COVID-19 Self isolation - again!

They've basically said the only way I'll speak to the practice manager is to write in a complaint. She and I both know that'll never happen, although I'm pretty sure she's not the one telling her staff to say that - it's not her style.

Besides, at this point I'm ready to go over their heads. The pals office should be open tomorrow so I'll give them a ring, and if they can't help it'll be NHS England next. The note to the CQC and the message to the mp, both are sent and now it's just a matter of waiting to see if there's a reply to them. I know the social worker is happy to lean on them, and I see my psychiatrist tomorrow, perhaps she'll make herself useful there too.

I can get very noisy when I have to.
 
So, another update, but this one is slightly more hopeful. My GP surgery sent out an automated text message to anyone on their list today, which includes me, saying, "Rochdale now has a walk-through testing centre for all adults and children over the age of 3 who would like to be tested for coronavirus, regardless of symptoms." After the cack they've been coming out with for the last few weeks, I could be forgiven for wondering what the hell they were playing at. They said it went to everyone, but they'd take me off the list, and the most important part - they'd get the practice manager to call me back.

Well, by the time that call ended, she didn't sound very happy. She said she'd look into what happened during the phonecall on the 17th where I was told it wouldn't kill me not to have it, and why I was told to get myself tested after repeatedly pointing out the NHS said there was zero reason to bother. Because I've had to talk to so many different members of staff over the phone, messages clearly aren't being passed along correctly and that means nobody's connecting the dots properly to work out what's been going on. She did say that a doctor had written to Leeds, but since he only did it after talking to me on Thursday he doesn't get a gold star for that, it should've been done much sooner. The same doctor rang my social worker today and she was saying he was very apologetic, and they were working on ways to get me into the building to have the injection, and that communication had obviously been poor and that was no fault of mine, and I'm sitting there like, "Yeah, the practice manager has had a go at him." She'd said to me she was going to interrupt his surgery time and wasn't going to be apologetic for it, so I can only imagine how badly that conversation actually went lol.

I'm so ready for this to be over and done with. I can't help my eyesight issues, it's not like they're randomly new or anything. Even if we get it sorted this time we're going to have a problem next time because the only way to get into the building (normally) requires me to be able to see the reception desk from outside the door so I can answer the buzzer properly. That's impossible for me with no glasses on. But getting this first injection is the priority. I can worry about the next one after it's done.
 
I’m glad something is finally being sorted so you can have your injection! Once that is done then you can tackle the eyes. ✋🏾
 
Siikibam said:
I’m glad something is finally being sorted so you can have your injection! Once that is done then you can tackle the eyes. ✋🏾
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I have an eye test booked for August 12th, I'd ask for contact lenses again which would make it easier but I've not had contacts in 2 years so they'd be iffy about it. I envy people who can go outside and walk across a road with no glasses on lol.
 
Lorcan said:
I have an eye test booked for August 12th, I'd ask for contact lenses again which would make it easier but I've not had contacts in 2 years so they'd be iffy about it. I envy people who can go outside and walk across a road with no glasses on lol.
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Me too! I have to wear mine constantly. They once broke just after I got to work! I couldn’t see people until they were just over an arms length away! And even then faces were blurry. And I had to stand right in front of the shelf and squint to see the label. Luckily I had a spare pair - can’t drive without them!

Why would they be iffy about you having contacts? Could you do the trial thing then use them once that’s all okay? I can’t wear them for long and don’t like putting fingers near eyeballs so stopped long ago.
 
Siikibam said:
Me too! I have to wear mine constantly. They once broke just after I got to work! I couldn’t see people until they were just over an arms length away! And even then faces were blurry. And I had to stand right in front of the shelf and squint to see the label. Luckily I had a spare pair - can’t drive without them!

Why would they be iffy about you having contacts? Could you do the trial thing then use them once that’s all okay? I can’t wear them for long and don’t like putting fingers near eyeballs so stopped long ago.
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They insist on a contact lens check every 12 months. Making sure the prescription is accurate (since it's not always the same as the glasses prescription), making sure the eyes are healthy enough to wear them etc. It's the sort of thing it's very hard to social distance during and I haven't had one for 2 years. Plus I can't wear standard contacts, my astigmatism is bad enough that I require contact lenses specifically for astigmatism, and they usually have to be ordered in because they're not commonly worn. I don't mind putting my fingers that close to my eyes though, it doesn't bother me. The only downside to contacts is, I have my glasses with reactions lenses because one of my migraine triggers is sunlight. Can't do that with contacts.

I usually only get one pair at a time, but I keep my previous prescription glasses so if a pair breaks I'm not completely done for.
 
I know it’s not the best option but could you have some lightly tinted sunglasses to wear around when you have your contacts in?

I used to only get one pair but transport is difficult where we are now. So I can’t afford to have one pair in case they break - I couldn’t drive or go anywhere...well I could walk but I don’t feel it’s safe to do so.
 
They'd have to be tinted almost black, I don't know if it's just Specsavers lenses that do it but mine are almost permanently black if I'm outside in summer (or if I leave them on the windowsill...woke up from a nap one day to find I'd left them under the blinds and one of the little metal ball chain things was lying over them...so everything else was black and then there was this clear line down one lens from the blind chain lol).
 
Hi buddy, just wanted to send you a hug.
What a throughly shite time of it. Hoping things start to turn for you x
 
sport_billy said:
Hi buddy, just wanted to send you a hug.
What a throughly shite time of it. Hoping things start to turn for you x
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Thanks mate, it's been a long time since a situation has exhausted me quite like this one has.
 
Oh Lorcan you really are being repeatedly poked with a sh***y stick here. Glad you are continuing to fight though, the level of care you are receiving is simply not good enough. I hope it turns a corner soon and you don't have an ongoing fight
 
@Siikibam @Lorcan I feel your pain with glasses. I'm stuck with mine & although I've made peace with them now I'm jealous of everyone with 'perfect eyes'.

So glad you got an appointment @Lorcan! Cannot believe you've had to put up with all this & that professionals are able to treat people this way!
 
Thanks @Sar they've basically admitted that they screwed up badly, not that it means much 6 weeks down the line.
 
Sar said:
@Siikibam @Lorcan I feel your pain with glasses. I'm stuck with mine & although I've made peace with them now I'm jealous of everyone with 'perfect eyes'.

So glad you got an appointment @Lorcan! Cannot believe you've had to put up with all this & that professionals are able to treat people this way!
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You know I can’t remember what it was like to not wear glasses all the time! Unfortunately my son is like me, although he started younger. He’s almost at the same prescription as me. The older girl is long sighted so luckily doesn’t have to wear all the time. The youngest...not needed yet but I have a feeling she will eventually.
Lorcan said:
Thanks @Sar they've basically admitted that they screwed up badly, not that it means much 6 weeks down the line.
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Shouldn’t have happened but the horse has already bolted. Now they need to make sure it’s rectified and you get what you need!
 
Mine used to be much worse - at one point I was hitting -3.5s in both eyes. Now one is usually at -2.75 and the other swaps between -2.75 and -2.5. Doesn't sound like much but it makes life interesting. When I was in hospital a few years back I had no glasses for the first 2 weeks (out of 5), and I remember when I got them and the ward's SHO came to talk to me and I was like...who are you? I'd spoken to her several times by that stage but I had no idea what she looked like, and she was hardly a distance away from me, she'd taken my bloods and everything.

My astigmatism prescription jumps around all over the place, though, and it's the one that tends to cause me headaches when it's off. I had an argument with an optician about this, I'd gone in and said my prescription was off and they'd argued that it couldn't be, I'd only been tested a year before. No way, it was off. Turns out the astigmatism had shifted very, very slightly. "But it's not enough for you to need new glasses." "I'm here because I told you it was off. I told *you*." "...right. New glasses it is then."
 
Lorcan said:
Mine used to be much worse - at one point I was hitting -3.5s in both eyes. Now one is usually at -2.75 and the other swaps between -2.75 and -2.5. Doesn't sound like much but it makes life interesting. When I was in hospital a few years back I had no glasses for the first 2 weeks (out of 5), and I remember when I got them and the ward's SHO came to talk to me and I was like...who are you? I'd spoken to her several times by that stage but I had no idea what she looked like, and she was hardly a distance away from me, she'd taken my bloods and everything.

My astigmatism prescription jumps around all over the place, though, and it's the one that tends to cause me headaches when it's off. I had an argument with an optician about this, I'd gone in and said my prescription was off and they'd argued that it couldn't be, I'd only been tested a year before. No way, it was off. Turns out the astigmatism had shifted very, very slightly. "But it's not enough for you to need new glasses." "I'm here because I told you it was off. I told *you*." "...right. New glasses it is then."
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So there is a glimmer of hope that they can improve? I'm around -3.5/-3.75 I think. My son is around -3.25. They've stayed almost the same for a good while, only getting very slightly worse. But my long sightedness has also set in now. I dodged the astigmatism but one of my sisters has it. And we all now wear glasses, even the 2/3 who didn't need them growing up!
 
Siikibam said:
So there is a glimmer of hope that they can improve? I'm around -3.5/-3.75 I think. My son is around -3.25. They've stayed almost the same for a good while, only getting very slightly worse. But my long sightedness has also set in now. I dodged the astigmatism but one of my sisters has it. And we all now wear glasses, even the 2/3 who didn't need them growing up!
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They can do. My leaps between prescriptions (both better and worse) were large as a teen, and then around 18/19 into my early 20s it settled for a bit and I had the same prescription for about...5, 6 years? Then in my mid 20s it started to hop again, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was. I'm 32 now, I figure if it was going to settle it would've done by now.

I mean I know my prescription would be much worse, but people who aren't shortsighted don't quite seem to understand that even if you're at the "low" end, it doesn't mean you can actually do anything without them. I nearly got into the wrong car earlier because I couldn't tell which one was my taxi, which was embarrassing lol. I mean is that dark blob a parked car, or a bush in the shade, or a moving car, or something else entirely? The rest of my immediate family are all longsighted and I used to get the brunt of the jokes because I was the only one who had to wear glasses full time, even though their + prescriptions were actually bigger than my - ones.
 
I only found out I have bad eyes on the day of my driving test January 2019. I was so nervous coz I couldn't properly read the registration number when hubby was quizzing me on the way to meet my driving instructor! During the actual test, the examiner ask me to read 3 registration numbers and I only managed to read the last one correctly at a bit nearer distance. She asked me after that if I usually wear glasses and I told her I never wore one. I think what helped me was it was also quite a gloomy and darker day so hubby said views will be a bit obscured. And thankfully, I passed my driving test for the first time. The next day hubby took me to the optician and when I relayed the story, she couldn't believed I passed my driving test and told me I really needed glasses when driving. 😂😂 Now I wear glasses while in the car (whether I'm driving or not) and sometimes when I watch tv. After my driving test, I realised why I can't properly read football or tennis scores on tv (I always ask hubby), and that days aren't looking gloomy all the time. 🤣🤣🤣
 
Siikibam said:
So there is a glimmer of hope that they can improve? I'm around -3.5/-3.75 I think. My son is around -3.25. They've stayed almost the same for a good while, only getting very slightly worse. But my long sightedness has also set in now. I dodged the astigmatism but one of my sisters has it. And we all now wear glasses, even the 2/3 who didn't need them growing up!
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I’ve worn glasses since I was 5. As I’ve got older the age related changes mean my prescription has decreased and there was a suggestion I might correct enough not to need them anymore! Weird! I’m down from -3.5 to -3 And -2.75.
 
Tigermoth said:
I’ve worn glasses since I was 5. As I’ve got older the age related changes mean my prescription has decreased and there was a suggestion I might correct enough not to need them anymore! Weird! I’m down from -3.5 to -3 And -2.75.
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Woohoo! I’ve never been told that though. My long sightedness isn’t enough to need glasses yet, though they did try and sell me some for a ridiculous price 🤨
 
They told me that too - that my eyes improved as I got older....they did improve.....but then went the other way. I used to be long sighted but now I’m shorted sighted
 
Siikibam said:
Woohoo! I’ve never been told that though. My long sightedness isn’t enough to need glasses yet, though they did try and sell me some for a ridiculous price 🤨
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It's like when you go around the entire shop and the only pair of glasses that looks good on you is the most expensive set they have. That's what happened to me last year...people think you go with designer frames because they're designer, and you go with them because you'd look ridiculous in anything else - he says, sighing at his current Karen Millen pair.

As a note, someone from the CQC just rang me. They're gonna get in touch with the practice manager to ask what happened, why things took so long, why nobody put 2+2 together sooner, and what they're planning to do to make sure it doesn't happen again.
 
Piggies&buns said:
They told me that too - that my eyes improved as I got older....they did improve.....but then went the other way. I used to be long sighted but now I’m shorted sighted
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How bad were they before?
 
Siikibam said:
How bad were they before?
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It was 20 odd years ago so I don’t remember exactly the numbers but it wasn’t very bad but bad enough to need glasses 😂. I was long sighted for about four years and have been short sighted ever since
 
@Siikibam @Lorcan my eyes are pretty horrific. My prescription is quite high - only good thing about this (I think!) Is that last two eye tests my prescription has only changed by .25 & optician says this is good. One eye is dodgy anyway with a condition that I can never remember name of & a squint, the other is my good eye & has astigmatism. My eyes got all the luck unfortunately!

Lorcan said:
Thanks @Sar they've basically admitted that they screwed up badly, not that it means much 6 weeks down the line.
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A part of me would be asking for this in writing. As proof in case someone says this was never said!

Lorcan said:
It's like when you go around the entire shop and the only pair of glasses that looks good on you is the most expensive set they have. That's what happened to me last year...people think you go with designer frames because they're designer, and you go with them because you'd look ridiculous in anything else - he says, sighing at his current Karen Millen pair.

As a note, someone from the CQC just rang me. They're gonna get in touch with the practice manager to ask what happened, why things took so long, why nobody put 2+2 together sooner, and what they're planning to do to make sure it doesn't happen again.
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That's good. Something needs to be put in place so it doesn't happen to you or someone else in the future.
 
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