bad eyesight lowering my standards (GRRRR)

[62rebel]

my eyesight is giving me the usual ###### lately, and affecting my hobby (GRRRRR) as well as my work; doing anything demanding is getting to be supremely aggravating and frustrating because i KNOW i used to be able to do better. case in point, the phantom '50 Ford Sportsman Convertible i'm doing as a companion piece to the '49 version i built some years ago. when i get some pics up i'll be able to show you guys my glitches.

[Harry P.]

Sounds like a trip to the eye doctor might be in order...

[weasel]

i wear glasses also, but for distance...those big green signs on the hiway is what made me get some specs!!

still good up close tho'.... for now!! lol

'course i'm gettin old...40yrs past my 20th!!

[slant6]

My eyesight has always been bad. I never thought of it affecting my hobby....now I am, I know its a problem at work (soldering, seeing wire colors, ect.) but I get paid by the hour there. I'm dreading the thought that I may have to get "old man" bifocals (even though I know they don't look the same anymore), I mean, c'mon I'm only 31.

[outlaw035]

im in the same boat and its sinking...i have noticed lately my coke bottle glasses aren't working for some really small detail stuff find myself reaching for my headband magnifiers that i bought at a yard sale last yr figuring i'd need them some day never thought it would be now...duh....

[sjordan2]

im in the same boat and its sinking...i have noticed lately my coke bottle glasses aren't working for some really small detail stuff find myself reaching for my headband magnifiers that i bought at a yard sale last yr figuring i'd need them some day never thought it would be now...duh....

Here's a thread from a few days ago on magnifying visors, etc:

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=30016

[Art Anderson]

my eyesight is giving me the usual ###### lately, and affecting my hobby (GRRRRR) as well as my work; doing anything demanding is getting to be supremely aggravating and frustrating because i KNOW i used to be able to do better. case in point, the phantom '50 Ford Sportsman Convertible i'm doing as a companion piece to the '49 version i built some years ago. when i get some pics up i'll be able to show you guys my glitches.

You don't say how old you are now, nor is it necessarily anyone's business, but if you have reached that "magical" half-century mark, and you haven't seen an opthamologist, you really ought to consider making an appointment for a complete eye exam. By ophthamologist, I'm not talking about your friendly eyedoctor down at Lenscrafters, or WalMart (they can do a pretty good job of fitting eyeglasses or contacts, and are supposed to be able to spot any diseases of the eye) but rather, an MD who specializes in eye care. As we age (I'm almost 66) some things do change, for example it can get harder to see things up close that you used to be able to, which is correctible by eyeglasses most generally. Or there could be more serious diseases at work. Some of them are high blood pressure (had your's checked lately--surprising how many people don't!) which can cause small capillaries in the retina of your eyes to break, making small dead spots (infarcts) which appear as blind spots right where you least expect them. Diabetes is a disease that probably more people have than know about it, diabetes can cause the same problems as hypertension (high blood pressure), if left undiscovered or untreated. Glaucoma is an insidious disease, causing elevated fluid pressure in the eye, and if undiagnosed and untreated, will eventually cause blindness. Macular degeneration is the loss of pigment in the retina, irreversible, but it can be controlled and its progress markedly slowed down before it results in blindness. Cararacts also often begin showning themselves by middle age, and at the proper time, are almost always successfully corrected, by means of lens implants (which nowadays is virtually painless) and the new lens implants can also be corrective for near- or far-sightedness.

Why do I relate all these things? Simply put, by early December 2005, I could notice my eyesight failing badly, not only did things not look at all right, night vision was disappearing rapidly (over a matter of a few days) and I was nearly colorblind along with it. I managed to get an appointment with an opthamologist on an emergency basis, and very quickly he took my blood pressure--WHOA! 250 over 150! A quick phone call on his part, and within minutes I was on my way, in a blinding snowstorm, to the nearest hospital ER, where I was treated, then admitted into ICU--I was THAT close (perhaps mere hours) from either a massive heart attack or a major stroke, either of which may well have been fatal, certainly disabling for life (it's a strange sensation, having blood pressure reducing medications by IV, not all that uncomfortable but very wierd indeed!) Upon dismissal 24hrs later, I was instructed not to drive--at that point, I was legally blind. Fortunately, over the next two weeks, my eyesight recovered to the point that my driving privileges were restored, but my eyesight bore the results still, and to a great extent, still do today, and will for the rest of my life. I have numerous little blind spots in my right eye, and a couple of nagging ones in the left, along with some distortion (I have to use a straight edge to assure that I am looking at a straight line, as it will look ever so slightly jagged). I am on 6 different meds daily, to control blood pressure, and to control the effects of stage 2 kidney disease (yeah, untreated hypertension damages kidneys) which can lead to all manner of imbalances, things like calcium, potassium, in addition to making it imperative that I continue my daily regimen of meds, lest the reduced kidney function further aggravate things. It's lead to an enlarged heart, with the beginnings of heart failure, so one daily med treats that. And, all of this was discovered by my eye doctor!

As for the vision problems, he suggested early on that I would learn to adjust to the new realities, knowning that I am an avid model builder, and he's been very right in that. It may take me a bit longer than some to accomplish fine details, but I can do it still, for which I am grateful. And now, I religiously maintain my schedule of visits to my three docs, my primary care, my kidney specialist, and once a year, my ophthamologist (without whom, I probably would not be here today).

There, I've given you some food for thought, take care of your eyesight, you only get one chance at that in life, you know!

Art

[James W]

Not taking away from Art's sound advice, I picked up a hand-full of reading glasses, from the Dollar Store, of different strengths and use them depending on how far away I want to hold a subject to work on it.

I went from using them once in a while to putting them on as soon as I sit at the work bench.

I even chopped the plastic lenses so that I can see over them to reach for stuff and still use them for close work.

[Junkman]

It is a blooming nuisance for me and I can well relate to the problem.

Always had the eyesight of an eagle, when it suddenly started to deteriorate after I turned 40. Two years ago, I finally got reading glasses (read "modelling glasses" here). I can only use them for reading, or modelling, or something right in front of me. For everything further away, I have to take them off. This includes watching the telly. As a result, I can't do anything while watching the telly anymore. I used to do bare metal foil, or similar stuff while sitting in front of the tube. No more doh.

As a result, I haven't watched a lot on telly for well over a year now. Entirely btw, it is amazing how quickly the human brain can recover from the damage caused by watching TV, since every time I try and watch telly now, I can't take it for longer than maybe 30 seconds. It's just an insult for every intelligent form of life.

But this constantly juggling spectacles when I do something right in front of me and look up from it sucks big time. I tried bi-focals and they drive me straight in to the asylum, straight jacket and all.

[RodneyBad]

Bi Foculs.

I too have turned that Magical Over the hill mark.

Or is that just around the corner mark?

I've picked up x1.25 reading glasses and i could move up to x1.50 but they are

Half glasses? I can look over the top of them to see the Ole Tube TV.

James...

I even chopped the plastic lenses so that I can see over them to reach for stuff and still use them for close work.

That's a Great Idea but I like mine Sooze I gotta go buy a Cheap set to do that to.

[62rebel]

talk about a touchstone topic! wow... yeah i need to get past the VA for some better eye care. anyways; been using the last three days of my vacation to dash through some "nearly dones" and finish 'em up. need to clear off my "picture table" so i can take some pics and get 'em posted. i've had some that i bought for other projects, robbed engines out of, etc, and half heartedly started on... i HATE leaving a kit unbuilt at ANY level, even if it's just painting some parts or assembling chassis parts. i've used up my Aoshima whitewall tires... they look good on '50's builds.

here's an odd discovery; in my Revell/Germany '59 Skyliner (a thousand cuss words to build it) the TIRES have split! just like Tamiya tires do! they were out of scale IMHO anyway, so i cobbled up some sunray wheel caps from the parts box and used some Supremes, which will need white acrylic foe WWW's.

while i was in Florida last week house/job hunting, i snagged a Pyro 1930 Bentley Speed Six kit for $5! already built it..... couldn't resist gluing up 44 year old plastic.

[Guest Johnny]

I use the lineless bifocals. The set i am using now are over 10 years old and needed replaced.(came from Pearle Vision and worked great)

Tried WalMart because we get a discount. The exam was great and she had me reading the chart great. Unfortuneatly after three regrinds I had to get my money back! The lenses were way off! (ground in Mexico)

Went to an eye doctor I used years ago and he said he was looking for a new company to get lenses ground because the one he was using in Chicago no longer doe their own work! He said they were sending the orders and having them ground in Packistan!!!

Going back to Pearle as soon as I have the cash. They do them on site!