We had a good visit with the eye doctor, on Wednesday. My lenses are working well (after my cataract operation, last year, I had new lenses put in, in both eyes.) and my vision is good. I don't need glasses for anything! Chuan's eyes are good too, so all is well.
Mentioned my headaches to my doctor, and told him that I had been worried that reading sans reading glasses was giving me a headache. So, I had a pair made.
But, my visit to the optometrist - part of my eye check-up - just told me I don't need them - unless the print is very, very small! For normal reading, I am good-to-go.
So, tell me about these headaches, he says. And I tell him. And I also tell him that they're probably from the Sildenafil I take. Actually, I know it is: three times a day, one half-tablet goes into me. And three times a day, I get a headache afterwards. Sometimes, it's barely there; sometimes, especially after the night dose - around 8.30pm - it can be quite bad. If I sit tight, and try to think of something else, it recedes after about an hour or so. It's not debilitating, so it's something I've gotten used to.
Ahhh, sildenafil, he says. In some people it constricts the blood vessels to the optic nerve. Some people have gone blind.
Nice to know, doctor-man.
Well, I haven't gone blind. What a relief.
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| 20/20 vision: Reading that line at 20 feet |
But, I've thought it through, and this is what I thunked:
If I'd been told that that was a probable side effect of the drug, would I have still gone ahead and taken it?
Hmmm . . . .
I would have.
For PH, the drugs out there that work are limited. And sildenafil is one of them that does. Not everyone can it, I know. I've read of people who've had adverse reactions to it, and had to be taken off it.
So, my doctor would've tested it on me, during the cardiac catherisation, and he'd have seen that it actually did relax my blood vessels to my lungs, and that's why he's prescribed it for me. And it's doing its work helping my blood vessels and my lungs.
And if it meant that I may have gone blind - or that I may - I'd have still have agreed to take it.
The choice is quite simple really: It's either I take the drug and breathe. Or, I don't take the drug and my heart enlarges even more, and my lungs wither and die.
While it was a carpet-pulled-from-under-me moment, I've had time to think about it, and I'm good!
Doctors seldom tell you anything. Even when you ask about side-effects, they often tell you the wrong thing. I'll grant you that it is the pharmacist's role to tell me about the medicines I take. And they do, sort of. But, they can't tell you everything. And, most people do not want to know anyway, I feel.
At the start, Chuan read up on all the medicines I have been put on. I didn't want to read because I was afraid I'd actually imagine all the side effects and make myself nuts!!! I did eventually go look at some of the drugs, and discovered how they work, and their side effects, but not very much actually stuck in my brain. A touch of information overload, for sure.
However, when I started this blog, I had to talk about the meds, and that's when I really did look at them all: why they are prescribed, how they work, and what their side effects are. And, it has been a good experience for me.
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| I try. |
