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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to put this here because im worried and want a quick response?? be gentle with me am in abit of a state

74 replies

Mscombobulated · 15/03/2010 14:14

I have just booked an eye test and it turned out i am on yearly recall and this only happens if that is a problem.

When i had the exam the optician said there was no problem, but as expected, i needed glasses. New opticians and quite a few years since last ones done.

Been trying to get back in touch with them (tesco) but the woman said that there was something written on my card but she couldnt understand it - she said IF the optician on duty would decipeher it he would get back to me??

WTF??? I suffer from health anxiety and im about pulling my hair out now.

Please someone tell me that if he had picked up something awful he would have told me at the time?? Very worried, feel sick, not sure if taken my meds(citalopram) or not but feel very anxious indeed. Wish i never made the appt, only did so because i want new glasses because these tesco ones, despite beind designer frames, are shit.

Please don't post anything worrying, will tip me over the edge - i'm literally shaking with fear as it is

OP posts:

brownsauce · 15/03/2010 18:36

they do sting for a few seconds when they are put in, but that's all!
if you want the best photo of your retina, it will have to be done I'm afraid

Tortington · 15/03/2010 18:38

you need a counsellor - even if you have seen one.

this is a mental illness nowt to do with your eyes.

waitingforbedtime · 15/03/2010 18:38

I dont think theyre likely to be THAT sore. MY ds had them at 22m and didnt even cry.

scaredoflove · 15/03/2010 19:03

Can't add anything re the anxiety but I can about the drops

My optician takes a picture of my eyes every time I go without drops - yearly. I go yearly as up to 2 years ago, my eyesight hardly changed but in the last two years my prescription is changing often. Nothing scary and he does it to monitor any changes and everyone who goes gets the picture

I also get my eyes photographed yearly as I am type2 diabetic. For that you need drops. They do sting for about 10 seconds. The Doc puts them in to each eye really quickly, so that the stinging doesn't occur before each eye is dropped. The stinging really does only last for a few seconds. Afterwards, your vision will be blurry. I find I can read my phone/comp screen better without my glasses while I am waiting for them to wear off and distance is just a bit off but vision not good enough for driving. They wear off in about 2 hours. IT really isn't a big deal and nothing to be worried about if you need to have the drops

OhYouBadBadKitten · 15/03/2010 19:03

Its a little bit of a sting, similar in feel to when a swimming pool is over-chlorinated but after a few blinks the sting is gone. People make fuss just cos they don't have them very often so its a bit of a novelty but I've had it loads and its not fuss worthy.

Do take sunglasses if you are having drops, merely cos it can be rather bright and a bit blurry after. Wouldn't drive after for a bit just cos of the blurriness.

OhYouBadBadKitten · 15/03/2010 19:04

ps. I have freckly retinas, goes with my freckly nose.

lovechoc · 15/03/2010 19:35

have you ever considered hypnotherapy to help with your health anxiety, OP? it can sometimes be more effective, or just as effective as the medication you take.

worth a try if you want to rid yourself of this debilitating illness.

Mrsdoasyouwouldbedoneby · 15/03/2010 20:23

Don't worry too much, it is certainly normal, as the others have said, freckling.

I suffer from anxiety, but since doing a form of CBT (ACT), I have been much better. I mean not100% but not needing meds etc. I also second that citilopram made my anxiety so much worse! Maybe your meds just need adjusting too at this point? I.e they have lost their effectiveness.

I als repeat again that my group ACt course was excellent. It doesn't necessarily stop the anxiety, but teaches you to recognise it for what it is, which bizarrely is a big help!

Hope it goes well tomorrow

missmoopy · 15/03/2010 20:36

If there was anything wrong they would have told you. Yearly recall is nothing to worry about AT ALL.

But I can totally empathise as I also have health anxiety and it makes life a fucking misery. So big hugs xxx

Original poster

Mscombobulated · 15/03/2010 20:39

You are all so kind and lovely - no wonder i like having mnet in my life xx

OP posts:

missmoopy · 15/03/2010 20:49

Sometimes it saves my sanity!

Helena1964 · 15/03/2010 21:28

I also have health anxiety, so I know what you're enduring. But, to repeat what so many others here have said: if it were truly serious, you would have been immediately informed. And as for the drops, they only sting for a second or so. You will be fine!

jybay · 15/03/2010 21:39

Think again about CBT - several of my patients with health anxiety have been helped by it (I'm a GP) and one of the great things about it is that you don't have to rake over your feelings to do it.

Have a look at this website - it's an introduction to CBT www.livinglifetothefull.com/

I do think you need support with this anxety. With a bit of luck, you've got 60 years ahead of you . Unless you're incredibly lucky, you are going to have health problems at some point because we all do. If you go through this after a simple eye test, life is going to be miserable so please think about accessing more help now.

hairymelons · 15/03/2010 21:42

Have you considered hypnotherapy for your anxiety?

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but I had it 12 months ago and my anxiety has all but gone. It's not as exhausting as CBT/ counselling etc. as you're not having to do all the work IYSWIM. Also, the technique that clinched it for me was being told, under hypnosis, that every time a thought that would make me anxious entered my head, I'd see a big red STOP sign, take a deep breath & count to 3 and the thought and anxious feeling would disappear.

That worked much better for me than the usual trying to reason with myself/ talk myself round because the anxiety thoughts were, like, superfast and would drag me down into a pit of turmoil in seconds flat!

So worth a punt, maybe.

You're eyes are fine but your anxiety levels are not.It's a miserable way to live, I would highly recommend looking into treatment again.

Good luck

ThatVikRinA22 · 15/03/2010 22:15

aw LEM....tis true its nowt to do with your eyes love, this is the HA rearing its ugly head.

does it just happen once in a while or with any little health issues? if its once a blue moon then i can understand why your live with it - but if its not and if its more debilitating than that then i would seriously look into other options. it must be bloody awful living in fear of illness.

fallon8 · 15/03/2010 22:26

count the citlopram..does your packet have the days of the week on them? if not, dont take any more,but take one in the morning.You will have plenty enough in your system for one night.
Go to a proper optician,they just use these offers to get us thru the doors.if there was a problem, you wold be in the Eye.dept. by now. its fine.

fallon8 · 15/03/2010 22:29

I live with Breast cancer,I have been treated 5 times.CBT,, helps me enormously,I have plateaux when nothing happens, then sometimes I go back a bit /or forward a bit, but knowing that it will happen and that it will get better and this is "normal" for me helps.

Original poster

Mscombobulated · 15/03/2010 22:57

oh gosh fallon, how do you ever cope? I feel quite humbled really. Sometimes i think I need to grow up!

OP posts:

chipmonkey · 15/03/2010 23:51

Mscombobulated, stop this right now!

I am an optometrist and let me tell you, yearly recall is GOOD!!!

There is a list of conditions which is serious. I am not going to tell you what this list is because I know your type! You will google the list and think you have one/some/all of the conditions on it and I am 99.99% sure you have none of them.

If you have something on the list then you are referred to an ophthalmologist. No faffing around with yearly appointments, you are referred. End of.

Then there are the other things, the quirky little things that make one person different from another. For example, MsC has a small pigmented spot on the retina. If it were on your skin, you would call it a freckle. And no-one freaks out over freckles so there will be no referral. BUT we might decide to check again, in case it changes. Like you would a mole on your skin. If it stays the same, that's good. If it changes, you refer. The optom probably wanted to check that whatever he saw remained unchanged over the course of a year.

I fully expect that you will find that it is unchanged and that you are freaking out unnecessarily. So please relax!

Fallon, don't necessarily agree about "proper optician". Even if it is Tesco's the optometrist will have to be fully qualified. The advantage of going to an independent optometrist is that they are less likely to move on, especially if it is their own practice.

Original poster

Mscombobulated · 16/03/2010 11:45

UPDATE Well, of course, i feel a fool Should of gone to spec savers!! The woman there was lovely and thorough and explained everything as she went along because i told her i was anxious. She said i had some small "drusen" spots on one of my eyes NOT both and that it was nothing to worry about and they wouldn't need me on yearly recall. The guy at Tesco was pretty young so probably not very experienced. She said that she would have told me though because there was nothing to worry about.

So, I have new glasses on order - nice bright shiney purple ones and they only cost me £20 because im on tax credits so its all good

Thanks again - i can see how illogical i was yesterday, in fact when i woke up this morning i was fine, i did have to take my bachs rescue remedy with me but i didnt need it!

OP posts:

fallon8 · 16/03/2010 12:35

chip monkey...i was trying to make it sound Ok,,it didnt come out right!!!

fallon8 · 16/03/2010 12:38

I cope with this illness, because I have very little choice,Non smoker, breast fed children. ate "proper" food etc etc you name it I did it,but I am on my feet and first started treatment in 1991,so,,, it isnt all bad.
Glad you had a good visit to the optcian,new specs sound nice.

Helena1964 · 16/03/2010 21:20

Mscombobulated, I'm glad that you were reassured and that you're feeling better, now!

chipmonkey · 16/03/2010 21:53

Glad it all went well, MsC! Am sporting some shiny purple frames myself at the moment!

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