The eyes have it

Well, that was weird.

The other night I got in from work and was pottering around in the bathroom before taking the dog out. I looked in the mirror and noticed a weird after image in the middle of my vision, as if I'd looked at a bright light for too long. The image wobbled, blurred and expanded and I found that I couldn't even look at the page of a book. Most worrisome.

I took the dog out, but it didn't seem to be getting any better by the time I got back. I was by then feeling a bit dizzy and spaced out, so I went to lie down on the sofa to close my eyes for a while, and eventually started feeling a bit better with only a mild headache to show for it.

This was the first time I'd ever experienced anything remotely like this, so I thought I'd better get it checked out. I made an appointment with the doctor (who looked oddly like Miranda Hart), who ummed and ahed and referred me to the eye casualty clinic at the hospital, so off I toddled.

I was expecting a long wait, so I went equipped with iPod and a book on my PDA, but I didn't have to wait too long. I had an eye test, field of vision test and then some rather nasty eyedrops to dilate my pupils. After a wait to allow the drops to work, another doctor shone a bright light in my eyes and checked my retinas. Apparently as I am so short sighted it means that my retinas are particularly thin and prone to potential problems, and any flashing lights could mean trouble.

Anyhoo, he decided that they looked ok, so it was likely that my symptoms were due to an ocular migraine, which is where you get the distorted vision without necessarily suffering the disabling headaches. Hopefully it won't recur too often, but at least I'll know what it is if it does.

In podcast news, the mighty Mitch Benn has recorded an unabridged reading of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' - it's available from iTunes or here. Go and download it now, it's excellent and very appropriate for the season.

In hot beverage news, Jan bought me a selection of flavoured syrups so I can now make proper gingerbread lattes at a fraction of the cost of the Starbucks equivalent. Yum.