needed an appointment in July or August, she interrupted me and said she couldn't help me. It was Sept. 9 or nothing,, she said, adding that my doctor was going to be on vacation for all of the month of August, and she had no July appointments left to give out. I accepted the September appointment.

Meanwhile, I am having big problems with my close-up vision. My right eye seems clearer and crisper than my left eye, which is strange. The left eye has always been the clear-vision one. Now I have a hard time reading text displayed on my laptop, as well as with the text in the dictionaries and cookbooks I look things up in nearly every day at one point or another. My long-distance vision is fine. I can see to walk around the house and yard, to drive my car (I don't go fast or far), and to watch television.

You might have noticed that some of my recent blog posts come up in a larger font than the one I used to use. That makes it easier for me when it comes to typing and proofreading text for my blog posts. However, it doesn't help when it comes to posting photos. That requires editing the computer code that Blogger gives me to do the formatting. I haven't yet figured out how to enlarge that nerdy text.

 So there you have it. I'm sort of half blind for the moment. It doesn't help that I have pollen allergies that also affect my eyesight. Maybe in the autumn things will be better. Meanwhile, don't expect to see daily posts on my blog . But don't forget me. I'll still post once in a while using the larger font. I'll keep you posted if there's any news...