Get Ret.

Licensed Optometrist. Still stumbling and ranting. Secondary Blog

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

About me

Education: Doctorate of Optometry, bachelor of science (biology), minor in medical ethics/humanities.

Licensed: Therapeutic Optometrist and Glaucoma Specialist

Previously: This blog was my way of ranting and logging my progress through optometry school, so a studyblr.

I'll continue to post about optometry, science, anatomy, and interesting research/articles I find. I might also sprinkle in stuff about books/podcasts I'm experiencing, so I guess a bookblr (or whatever they are called, just an academic blog? But also with memes?)

Feel free to ask me about random eye diseases/disorders for curiosity's sake. I'll answer if I know and research/tell you if I don't. Or about systemic disorders and how they may affect the eye. If you ask for personal medical advice, I'll just tell you to go see your eye/primary physician because I'm not going to telemedicine on here.

My 2¢ on buying glasses on-line.

2¢ on glasses.

2¢ on contact lenses

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Number of times a patient (or parent) has told me I have a voice suitable for audiobooks or that they would listen to me on audiobooks: 3

This doesn't seem like a lot but it's been one pt a week for three weeks.

This is also very silly if you've ever met me in real life. I am Not Soothing.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Another suburban mom between the ages of 35-45 horny on main for my audiobook voice. She seemed very flustered but not enough to stop herself from saying I have a really nice voice. Like ... ma'am your kids are right here.

Me: any other questions or concerns?

The Mom: No...sorry, your voice is really nice. You should do audiobooks. I'd listen.

Me: thank you (very amused because this is not the first time)

Her: it's just....you have a nice one :)

Me: thanks

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

MOMMY #5 telling me my voice is very soothing and she could listen to it all day and I should do audiobooks.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a new demographic and new diagnosis!!!!

60+ lady told me my voice sounds like a cartoon character. I was not brave enough to ask for details on *which* character and this will haunt me until I forget about it.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Two coworkers today told me I should do podcasts. Then specifically said true crime podcasts. Because my voice is soothing (?) I continue to be baffled. But also people I work with daily want to hear my voice more is... something I'm aware of now.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Ahem. Hello again.

I finish one kid's exam, turned to mom to give her details.

The Mom: I'm sorry, this is a ridiculous question.

Me: (thinking it is about orbs) no, no, go ahead, ask away

The Mom: Do you have books? Audiobooks? Your voice, you've gotta do voice work.

Me: ha, no, but you're not the first the ask

The Mom: You're like Delilah. If you even know who she is.

Me: (actually genuinely flattered) From the radio? Of course! Her voice is so soothing.

Did the other kid's exam and as I left the mom is "well let me know when you start the books!"

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Me: Any questions or concerns?

Pt mom: I'm so sorry, this is going to be weird.

Me: (suspicious) go on.

Mom: Your voice is so soothing and calm. I'm sure that's strange to say.

Me: Not at all, people have told me to do podcasts and audiobooks.

Mom: Exactly! Why aren't you?!

Me: Because I'm here? At the clinic?

Mom: I'd listen to your book all day, I'd be so soothed.

I'm starting to think moms need to be spoken to in soothing calm voices and maybe told everything is going to be okay and they can rest.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Finished refraction

Pt's husband: you could hypnotize me. Like a recording of your voice? Yup.

Wife: Right!???

I took this as commentary on my voice and not as an open invitation from them.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Parent: you've got an ASMR voice

Me: (i did not hear them as individual letters but like Aessemare) I've what?

Parent: your voice is real soothing

Me: oh! Thanks, I get that a lot. :))

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Got a two for one bc I forgot to post

1. The Delilah mom came in for her own exam, and called me Radio Voice. (Turns out she work/ed in the radio industry so she is 100% serious about me doing voice work for radio or audiobooks

2. Woman in her 20s simply said "you have a nice voice"

Anyways the younger patients are more casual about it and the older moms are much more flustered.

My ego grows.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Teenage pt asked me where I'm from. I thought maybe they thought I went to school with their older sibling or something. I tell them I'm fairly local, just from a town or two away.

They stumbled over their words a little bit but ended with "you have the perfect doctor voice "

So don't even look at me, I'm going to be insufferable about this.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

A teen pt a while back asked me if I sing in a band. I said no. His mom was confused but I knew exactly what he was getting at. Neither of us elaborated.

And another lady who was experiencing a stressful eye situation said I had a soothing voice. (Tbf I was kinda trying to soothe her like a spooked horse.)

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Seeing my new patient grab my card at the front desk, internally doing evil hands and hehehe "I'm getting a good grade in doctor "

[rimonoroni2]

i think we should be talking about the semi-recent advancements in cystic fibrosis treatment like all the time every day. there hasn’t been a drug like this since AZT medications for HIV infection it is truly fucking miraculous and very important

[rimonoroni2]

basically: cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease which makes the mucous a person generates extra sticky. it used to kill people in infancy, then with advancements in medical tech it killed people in young childhood, and until very recently cystic fibrosis patients could expect to live until about thirty years old with consistent painful lung infections and complications.

in 2019 the FDA approved a drug called trikafta (which is really three drugs in one) for cystic fibrosis treatment. what it essentially does is patch up the malfunctioning proteins that cause the extra sticky mucus. trikafta is effective on about 90% of cystic fibrosis patients.

people who had spent their entire lives in and out of hospitals, on and off of ventilators, suffering from pneumonia and sometimes treated through painful procedures like intubation took this drug, got out of bed, coughed up an entire lifetimes worth of mucus out of their lungs over the course of a few hours, breathed clearly for perhaps the first time in their lives, and now go on to live well into their seventies.

like isn’t that insane. isn’t that amazing. doesn’t that give you hope for the future of medical advancements and treatment. fuck. i think about it all the time……

[kittydesade]

There’s a WHAT.

For WHAT.

[sweetdreamspootypie]

It's been amazing!

My ward is the respiratory ward - CF is one of the things we specialize in.

Since this med came out we haven't had a SINGLE CF admission to the ward

There used to always be a CF patient spending a couple of months with us at a time

There's a man who is 23 years old who I was sure would not survive his next admission (aim saturations 85% is end stage lung disease)

There's a set of the local frequent flyers that we all know so well

Except

No we don't

On the CF specialist ward (with reasonable staff turnover)

Half the staff have probably never even seen a CF patient

They are going to live

[anartificialsatellite]

For the people asking "well how do we know people are living that long if it's so new????" Here's a page from the CF foundation about life expectancy.

Additionally, it should be noted that metrics like life expectancy are in no way a guarantee of... Anything. There are significant outlier CF patients who are at an advanced age now despite the odds due to a variety of different factors, having lived the majority of their lives before the development of modulators.

But the fact remains that the odds are better now than they have ever ever been before, by leaps and bounds. It isn't cured, and many patients still need significant treatment in addition to Trikafta, but it is so much better than anyone could have dreamed of twenty years ago, and that is a triumph.

[kittyoverlord]

Yes! My sister has a serious form of cf and finally is living a more comfortable and active life. She was also part of many of the clinical trials leading to these breakthroughs due to the nature of her cf. It's been very exciting to see.

[naamahdarling]

That's absolutely incredible. Don't get me wrong. It's miraculous from a clinical standpoint. But, uhh. Not to be a downer but I need people to see this so they stay angry and stay real about what medical breakthroughs actually mean for patients. When I call something "survival gatekeeping", this is what I mean:

That is per month with the most common coupon people are likely to use.

But don't worry, there's grants and patient assistance programs you can apply for. 🤞🫠 Most people in high income countries like the USA can get it "covered" through insurance for fewer thousands of dollars. Or even less if your insurance is good or the manufacturer likes how poor and/or on Medicaid you are! A good social worker will help you with the process, and make sure your yearly reapplications and PAs are done a little early so they have time to think about it before you run out. Jesus Christ.

NEVER look at something like this and navigate away feeling better about things without asking how much it costs and who can get it. NEVER. It isn't revolutionary until poor people can access it without a struggle.

[draconym]

The eye doctor is the most fun doctor you can go to. They never steal your blood. They never make you get naked and put on a paper dress. They're just like, "Can you see these letters? It's fine if you can't, we can fix that." And they don't even spell anything.

[draconym]

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

I was curious and started looking up books on the history of optics. I like learning about the history of medicine so why not something I deal with everyday. For casual reading. I found two, both written by college professors. I think these might be textbooks. You know, for casual reading.

A History of Optics from Greek Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century by Oliver Darrigol (Berkely)

He does history of a lot of different physics subclasses.

From Sight to Light: The Passage from Ancient to Modern Optics by A. Mark Smith (University of Missouri)

He specializes in visual perception.

Me@ me: no. You do not want a niche history degree. Stop.

[bgm05]

[ilovecoelacanths]

went to a new optometrist today wearing my squid facts ‘save our freaks’ shirt from @sarahmackattack that has a strawberry squid on it. and i wasn’t even thinking about it but the optometrist walked in and he was like ‘oh what does your shirt say’ so i showed him and he was like ‘oh that’s neat!’ and then i thought he might like to know about strawberry squid eyes since they have weird eyes and he is an optometrist and all. so i was like ‘yeah it’s actually a real kind of squid called a strawberry squid, their eyes are really cool because they have one big yellow-green one and one small blue one’ and he kind of gasped and went ‘oh my god that’s so interesting i wonder why they have that. do you know what their retina composition is like?’ and i watched as he minimized my chart on the computer and started looking up images of strawberry squid and then he googled ‘strawberry squid retina composition’ and he was like ‘sorry we’ll get to your eye exam in a moment i just really want to find out’ LMAO 10/10 optometrist experience will be returning

[sarahmackattack]

Hell yeah

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Number of times a patient (or parent) has told me I have a voice suitable for audiobooks or that they would listen to me on audiobooks: 3

This doesn't seem like a lot but it's been one pt a week for three weeks.

This is also very silly if you've ever met me in real life. I am Not Soothing.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Another suburban mom between the ages of 35-45 horny on main for my audiobook voice. She seemed very flustered but not enough to stop herself from saying I have a really nice voice. Like ... ma'am your kids are right here.

Me: any other questions or concerns?

The Mom: No...sorry, your voice is really nice. You should do audiobooks. I'd listen.

Me: thank you (very amused because this is not the first time)

Her: it's just....you have a nice one :)

Me: thanks

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

MOMMY #5 telling me my voice is very soothing and she could listen to it all day and I should do audiobooks.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a new demographic and new diagnosis!!!!

60+ lady told me my voice sounds like a cartoon character. I was not brave enough to ask for details on *which* character and this will haunt me until I forget about it.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Two coworkers today told me I should do podcasts. Then specifically said true crime podcasts. Because my voice is soothing (?) I continue to be baffled. But also people I work with daily want to hear my voice more is... something I'm aware of now.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Ahem. Hello again.

I finish one kid's exam, turned to mom to give her details.

The Mom: I'm sorry, this is a ridiculous question.

Me: (thinking it is about orbs) no, no, go ahead, ask away

The Mom: Do you have books? Audiobooks? Your voice, you've gotta do voice work.

Me: ha, no, but you're not the first the ask

The Mom: You're like Delilah. If you even know who she is.

Me: (actually genuinely flattered) From the radio? Of course! Her voice is so soothing.

Did the other kid's exam and as I left the mom is "well let me know when you start the books!"

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Me: Any questions or concerns?

Pt mom: I'm so sorry, this is going to be weird.

Me: (suspicious) go on.

Mom: Your voice is so soothing and calm. I'm sure that's strange to say.

Me: Not at all, people have told me to do podcasts and audiobooks.

Mom: Exactly! Why aren't you?!

Me: Because I'm here? At the clinic?

Mom: I'd listen to your book all day, I'd be so soothed.

I'm starting to think moms need to be spoken to in soothing calm voices and maybe told everything is going to be okay and they can rest.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Finished refraction

Pt's husband: you could hypnotize me. Like a recording of your voice? Yup.

Wife: Right!???

I took this as commentary on my voice and not as an open invitation from them.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Parent: you've got an ASMR voice

Me: (i did not hear them as individual letters but like Aessemare) I've what?

Parent: your voice is real soothing

Me: oh! Thanks, I get that a lot. :))

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Got a two for one bc I forgot to post

1. The Delilah mom came in for her own exam, and called me Radio Voice. (Turns out she work/ed in the radio industry so she is 100% serious about me doing voice work for radio or audiobooks

2. Woman in her 20s simply said "you have a nice voice"

Anyways the younger patients are more casual about it and the older moms are much more flustered.

My ego grows.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Teenage pt asked me where I'm from. I thought maybe they thought I went to school with their older sibling or something. I tell them I'm fairly local, just from a town or two away.

They stumbled over their words a little bit but ended with "you have the perfect doctor voice "

So don't even look at me, I'm going to be insufferable about this.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

I started reading No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson by Gardiner Harris. The first product it discusses is the talc based baby powder, which leads me to look up talc and asbestos....and mesothelioma....and the world trade center.

Needless to say, I haven't gotten very far into the book.

J&J didn't stop making talc based baby powder in the US until 2020. 🥲

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

First exam of the day, doing my preliminary testing. Testing extraocular muscle motility which is very similar to the nystagmus testing for DUI traffic stops

Pt: it's too early in the morning for DUI testing (joking )

Me: well, then don't book your exam so early (joking but not joking)

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Number of times a patient (or parent) has told me I have a voice suitable for audiobooks or that they would listen to me on audiobooks: 3

This doesn't seem like a lot but it's been one pt a week for three weeks.

This is also very silly if you've ever met me in real life. I am Not Soothing.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Another suburban mom between the ages of 35-45 horny on main for my audiobook voice. She seemed very flustered but not enough to stop herself from saying I have a really nice voice. Like ... ma'am your kids are right here.

Me: any other questions or concerns?

The Mom: No...sorry, your voice is really nice. You should do audiobooks. I'd listen.

Me: thank you (very amused because this is not the first time)

Her: it's just....you have a nice one :)

Me: thanks

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

MOMMY #5 telling me my voice is very soothing and she could listen to it all day and I should do audiobooks.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a new demographic and new diagnosis!!!!

60+ lady told me my voice sounds like a cartoon character. I was not brave enough to ask for details on *which* character and this will haunt me until I forget about it.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Two coworkers today told me I should do podcasts. Then specifically said true crime podcasts. Because my voice is soothing (?) I continue to be baffled. But also people I work with daily want to hear my voice more is... something I'm aware of now.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Ahem. Hello again.

I finish one kid's exam, turned to mom to give her details.

The Mom: I'm sorry, this is a ridiculous question.

Me: (thinking it is about orbs) no, no, go ahead, ask away

The Mom: Do you have books? Audiobooks? Your voice, you've gotta do voice work.

Me: ha, no, but you're not the first the ask

The Mom: You're like Delilah. If you even know who she is.

Me: (actually genuinely flattered) From the radio? Of course! Her voice is so soothing.

Did the other kid's exam and as I left the mom is "well let me know when you start the books!"

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Me: Any questions or concerns?

Pt mom: I'm so sorry, this is going to be weird.

Me: (suspicious) go on.

Mom: Your voice is so soothing and calm. I'm sure that's strange to say.

Me: Not at all, people have told me to do podcasts and audiobooks.

Mom: Exactly! Why aren't you?!

Me: Because I'm here? At the clinic?

Mom: I'd listen to your book all day, I'd be so soothed.

I'm starting to think moms need to be spoken to in soothing calm voices and maybe told everything is going to be okay and they can rest.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Finished refraction

Pt's husband: you could hypnotize me. Like a recording of your voice? Yup.

Wife: Right!???

I took this as commentary on my voice and not as an open invitation from them.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Parent: you've got an ASMR voice

Me: (i did not hear them as individual letters but like Aessemare) I've what?

Parent: your voice is real soothing

Me: oh! Thanks, I get that a lot. :))

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Got a two for one bc I forgot to post

1. The Delilah mom came in for her own exam, and called me Radio Voice. (Turns out she work/ed in the radio industry so she is 100% serious about me doing voice work for radio or audiobooks

2. Woman in her 20s simply said "you have a nice voice"

Anyways the younger patients are more casual about it and the older moms are much more flustered.

My ego grows.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Chief Complaint: difficulty driving at night, was given glasses before but did not wear

Buddy do I have a solution for you 🫵

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Number of times a patient (or parent) has told me I have a voice suitable for audiobooks or that they would listen to me on audiobooks: 3

This doesn't seem like a lot but it's been one pt a week for three weeks.

This is also very silly if you've ever met me in real life. I am Not Soothing.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Another suburban mom between the ages of 35-45 horny on main for my audiobook voice. She seemed very flustered but not enough to stop herself from saying I have a really nice voice. Like ... ma'am your kids are right here.

Me: any other questions or concerns?

The Mom: No...sorry, your voice is really nice. You should do audiobooks. I'd listen.

Me: thank you (very amused because this is not the first time)

Her: it's just....you have a nice one :)

Me: thanks

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

MOMMY #5 telling me my voice is very soothing and she could listen to it all day and I should do audiobooks.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a new demographic and new diagnosis!!!!

60+ lady told me my voice sounds like a cartoon character. I was not brave enough to ask for details on *which* character and this will haunt me until I forget about it.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Two coworkers today told me I should do podcasts. Then specifically said true crime podcasts. Because my voice is soothing (?) I continue to be baffled. But also people I work with daily want to hear my voice more is... something I'm aware of now.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Ahem. Hello again.

I finish one kid's exam, turned to mom to give her details.

The Mom: I'm sorry, this is a ridiculous question.

Me: (thinking it is about orbs) no, no, go ahead, ask away

The Mom: Do you have books? Audiobooks? Your voice, you've gotta do voice work.

Me: ha, no, but you're not the first the ask

The Mom: You're like Delilah. If you even know who she is.

Me: (actually genuinely flattered) From the radio? Of course! Her voice is so soothing.

Did the other kid's exam and as I left the mom is "well let me know when you start the books!"

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Me: Any questions or concerns?

Pt mom: I'm so sorry, this is going to be weird.

Me: (suspicious) go on.

Mom: Your voice is so soothing and calm. I'm sure that's strange to say.

Me: Not at all, people have told me to do podcasts and audiobooks.

Mom: Exactly! Why aren't you?!

Me: Because I'm here? At the clinic?

Mom: I'd listen to your book all day, I'd be so soothed.

I'm starting to think moms need to be spoken to in soothing calm voices and maybe told everything is going to be okay and they can rest.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Finished refraction

Pt's husband: you could hypnotize me. Like a recording of your voice? Yup.

Wife: Right!???

I took this as commentary on my voice and not as an open invitation from them.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Parent: you've got an ASMR voice

Me: (i did not hear them as individual letters but like Aessemare) I've what?

Parent: your voice is real soothing

Me: oh! Thanks, I get that a lot. :))

[papayajuan2019]

paper and pen seems so powerful now. on account of all the. surveillance

[marmorada]

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

I'm rereading 1984. I read it for English class when I was 15 or 16 so all the annotations are: imagery, allusion, personification, new character. Language devices.

Reading it now, I'm just sitting here "girl, you missed the plot, the propaganda, the dehumanization, violation of privacy, etc etc"

Especially after the covid shut downs, smart watches, smart TV/appliances, echo/alexa. Like congratulations everyone, we invented the telescreen approximately 25 different times and voluntarily put them in our homes and on our bodies. Smart cellphones were already a thing in highschool but we didn't stop there.

At one point, Winston believes telescreens can hear your heartbeat if you are close enough. So not even that is private. Apple Watch.

Putting aside that bafflement. Another paragraph made me pause.

"Winston was gelatinous with fatigue. Gelatinous was the right word. It had come into his head spontaneously. His body seemed to have not only the weakness of a jelly, but its translucency. He felt that if he held up his hand he would be able to see the light through it. All the blood and lymph had been drained out of him by an enormous debauch of work, leaving only a frail structure of nerves, bones, and skin. All sensations seemed to be magnified. His overalls fretted his shoulders, the pavement tickled his feet, even the opening and closing of a hand was an effort that made his joints creak." Pg 179

I did not understand this when I was 15. I do understand it now in my 30s. I felt nearly that just yesterday when I stayed after work an extra hour.

Winston is 39 years old.

[dr-whoopsie-daisy]

Had an early 20s pt in for an eye exam for the first time in several years. No glasses.

After refracting the second eye, I open up both eye wells. He suddenly loudly goes "oh shit!" Because clarity.

His mom immediately chastised him and apologized to me, but I'm just standing there grinning bc like ma'am I live for the genuine unfiltered moments when people can suddenly see well again or for the first time.