Night Rider
Yesterday I finally got a long-overdue haircut in Columbus - 3 weeks past cut is a terrible time to endure with short hair. I had lunch with friends and sisters C2 and Monka, visited with them, and then went off to the Renal Cell Networking Group meeting. Saint H and I decided to dine afterwards (I am, after all, ravenous) before driving home, so we adjourned to a nearby restaurant.
My troubles began as I drove toward the restaurant. There's a not-so-well-marked left turn into the restaurant, and a not-so-obvious exit beyond the restaurant. I got into the left-turn lane and then realized that I couldn't see anything against the glare of oncoming lights. I thought I saw the left turn and there was a break in the oncoming stream of light, so I turned.
I'd missed the turn and instead bucked the poor Subaru up over the barrier for the exit, driving the wrong way over the curb. I managed to keep control of the car, and was able to maneuver around to park safely without scaring myself any further.
When I left for home I realized that my visual acuity was almost nil: I could tell that there was a difference between light and dark to my right, but I couldn't focus my right eye and I couldn't distinguish between lights, buildings, and signs. All were just simple blobs of light, and I couldn't tell what was moving and what wasn't. I had a hair-raising 40-mile drive home - thank goodness I'm familiar with the roads and could stay out of most people's way.
Given all the information from Dr. Sam C on the affected brain sectors, I suspected that there was swelling affecting the visual cortex. As instructed, I reported in today! I fired off an email to Dr. G and called Dr. LA's office as Dr. G is out of the office for a few days. Dr. LA's office increased the steroid dose for today and they'll give me further instructions tomorrow.
I may end up in Columbus tomorrow at one of the Cleveland Clinic remote facilities for a scan. In the meantime we had to shuttle a car to the mechanic tonight; short drive on home roads, and at least I could tell what was moving and what was stationary. I'm not planning to drive at night again anytime soon.
My troubles began as I drove toward the restaurant. There's a not-so-well-marked left turn into the restaurant, and a not-so-obvious exit beyond the restaurant. I got into the left-turn lane and then realized that I couldn't see anything against the glare of oncoming lights. I thought I saw the left turn and there was a break in the oncoming stream of light, so I turned.
I'd missed the turn and instead bucked the poor Subaru up over the barrier for the exit, driving the wrong way over the curb. I managed to keep control of the car, and was able to maneuver around to park safely without scaring myself any further.
When I left for home I realized that my visual acuity was almost nil: I could tell that there was a difference between light and dark to my right, but I couldn't focus my right eye and I couldn't distinguish between lights, buildings, and signs. All were just simple blobs of light, and I couldn't tell what was moving and what wasn't. I had a hair-raising 40-mile drive home - thank goodness I'm familiar with the roads and could stay out of most people's way.
Given all the information from Dr. Sam C on the affected brain sectors, I suspected that there was swelling affecting the visual cortex. As instructed, I reported in today! I fired off an email to Dr. G and called Dr. LA's office as Dr. G is out of the office for a few days. Dr. LA's office increased the steroid dose for today and they'll give me further instructions tomorrow.
I may end up in Columbus tomorrow at one of the Cleveland Clinic remote facilities for a scan. In the meantime we had to shuttle a car to the mechanic tonight; short drive on home roads, and at least I could tell what was moving and what was stationary. I'm not planning to drive at night again anytime soon.
Labels: self-awareness, side effects
posted by rcclive at
9:46 PM
1 Comments:
Side effects indeed. Glad to know you are OK but worry about new symptoms. Now that you are out of the drug trial do you know where you'll go from here?
By
Swanknitter, at 8:40 PM
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