Eye, eye

I learned something new and remarkable about myself last week.  I have a client that practices the somewhat obscure vocation of developmental or behavioral optometry. It was time for a new pair of specs. It had been three years since my ophthalmologist had given me a comprehensive check and since my regular ophthalmologist is cutting back and in the slow process of retiring, I thought that I would check out the new doctor, just to try something different and to support someone who has supported me. What I learned was actually pretty incredible.

Norman Rose is a Doctor of Optometry who practices in Escondido. The name of the office is the Premier Eyecare Optometric Center. Here is a link to his website. Leslie accompanied me and I met his courteous and very friendly staff. The walls of the office are covered with testimonials from people and parents whose children had benefitted from his care and treatment. His staff initiated a battery of tests on me with some equipment I was unfamiliar with.

Dr. Rose came in to the room. A tall, gentle and affable fellow, his accent rings with evidence of his roots in upstate New York. He had told me something about his approach before, a neural, nutritional and somewhat radical, behavioral approach to eye problems. He had told me that my regular eye doctor might not be entirely aware or supportive of his unusual approach and methodology. I had tried to get the two of them together but hadn't managed. A blurb from his website:

  Dr. Rose is a Developmental / Neuro-optometrist. He treats children and adults who have reading and learning difficulties, patients with dizzyness and vertigo, patients who are progressively becoming more nearsighted, patients with a turned eye or amblyopia ( lazy eye ) and patients with a history of stroke or traumatic brain injury  who have  visual, cognitive, perceptual and balance difficulties. He also examines infants at six months old for eye diseases , turned eyes and potential amblyopia (lazy eye) development. 
Dr Rose is a member of:

• The American Optometric Association
• The California Optometric Association
• The San Diego County Optometric Society
• The Neuro-Optometric Rehabiliation Association
• The College of Optometrists in Vision Development
• The Orthokeratology Academy of America
• He is licensed to practice Optometry in New York, New Jersey and California

He put me through a battery of tests. And then made a stunning discovery. At about 15', my brain shuts my left eye out of the vision equation. He held a disc with green and red lights on an x and y axis. At a certain distance I lost touch with the horizontal lights. This was confirmed with additional depth of field testing. He explained to us that the eye was only one component of the vision equation, with the brain having a far greater contribution. And mine had been instituting a neural kill switch, maybe for a long time.

This explains a lot about my problems driving near barricades and parking garages, my life time's annoying habit of tapping my accelerator pedal. My vertigo. No one had ever detected it before. I have always had a hard time with distance and depth of field. And this has been since I was 17. A lot of my physiologic symptoms and behavior suddenly gained clarity and clarification. Things began to start make sense.

In addition we discovered that my Lens Crafter® glasses were not even close to the prescription that I had previously ordered, a phenomenon that has really hit the news lately as being unfortunately quite common. He found the beginnings of a left cataract, evidence of cholesterol and sun damage and made a few more prescient comments. Talked about nutrition and the need for supplements, and daily dosage of cruciferous vegetables. I am set to embark on a rehabilitation regimen with Doctor Rose.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate this doctor. Visiting him was a real eye opener. I like him, respect him and I advise anyone experiencing vision problems to call his office at 760-743-6540. He is located at 1299 East Pennsylvania Ave., Suite B in Escondido, behind the old Vineyard shopping center in a yellow building. Tell them that the blast sent you.