Hi Mars, thinking of you. Here is the post I promised.
As I previously posted, the first step in my vitrectomy was a shot of avastin in my right eye to shrink the new growth of veins and make the whole process easier. This took place one week prior to the surgery and I described it on my Avastin post. At that time, I started Vigamox antibiotic drops in my eye and stopped taking ibuprofen or other blood thinners also.
The night prior to my early morning hospital visit, I was to have nothing past 11 PM to eat or drink. The morning of I was to take all meds except any diuretic. I arrived at the hospital out-patient check in at 6 AM.
I left my pump on basal, but reduced my morning basal by about a third. When I went into the procedure room, my blood sugar was at 156 which made the anesthetist and my doctor very happy. It seems that they worry constantly about lows and were pleased that my pump would keep things handled. In my chart, I had placed my ratios in case they needed to lower my sugar, and the emergency numbers for Smith Medical/Cozmo and for my CDE who has the same type of pump as me.
The surgery took about an hour. I remember it all and carried on a conversation with the doctors. When he would reach a delicate part, he would remind me to stop chatting and hold still.
I have to say something about the sedative they used. I have had many surgeries over the years and this anesthesia was amazing. I am a complete chicken about things such as this and nervously joked with the Doc that "I didn't want to be there" as he put in my IV. They evidently used a sedative that REALLY did not allow me to even feel nervous about the fact that they were working on me! I wouldn't have thought it possible. The advantage to the newer things they are using was explained by my nurse daughter: at the end of the surgery, it is completely reversable. No recovery time needed. No grogginess, no nausea.
When the procedure was finished, they taped a hard plastic eye protector over my eye with a lot of tape and wheeled me out to a recovery area. I was ready right then to go home, but they wanted to watch me for a while. I requested coffee (ick...hospital coffee!) and somone brought me my shirt and sweatshirt (they made me wear a gown on the top during surgery) to change into. After I had been there about 20 minutes, I asked the nurse when I could leave and she took my blood pressure and said "now."
At home, I continued the Vigamox and was to return for a post-op visit to my Doc the next day. I felt fine during the night, took one pain pill mostly so I could sleep with the annoying hard plastic thing on my eye. Since there was a gas bubble in my eye that would last 7-10 days, I had to sleep on my side and keep my nose pointed floor-ish. The bubble was to keep things like my retina firmly tight against the back of my eye in its intital healing. My husband put the tv on the floor by our bed and we got out the ol' laptop and enlarged the print on the screen.
The next morning I had a mild achy feeling in my eye, but no real pain. Just before we were to leave for the Doctor's office, I had a sudden rush of nausea and lost my breakfast. I felt terrible all the way there...about 20 minutes...and traveled with the necessary plastic bags. They rushed me into a room upon arrival and measured my eye pressure which was elevated, causing my nausea. Using drops to lower the pressure normalized everything (in less than a minute) and I went back home to sleep away most of the day. This was a good day to have my husband home from work. I ate very little chicken soup and drank a lot of diet 7 Up even though my stomach was feeling much better. I think that even though I felt ok, my body needed rest.
The third day, I was up and about and feeling pretty good, but darned tired of looking down. I was to do this, keeping the gas bubble pretty much on the back of my eye for the next five days until I saw the Doctor again. The real danger evidently is having the bubble press against the back of the iris for any amount of time. I only looked up to put in eye drops for the next week.
Day before yesterday was my one week appointment. On the way to the doctor's office, I noticed thatwith my right eye I could read the numbers on my watch through the magnification of the bubble. This was the first time in a year I have had such good vision in that eye! This only works looking down through the bubble though, the forward vision is still foggy and clearing.
The doctor said all looked good in the eye, come back in a week and YES! I could hold my head normally and sleep on either side (but still not my back.) He expected the bubble to go away completely by the end of the next week and indeed, I can tell it's shrinking.
So that brings us up to now with my experience. It was not half as bad as I had imagined it. My eye is still feeling slightly "worked over" but it doesn't hurt. I am using the antibiotic, a prednisone drop, and the pressure reduction drops 3-4 times per day (I stop the antibiotic this weekend.) For me, the hardest parts were doing without ibuprofen for my sore joints for the week before surgery, and keeping the bubble in the correct position for a week afterward. My husband helped me by doing my glucose testing that second day while I was so sleepy, and also awakened me for the eyedrops. Changing my set was not difficult--I didn't realize how much I have memorized the routine. My husband double checked the measurements for me since I am down to no good eyes right now. Having someone nearby for the first few days was very convenient.
I'll be thinking of Cinnibon/Mars on the 20th. I have to remind you all that technology has come such an amazing long way, don't hesitate to take care of eye problems as they arise.
Mich
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