It's been just over 2 weeks since my surgery now and I'm please to say I've had no complications so far! (not that I expected any!).
For the first week I had to wear the eye shields at night. They're slightly uncomfortable at first but you do get used to them quite quickly. The annoying part is that you have to tape them to your face with surgical tape (the same tape I use to tape my eyes shut). This tends to leave some glue behind and the wipes that are supposed to remove it tend to just smear it around your face.
I also had to continue to tape my eyes shut at night for the first week to prevent them from overly drying out as I am still sleeping with my eyes partly open. This proved difficult! Taping one eye at a time does not work as the open eye pulls the shut one open slightly and you just end up taping the eye open. In the end I worked out that a routine of ointment in each eye, tape each eye and then blindly taping the shields to my face was the best (obviously this means I had to be fully prepared turn the lights out and go to sleep straight away otherwise the entire process would have to be repeated after sorely ripping all the tape off when I suddenly remembered I wanted a glass of water or to answer a text msg on my phone!)
For the first week I religiously used the antibiotic and Blink eye drops. I didn't feel that I experienced much dryness as I didn't give my eyes the opportunity to dry out.
The second week has been less demanding dropwise. I now only need to use the Blink drops and even those I can get away without using too often. I do find them more necessary at night however as my eyes become tired. I have used the ointment during the day for extra lubrication at times.
I have also taken the decision to continue to tape my eyes shut at night past the initial first week. I tried without and awoke in the morning with very dry, red and scratchy eyes. Best to be on the safe side.
My vision has also settled down now. I haven't had a hazy day since the first week and my night vision seems to be improving with the shrinking down of the starbursts and halos. I hope that that continues to avoid an adjustment in the future.
My next appointment at the clinic is on 29th July. I'll update more on my progress after that.
Thursday, 15 July 2010
Good Hotel in London
Forgot to mention that one of the hotels I stayed in whilst in London for my eye surgery was The Academy Hotel in Bloomsbury.
It was a pretty good little hotel and very central (well for that part of London).
I can highly recommend a stay in the Garden Suite for an extra £40 per night. Normal rooms are slightly on the small side but if you're staying in London then the chances are you won't be spending an awful lot of time in your room anyway.
Here's the link:
http://www.theetoncollection.com/content.aspx?pageID=410
It was a pretty good little hotel and very central (well for that part of London).
I can highly recommend a stay in the Garden Suite for an extra £40 per night. Normal rooms are slightly on the small side but if you're staying in London then the chances are you won't be spending an awful lot of time in your room anyway.
Here's the link:
http://www.theetoncollection.com/content.aspx?pageID=410
Triple Layer Mocha Cake
A picture of the cake I made last week. I won't post the recipe yet as I want to tweek it a bit from the one that I used in the recipe book. Thought I'd post the photograph anyway as it does look pretty good if nothing else!
My Amazing Orchid
Thought I'd just mention how amazing one of my orchids is this year! I've moved it to a new home on my kitchen windowsill and it apparently loves it (along with the occasional bit of orchid plant food). This is photographic proof....
Saturday, 3 July 2010
Post Surgery - The First 3 Hours
Well I got back from London yesterday morning after having my eye surgery.
The surgery itself was postponed a day so it didn't take place until Thursday morning. It was a last minute thing, so last minute in fact that I had already been given and taken all my pre surgery medication (pain killers, anti inflammatories, anti sickness and relaxation drugs) as well as having had my relaxing head massage! Alas surgery on Wednesday was not meant to be...
Come Thursday morning I was beyond prepared and just wanted to get it over with but that's pretty much what happens anyway with laser eye surgery! I was called into the prep area around 10am and was out of the theatre by 10.20.
I had some initial black spots in my vision of my left eye but after 5 or so minutes these dispersed. I was told to keep my eyes shut as much as possible for the first 3 hours and personally I didn't really feel much like opening them before 2pm anyway.
I found the daylight (on a very sunny day) almost unbearable even with my sunglasses on and my eyes shut. In the taxi on the way to my hotel I had to place my hand over my eyes to sheild them further.
Upon arriving at the hotel the light in the lobby also proved too much when removing my glasses to apply the lubricating drops (which must be done every 15 minutes post op on the first day) so we moved to a very dark corner of the hotel bar whilst we waited for our room to be ready.
I could NOT have managed the first 3 hours (or any of the other appointments and stay in London) without the help of my mum. I can't stress how important it would be for anyone considering surgery similar to mine to have help and support by way of someone they know and trust being with them. Mum helped me from the moment I left the recovery room in the clinic by way of guiding me when walking so I didn't have to fully open my eyes, having the necessary drops and medication on hand as and when I needed them, reminding me when I needed them (as I couldn't see a clock), assisting me to find the toilets in the hotel lobby(!), ordering me drinks and helping me drink them without tipping them all over myself in the hotel bar, dealing with hotel staff and generally being there to comfort and reassure me.
That comfort and reassurance was much needed approx 30 mins after surgery when I started to get some pain in my left eye (the same one that had shown black spots earlier). Mum found the necessary pain medication among the different bottles and droppers in the medication pack and helped me apply it to my eye. The pain eventually subsided after another hour and I'm pleased to say did not return!
The surgery itself was postponed a day so it didn't take place until Thursday morning. It was a last minute thing, so last minute in fact that I had already been given and taken all my pre surgery medication (pain killers, anti inflammatories, anti sickness and relaxation drugs) as well as having had my relaxing head massage! Alas surgery on Wednesday was not meant to be...
Come Thursday morning I was beyond prepared and just wanted to get it over with but that's pretty much what happens anyway with laser eye surgery! I was called into the prep area around 10am and was out of the theatre by 10.20.
I had some initial black spots in my vision of my left eye but after 5 or so minutes these dispersed. I was told to keep my eyes shut as much as possible for the first 3 hours and personally I didn't really feel much like opening them before 2pm anyway.
I found the daylight (on a very sunny day) almost unbearable even with my sunglasses on and my eyes shut. In the taxi on the way to my hotel I had to place my hand over my eyes to sheild them further.
Upon arriving at the hotel the light in the lobby also proved too much when removing my glasses to apply the lubricating drops (which must be done every 15 minutes post op on the first day) so we moved to a very dark corner of the hotel bar whilst we waited for our room to be ready.
I could NOT have managed the first 3 hours (or any of the other appointments and stay in London) without the help of my mum. I can't stress how important it would be for anyone considering surgery similar to mine to have help and support by way of someone they know and trust being with them. Mum helped me from the moment I left the recovery room in the clinic by way of guiding me when walking so I didn't have to fully open my eyes, having the necessary drops and medication on hand as and when I needed them, reminding me when I needed them (as I couldn't see a clock), assisting me to find the toilets in the hotel lobby(!), ordering me drinks and helping me drink them without tipping them all over myself in the hotel bar, dealing with hotel staff and generally being there to comfort and reassure me.
That comfort and reassurance was much needed approx 30 mins after surgery when I started to get some pain in my left eye (the same one that had shown black spots earlier). Mum found the necessary pain medication among the different bottles and droppers in the medication pack and helped me apply it to my eye. The pain eventually subsided after another hour and I'm pleased to say did not return!