Lori Alexander 78: Still Doodling to Go Viral

[SongRed7]

On 12/18/2020 at 5:43 PM, KDA said:

I still can't see Lori's FB page at all. Probably a good thing because the crap she posts infuriates me.

same for me...perhaps it's a Christmas gift afterall

 

[Loveday]

You guys. She's taking a blogging break. Christmas and New Year's will keep her busy, plus one of her daughters is about to give birth and she wants to be available to make her daughter force the newborn to cry it out  help. As well, she's had cataract surgery and can't read very well at the moment. She'll be back to blogging when she gets her head  eyes examined and new glasses.

Except: 

Quote

I most likely won’t be blogging for several weeks unless something pops up that inspires me to write about. I will still be tweeting and posting things on my Facebook page and Instagram. 

In other words, business as usual. 

[Seahorse Wrangler]

9 hours ago, Loveday said:

 As well, she's had cataract surgery and can't read very well at the moment.

I had that and could read the same day. Sure it was orange tinged from the iodide But I had no problems with reading or writing. I also got the nice graduated ones which seriously improved my eye-sight.

[Loveday]

2 hours ago, Seahorse Wrangler said:

I had that and could read the same day. Sure it was orange tinged from the iodide But I had no problems with reading or writing. I also got the nice graduated ones which seriously improved my eye-sight.

You know Lori. She probably made Ken get her a white cane.?

Seriously, though, I'm glad to hear you could read the same day. I know I'm going to need cataract surgery within the next couple of years, and I've worried about that a bit. I can't go five minutes without reading something. I would go mad if I had to go for hours or days without being able to! ?

[Botkinetti]

I hope the doctor is male. If it is a woman I hope the doctor realizes that she will have to stop the surgery to explain to Lori that she would rather be home with her children and not out in the big bad world. 

As we know every female doctor she has ever been in the vicinity of has confided this to Lori. 

[louisa05]

My in-laws called us a couple of years ago and told us that there was something serious they needed to tell us. They came and took us out to dinner. Halfway through dinner, they were ready to drop the big, serious news. They solemnly put their forks down, took deep breaths and mother-in-law dramatically announced that.........she needed cataract surgery. 

Mr05 as his eyes rolled out of his head: "That's it? That's all?" 

Mother-in-law: "It's very serious. I think it's very rare". 

Mr05: "Louisa already has them. For years. She just can't have them removed yet. They're really common! It's an out patient procedure. Her mom had them done and was fine and she barely has retinas left. It's no big deal!"

Why do I think that some scene played out like this with Lori and her children???? 

*I've had cataracts growing since I was 39. They won't remove them until they are bigger and I am older. Early cataracts are common with degenerative myopia. 

**My mom is legally blind. She has had multiple surgeries on her retinas. When her cataracts were removed, they literally had the retinal specialist scrubbed in because she was at extremely high risk for a retinal detachment. She had no problems. 

[feministxtian]

Cataract surgery is as common as flu shots in my family. I may eventually also have to have cataract surgery. It's not like I'm particularly worried about it. The worst of it would be not being able to drive myself. 

My mom eventually ended up legally blind, she had macular degeneration and glaucoma. My eyesight at my age is significantly better than my mother's was at my age. I use reading glasses but only when I'm tired. I can even read my phone without glasses. Evidently I'm winning at the aging game...no high blood pressure, no type 2 diabetes, no eyesight problems. I even still look not too wrinkly. As long as my roots are covered I can take about 10 years off my age...

[Alisamer]

My dad had cataract surgery about a year ago. It was no big deal at all, and he can see really well now. His dad had to have it, too. I'm assuming I'm likely to need that eventually, as well. I've been told my nearsightedness is so severe that implanted lenses would be a better option for me than laser vision correction, so I figure as long as my contacts are getting the job done I'll wait until I need cataract surgery and just get the nice lenses then. 

However I am now at the point of needing readers for very small print, even with my glasses. I keep dollar store ones with my knitting stuff (seriously, Ciaogoo - how is anyone supposed to read the numbers engraved in 2 point type on a shiny silver needle?) and in my craft room.

Lori is incapable of doing anything without it being dramatic and over-the-top, however. 

[louisa05]

20 minutes ago, Alisamer said:

My dad had cataract surgery about a year ago. It was no big deal at all, and he can see really well now. His dad had to have it, too. I'm assuming I'm likely to need that eventually, as well. I've been told my nearsightedness is so severe that implanted lenses would be a better option for me than laser vision correction, so I figure as long as my contacts are getting the job done I'll wait until I need cataract surgery and just get the nice lenses then. 

However I am now at the point of needing readers for very small print, even with my glasses. I keep dollar store ones with my knitting stuff (seriously, Ciaogoo - how is anyone supposed to read the numbers engraved in 2 point type on a shiny silver needle?) and in my craft room.

Lori is incapable of doing anything without it being dramatic and over-the-top, however. 

My optometrist told me at my recent visit that they should have implants for most people within 5-10 years that will last a lifetime as opposed to the ones used now for cataracts which have a shorter lifespan--anyone could have the procedure done, then. They expect to only use them for people with high myopia. That is officially defined as over -6 diopters, but right now, LASIK can correct up to around -7 depending on the person. Unless you have high myopia that continues to progress past your early 30s, you may still be able to get LASIK. 

[Alisamer]

9 minutes ago, louisa05 said:

My optometrist told me at my recent visit that they should have implants for most people within 5-10 years that will last a lifetime as opposed to the ones used now for cataracts which have a shorter lifespan--anyone could have the procedure done, then. They expect to only use them for people with high myopia. That is officially defined as over -6 diopters, but right now, LASIK can correct up to around -7 depending on the person. Unless you have high myopia that continues to progress past your early 30s, you may still be able to get LASIK. 

Thanks for the info!

I'm -10.5 or so, now, so it sounds like the implants would be a better option. Hopefully in 5-10 years I'll either be able to get insurance to help with it, or the cost will come down enough for me to afford it. 

I'm OK with my contacts, right now, so I'm good. I've worn the same kind of weeklies for many years and have had no real problems to the point I almost forget I have them most of the time. I do have slight astigmatism they don't correct for, but it's not a difference worth the cost or hassle of special lenses for that.

[ADoyle90815]

I'm also blocked on her page, but I've never once commented or reacted to anything she's posted. My fiancee has noticed possible cataracts, so after the holidays, he's going to see about getting a referral for an opthamologoist and surgery.

[louisa05]

1 hour ago, Alisamer said:

Thanks for the info!

I'm -10.5 or so, now, so it sounds like the implants would be a better option. Hopefully in 5-10 years I'll either be able to get insurance to help with it, or the cost will come down enough for me to afford it. 

I'm OK with my contacts, right now, so I'm good. I've worn the same kind of weeklies for many years and have had no real problems to the point I almost forget I have them most of the time. I do have slight astigmatism they don't correct for, but it's not a difference worth the cost or hassle of special lenses for that.

Are you progressive or degenerative or neither ? I’m around -10 in my worst eye but contact prescription is -9.5 for balance—other eye is -7.75. Can’t wear contacts that unbalanced and see efficiently. So I’m wearing -8.5 in the good eye.
 

I have degenerative myopia. My mom does as well and was told she’s the worst patient with it that they’ve seen at the University of Iowa.  That’s the top Ophthalmology center in the country—not what you want to be told there. 

[PennySycamore]

@Frog99,  yeah it's a lot of work to induce lactation.  The mom may or may not have some notice that getting a baby.  If she knows ahead of time, she may want to start pumping, investigating meds to help stimulate the milk supply, and doing some nipple stimulation.  she will probably want to have a nursing supplementer like a Lact-Aid or Medela SNS on hand for when the baby arrives.  Some babies will take right to the breast, but others need help transitioning from bottle to breast.  A few babies never take the breast and some of those mothers keep on pumping the little they produce to give to the baby.  The mother will need the help of a good IBCLC or pediatrician in tapering off the supplement.  Some mothers can produce  a full supply, but not everyone can. The goal should be in the nurturing aspect of breastfeeding.

Over 30 years ago,  I helped a mom induce lactation for a baby that she hand her husband were going to adopt.  She did produce milk, but the adoption fell through.  Her husband was a respiratory therapist in the NICU, she was an RN and they ended up adopting a baby from the NICU with complex medical needs.  

[Alisamer]

39 minutes ago, louisa05 said:

Are you progressive or degenerative or neither ? I’m around -10 in my worst eye but contact prescription is -9.5 for balance—other eye is -7.75. Can’t wear contacts that unbalanced and see efficiently. So I’m wearing -8.5 in the good eye.

Honestly I'm not sure? I don't think I've ever been told. I started wearing glasses in 2nd grade, at first it got worse quickly, later I went years with the same prescription. A couple years ago we bumped my prescription up again. What's going on now I'm pretty sure is the standard age-related changes many people get. My eyes are only different by about .5, and we only started using different lenses for each eye a few years ago (because my handbell music was on my left, so I needed the left eye to be slightly stronger than it was).

[mango_fandango]

I have glasses, because of myopia and astigmatism. My left eye is worse, but I forget the exact prescription. I first got glasses when I was about ten, and got contacts when I was 18. I still wear the glasses more, though, because they’re easy to put on in the morning as opposed to washing my hands and carefully putting in a lens, which doesn’t always stick the first time. 

[louisa05]

54 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

I have glasses, because of myopia and astigmatism. My left eye is worse, but I forget the exact prescription. I first got glasses when I was about ten, and got contacts when I was 18. I still wear the glasses more, though, because they’re easy to put on in the morning as opposed to washing my hands and carefully putting in a lens, which doesn’t always stick the first time. 

Count your blessings. As my optometrist constantly tells me,between high myopia and problems of retinal degeneration, glasses don’t provide the best correction for me at all and never will. 

[HoneyBunny]

39 minutes ago, louisa05 said:

Count your blessings. As my optometrist constantly tells me,between high myopia and problems of retinal degeneration, glasses don’t provide the best correction for me at all and never will. 

Same. And I regressed after LASIK, plus was left with an irregular astigmatism. I will have to wear hard contacts even after cataract surgery.  Ugh...I wish someone had told me I wasn’t a good candidate for LASIK.  With the additional issue from retinal degeneration, and since I ended up back in hard contacts within 10 years anyway, I would have saved the $$$$. 

[Sarah92]

So I took a look at the page Alyssa links to for helping her adopt. It’s supposedly a Christian organization so I’m sure they have strict rules about who they adopt to (no gays) but what they mostly have on their page is white people. I think after scrolling for a while I saw one Black and white couple. The next person of color with a child had a caption on it that talked about a white parent having the ever curious child coming up to them asking why they had a Black child.  If they are located in California and can’t present with a more diverse page that tells me a lot about them. 
 

My aunt wanted me to work as a therapist with a Christian adoption org. But they don’t adopt to gay people so that would be a little counterproductive for me as someone who’s bi. They also didn’t provide insurance so there’s that too. Strange that a prolife group can’t provide insurance for its workers. You can’t ask someone to be a licensed clinician who spends thousands for their degree, underpay them, and then not give insurance. 

[Imrlgoddess]

Cataracts.  I'm staring down potential surgery in the next month. (VA approval pending) I went in for a routine checkup & the doc I saw put in the recommendation & treated me for something called Uveitis. It's an inflammation that I had no idea was going on.  I just thought my eyes were tired & my prescription needed to be changed. I'm 43 & she said I'm the youngest she's recommended so far.  

[mango_fandango]

I have sometimes thought about getting laser eye surgery, but I’m rather worried about things going wrong! I have read people on other forums saying it’s the best thing they’ve done, which is somewhat reassuring. My glasses were originally just for the classroom; I remember my year 5 (4th grade) teacher telling me to “go to the opticians then!” as I must’ve complained about not being able to see the whiteboard properly. Now, though, I wear my glasses all the time. I’ve become so used to wearing them, it’d be odd to not have to wear them again. 

[Sarah92]

16 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

I have sometimes thought about getting laser eye surgery, but I’m rather worried about things going wrong! I have read people on other forums saying it’s the best thing they’ve done, which is somewhat reassuring. My glasses were originally just for the classroom; I remember my year 5 (4th grade) teacher telling me to “go to the opticians then!” as I must’ve complained about not being able to see the whiteboard properly. Now, though, I wear my glasses all the time. I’ve become so used to wearing them, it’d be odd to not have to wear them again. 

I thought about it too. My mom is legally blind without her glasses so I figured I’m heading that way too. My eye sight is bad enough that a document about a foot away is blurry. But I also love my glasses and have never really been self conscious about them outside of not liking them when going to formal occasions. So going through the expense is questionable to me. 

[Lgirlrocks]

3 hours ago, Sarah92 said:

I thought about it too. My mom is legally blind without her glasses so I figured I’m heading that way too. My eye sight is bad enough that a document about a foot away is blurry. But I also love my glasses and have never really been self conscious about them outside of not liking them when going to formal occasions. So going through the expense is questionable to me. 

I worked with someone who had it done and she still has to wear glasses. She said they didn’t do it right and I don’t think she wanted them to fix it. She said the whole thing takes ten minutes. They have people lined up back to back. They place a medal ring under your eye lids to keep them open then slit. My eye doctor told me the more they have to do it the more it messes up your cornea. I was going to do it until I talked to her. 

[louisa05]

5 hours ago, Sarah92 said:

I thought about it too. My mom is legally blind without her glasses so I figured I’m heading that way too. My eye sight is bad enough that a document about a foot away is blurry. But I also love my glasses and have never really been self conscious about them outside of not liking them when going to formal occasions. So going through the expense is questionable to me. 

No one is legally blind without glasses. The definition of legally blind is vision of 20/200 or less WITH correction —as in with glasses or contacts. My mother has implants from cataract surgery and trifocals. Her CORRECTED vision is around 20/250 in her best eye. 20/400 in the other. She is actually legally blind. She can’t read without magnification aids. She is not eligible for a drivers license. 
 

People throwing around the phrase “legally blind” to reference vision that can be corrected diminishes the disability. It makes people think they are the same as someone who actually has a vision impairment.  My vision without correction is way worse than 20/200. But it’s correctable to near 20/20. I am not visually impaired or legally blind in any sense. 

[HoneyBunny]

So think long and hard before you have LASIK. I wanted it because my vision was horrible, I had worn glasses since I was 7 and hard contacts since I was 18, and was active motorcycling and scuba diving. LASIK was never great for me, and the sad thing is that I don’t remember when it started to get even worse. I just remember my husband was with me when I was driving and he told me I couldn’t see squat. I’m really glad he did, though I’ve continued to regress to the point where I can’t believe I wouldn’t have noticed something was very wrong. 

[TeddyBonkers]

I had LASIK over 16 years ago (thanks Army!). My vision had progressively worsened every year since I started wearing glasses. For a long time after LASIK, my vision was wonderful, but I do not feel confident driving at night anymore. I need to get my eyes checked and I probably need glasses. 

In Lori news, today is her and Ken's 40th anniversary. She has written a screed about how hard life is, but it is easier with a man by one's side. Shockingly, nothing about how she loves Ken. He is a good provider, though, so that's what matters.