Perhaps you’ve noticed that there haven’t been a whole lot of coherent words from me in the last few days, here on the blog.
I left sunny, warm Bangkok with the slightest bit of a bug of some kind.
Whatever the tiny bug was, it sure likes Japan. And the cold. And me, being a dumba** as usual, insisting on spending entire days outdoors, despite howling winds and low single digit temperatures. My logic for not even buying a hat? I’d only be using it for a week. Waste of money.
The little bug turned into a Jake-wrecking Godzilla of a flu. I’ve been dropping into bed deliriously, barely remembering that there is even a blog. Fortunately there was still an unposted video, and Despi came through as well. Days were saved.
Outbreak monkey.
And yesterday I went so far as to concede defeat, and acquired a hat. Yes, it was the one on sale. Yes, it looks like my grandmother made it, for a girl. But at least less frozen head, and some mental clarity.
So I finally managed to make mental inventory.
First thing, and the only part relevant to this dear blog, is my eyesight. It sucks.
Starting on the 5th, an almost full five days ago, I’ve been in a whole lot of close-up mode. Five hours on the plane reading, then around the city checking maps, taking pictures, checking messages, staring at subway maps. The last two days, realizing that the whole fever and coughing thing isn’t so ideal, more watching YouTube and reading books.
Today, trying to write this post, I’m actually squinting at the screen.
How much of that is the delirious cold, or me having eating a bunch of McDonalds french fries (hey, try to be vegan in Tokyo while also being all fever-high) and drinking RedBull as stand-in flu medication? Hard to say. But certainly no small part of it is all that close-up. Close-up plays a much more significant rule in your immediate, short term vision acuity than you might think. If I went to an optometrist right this minute, I’d get a -1.25 prescription. By the time spring came around, I’d see proper blur everywhere, without them. By next winter I’d be back at the optometrist, and getting something close to a -2.00.
That’s the progression.
I had a friend, auto mechanic, in Utah. He had hurt his back on the job. He went to the doctor, doctor prescribed him muscle relaxants and pain meds. You know where this is going?
You don’t. The guy is dead.
He was a great guy. Five kids, working hard. But you don’t mess with prescriptions of various kinds, without being really careful, and expect to get away with it. You introduce something that alters the natural functioning of your body, something your body doesn’t understand and respond in undesirable (addictive) ways to. You’re playing with fire.
The guy overdosed. And I’m also picking a story that vastly blows the correlation between prescription painkillers and corrective lenses out of proportion.
He never got away from prescription pain killers. Eventually he overdosed.
You won’t overdose on glasses. But you won’t ever get away from them, either. The moment you first put on that first prescription, see that insane clarity, you’re hooked for life. Unless you find uncle Jake’s myopia rehab facility, you’re in the lens manufacturer’s drug dealing pocket for life. And sometimes I get genuinely angry at how much the real gravity of this is downplayed. Look at my Quora answers to questions, and some of the other things said by so-called professionals there:
-4.50D isn’t that high? This is a medical doctor, specialized in refractive surgery? The mind truly boggles.
You know what a -4.50 diopter means? It’s a 500% (yes, 500) increase in lifetime risk of retinal detachment (over zero diopters) on the conservative end of clinical studies. Some of the higher estimates go closer to a 1000%. That’s some serious correlation, and some real risk of one of the worst case scenario’s for your eyesight. But yea sure, it’s not that high.
Oh hey, what’s that guy’s job?
Indeed, that’s how he makes his money, correcting the problem after the fact, with surgery. He’ll pat you on the back with your -4.50, tell you it’s ok, but make sure you keep his business card handy.
Myopia also increases many other forms of eye illnesses, including glaucoma. Non-myopes have been found to have an incidence rate of glaucoma at 1.5% of the population. Compare this with 4.4% for moderate to high myopes, and it’s hard to ignore how much this short sighted, lens based treatment does a whole lot for the wallets of everybody involved in the current treatment scheme.
Let’s not even talk about lattice degeneration, which you basically will experience, if you don’t reverse your myopia before your 50’s.
What’s your point, Jake, you say. I’ve heard this story.
Winter. And how fast you go from seeing just fine, to being in the hands of those poorly educated, arrogant fools, being sold their dangerous treatments, and eventually ending up under the knife for one acute condition or another. It’s a slippery slope, and unless you know what’s up, you’ll easily become their unwitting next victim.
Help keep your friends out of these lunatic’s hands. Share what you know about myopia!
Cheers,
-Jake
