Problems seem like mountains when depressed

Diseases & Conditions Depression
1
about 3 months ago I accidently put ear wax drops instead of eye drops into my eye. My vision was instantly blurred and still is.

I washed it out with water first, then went to the net which said the same thing, then called my optomitrist eye doctor who gives me new glasses every now and then, who said the same thing.

But my eye still stayed blurred for those 3 or so months.

Three weeks ago, I’m talking to my daughter in law and I’m telling her about the blurred vision and she said something like she had eye trouble some time ago and she went to an optomoligist (sp?) (medical degree) and he was able to help her.

She emphazied that an optomoligist (medial degree) is different than an optomitrist (no medical degree), and that I should go see such an eye doctor rather than my optometrist (no medical degree). (They're both called doctor so that can add to the confusion.)

First I had thought of that.

That was 3 weeks ago and I was slow to act on the information. Finally, today, after seeing something on the net that made me get going. I called and made the appt. for today which I just got back from.

The medical doctor, optomoligist, said he had a procedure that could correct that. I could hardly believe that. For about 3 months I was thinking there was no way. I even went to my regular eye doctor (optomitrist, no medical degreee), right after this happened about 3 mlonths ago, and that person made no mention of my seeing an optomologist (medcial doctor). Only gave me new glasses which didn’t correct anything.

It took a luck event of my daughter in law suggestiong an optomologist (medical doctor). Very lucky and very unprofessional of the optometrist (no medical degree) not to inform me of that.

Why did I wait 3 weeks after hearing my daughter in law give me the advice before acting on it?

I can feel downtrodden when having a health or other problem and the obstacle of trying to fix it can seem too high for me; to require too much mental and physical energy for me to overcome the obstacle.

I feel very uninspired. I can try to help other people with their problems, because their difficulties don’t weigh me down. Mine do.

I have bipolar so I want to see if their is something on the net which can affect me when I’m trying to solve problems.

Mayoclinic.org. said below:

"Bipolar disorder, formerly called manic depression, is a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings. These include emotional highs, also known as mania or hypomania, and lows, also known as depression. Hypomania is less extreme than mania.

"When you become depressed, you may feel sad or hopeless and lose interest or pleasure in most activities. When your mood shifts to mania or hypomania, you may feel very excited and happy (euphoric), full of energy or unusually irritable. These mood swings can affect sleep, energy, activity, judgment, behavior and the ability to think clearly.
Episodes of mood swings from depression to mania may occur rarely or multiple times a year. Each bout usually lasts several days. Between episodes, some people have long periods of emotional stability. Others may frequently have mood swings from depression to mania or both depression and mania at the same time.

"Although bipolar disorder is a lifelong condition, you can manage your mood swings and other symptoms by following a treatment plan. In most cases, healthcare professionals use medicines and talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy, to treat bipolar disorder."

I take mediciine for my bipolar, which is Mirtazapine (anti-depressant) and Lithium (a stablelizer which keeps the anti-depressant from throwing me into mania).And it has kept me functioning and no panic attacks for over 30 years.

But I see now more than ever, I can still get low when I'm faced with a difficulty.

Above it said about bipoplar:

"When you become depressed, you may feel sad or hopeless and lose interest or pleasure in most activities." Hopeless is a feeling I have when I have a problem that for whatever reason is too much.

It says above, (The mood swings, high and lowsmile "can affect judgment, behavior and the ability to think clearly."

"Can affect the ability to think clearly" and "feeings of hoplessness."

That pretty well describes it for me. I can see that now, I'm not having a problem. It's when I'm having a problem that I feel worn down and have difficulty overcoming it.
2
I'm sorry this happened to you, though ear drops vs. eye drops seems to be a common mistake that should normally cause only temporary problems. In any case, ophthalmologist (MD) is better than optometrist for this (your primary doctor (MD) could probably handle it as well or refer you as appropriate).

I know the feeling of depression turning any minor issue or annoyance into an insurmountable challenge...
SWM
MDD+PDD
3
Tim Tam.

I am sorry that this happened to you. I hope you get help from the ophthalmologist. Boy I had a hard time spelling that, looked at you guys post. I guess that is not a word I use often, though I saw one for ocular migraines.

I hope you continue to get your clear sight back. I feel like you will. It probably takes time.

It seems like when we face things like this, depression gets harder to cope with. I have had depression most of my life. I have been on medications though and the symptoms are bearable. I feel normal when I take the medications. Which is always.

Keep us posted, I am glad that you reached out and posted, the forum has been pretty much at a stand still.

Hugs,

Getting by...
Moderator-Depression


fibromyalgia, Chronic fatigue, depression, allergies, diabetes (type 2), breast cancer 2021
4
Paul, Thank you for that.

You said, “I know the feeling of depression turning any minor issue or annoyance into an insurmountable challenge...”

Are you able deal with that?

getting by:

I have an appt. with the ophthalmologist (MD) in early December to help me with this blurred right eye, so I’ll try to keep everyone posted.

I think it can also be, the answer can be right under your nose and a person might not see it.

You said, “I am glad that you reached out and posted, the forum has been pretty much at a stand still. I appreciate your response."

Because of your good will, Karen, maybe this will give me an excuse to mention somebody else: Trina.

Under my ever present post in this Depression forum, I ask the still unanswered question, “Yeah, but where is Trina?”

Trina, Moderator - Depression
"...when the gift of sight is cause enough for jubilation."
Billy Collins-poem. HIGH
DX: RevrsTNA Cmplx Migraines:C-PTSD MDD

In that above post I wrote: “I looked for her poem, HIGH, by Billy Collins but couldn’t find it.”

But in looking on the net for that poem by Billy Collins, I did find this by the same author:

““Much has been said about being in the present. It’s the place to be, according to the gurus, like the latest club on the downtown scene, but no one, it seems, is able to give you directions”. --Billy Collins

“I’m still searching.”

No one has words that calm like Trina. If there was a way we could bottle that tranquility we could sell it on the net and retire on the beach.

A favorite poem of Trina's, "To Lemma, March 12, 1887':

“When the golden sun is setting
And your mind from care is free
And of distant friends you’re thinking
Will you sometimes think of me?

Lafaette Potts

“Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.”
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

Thank you Tim Tam
Peace Trina

Thanks, Tim Tam.


Thanks for remembering Joyce. She is sadly missed.

Hugs, Karen...

Or, as I put it then, “Some people are the heart of this thread and one was the soul.”
Tim Tam Tom

"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."
— J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Beauty remains, even in misfortune.
— Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

At the end of the day, you’re entitled to every one of your feelings. Don’t allow anyone to belittle you for your sensitivity. Vulnerability does not make us weak; it makes us human.
— Melissa Kerman, To Anyone Who’s Afraid Of Being Vulnerable

Strength comes from your vulnerability, and being able to step outside of your pride, your protective shell, your fear and say, ‘I need help.’
— Marisa Donnelly, It’s Okay To Ask For Help, You Know

"I have spread my dreams under your feet; / Tread softly because you tread on my dreams"
—W. B. Yeats, "Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven"

"She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together."
—J. D. Salinger, "A Girl I Knew"

“Poetry is what happens when nothing else can.”
― Charles Bukowski

“A dream, all a dream, that ends in nothing, and leaves the sleeper where he lay down, but I wish you to know that you inspired it.”
—Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

“Neighbours bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between. Boo was our neighbour. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good luck pennies, and our lives.” —Ms. Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

“Poetry might be defined as the clear expression of mixed feelings.”
― W.H. Auden, New Year Letter

Richer than I you can never be,
I had a mother who read to me.

Post Edited (Tim Tam) : 10/23/2025 1:20:13 AM (GMT-4)

5
Hi Tim Tam,

I am sorry but I believe that Trina has left the forum among many others.

I still check it. Not a lot going on here.

I hope your eyes get better soon and that your depression is at bay.

Hugs, Karen...
Moderator-Depression


fibromyalgia, Chronic fatigue, depression, allergies, diabetes (type 2), breast cancer 2021
6

Tim Tam said...
Paul, Thank you for that.

You said, “I know the feeling of depression turning any minor issue or annoyance into an insurmountable challenge...”

Are you able deal with that?



Still working on that. Maybe one day we'll all be past it. In any case, I hope your eye problem gets resolved, leading to good things (I find that a fix for anything problematic tends to help, maybe just due to proving that things can improve...)
7
I said in an earlier post on this thread that I had blurred vision in my right eye from accidently putting an ear wax drop in my eye. I said I went to my optometrist (not a medical doctor). They examined my eyes and would have known a new eye glass prescription wasn’t improving my blurred right eye. They sold me a new pair of glasses anyway but didn’t say to go to an ophthalmologist (a medical doctor who treats eye problems).

Went for 3 months with blurred vision in my right eye not knowing it might could be fixed because my optometrist (not a medical doctor) did not tell me to go to a ophthalmologist (a medical doctor who treats eye problems) if the new glasses didn’t work.

Daughter in law said I needed to see, not an optometrist (no medical degree), but to see an ophthalmologist (a medical doctor who treats eye problems). I did that and four days ago had laser procedure which corrected the problem. Had my daughter in law not told me about seeing an ophthalmologist (a medical doctor who treats eye problems), not an optometrist (not a medical doctor) I would forever had blurred vision in my right eye.

How could I have figured this out on my own? I may not have. So, I’m thinking, would the search engine on the net have helped me with this? I would ordinarily suggest going there for help with health or other problems, but I gave the search engine an after-the-fact test to see if it would have helped me.

I found the search engine and the net to be lacking.

I typed in “How to correct blurred vision.” I knew the answer (go to an ophthalmologist [a medical doctor who treats eye problems] not an optometrist (no medical degree].)

But none of the websites came out and said that. None of them said like my daughter in law said, “Go to an ophthalmologist [is a medical doctor who treats eye problems] not an optometrist (no medical degree).”

They didn’t say, “If you have sudden blurred vision, or if you see your problem is not solved by a visit with an optometrist (not a medical doctor) and new glasses, go to an ophthalmologist (a medical doctor.) They have procedures (surgery, laser or lasik) which optometrists (non-medical doctor) don’t have.”

They would say that indirectly over a span of several paragraphs but did not directly put it together: “If your problem is not corrected by an optometrist (not a medical doctor), you might try an ophthalmologist (a medical doctor) who has procedures that optometrists do not.”

What helped after I had my blurred eye corrected by an ophthalmologist (a medical doctor) with laser or lasik procedure was wondering if I really needed my unaffected or left eye done with that process even though the medical eye doctor recomended that. My positive thinking helped with that and got me to wondering. I went to the net and one website (mayoclinic.org) said, “If your vision is generally OK, you don’t need it.”

I called and cancelled the appointment for my other, or left eye. The procedure cost my two insurance companies $4,000 an eye, so the eye group would have profited by getting me to do an unneeded procedure on my good eye.

I once had a psychiatrist get me to go into a psychiatric hospital for a month even though the anti-depressant he gave me got me out of my depression before I even went into the hosopital and I told him that. The unneeded hospital stay cost my insurance company $40,000 and all I did was play ping-pong. Oh, after the month long stay and my insurance money ran out, I was suddenly pronounced cured and went home.

Psychiatrists get a kickback from each patient they get to go into a hospital.