Opthamologisting

Tomorrow I go to see the opthamologist, so I'm a little freaked at the moment. The absolute best I can expect is that he will tell me that I need a new prescription. I expect that he'll tell me something more serious than that, though -- that there is something wrong with the interior of my eyes, possibly the beginning stages of diabetic retinopathy -- about which, you can find tons of information on the web, like this from the Mayo Clinc site --

(D)iabetic retinopathy can result in blindness. In the United States, diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness in adults.

That's the boogeyman thats got me coming back. I don't expect him to tell me that I am in imminent danger of going blind, but without that scare factor, I wouldn't be subjecting myself to this. I learned a long time ago that I respond better to fear than reason when it comes to health. Not that fear always works. Last time I saw one of these folks, the doc casually turned as he was about to leave the exam room, said that he saw 'some deterioration', and without further elaboration, turned and walked out, leaving me in somewhat of a state of shock. I haven't been back for two years.

The good news is, this stuff is usually treatable by laser surgery. (It's also treatable by getting an every-three-months injection in your eye. Yeah -- that gives me the willies, too.) So, at some point, they'll aim a laser at my own personal eyeballs, and I'll try to act like an adult. Trying desperately not to think of Goldfinger. Or the Death Star laser.

Searing heat......