I'm so glad you have such wonderful support. Eye issues can be really worrying, especially if going to an optician and eye test on one's own. Last year (and even now) I had a shadow (called floaters) over my eye and was really worried, as I didn't previously notice it so much. I contacted an optician who recommended urgent eye scan. I then tried to get my medical card to pay for this, however I horrifingly discovered my medical card was "invalid".

This was truly an awful experience. It happened around last Oct. I moved home to a different location around March/April 2023 and immediately tried to find a new GP and despite many difficulties (as GP's weren't taking on new patients) I was allocated a new GP. I received 2 new medical cards in posts with details of new GP. However, what I DIDN'T know, was that a new card was sent to my old address, which was sent back, and then my medical card was CANCELLED! No-one told me a damn thing and I only found this out because of this floater in my right eye, and when I contacted an Optician.

Eventually I did manage to get sorted thankfully, but it wasn't easy, as they tried to insist it was over the "time-limit" for reinstating my medical card but I got to speak to with someone Senior who understood the situation and immediately had my Medical Card reinstated.

I then went for the eye scan and thankfully it didn't show eye disease but floaters. These are quite common.