Well, I got them – the varifocals I blogged about the other day – and they proved surprisingly easy to get used to. The only problems I encountered were in the first hour of wearing them when viewing anything in the distance was fine, but a mix of distance and close – in shops, for example – gave me the sensation of vertigo. It was a temporary blip: after an hour of wearing the varifocals, I adjusted and have not had any problems since.
Reading, however, is slightly weird. Mostly, books are fine but I’ve had some odd sensations reading iPhone and Kindle screens both of which take on a parallelogram shape. Apparently this is a common experience that I should be able to rectify by moving my head so that my nose is pointed straight at what I am reading. Sounds easy, but I am still struggling. And I’m definitely reading the computer screen using the distance part of the lens because I can’t read anything online with the reading part – even though my plain old reading glasses seemed to work fine. Distance up and down the nose may be involved here but the mechanics of that are beyond me.
Anyway, there I am – chanelled from ear to nose – and with a definite fiftysomething air.
 I had a text from my favourite optician this week reminding me that it’s time for my annual checkup. It’s annual because there is a history of glaucoma in my family so it is important to keep tabs on what’s happening with the peepers.
I am short sighted and have been wearing specs since my early twenties. I’ve had the Harry Potter style frame, the Deirdre Barlow frame, the frameless frame. I’ve had the sunlight adjusting lens and every coating you can think of. But nothing, absolutely nothing, captures my heart more than sunglasses. It’s reached a point where, if I were to buy another pair, I’d probably buy them secretly because even I know that no one woman needs as many pairs of prescription sunglasses as I own.
Yesterday I popped in to the optician to make an appointment. He had just had a delivery of new styles and showed me what’s popular at the moment. It seems frames are getting bigger again and I’m not at all sure I’m ready to make the move back into those deeper styles nor am I too keen for the ‘stronger’ look of large black frames. So it seems likely that if I make a change, it will probably be towards Ray Ban who apparently do more than sunglasses. In fact, these frames might be just what I need to release my inner sixties child.
According to ClaimTheFrame.com Ray Ban are the top selling brand this year with Diane Von Furstenberg a close second.
You heard it here first, girls!
You have probably experienced these symptoms even if you didn’t recognise them as premenstrual tension
A woman I worked with once told me she felt like an over-ripe tomato when she had PMS and was so sensitive to touch that she thought she would explode if anyone touched her.
For me, it’s noise. There are days when the chatter on the train in the morning goes right through my head putting me in a bad mood that can last all day. Noise sensitivity is, in fact, one of the symptoms of PMS although I hadn’t made the connection until I came across an amazing list of pre-menstrual syndrome symptoms recently. It includes:
- bloating
- abdominal cramping up to 2 weeks before period that may also be felt in the back, thighs, or vaginal area
- poor coordination
- rashes
- breast pain and swelling
- stiff neck
- back/joint pain
- indecisiveness
- slurred speech
- eye problems – dry eyes, difficulty focusing, aching eyes
- tiredness
- hand tingling
- sensitivity to noise, touch or smell
- dizziness / fainting
- pounding or irregular heart
- more – or less – interest in sex
Not to mention the mood and emotion symptoms that are more commonly connected to PMS.
There are some practical steps that can help alleviate these symptoms like avoiding sugar and alcohol, switching to a healthier diet, and taking regular exercise. It’s not a bad idea to have a little refresher on these techniques because by the time we get to peri-menopause when PMS symptoms can resurface as a problem, many of us will have forgotten both how wide the symptoms can be and what’s effective in dealing them. The article cited above is a useful starting point. It has certainly opened my eyes.
For more on the subject of menopause, you may like to read this useful feature from the New York Times.
 © Hallgerd | Dreamstime.com Well, not exactly – but I read clearly now the glasses are gone. A revelation! A true ‘Duh’ moment. You see I had noticed that I could read on the beach without my specs and not a bother but it had not occurred to me that I might be able to read better without them at home too.
Then, yesterday, the optician told me that I should remove my glasses for reading – at least until I get my new ‘readers’. Up to yesterday, I thought ‘readers’ were used by schoolchildren. The menopause lessons continue, it seems.
How I wish I had known I could read without prescription lenses though. Last time I passed through duty free in Dublin airport they had the most wonderful Karen Millen sunglasses. I could have worn them for reading outdoors on that sun holiday.
It’s enough to make you cry.
I mentioned my rose-tinted menopause wellies on twitter recently and was amused when someone asked if ‘wellies’ meant ‘glasses’ in Ireland. Sadly no. Wellies, for those who don’t know it, mean rubber boots of the gardening variety.
The question got me thinking about eyesight though. It is past time for my two-year check up and time to make an appointment.
Opticians don’t like to be ageist but once you’ve hit 40 there is no hiding the fact that they’re just waiting for you to enter bifocal territory. I’ve avoided the indignity for the last 10 years but now I have the merest hint of a suspicion that change is afoot.
Find your lost asses!
It began slowly but more and more I find myself startled by what at first sight appear to be truly astonishing news headlines. “Find your lost asses” turned out on closer inspection to read “Find your lost assets” while Dragons of HRT, rather disappointingly was ‘Dangers of HRT’. I would so love to be a Dragon of HRT! “Banker furry over witch-hunt” disappointingly had nothing to do with hirsute bankers or crone like witches but was instead a story about banker fury and tax.
How much more exciting the morning papers would be if these fantastical stories were making the news. Sadly, I must enjoy it while I can. I suspect it won’t be long before I’ll be all decked out in new rose-tinted specs – very possibly of the varifocal variety …
|
|
|
