Seeking advice/info regarding detached retina

brianlux

Just yesterday my wife was diagnosed with a detached retina in her left eye and goes in for surgery Monday.

If any of you have experience/knowledge regarding the recuperation period I'd be most grateful to hear from you. We're pretty freaked out because she will very likely never see through that eye as well again. The immediate concern is getting through the first two weeks. For the first ten days she has to stay in a face-down position (lying down or sitting) for all but a few hours a day and then 4 days of face down half the day. Just the thought of this is unsettling and it's not me that has to be face down for so long.

Also of great concern, she was told that for the first two months she cannot go above 1800 feet elevation and we live at 2200 feet. We're still trying to figure that one out and the clock is ticking.

I'm off to work but thanks in advance for any info any of you might have. I'll check back in this evening. Thanks so much.

Brian

perfectlefts14

That's brutal man, sorry I don't have any experience or knowledge in the procedure, but I hope all goes well. You might want to invest in a massage table to make her more comfortable lying face down after the procedure. I wish you both the best of luck and I hope all goes well.

oceaninmyeyes

Brian, I am so sorry to hear that. I don't have tons of information I'm afraid. I have thin retinas, which are more prone to detachment, so it has always been something that concerns me. I know that it is considered a medical emergency, and I was worried when I heard they weren't going to do surgery until Monday until I did a little research. I guess there are two types of detachments, one that requires immediate surgery to save sight, and one that can be done within a week. I didn't read anything about needing to be prone during recovery, and a massage table did come to mind when I read that was what they were recommending to your wife. My best suggestion is to write your questions down as they come to the two of you and make sure you get them all answered before leaving the office. Doctors and nurses are human and may sometimes think they have answered all your questions even though that is not necessarily the case. Don't worry about offending them, just advocate for your wife. That is what they should ultimately want for their patient as well. Best wishes for the two of you.

rollings

brianlux wrote:

Just yesterday my wife was diagnosed with a detached retina in her left eye and goes in for surgery Monday.

If any of you have experience/knowledge regarding the recuperation period I'd be most grateful to hear from you. We're pretty freaked out because she will very likely never see through that eye as well again. The immediate concern is getting through the first two weeks. For the first ten days she has to stay in a face-down position (lying down or sitting) for all but a few hours a day and then 4 days of face down half the day. Just the thought of this is unsettling and it's not me that has to be face down for so long.

Also of great concern, she was told that for the first two months she cannot go above 1800 feet elevation and we live at 2200 feet. We're still trying to figure that one out and the clock is ticking.

I'm off to work but thanks in advance for any info any of you might have. I'll check back in this evening. Thanks so much.

Brian

wow Brian that's terrible!

well, there's lots of stuff on the internet about it. I personally have no experiences to share with you.

Will you have to stay at a hotel? Since its medically necessary, is there some type of recovery facility she could stay at? I'd ask.

EdsonNascimento

Best wishes, Brian. Can't really help you out, but you guys will be in our thoughts.

Who Princess

Brian, I know this is a frightening prospect. I recently had eye problems and there was concern that it was a detached retina. I was fortunate that it wasn't but it scared the crap out of me!

A good friend went through this a few years ago. He also was very anxious at that time and surprised that they waited a couple of days for surgery. The recovery process was frustrating for him. I remember him complaining about keeping his head down and later he had to wear a patch for a short time. He was also very frustrated that he couldn't drive for a while. But when it was all over he was doing great and very relieved that it had been taken care of.

I'll be thinking about you and your wife on Monday and sending you good vibes for all the best.

mookeywrench

My brother went through this (diabetic). It's as bad as it sounds. Two weeks of lying face down, he was allowed up about 30 minutes a day for 10 minute periods to go to the bath room, shower, and the occasional meal (main meals were soup and stuff through straws or whatever he could eat face down).

He bought one of the massage chair style pillows to cradle his face and had to have someone around practically all the time for assistance.

For activities it was listening to movies, and music, and having friends come over to hang out.

Also he was given steroids that you take in eye-drop form for recovery. These turned him into an asshole and very short fused during the process....so beware.

iluvcats

I hope all goes well for your wife, that would be hard to do, to stay face down. I know one lady from work and she said her mom had to be face down. Otherwise, I think it was a success.

Since I drive for long periods, I'm into audio books from the library. I reserve them online, sometimes it takes a week for them to get back to me. But I would try that to give her something to listen to. You might be able to download free audio books from the library of congress.

brianlux

Thanks for good thought and ideas, everybody. I'll pass them along to Celia- she will appreciate the kind words!

I'm told that because she is near-sighted she was more prone to having retina detachment. If it had been caught a few days earlier she could have had a much easier procedure and not the 10 day face-down thing. If any of you are near-sighted and ever get any kind of blind spot in your vision, go in right away and have your eyes checked- it might save you some huge headaches! We missed out by just a day or two. :(

Thanks again, everyone!

brianlux

Celia has her eye surgery today. Wishing my sweetheart good luck and speedy recovery.

oceaninmyeyes

My thoughts are with you and your dear wife. Hoping for a speedy recovery and a positive outcome.

JonnyPistachio

ooh, thats sounds scary. :( Best of luck to her Brian!

rollings

keep us posted Brian

STAYSEA

Remember one of our first discussions?

I lost my eyesight for 6 months. You lost your hearing.

We talked about which was worse....

What ever happens we get through it. You need to get her some where in a lower elevation after she's stable.

I had to take pills to reduce the pressure and inflammation. You can read to her and she can tell you about music she hears. Now, that is team work!

She's going to have nerd glasses like me and my friend I mentioned. But you won't love her any less.

:geek: hopefully not more than 2 pairs.

hedonist

oceaninmyeyes wrote:

My thoughts are with you and your dear wife. Hoping for a speedy recovery and a positive outcome.

Echoing this!

RKCNDY

I had a detached retina and had surgery a few years back.

The surgeon said I was very lucky that my OD did a really thorough job at my yearly eye exam-didn't have to do the whole laying down for 10 days. I didn't notice any blind spots or have any vision problems, actually it was in my 'good eye'.

Basically I went in, they gave me a Xanax, and had me lay down for a bit. Then they had me gown-up, and put numbing drops in my eye, and some atropine (it keeps your eye dilated) stuck that thing that holds your eye open in, and sat me down at the laser machine. 20-30 minutes later, they sent me home. I was awake thru the whole thing.

I am nearsighted, but he said my detachment was caused by trauma... :?

81

i would not use thread and needle for this procedure.


hope all works out well for the Mrs.

brianlux

Thank you, everyone! It's been a mammoth long day but all went well. The doc was very satisfies with how it went. Recovery will be long and hard but Celia's a strong lady. Thanks all for well wishes thoughts and ideas!

Brian

oceaninmyeyes

brianlux wrote:

Thank you, everyone! It's been a mammoth long day but all went well. The doc was very satisfies with how it went. Recovery will be long and hard but Celia's a strong lady. Thanks all for well wishes thoughts and ideas!

Brian

Thanks for the update. I'm glad today went well. And I hope each day is a bit better than the last and Celia is up and around again soon.

STAYSEA

So, We all need to collectively send them well wishes or not at all.

The response has been over whelming. I wish this club could do something awesome for Brian and Celia, and it doesn't involve phones, internet, or messages.

Bills add up. Group card? Care package?

Brian never wants or needs anything. Celia likes country music, I think.

I have few ideas. PM me if you have any ideas to ease this bump in the road.

I know they both like books....

I have a few audio books. I don't know if she would like them.

Can we help Lux?

redrock

Good to hear all went well, Brian and that the docs are happy with everything! Hope you had all your questions answered and that you two are a lot more confident going into Celia's recovery. Hopefully she is as patient as she is strong!!!

All the best....