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TIFU my eyes and almost my entire life by taking sleeping medication for way too long.

I just got diagnosed with presbyopia even though I'm only 35.

I've always had issues sleeping. It always gets way worse with stress. I've never drank or done drugs and I don't like taking medication. I've always used exercise and natural products to sleep, and it's worked.

I work in a family business and when COVID lockdowns happened the other family members who ordinarily work in the business had to stay away and isolate due to health and age concerns. I ended up working six or seven days a week ten-to-twelve-hour shifts and I was managing everything else along with the staff of about a dozen teenagers.

I felt like my work never ended, even when I was home. We had never made plans for the business to operate without family members. Every aspect of the business fell on my shoulders, and I basically had to redesign many aspects of the operation. I just couldn't get my mind to shut down. I started taking over the counter sleep medication to finally get some sleep.

I expected to stop using the sleep meds after a while but then my dad got diagnosed with terminal cancer and was in the hospital or assisted living for eight months till he died. I was running a business and then dealing with the decline and death of my dad. I probably should have asked for help or therapy, but I didn't. I just kept going.

Before I knew it, I was taking over the counter sleeping medication every night for over two years. It put me to sleep but I'd wake up feeling groggy and hung over. That feeling never ever went away. I did get up every morning and worked out and that was just enough to make me feel somewhat better and allow me to function.

About six months ago I got super sick. I thought it was my body being exhausted from two and a half years of non-stop work and personal and professional stress. I stopped using my glasses and contact lenses. I went to my doctor and he treated me for an ear infection. I got better but I continued to use the sleep medication.

When I wore my contact lenses and glasses again, I had horrible headaches, eye strain, and dizziness. It felt like I needed a script update, and I went to the optician I'd used for decades. He told me my script was fine and all these issues were caused by some serious illness.

I went back to my doctor and told him my issues. From how I was feeling I fully expected I was going to be told I was dying. He gave me a full physical and had me get bloodwork done. I'm a big fan of second opinions so I went to another optician, and he said indeed my prescription was wrong and it needed a slight tweaking. I relayed this to my doctor who seemed to agree with this as he found nothing medically wrong with me.

I felt a lot better, but I was still waking up with minor headaches and eye strain. It wasn't a huge issue, but it was definitely impacting my life and was really frustrating and annoying.

Around this time, I stopped using the sleep medication completely. For a few months my optician tried to fit me with glasses or contact lenses, but nothing seemed to work. He said not to worry this wasn't abnormal. He kept telling me to hang in there and it would be solved.

About a month ago I guess everything just piled up. I hadn't really acknowledged or dealt with my dad's death, and I was still stressed out by running the business alone. Another family member passed away recently, and a young long time staff member died unexpectedly. I also had a number of big issues with the business. Add on top I was still dealing with daily eye strain and headaches with no solution in sight.

I had never really liked the business and always thought about leaving. I guess what I had dealt with just pushed me over the edge. I had a meltdown. I've never had a meltdown before. With no one to take over we decided to just shut down. I didn't want to stand in the business anymore. I didn't want to live in my hometown anymore. I was planning a complete career change.

During this meltdown I told my optician we needed to solve this problem now and I didn't care how much it cost. He had mentioned a few times over the last couple of months sending me to an ophthalmologist was a final option but said I should probably see one.

I got an appointment with a really good one the next day. He examined me for a few minutes and said I had presbyopia. Presbyopia makes it hard for me to see things up close. All the horrible headaches and eye strain were caused by this. He asked me what medications I was taking, and I told him I had been taking over the counter sleeping pills for well over two years. He said that's what caused it. Over the counter sleeping pills are antihistamines which dry out your eyes. That's exactly what caused my presbyopia at such an early age.

He said I should get reading glasses or bifocals and give my eyes a rest by not reading or using my phone for a week. I followed his advice and I feel amazing. No more headaches or eye strain. I feel like a different person. I wake up feeling amazing and looking forward to the day and the future.

I'm holding off on my plans and I'm going to keep the business going for another year.

TL:DR I took over the counter sleeping aids for too long which caused early onset presbyopia. Two opticians and a doctor didn't catch it and I experienced headaches and eye strain for months. It caused me to have a meltdown. An ophthalmologist diagnosed it and everything got better.

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