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Tips, Techniques, and Questions -- Technical questions or tips

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  #1  
Old 2016-02-10, 1:01pm
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Default Please help me see

Hi, I have what may be too unique a situation for anyone on LE to help but one never knows, this forum is full of gifted, innovative minds.
I had cataract surgery in my left eye this past Monday. The eye is healing well with the new lens. It's not the expensive lens but the more commonly used one. My eyes are bad as I am extremely myopic with astigmatism and I can't see in the dark. So, as I describe my vision, imagine trying to make a bead, please.
In my left eye, I can now see distance without my glasses but close up is fuzzy. With my prescription glasses on, both distance and close up vision are fuzzy in that eye. In my right eye, which is due to be surgically corrected on Feb. 22 with a new lens replacing the cataract, I currently see ok both distance and close up (due to a bifocal prescription) but cannot see details with my didys on. I use clip-on didys to lampwork and they are purple. Today was my first day back on the torch and I cannot see to make a bead! My left eye is blurry because I can't see close up thru my prescription lenses that the didys are clipped on to and my right eye is not clear because of the cataract. Hubby said to get one of the didy screens - do you think that will work? Before I invest in that new item, I'm thinking I will be unable to lampwork for the next month! My surgeon was no help as he said I would just have to live with the problem until my other eye heals and I get new glasses for seeing up close. Is there anything anybody else recommends, please?
Thank you!!

Last edited by ccaronn; 2016-02-10 at 2:12pm.
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  #2  
Old 2016-02-10, 1:05pm
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Eileen Eileen is offline
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Before I read what your surgeon said, I was thinking "new glasses" because I know that others who have had surgery have needed a new prescription.
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  #3  
Old 2016-02-10, 2:15pm
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I sure don't want to wait a month to get back on the torch.
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  #4  
Old 2016-02-10, 5:02pm
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I would think the shield would be the same as your didymium glasses. It's going to be darker. I'd wait until your eyes are healed and then get the proper prescription or see if you can find stick-on magnifiers that would work with the didymiums for the time being.
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  #5  
Old 2016-02-10, 5:54pm
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I had to wait 6 weeks after my second surgery for the new prescription. I was trying to work without my prescription glasses-fuzzy like yours- and put magnifiers on my didys but mine are fit overs so the clip on magnifiers worked. Do you have an old pair of glasses that could have the left lens removed and then put one of the stick-on magnifiers on your didys?

I use a really bright light on my table. Would a shield be darker than the glasses you're using? I often think about a shield but am afraid I will try to look around it.

Good luck finding a solution. I know how frustrating it can be.

Georgia
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  #6  
Old 2016-02-10, 7:09pm
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Thank you all! I will check it out!!
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  #7  
Old 2016-02-10, 7:39pm
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Any chance of setting up two or even three mirrors to get the distance you need for one eye to function for you?

I have one of those magnifier lights on my torch bench and I could set it too magnify something reflected in a mirror or two.

Barefoot Arts ( the maker of the electric mandrel spinner ) uses a mirror off to the side of his torch to see the underside of the flame and that trick helps me a lot to figure out where to put the gather when I just want to heat the top of it.


My other thought is getting something to shield your eyes from light coming in the side of your glasses.

If you get some sunglasses with the side shield it will allow your eyes to adjust to the darker image.

And I also light my torch work really bright as well.




As for using a bench mounted diddy shield, I would not think the urge to look around it will last very long.
For one thing the yellow sodium flare will not let you see anything in detail so looking around the diddy shield wont be rewarding and for another thing seeing the yellow flare won't damage your eyes instantly so a peek now and then will not be like looking at the sun or playing with a laser.

Also a persons eyes will start to ache after watching the sodium flare for very long so your body will tell you you are doing something wrong.
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Old 2016-02-10, 8:20pm
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Interesting, Phill, I will discuss with my hubby, thank you!
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  #9  
Old 2016-02-10, 8:37pm
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I am wondering if it is possible that you could do any damage using the torch too soon after the surgery. Please make sure your doctor understands what lampworking involves, and is OK with you looking at the flame etc.so soon, just in case.
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  #10  
Old 2016-02-10, 9:00pm
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That's what my hubby said too. The nurse seemed to understand and she said it was ok. I will say that my eye feels dry tonight. I'll take it easy. Patience has always been difficult for me. Thanks, Eileen.
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  #11  
Old 2016-02-10, 9:03pm
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I just don't want you to risk your vision in the long term, if there is any danger in the short term.

It's the mom in me
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Old 2016-02-10, 9:10pm
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I have a very devoted, hard-headed husband who is hammering that point home, ad nauseam. ��

Last edited by ccaronn; 2016-02-10 at 9:13pm.
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  #13  
Old 2016-02-10, 9:16pm
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That's some kind of alliteration or something with all the h words in that sentence above, lol!
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  #14  
Old 2016-02-10, 9:21pm
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  #15  
Old 2016-02-10, 9:36pm
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I've had cataract surgery on both eyes. I don't know why they didn't just put in a lense that adjusted your vision to 20/20. They left my near vision just as it was before surgery, because I asked them to. I can't wear glasses to read or torch, so they left my eyes that way. If you are having problems seeing close up, buy a pair of cheap readers at the drug store and use them. I'd wait a while before torching for your eye to heal. Are you putting your drops in? That will keep them from feeling dry.
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  #16  
Old 2016-02-10, 9:52pm
De Anza Art Glass Club De Anza Art Glass Club is offline
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I am becoming very uneasy when researching bench shields. The most recent shields have polycarbonate filters. At first that did not bother me too much because Philips Safety produces polycarbonate sheets sold for glassworkers and presumably Philips knows that IR and UV shielding is a major concern. (I am speaking of glassworkers in general because someone might argue whether UV is a concern for soft glass flameworkers.)

A seller on eBay has polycarbonate shields http://www.ebay.com/itm/320467778034...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT but the seller's description says that it has poor IR filtering. (The seller also says that this shield has good UV filtering and is appropriate for soft glass workers, so I'll have to do more looking, but from what I understand, IR filtering is essential.) These filters are priced the same as the filters sold by Philips.

The purpose of this post is to caution that damage to your eyes is done by the IR and UV radiation and based on this, I'm not sure I would rely solely on a plastic bench shield, especially if your eyes are sensitive.

If the bench shield has a plastic / polycarbonate filter, it is hard to tell the source of the filter. When looking into Oberon safety equipment, it seems they developed a polycarbonate filter that exactly replicates the filtering of didymium, including that there is no IR/UV filtering. Philips' description of their polycarbonate filter still links to information on the Schott glass ACE 202 filter.

Perhaps I'm a bit over cautious, but for personal use, I have a Blast Shield setup with two channels. One channel has a ACE 202 shield and the other channel has Blast Shield's high heat IR/UV glass. (Yes, I know Blast Shield recommends against this because they say the didymium shield may crack due to the heat, but I do it anyway. My didymium shield is only cracked because I dropped it and not because of the heat.)

Last edited by De Anza Art Glass Club; 2016-02-10 at 10:02pm.
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  #17  
Old 2016-02-10, 9:57pm
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When we are torching we tend to not blink as often as we normally do.

I have heard of major lampworkers putting a sign on the bench just beyond the torch that says "BLINK!" on it to remind them to pay attention to their blink rate.

Music can be a good timer if you can get into the habit of blinking to the beat.

There should not be any thing different about torching right after cataract surgery than doing anything else right after the surgery with the exception of that blink thing.

We tend to slow down our blink rate when we are concentrating hard.

Once you stop sleeping with the eye patch on you should be good to do anything other than swimming I would think.

I was a little dry eyed for the first 5 days after each of mine and I had both done a few years apart.

You will have to give your self -some- time to recover, it is a major invasion of your eyes after all but that part of the eyes heal really fast.

Good luck in this and give your self a few days off.
The easier you take it right after something like this the quicker you can get back to normal.
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Last edited by Speedslug; 2016-02-10 at 10:07pm.
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  #18  
Old 2016-02-10, 10:06pm
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I will also add that using the newly installed lens was a bit of a workout.

The natural lens that was taken out flexed to change shape to change focus a lot easier than the new thing they put in place of it.

It probably took a full two months before I had no sensation of "working" to change the focus of my eye.
Fortunately only one was done at a time so the other eye took up the slack pretty quickly.

But even ten years later now it is still an actual effort, small as it is, to change focus when I get over tired.
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Old 2016-02-10, 10:12pm
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And another thing ......


Your hubs is right.

If you had this done on Monday you should be sitting on your hands until Friday at the earliest.

Someone just stuck a knife in your eye for Pete's sake.

Sit still and vegetate as best you can for a solid week.
They are really good at this stuff these days but it isn't Star Trek and you are going to have to wait until your body gets done doing what it has to to get back to normal.

Surgery was only some 52 hours ago at best.

Be still for a bit and try not to push the river.



Hugs and
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Old 2016-02-11, 2:10pm
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LOL, oh, you, Phill!
Bossy men! Can't live with 'Em, can't live without 'Em. ��
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  #21  
Old 2016-02-11, 2:45pm
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Thank you for your sound advice everyone!!
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  #22  
Old 2016-02-12, 12:26pm
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Go to your local dollar store or pharmacy and try on some of those magnifying glasses - I did this while waiting on a new script - a minimal investment, but it enabled me to still work while waiting on my new eyeglasses.
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Old 2016-02-12, 8:37pm
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Thank you, I did just that!
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  #24  
Old 2016-02-16, 1:00pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tillie View Post
I've had cataract surgery on both eyes. I don't know why they didn't just put in a lense that adjusted your vision to 20/20. They left my near vision just as it was before surgery, because I asked them to. I can't wear glasses to read or torch, so they left my eyes that way. If you are having problems seeing close up, buy a pair of cheap readers at the drug store and use them. I'd wait a while before torching for your eye to heal. Are you putting your drops in? That will keep them from feeling dry.
Your eye muscles have to re-train themselves to work with the new intraocular lens, which is not nearly as flexible as your natural lens.
Problem is, the bulk of your focus abilities are set by the age of five, which is why my eye doctors would not put my very myopic self in glasses until after I started school. They said my muscles still had to learn how to focus, even if the focus was lousy.
Retraining those muscles is harder than you think.
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