Beware the eyes of March
Okay, so it's a bad pun. Ides of March, eyes of march - makes for some nice word play to lighten up my cranky eyes. Yes, my eyes are "special" and for some reason, they really don't like March. At least the left one. The left one is absolutely my Brutus, stabbing a dagger into the best of plans. Back in 2011, it was a retinal detachment and small tear that had me taking an unexpected month off. But I bounced back from that, finishing the Xterra West Championships in 10th. It wasn't pretty, coming off the couch to attempting to race, but I managed.
Well, this time it's a little different issue that's keeping me from playing. Not another retinal detachment, but something even rarer. Of course - me and my special eyes! On the Ides of March, the vision in my left eye started getting cloudy. And kept getting cloudy until by the evening I could really only see general shapes. No details at all. I was doing my notes at work with my left eye closed so I could focus on what I was typing. Today, the cloudiness was still there, still bad and light really hurt my eye. Just my left. My right was fine. Not one to be optimistic about my eyes, I called the doc and they were able to get me in - but that only ended in the dreaded referral to the retina specialist because they couldn't see through all the material in my eye. Not normal at all - and the cause of the cloudiness. Now the issue was figuring out what was causing the increased pressure and hemorrhage in to eye. The poor retina doc - he walked in the room shaking his head "you weren't supposed to be back to see me ever!" Same doctor who did the surgery in 2011 to repair the detachment, so he's very familiar with my eyes. This time? After an ultrasound of my eye to make sure the retina was intact, and far too many bright lights into dilated pupils, he diagnosed me with Uveitis Glaucoma Hyphema also known as UGH. It's a very rare complication from cataract surgery, when the artificial lens starts rubbing against the iris, causing bleeding and irritation, which increases pressure inside the eye. Like I said, special eyes that don't like being normal...
So now the question becomes why. Why is the lens now rubbing against the iris? Before we can figure that out, the excess pressure and blood inside my eye has to go away. Normally, it should resolve in a few days or a week - as the iris stops bleeding and fluid starts draining normally from my eye. But for that to happen, it means no jiggling or jouncing of the lens so there is no irritation on the iris. Guess what that means - no running or mountain biking.... So much for my half marathon this weekend in Salida! I was looking forward to a fun weekend running and riding with Amber. But now, gotta stay home and chill out. Hopefully, it's just a week of super easy, super chill strolls and trainer rides and I'm going to behave. Eyes are too important.
Well, this time it's a little different issue that's keeping me from playing. Not another retinal detachment, but something even rarer. Of course - me and my special eyes! On the Ides of March, the vision in my left eye started getting cloudy. And kept getting cloudy until by the evening I could really only see general shapes. No details at all. I was doing my notes at work with my left eye closed so I could focus on what I was typing. Today, the cloudiness was still there, still bad and light really hurt my eye. Just my left. My right was fine. Not one to be optimistic about my eyes, I called the doc and they were able to get me in - but that only ended in the dreaded referral to the retina specialist because they couldn't see through all the material in my eye. Not normal at all - and the cause of the cloudiness. Now the issue was figuring out what was causing the increased pressure and hemorrhage in to eye. The poor retina doc - he walked in the room shaking his head "you weren't supposed to be back to see me ever!" Same doctor who did the surgery in 2011 to repair the detachment, so he's very familiar with my eyes. This time? After an ultrasound of my eye to make sure the retina was intact, and far too many bright lights into dilated pupils, he diagnosed me with Uveitis Glaucoma Hyphema also known as UGH. It's a very rare complication from cataract surgery, when the artificial lens starts rubbing against the iris, causing bleeding and irritation, which increases pressure inside the eye. Like I said, special eyes that don't like being normal...
So now the question becomes why. Why is the lens now rubbing against the iris? Before we can figure that out, the excess pressure and blood inside my eye has to go away. Normally, it should resolve in a few days or a week - as the iris stops bleeding and fluid starts draining normally from my eye. But for that to happen, it means no jiggling or jouncing of the lens so there is no irritation on the iris. Guess what that means - no running or mountain biking.... So much for my half marathon this weekend in Salida! I was looking forward to a fun weekend running and riding with Amber. But now, gotta stay home and chill out. Hopefully, it's just a week of super easy, super chill strolls and trainer rides and I'm going to behave. Eyes are too important.
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