Not that 52 1/2 is old, so I guess I should say "getting older sucks."

Along with general aches and pains that go along with advancing in age, I've been dealing with a (off and on) sore right hip for the past few years. Regular pain relievers helped some (Aleve helped the most), but my doctor eventually put me on Meloxicam and that has helped tremendously.

Something "new" has developed over the last nine months to a year that has really added "suck-age" to every day life.

Over the past year, the vision in my left eye has slowly deteriorated; more quickly than it ever has done in the past between eye exams. I just chalked it up to how I viewed my phone when lying in bed. I lay on my right side, so my right eye is basically buried in my pillow, so I'm looking at my phone with just my left eye. I just figured that after so many months of viewing the phone this way, it naturally would cause some issues with that eye. Well, turns out that wasn't the case.

Went in for an eye exam earlier in the week as I finally received my tax refund (thanks for taking so long Uncle Sam....Grrrr!!). After going through all the pre-exam stuff the receptionist does (especially the dreaded 'puff of air' test), the eye doc gets down to business and gives me a pretty thorough exam. After he does a lot of hemming and hawing, he asks about my diabetes; specifically if I've been taking good care of my self in that regards. I tell him that yes, I've been taking pretty good care of myself, although I've been having a little trouble getting my A1C number down to around the 6.0 mark. Seems like I've been "stuck" around the 6.5 to 6.8 number for about 6 to 9 months. Anyway, the doc goes on to say that the deterioration is NOT due to how I view my phone at night but to the beginnings of a Posterior Subcapsular (PSC) Cataract. Oh gee, just what I didn't need to hear.

He said those types of cataracts can be caused by excessive use of steroids (which I don't take), by diabetes, or some other conditions I can't remember off the top of my head. He recommended surgery as soon as possible, but due to some dire financial circumstances since the first of the year, I had to cancel my health insurance (although mandated by Obamacare to purchase it, but that's a discussion for another forum LOL), so right now surgery is out of the question. The doc really didn't want to write a prescription for new lenses since within "six to nine months" (his exact words) any correction made by new lenses would be negated by any further deterioration. In the end, he did write a prescription for new lenses, and I should have them by the end of next week. Even if it will be for just a few months, it will be nice to have clear vision in both eyes. The vision in my right eye, thankfully, hardly had any change since my last eye exam (18 months ago), so I at least had good vision in one eye.

I'm hoping to find some part time work that will improve my financial situation so I can get some insurance to help cover cataract surgery (unless that will be considered a pre-existing condition under Trumpcare, if that eventually gets passed into law, but once again, that's another discussion for another forum), or to save like crazy to pay the total cost "out of pocket."

I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else here rides with cataracts and if so, for how long and how you've dealt with it?

Thanks in advance for any comments and also for letting me rant for a few minutes.