So I'm about to lose my right foot.

I went to see a oral surgeon today, and because I had cancer once, (oral, and no, never smoked) and now have diabetes, the six remaining 'good' teeth in the upper part of my mouth, have to be removed. Something about the teeth being weakened.
SO, I get to have implants put in, to the tune of: $12,000!

And me with no insurance. I just love this disease!

Again. This is the warning thread so you can avoid the HFCS, or excessive sugar, or you too may end up like me or worse.

 

Yeah, but flying, staying, all that cost abut Thailand, plus, going there and not being able to eat after, well...

Personally, I think a lot of what I am paying for is questionable. Which is fueled by my general distrust to the ones who are saying it.

 

I did manage to get a 10% discount with them today. And on Wednesday, I go in for the first of three laser treatments to stop my left eye from going blind.

 

SO, I'm back from the eye doc, and I can't see out of my left eye, well, to the left. As in, just like he said, the peripheral vision is gone forever.

The immediate effect is a bit shocking. Things for instance that you take for granted to seeing, like in my case as I sit here typing, is my Vista machine to my left, is no longer there. Unless I turn my head.

And let me tell you campers something; 500 laser shots (the whole 1200 is broken up), is no fun. In fact, at first you feel sort of nauseous, like you are at a disco and the strobe light is hitting you as you are already drunk. Does that make sense?

You get into a rhythm though, and the next thing you know, you are done and you see nothing but red for a bit. THEN you see how your peripheral is gone, and then you suddenly get hit with the fact that while not blind, you are now 'legally' blind (still can drive a car, but my night vision is also now going to suffer, so we will see how driving at night will be). The doc says that should be bearable.

I am sitting here typing without looking, because my left eye is way crazy dilated. SO if the spelling is off, I apologize.

 

Now, if that is right, I don't know what to say about my spelling, as I use a spell check every post!

 

I may not be able to see my doctor on Tuesday, because I am stone cold broke. It sucks. And I'm almost out of the insulin. I got to warn you all that think diabetes is easy, fun, and cheap: It ain't none of those things.

 

Thanks! I don't know if I mentioned it, but if I didn't, the doc at the wound center said my right leg is 'healed' but I still have to keep a bandage on it for another week, to make sure the skin is all grown on safely. So yeah to that. And the wound on the toe next to the grand toe on the left foot is coming along. Almost 70% done. My right eye had laser surgery last Wednesday, to hopefully keep it from getting worse and blind, and my left eye later today I go in for the second visit and 500 more laser shots to it. This eye has no peripheral vision now, and I'm told it will get worse, along with my night vision getting worse. THIS is happening already. Makes driving at night so much more fun. I don't do that much anymore.

Oh, and am still scheduled to have oral surgery to remove the remaining teeth I have in the upper part of my mouth, (loss due to the diabetes) and a permanent denture put up in there, attached to implants.

I think soon that I will be done with it all for now. Right? Oy. I have to say: Again, and again, avoid this fun filled disease. You will be glad you did.

 

Wow, well, happy anniversary first off. THAT is inspiring to me. (17 years for my wife and I).

Today went in for the second of what I think is three laser treatments to the left eye. I can still drive, although I notice I turn my head Terminator like to the left more now that the peripheral is gone. I had 502 shots put in the eye today. The doc says I am getting good at this. Now there is a skill I don't want anyone to have to get.

It's costing me $2500 a treatment. I am not posting that to brag or to beg. I am posting that to warn of the cost. And I don't have insurance to pay for it, so it's all cash on the table. ALTHOUGH< If you do have to ever get this, and you do have to pay cash, make sure you ask for a discount. You will be surprised that the doctor will give one (10% in this case) for cash. I suspect it's because they don't have to deal with insurance.

Anyway. Thanks for letting me know I inspired someone; that makes me pleased. Again, if possible to avoid this highly avoidable disease, then by all means, avoid it.

 

I got the last of the laser treatments to my left eye today. 1256 shots in all. And now my left eye? Can't 'see' letters with it anymore, as in, if you cover your right eye, look at a chart with letters on it, like in a optometrist office, I see the box around the letters, but not the letters. Block my left eye, and every thing is fine. SO, hard to explain, but I guess you can say my right eye is doing all the work now.

It's weird to explain all of that. I wonder how it sounds to you who read this.

 

Here, I thought about it:

My doctor explained it to me, as it’s the rest of my peripheral vision is gone. Now, I thought that peripheral vision was just to the side; no, he said, there is more to it then that. Did you know, Peripheral vision is a part of vision that occurs outside the very center of gaze? It is. There is a broad set of non-central points in the field of view that is included in the notion of peripheral vision. "Far peripheral" vision exists at the edges of the field of view, "mid-peripheral" vision exists in the middle of the field of view, and "near-peripheral", sometimes referred to as "paracentral" vision, exists adjacent to the center of gaze.

And thus, why I can see the block around the letters on the chart, but not the letters inside the chart, with my right eye closed and my left eye open. It was quite the revelation to me.

Here is what they did: First they checked for glaucoma (still don’t have it), then they had me put a cover of my left eye, and asked me to read the letters, and I was fine. THEN, I had to cover the right eye, and just like that, the very same letters I had no problem reading with the right eye, I could not see with the left eye. Like I said, just the block around the letters; if it was in the center, it was gone. I can still drive, which is good. But I guess my right eye is now doing the bulk of the work. As I type here, I am seeing everything on the screen nice and clear. I just closed my right eye, and the center of the screen just goes ‘white’ and I see the words to the left and right of that center.

Does that explain it better?