Little eye surgery for me tomorrow

[Darrell KSR]

Shouldn't be a big deal, but my guy is trying to get my eye pressure down. Multitude of drops and an eye "procedure" with a laser failed to contain it at the end of last calendar year, so a little more extensive stuff will be done in the morning.

As I said, this is my month of visiting doctors. After this one, I have my podiatrist Thursday, and then I hope to be given a full clean health diagnosis in all respects, and will start back on my exercise program in about one week if all goes well. I need it.

[KentuckyWildcat]

For someone that can't even watch someone else put in a contact lens...there is no "little eye surgery". Good luck tomorrow!

[CitizenBBN]

Good luck. Hope you don't come out looking like the characters in Total Recall. I think that's what they're trying to keep from happening given your past posts about the pressure.

[Doc]

Good luck

[dan_bgblue]

A little prayer should work for a little problem right?

[BigBluePappy]

Prayers for you in your procedure tomorrow Mr. C!

[Darrell KSR]

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. Should be easy, but it is a surgery, so I don't take it too lightly either.

[catmanjack]

Good luck!

[kingcat]

My prayers for a very successful surgery.

My wife Donna has eye surgery in three weeks.

[suncat05]

Prayers for a successful surgery and a full recovery Darrell! 🙏

[blueboss]

You’ll be in the prayers at the boss household.

No such thing as a little eye surgery, some are just smaller than others.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dan_bgblue]

Hope this finds you after a successful surgery and the problem is corrected. When you get the patch off the view port, please punch in a howdy message.

[Darrell KSR]

Thanks, all. Hopefully it helped. Just been dizzy since being home. It sounds weird, but it's safe, they basically paralyze the optic nerve for up to 24 hours. I'm already doing better. My brain was playing weird tricks. I told my wife if I opened one eye, it was like seeing in portrait mode on your phone, and the other eye was like a 45 degree landscape mode. Keeping it shut is the only way to get over the dizziness.

Tomorrow will be better. Didn't want to not check in, because I'm fine and didn't want anyone to worry, but not a great time to post.

[CitizenBBN]

if I opened one eye, it was like seeing in portrait mode on your phone, and the other eye was like a 45 degree landscape mode. Keeping it shut is the only way to get over the dizziness.

Yeah. I get that from vodka.

Oddly, tequila is the same but opposite eyes.

Seriously, thanks for checking in. Glad it went OK, and hope it helps. Probably not a good time to send that 2 page email. I'll hold off.

[dan_bgblue]

Thanks for checking in, and I am truly relieved that everything went well.

[KeithKSR]

Hopefully the surgery is successful. My wife has battled the eye pressures for years. At one time she was on eye drops to help keep the pressure down.

[Darrell KSR]

It's a long story.

I was hit in the eye with a rock when I was 9, creating a trauma-induced cataract. Couldn't see out of my left eye for 17 years, until obtaining an intraocular lens implant. All my youth sports were played "one-eyed."

Fast forward many years. My pressure was running high in that eye because of the injury and subsequent surgery. Just always runs high. Eye drops prescribed. I was hit or miss on taking them.

One day I wasn't feeling well. Vision cloudy, dizzy, headache. Not blurry, but cloudy. Don't know how to explain it other than that. Laid down, and late on a Friday afternoon, told my wife I was going to see somebody. Found an optometrist--young Dr. Schaeffer, who may have saved my eye--who was open until 6. It was 5:45 and I hightailed it to his office.

He checked my pressure and it was 74. Highest he had ever heard, read about, seen, etc. Scale only goes to 80. It was bad. He gave me two different eyedrops and said, "get thee to the hospital, ASAP."

I got thee to the hospital, the Callahan Eye Hospital in downtown Birmingham. They admitted me and did all kind of things to save my eye. Again, more eye-savers (thank you, good folks.)

From that day forward, I have been the perfect patient with my eyedrops. My glaucoma specialist has had me on different cocktails of eyedrops and we have struggled to keep the pressure under 30, but when it's close to it, with my annual field vision tests showing my optic nerve is tough and I have not had any substantial vision loss, we've been OK with it.

In checkups in the last year or two, it has gotten worse. My 30 readings turned to 35. And this is with taking 4 different eyedrops a day. So in December they decided to do a laser procedure--he didn't think it would be successful, but it was relatively simple, no anesthesia, nothing invasive, just laser creating more drainage places. We did it and hoped.

In his words, "not impressed." I went back and I was at 34. Again, that's taking 4 drops per day religiously. Rather than facing the sun and meditating or praying, I take my drops.

So this procedure is still very safe, but involves putting in a shunt with a drainage sac and hopefully improving drainage. It is designed to work with drops, rather than replacing them.

Something like 50% of people over a certain age have glaucoma, many of whom don't know it, so I am glad I do. There is a healthy percentage of people who, no matter what, will still lose their vision despite all the treatments, medications, procedures and surgeries, but it is usually a very lengthy process.

My hopes are that these procedures will continue to slow the increase in pressure until such time as medical science delivers a "cure" for it. Good chance it will take 20 years or more, although I've technically had a number of those years go by already.

I am fortunate that it isn't a heriditary thing for me. My right eye pressure has never been over 21, and usually in the 16 range. Obviously, I don't want to lose my sight in that eye, but I do have a very important eye that is good and healthy...and also checked out at least four times a year, since I'm checking in with my ophthalmologist anyway.

Right after the surgery the eye pressure was 39, but that could have been *because* of the surgery. In fact, I'd expect it, so I am optimistic that Thursday when I go for the follow-up, my eye pressure will be down. I am still taking 3 eyedrops per day (same kind) right now for the pressure, but he temporarily took me off one.

Anyway, more than you care to know--but I highly, strongly, encourage all to get an eye checkup at least once a year. I think even an optometrist is fine, so long as they check your pressure. If it is high, "get thee to an ophthalmologist" in a hurry so you can get it under control.

[Darrell KSR]

My prayers for a very successful surgery.

My wife Donna has eye surgery in three weeks.

Best of luck to her, Kingcat.

[Darrell KSR]

At eye hospital today. Little setback. Eye pressure 55. Diuretic and 7 different eyedrops given. Probably reaction to steroid drops to prevent infection.

Edit...up to 10 drops now. Pressure still 51.

[dan_bgblue]

Prayers up that the drops get the pressure back to a safe level.

[Darrell KSR]

Thanks, Dan. One of the doctors who participated in the minor surgery Monday was there and she actually performed another small surgery involving a small needle in my eye to relieve pressure. None of the pills or drops were successful in lowering the pressure below 50. She did the needle procedure once and the pressure dropped to 23, and said it wasn't good enough because she expects it to go back up tonight. So she said did it again and dropped it to 13.

She believes it's an allergic type reaction to the steroids I needed to prevent infection from the surgery. (A different kind of "roid rage," I suppose).

She wants to see me at the hospital in the morning at 10 in case she needs to redo that procedure. I give Dr. White a lot of credit. She was not supposed to be in tomorrow, but I told her that if they needed to do the needle thing tomorrow, I sure wish she would be the one to do it, and she said she would come in for me tomorrow.

Thank you, Callahan Eye Hospital and Dr. White. I don't mind telling you now that I was a little shook by this. Reminded me very much of that first experience I had years ago.

[BigBluePappy]

Prayers for you, Darrell, and plenty of them...

[blueboss]

God’s speed...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Darrell KSR]

I feel pretty good tonight. I was told my pressure was going to go back up, but I am hopeful.

Wish me luck in the morning. I don't know what happens if I'm allergic to steroids that are needed to prevent infection though.

[dan_bgblue]

I hope this morning post finds you at home instead of at the hospital with another date with the needle.

[Darrell KSR]

Well, I'm at home, but on my way to the hospital shortly. I have a "hospital appointment" at 10. The good news is, my vision is good, which tells me my pressure is fine this morning, which means no needle.

The symptoms of the extremely high pressure are pretty easy to recognize. Eye feels like it is oozing, although that can occur with other things (and does), but it is one of the symptoms. Vision is "cloudy" to the point where you can't see things. I can tell there's a car ahead of me if I'm parked behind it at a red light, but I can't tell it has a license plate, much less see one or a number. The nurse tried a vision test and of course, I couldn't see the chart, much less any of the letters. I am queasy, and I have what feels like a sinus headache behind only my left eye. There's a sharp pain, but it's not a terrible pain--I described it like a "3" out of 10. Just enough to annoy me.

So today, of those symptoms, I have...none of them. I think it will be a good day.

Off to the hospital.

[blueboss]

Well, I'm at home, but on my way to the hospital shortly. I have a "hospital appointment" at 10. The good news is, my vision is good, which tells me my pressure is fine this morning, which means no needle.

The symptoms of the extremely high pressure are pretty easy to recognize. Eye feels like it is oozing, although that can occur with other things (and does), but it is one of the symptoms. Vision is "cloudy" to the point where you can't see things. I can tell there's a car ahead of me if I'm parked behind it at a red light, but I can't tell it has a license plate, much less see one or a number. The nurse tried a vision test and of course, I couldn't see the chart, much less any of the letters. I am queasy, and I have what feels like a sinus headache behind only my left eye. There's a sharp pain, but it's not a terrible pain--I described it like a "3" out of 10. Just enough to annoy me.

So today, of those symptoms, I have...none of them. I think it will be a good day.

Off to the hospital.

Hope you’re right, good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Darrell KSR]

Thanks, everything was great this morning. 13 eye pressure. Follow up Thursday at the clinic unless it spikes again (and I am pretty sure I can tell.)

[Darrell KSR]

28 today. But that's not the pressure that knocks you for a loop.

Have had 5 hospital or clinic visits in the last 9 days. I have a glorious 8 days off until next Thursday, unless I have a problem. Today was disappointing because we had hoped it would stay in the teens, and if not, with all the meds, they'll have to do something else.

[KeithKSR]

28 today. But that's not the pressure that knocks you for a loop.

Have had 5 hospital or clinic visits in the last 9 days. I have a glorious 8 days off until next Thursday, unless I have a problem. Today was disappointing because we had hoped it would stay in the teens, and if not, with all the meds, they'll have to do something else.

28 is a lot better than the mid 30s. Can they tell if the shunt is draining fluid? I know of people that have had shunts for different things who have had issues with them becoming blocked.