Thursday, February 17, 2011

2-17-11 Age


I don't know if it's the full moon's influence, or 6 weeks of getting up at 4:45 (most) mornings, but I am definitely feeling some of those early signs of the "I'm not getting any younger" syndrome.

I posted in January about ordering some new glasses from Warby Parker. I put in my order and set up my optometrist's info for them to retrieve the glasses prescription. A day later I get a very nice note from a WP agent letting me know the prescription is for distance, but has a +.75 attached, which means the doctor has suggested bifocals. I remember him testing my reading distance, and he said it was pretty good ("for my age" was left unsaid) but apparently not good enough to go without help. WP doesn't do bifocals, and while they would make the "Emerson" for me in distance only, they still needed me to go back and get another measurement for the distance between pupils in order to fulfill my order. It took me months to make myself go in once (and under duress -- I was running out of contact lenses) so I just cancelled the new glasses order.

However, I did pick up a pair of very weak reading glasses at the pharmacy (pictured above) when I'm exclusively working on the computer (quite often) and wearing them librarian style as I move about the house, I manage not to fall over things and use my contacts to see everything else.

The next stop is going to be one of those glasses chains so I can keep my reading glasses as a necklace wherever I go.

It wasn't until after that visit that I began to notice that certain times I couldn't focus on things up close. This is especially true as I'm trying to change the music on the ipod when it's strapped to my upper arm at the track. I think all it took was being told my reading vision wasn't perfect for my eyes to decide it was time to act their age.

Tuesday of this week was the "annual" visit to my doctor. She walked in a said, "has it really been three years?" I knew I was overdue, but dang. Sure enough, it was late 2007 since I'd last had a checkup. At one point she said, "well, you seem to never get sick" and then got this look on her face and knocked on the table. Crap.

She asked, "how long has it been since you've had a tetanus shot?" and I looked at her quite blankly. I would assume the last time I had to get one as a kid? You're supposed to have one every ten years. Had I known that, I most certainly would have already missed the deadline and stepped on a rusty nail, but luckily no one tipped me off. So I get stuck and make the comment, "Nice, didn't hurt at all." The nurse smiled at me kindly and said, "No, that will come tomorrow." She wasn't kidding. By yesterday afternoon I was having trouble lifting that arm. But that was because she told the arm it would feel that way. See?

So now, at 40, I'm trying to avoid hearing any doctor tell me anything that my body will interpret as permission to head south. I'm not sure it's working. I get to schedule a mammogram for the first time and get an ultrasound next week. Egads.

I think my capitulation to reading glasses should have been enough for a while.




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