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reddirt
climber
Elevation 285 ft
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Aug 29, 2009 - 01:32am PT
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So sorry to hear about that Ed... but I'm guessing it's pretty correctable. I had a HS teacher who did just fine w/ the surgery.
One of the things I always hated about climbing & sunglasses was flipping them on & off depending on the shade. Then I discovered some photochromic lenses that don't look silly. I've got 2 pairs of Julbo Advance, which are stupidly spendy, but have block 59-93% of light & 100% UV. The rubber parts break down, but you can get spares. The cheapest I've seen them is at campmor for just under $100.
I used to hate cateyes but needed the retainer to prevent losing the glasses. Hides Classic 3-in-1 Sunglasses Retainer works super well, & has a built in "case".
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roy
Social climber
New Zealand -> Santa Barbara
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Aug 29, 2009 - 02:08am PT
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Hi Melissa,
I discovered that I had a pterygium about 7 or 8 years ago when it became detached. Basically a flapper on your eyeball. That was pretty freaky - not to mention extremely painful - and I was in the eye doctor's that day. But it soon reattached and the pain subsided. It turned out that I have two in each eye. Over the years the grow or shrink and are not really a problem. I can just see them by pushing up my lower eyelid - they bunch up a bit.
i thought that they would interfere with my contacts but they don't. But I've found that I can't use the more recent larger diameter multifocal contacts - they might be interfering there.
I'm pretty good about wearing sunglasses (blue eyes, fair hair and growing up in a country with one of the highest UV exposures in the world).
I think that you'll find that they become no big deal. I've never considered having surgery to remove them. When I first found out about it the doctor told me that if I removed them they would probably grow back in a couple of months anyway.
I had essentially forgotten about them until your post. I hope that it works out the same way for you.
Cheers, Roy
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Captain...or Skully
Social climber
Boise....
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Aug 29, 2009 - 09:17am PT
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With the exception of my boardin' goggles, I've never worn sunglasses in my whole life.
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dave goodwin
climber
carson city, nv
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"even when buying cheap sunglasses, like six dolla heart shaped stunna glasses, if they say protect you 100% from uv/uvb rays then you are in the clear."
although true beware, cheap shades use a coating to protect you from the uv/uvb rays. After a period of time due to cleaning the coating will wear off. Brand name glasses usually $80 and up actually sandwich the uv/uvb protection between the layers of glass and will be their for the life of the glasses.
Most people who buy cheap glasses will probably lose or break them long before the protection wears off, so it really is not an issue. but if you happen to have them for awhile then beware-you may not still be protecting your eyes from harmful rays.
take care
dave
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Fig's Lady
Social climber
Bishop, CA
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Oct 10, 2009 - 01:55am PT
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I am trying to find Bucci denali glasses. anyone know of any out there? I have tried the usual routes...so any link beyond that will be great
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 18, 2009 - 02:03pm PT
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Update for the pterygium suffers out there (nita, Pewf, Roy, etc.)...
My pterygium was growing over my iris/cornea and my eye was as red as a cherry every day. It hurt so bad by the end of the day, it was stopping me from doing my work. So I decided that even though the recurrence is pretty high (~5%), I'd get it off.
A month ago I had it removed. It didn't hurt any more immediately after the surgery than the pterygium did. The surgery was totally comfortable and painless. I couldn't see or feel anything in the effected eye, and they knocked me out for like 1 minute while they numbed it and blocked my vision. My previously affected eye is now more clear than the other one. I lost a tiny bit of vision (negligeable) that my doc said may return when I'm totally healed and not taking drops any more. If the pterygium comes back, I'd do the surgery again in a heart beat. I look/feel so much better.
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murcy
climber
sanfrancisco
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Dec 18, 2009 - 03:18pm PT
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That's very good news, Melissa.
Just to kick in about polarized prescription sunglasses. A relatively inexpensive source is: http://www.glassesshop.com/sunglasses.html. They are in China, so it takes a couple of weeks to get your glasses.
Also, http://zennioptical.com has really cheap prescription glasses with polarized clip-on shades, which in addition to being cheap are a solution to the "it might get dark" problem.
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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Dec 18, 2009 - 03:25pm PT
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Melissa - Good to hear the good news..
Thank you for you post to the community... It will help someone else with this problem in the future, I'm sure.
Take Care
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Dec 18, 2009 - 03:35pm PT
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Psyched for you Melissa! you shold have a talk with Gary about this tomorrow, though I guess you have...
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Dec 18, 2009 - 04:31pm PT
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Ed,
I'd missed this thread the first time. I had cataracts removed from both my eyes nine years ago. I was their "pediatric patient" at age 49. My ophthalmologist opined that the many years I'd climbed and played golf in the sun without eye protection probably had a great deal to do with the development of cataracts at such an early age.
Cataract surgery, for me, was almost fantastic in its ease and outcome. For the first one, I was out by 8:30 a.m., stopped by my office to finish a brief, and spent the remainder of the day resting and watching March Madness. Immediately upon the conclusion of the surgery, I could see out of the repaired eye without glasses better than I could see out of either eye before glasses. Colors became dazzlingly vivid (I freaked out my wife in the recovery room because I couldn't stop staring at the deep blue of her eyes).
The second eye was corrected for nearer vision (the first gave me better distance vision). While I still use glasses, the correction is now minimal, and I can see much better without glasses than I could with them before the surgery. The procedure is painless (they use eye drops as the only anesthesia. You are not under a general.), quick, and dramatically effective. I'm told in a year or two I may need to have some cloudiness zapped out of my replacement lenses, but that is a simple matter. Meanwhile, in the nine years since the surgery, I've had no vision issues.
If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to email me.
John
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nita
Social climber
chica from chico, I don't claim to be a daisy
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Dec 18, 2009 - 05:45pm PT
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Melissa, Thanks for the update, good to hear it was a success! Did your insurance cover the procedure?
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 18, 2009 - 05:52pm PT
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They did. I think that if you have a medical indication (growing into cornea and pain), they generally do.
Still, it was only $650 for 2 hours of a my surgeon, an anesthesiologist, and a nurse's time and gear. I thought it was a bargain for the result.
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Mighty Hiker
climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Dec 18, 2009 - 05:53pm PT
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"I get the flame red ones, because they make me look angry all the time. Helps me with my attitude problems."
In what way? :-)
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Patrick Sawyer
climber
Originally California now Ireland
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Damn Jim, I keep losing mine as well, and when the patent ran out on Vuarnets I picked up a good pair of Austrian-made Bucci's with the same lens and cats eyes for about half the price. Lost those too after about 16 years, which is about the time I have averaged with each pair of my Vuarnets until they go missing.
BTW, after over 14 years in Ireland with no sunlight (rain and then some more rain) I do not have to worry (but I still wear shades).
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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anti UV coated prescription glasses, here. when I wore contacts I used to wear shades almost right out of bed in the morning.
Daphne and I ran into Melissa on the Sunday after her thursday surgery, it was amazing how quickly she was back on her feet, so to speak.
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Brian Hench
Trad climber
Anaheim, CA
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Any cheap glasses will filter out all the shorter wavelength UV B rays. The longer UV A rays are filtered to different degrees, but I believe even the worst glasses filter those to at least 95%. Plastics, especially polycarbonate are better than glass at filtering longer wavelengths (UV A).
The shorter wavelengths are the ones that do the most surface damage to skin and eyes (i.e. pterygium). The longer ones penetrate deeper and are thought to damage the collagen in the skin causing wrinkles. All sunscreens filter UV B, but only some are designed to filter UV A as well.
Photochromic lenses respond to UV light only. If they responded to visible light they'd have to absorb it. They would be opaque! It's known that they respond better in cold weather than in warm. The reason they darken in cloudy weather and in shade is that UV light scatters and diffracts a lot more readily than visible light. It doesn't take a lot of the shorter wavelengths to darken the lenses.
Cataracts are caused by ionizing radiation (as well as by numerous other causes). This includes both UV as well as cosmic rays. Both UV and cosmic rays are more abundant at high altitude. So wear your sunglasses!
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bvb
Social climber
flagstaff arizona
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eeeeewwwwwwww.
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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Topic Author's Reply - Jan 6, 2010 - 12:23pm PT
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My eye is feeling PUURRRRFECT now. Doc said so too yesterday.
:-)
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Ferretlegger
Trad climber
san Jose, CA
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An inexpensive and versatile way to get good eye protection is to use industrial safety glasses. These can be found with all styles (many attractive), ranging from wrap around "stylish" to full on side shields, and in shades from clear to very dark, metalized, yellow, etc. Typically they cost only $5 at the low end, and are very tough. I use full on side shield versions for sailing, switching from dark to clear at night. These really help with wind protection (I wear contacts). One can get industrial safety glasses at most welding stores, tool stores, many hardware stores, McMaster Carr (www.mcmaster.com- a great resource for all sorts of hardware, etc), MSC (mscdirect.com- professional tools supply, massive), and many more places. They also work great for bicycling and climbing. Since they are intended to be used in work applications, they typically have low distortion and are usually made from Lexan or other impact resistant material. I have found them quite satisfactory for many years, and the price allows for keeping lots around, so you always have a pair.
All the best,
Michael Jefferson
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ozrock
Trad climber
Granite Bay, California
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I spent most of my life surfing in Australia and now live in northern California. From all the time in the sun and surf I got this growth on my eyes. They were forever soar and dry and I was always putting eye drops in my eyes. They got really red after a few beers.
I finally found a surgen that was comfortable to take these things off my eyes. It is a brutal surgery you are awake while the doctor is cutting this growth off your eye and that was the semi painless. It is the next day and week to come that is nasty its like you have twigs in you eyes. Now I never have to put drops in my eyes and they are clear and feel great.
So wear your bloody sunglasses.
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