The Eyes have it

I am now ticking off boxes on my Costa Rica to-do list.

Last Friday: Eye Exam and new glasses

Just as our physical strength decreases with age, our eyes also exhibit an age-related decline in performance — particularly as we reach our 60s and beyond.

Some age-related eye changes, such as presbyopia, are perfectly normal and don't signify any sort of disease process. While cataracts can be considered an age-related disease, they are extremely common among seniors and can be readily corrected with cataract surgery.

Some of us, however, will experience more serious age-related eye diseases that have greater potential for affecting our quality of life as we grow older. These conditions include glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Source 

The AARP Eye Chart

There a couple of parts of the eye exam that I am not too fond of. One being the eye dilation test. It takes about 15-20 minutes for your eyes to dilate, the test takes about 5 minutes, and it was close to 6 hours before my eyes were back to normal.

The 2nd is the peripheral test - "wow" - what a doozie. The test consists of a series of very faint wiggling gray lines that periodically pop into your field of vision.  You are instructed to stare only at the dot in the middle screen and use the clicker when you see the wiggling lines appear. I wasn't sure what I was seeing half the time. I got a total fail! I had to take the test a couple of times as I was told "the machine caught your eyes looking around!!" After switching me to a different machine,  I did get them all correct but....what the heck happened to the good old days when they used a simple farmhouse to test your peripheral vision?

I have a couple of friends around my age who have macular degeneration and also in my research I learned that glaucoma is the #1 cause of blindness in African Americans, so I was a little concerned. I was really happy to find out after my exam, that I had no signs of color blindness, glaucoma, cataracts, or macular degeneration (which, according to my doctor, is more prevalent in people with blue eyes). However, I am almost 66 - so I do have some slight changes in my vision, but nothing too worry about at this time.

After the exam I tried on the Oliver Peoples frames again, they had originally been my 1st choice, but the 2nd time around they felt just a little bit too tame for me and my new life in retirement.

I really do like the frames but once I put them on, the subtle details disappeared and they looked more like a simple pair of black glasses :( They would have been a sure choice if I were going to continue working in corporate America.

In the final analysis I decided not to go with the Olive Peoples frames and chose instead the Dior frames.

My plan in retirement is to GO BOLD!

The cost of my Dior choice without insurance would have been $1,100!!! Can you believe it? I am always hearing about people who buy their glasses for $99. No, not me. I have never purchased a pair of glasses for less then $500. With my insurance the cost is mere $433. My progressive, transition lens would be $533 alone without the insurance.  There is also a new Hoya Progressive lens that I am getting. It will take 4-5 weeks to get the glasses back. (No "in about an hour" here)

Oh, I also ordered the Prada glasses as my 2nd pair but I will have to pay full price for those - no insurance discount. I think the optometrist office will give me 20% off the frames :)

What is your best bet for healthy eyes after 60?

A healthy diet and wise lifestyle choices, such as not smoking, are your best natural defenses against vision loss as you age. Choose vegetables high in lutein.

Be sure to get your eyes checked yearly after 60 as it is so important!

I'll be sure to post my glasses when I get them!