Sick and tired of being blind, sick and tired

Hi. . .the continuing saga of the cataract is not hopeful today. Told
everyone at work it was a "bad eye day." Have been waking up with a
ferocious headache only on the side of the implant, blurred vision and
tearing continue. Just want to rewind time back ten years or so.
Unobstructed, problem-free vision is the greatest gift there is and I
took it for granted. What did I spend my time doing? Cleaning, watching
early MTV, yelling at my kids.
Can't go on like this much longer. It's a torment to have a body. So
many things can, and do, go wrong.Everyone in my social circles thinks
I'm a hypochondriac. True, but like the boy who cried wolf, sometimes
hypochondriacs have real problems. All this from a supposedly routine
operation.
I know it's wrong to give in to despair. . .but I have enough thyroid
medicine at home to kill a horse. It's not time yet. . .but when I've
had enough, I'll know. I guess I just haven't had enough. I think of
the Hemingway line: "He could stand pain as well as any man, unless it
went on too long and wore him out." Well, it's wearing me out, folks. M

 

suidide isnt the answer to a less than successful cateract operation.
You needed it because your cateracts were making your vision very poor.
Cateract surgury isnt really elective like lasik.

 

Melinda - sorry about your situation. I had cataract surgery December
2004 and it took awhile before I felt comfortable with the end result.
It resulted in a case of uveitis that had to be treated with antibiotic
eyedrops for a few months. My first surgeon didn't have any compassion
for me, so I went to a second one who found the uveitis (the first guy
said all is good). I also had a hard time adjusting to the new vision,
since one eye was set at
-1.50 (the operated eye) and -6.50 (the unoperated eye). So, I need to
wear a contact lens in the other eye ALL THE TIME. My advice to you is
to let some time pass and you might adjust. But, if you are still
upset - go to a second or third doctor for another opinion. take care
and good luck - Karen

 

Thanks for the support. I guess I had lost perspective. All around me
there are people in chronic pain who are enduring their lives because
they don't like the alternative. And you are right about having no
other choice. The cataract was very dense by the time they took it off,
and I was running into people and things all the time. THAT was no way
to live. I am working on a pro bono consultation through Lions Club and
other charity groups that provide eye care. I'll keep everyone posted.
Thanks about the tip with uveitis. Hopefully the second opinion doc can
detect it or any other condition that might be impeding recovery. To be
continued, M

 

Are we talking one eye here? If the other eye works, you only need the
one. Both my wife and I only have one functional eye. Life is fine.
We both drive, and do almost whatever we want. We aren't going to be
professional athletes. You need two eyes for most sports.

I lost the vision in my good eye this summer. No driving, limited
computer and reading. No work either. I had 100 days of sick leave.
It was a two week vacation. Not so bad, really. My vision came mostly
back after 10 days. The day before I went back to work, I tried
driving, and it was fine.

For both of us, our brain only sees the image from the left eye. If I
patch my left eye, and wear correction in the right, I can get around
fine. I'm guessing that if I lost my vision in the left eye, it would
take just a few weeks and I'd be driving and doing almost everything.
My wife has been blind in the right eye her whole life. Even though
there is nothing wrong with the eye (she has amblyopia) and she has been
assured that she could learn how to see out of it if she lost her left
eye, I suspect that it would take a while.

God made some of our body parts redundant. My father has one kidney.
He is doing fine.

I hope you don't lose your eye. If you do, and lose the pain with it,
well, if you have another eye, then you are OK.

Please reply. I'm concerned about you.

 

Dan,

How is your eye now after the vitrectomy surgery? Are you saying now
that you've lost sight in it or that is not functional?

George

 

The doctor put a "bubble" in it to help it heal. As she said, the eye
doesn't work with a bubble in it. It needs fluid, not a gas. They use
different gases. Some last for hours, some for months. The doctor said
two weeks. That's what it was. The eye absorbs the gases. After about
10 days, enough gas was absorbed that my central vision was back.
Vision was still difficult, though. After about two weeks the bubble
was gone. I have 20/20 central vision. There appears to be a problem
with peripheral vision. I see the doctor this month. I flunked my
field exam. We'll see. I'll keep you posted.