Eye appointment today, not so good

[Robinredbreast]

Evening

Today I had a eye appointment at the laser clinic, but first I was taken to another dept to have the back of my eye photographed. Gave the images to nurse then went into see Mr K. After looking at the images and the back of eyes, my left eye is still good, but the right eye is causing concern. He wants a second opinion, but he says my eye needs operating on. He's going to write to my GP and is going to refer me to Southampton Hospital for the second opinion. If the op goes ahead it will be in Southampton, not my home town,

I am really scared about an operation and lovely Mr K is going to let the hospital know that I am (these are his words )' s**t scared'.

Mr K is semi retired now, but is still treating the 'old lags' as he calls us, because he wants to do everything he can and has known me for a few years now and he will then pick up the pieces. I know I will have to be knocked out, I can't be awake, it fills me with fear and dread and makes me feel sick. Not the news I was expecting today. I just wanted to be someone to give me a cuddle and say don't worry we'll get through this together and to reassure me I suppose. I did feel so alone when Mr K told me the news. My daughter asked how it went but I just made light of it, she's only 12. These are the times I wish I had that special adult in my life. to share the good things and also the bad bits

Thanks for reading

Take care and best wishes RRB

 

[Netty70]

Wow I would be scared too I lost 90% of my eyesight for about 4wks when I was first diagnosed so I was terrified all ok now so hopefully your op will go well try not to worry easier said than done I know
Hope everything goes ok


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[Northernangel]

Bless you..big hug from me..




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[Thundercat]

Oh God RRB, I could cry for you. I am sending you a huge huge hug. I have said a prayer for you for strength and a successful outcome. You posted a very kind reply to my thread about my fears over an eye procedure. Mine is as nothing compared to what may lay ahead of you and I can only begin to imagine how you are feeling. I truly truly hope thatthe second opinion finds a different option for you. If you want to talk or unload your feelings please feel free to pm me anytime.

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[Hooked]

Thinking of you, and hoping the second opinion might be more positive. xx

 

[WhitbyJet]

RRB a huge, comforting hug from me too, my heart goes out to you, am praying that the second opinion brings you better news

All the very best to you x x

 

[Sid Bonkers]

So sorry to hear your bad news RRB, its never nice to receive bad news but harder still when you have no one to reassure you, but you do have the forum members who will send you their wishes for a successful outcome to this setback, and I add my wishes to those above and those yet to come.

Specialist eye docs can do things today that would have been impossible just a few years ago and your op if you need one will no doubt be a huge success.

As for the anaesthetic, thats the easy bit you just have one injection and have to count to 10, you'll be lucky to get past three or four in my experience and then you wake when its all done :thumbup:

Good luck with the op if you need it and try not to stress over it too much, its better that they have identified it now and are seeking a second opinion, yes?

 

[noblehead]

That's a shame about the operation RRB, what is the op they are planning on doing?

 

[Unbeliever]

Hi RRB, I too was wondering what he p is ? A vitrectomy perhaps? If you are anyhing like me it won't really matter what it is!

Its the tthought of going o a strange hospital and dealing with differen people when you know and trust hose at your usual hospital.

The thing is that your present consultant /sugeon may not feel confident or is no longer capable of performing the op.
Is he semi-retired because of age or just in private pracice?

Eye surgeons don't have a very long "shelf -life". The better people realise this and stop doing the procedures requiring beer sigh and steadier habnds before they do any damge.

If you have to go elsewhere it will be because it is in your own best interess.

I know that many people say hat hey "Must " have a general for eye surgery . But hen some have a general for laser treatment!
I was perhaps fortunate in having injections which had to be performed in the operating theatre iunder full surgical conditions.
Then when I had to have surgery it didn't seem so errifying.

In fact the thought of beng UN-conscious scares me more. of course this is a personal choice but I always ;look at the risks for the particular procedure I am having and hen consider wheher it might ot be better to be conscious so that any prolems which might occur , say , wih your eretina would be obvious immediately and could be recified immmediately wihout having to undergo a further procedure.
They don't necessarily menion these hngs o you befoehand so just somehig for you to think about.

Most eye ops entail the eye that isn't being operated on being covered up and of course you won't be able to see much out of the one they are operaing on. Ther is nothing scarey to be seen and although you will probably have an injection in your eye
it will be well anaesthesised with drops first.

of course there may o be an opion to have a local but just wanted to advise you no o reject a local out of hand. I have spent many hours in eye hospital wards and even for something as routine as cataract ops the problems seem often o occur with hose who have
had a general.

I know it must be a terrible shock - especially with t hem wanting you to travel to Southampton but if it is a vitrectomy your problems in that eye could be solved for ever.
You do seem to have a very caring consultant who would not act as he has unless it were necessary/ Will you see him againn after your second opinion?

 

[Andy12345]

Aww, (((((Cuddle)))))

 

[Robinredbreast]

Hi RRB, I too was wondering what he p is ? A vitrectomy perhaps? If you are anyhing like me it won't really matter what it is!

Its the tthought of going o a strange hospital and dealing with differen people when you know and trust hose at your usual hospital.

The thing is that your present consultant /sugeon may not feel confident or is no longer capable of performing the op.
Is he semi-retired because of age or just in private pracice?

Eye surgeons don't have a very long "shelf -life". The better people realise this and stop doing the procedures requiring beer sigh and steadier habnds before they do any damge.

If you have to go elsewhere it will be because it is in your own best interess.

I know that many people say hat hey "Must " have a general for eye surgery . But hen some have a general for laser treatment!
I was perhaps fortunate in having injections which had to be performed in the operating theatre iunder full surgical conditions.
Then when I had to have surgery it didn't seem so errifying.

In fact the thought of beng UN-conscious scares me more. of course this is a personal choice but I always ;look at the risks for the particular procedure I am having and hen consider wheher it might ot be better to be conscious so that any prolems which might occur , say , wih your eretina would be obvious immediately and could be recified immmediately wihout having to undergo a further procedure.
They don't necessarily menion these hngs o you befoehand so just somehig for you to think about.

Most eye ops entail the eye that isn't being operated on being covered up and of course you won't be able to see much out of the one they are operaing on. Ther is nothing scarey to be seen and although you will probably have an injection in your eye
it will be well anaesthesised with drops first.

of course there may o be an opion to have a local but just wanted to advise you no o reject a local out of hand. I have spent many hours in eye hospital wards and even for something as routine as cataract ops the problems seem often o occur with hose who have
had a general.

I know it must be a terrible shock - especially with t hem wanting you to travel to Southampton but if it is a vitrectomy your problems in that eye could be solved for ever.
You do seem to have a very caring consultant who would not act as he has unless it were necessary/ Will you see him againn after your second opinion?

Thank you for all that fantastic information. It was a bit of a shock yesterday. I knew by the look on his face all wasn't well. I said to Mr K you're going to say the O word aren't you. He didn't say it was a vitrectomy procedure, he said it doesn't look good in there and there is a lot of older blood which hasn't dispersed and there is either tension or some trauma pulling on my retina and the cataract that is going across my eye should be removed at the same time.I also have distortion in the middle of my eye and it feels different to the left eye which is still good. When he mentioned another hospital and the O word it's then I started to grip my arm and my tummy was doing somersaults. As the exact name of what might possibly be done I don't know. I know Southampton is a much bigger hospital and has more facilities. It's just the thought of what might happen that's the scariest thing and being away from my daughter and if I have to have an operation I will have to get someone to look after her and then there's my elderly dad as well, as he has to be looked after as well. All these things entered my head, but today, I just thought if I need to have this then I will just get on and have it done. Mr K said he is semi retired now and just works 2 days a week at the NHS but I know he did work one day at a private clinic. He said he will see me ' to pick up the pieces'. It was just a bit of a shock, unexpected and out of the blue. Hopefully the second opinion might mean the operation could be delayed for months and they may say it's not necessary just now.
I do like Mr K, he is friendly and makes me feel comfortable and e can say the odd swear word as well, very down to earth and not posh at all, and says he has to move the table to fit me because I'm a bit of a short a**e.

Thanks again for your good wishes ,it means a lot..
.
RRB x

 

[Patch13]

Good luck RRB. It sounds like you are feeling a little more positive today which is good. Keep us updated and take care!


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[Robinredbreast]

Thank you Netty, Noblehead, Thundercat, Hooked, Whitby Jet, Sid Bonkers, Andy and Patch. Your lovely kind words and support is truly heart warming. It has made me feel better and a bit more positive today.

Best wishes RRB x

 

[Unbeliever]

Hi again RRB,

I am glad you are feeling more positive- I was thinking while I was typing [or in my case typo-ing} that you might be better going ahead now.
I can see why your consultant wants another opinion. I think its great that he is seeking another opinion.

I recently had a cataract removed purely so that "they" could see properly what was going on behind it. It wasnightt bothering me - in fact it improved my close vision by concentrating the l so it could be the same with you.

Did you know that most eye ops can be done -even under general as a day procedure? Just mentioning it as I knew you would be worried about your daugher and your Dad.

Great that MR K is supporting you. I know how important his is- others may mean well but you need omeone who knows you and your particular problems.

Best wishes and keep us posted.

 

[Netty70]

Will be thinking of you RRB hope everything turns out ok
Keep us posted and try not to worry about everyone else a know easier said than done
Try and put you first
Good luck


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[Janiept]

(((RRB)))

Thinking of you and will send up a few prayers for peace of mind and a speedy recovery from this problem.
All here care and empathise with you right now so remember that we are thinking of you and are here to listen when you need to unload.

Hugs and bucket loads of support coming at you

 

[Lee Neilson]

Hi Robinredbreast,

My eyes were always my personal demon and the one one thing that scared me the most about life as a diabetic. I completely empathise with what you are going through. I'll give you the slightly potted history version of my story but the message behind this is that you can get through these things although it's perfectly natural to be afraid and have up and down moments.

Towards the end of April last year I woke up one Saturday morning to find I could perceive blood swirling around inside my right eye. I was TERRIFIED. Walking into hospital to address that was the single most frightening thing I'd ever had to do in my life. It was horrible. Especially as I had to go through the A&E process to finally be seen by the eye unit at the hospital. It dragged things out and prolonged my terror. When they had a look inside, things were not a pretty sight. I'd had a bleed inside my right eye and my left eye was at severe risk of having the same happen to it without treatment. A couple of days later I had an Avastin injection in each eye (not fun but necessary and didn't actually cause too much discomfort). A couple of days after that I had 4000 laser shots in my left eye and 2500 in my right. In one sitting :-O

To cut a long story short, due to the fibrous tissue on my retinas and the effects of the Avastin and the laser scars healing I then developed tractional retinal detachments in both eyes within one month. Bigger :-O

I had my first vitrectomy with silicone oil to my left eye on 25th May 2012 (under general anaesthetic!) and my right eye got the same on 8th June 2012 (also opting to be knnocked out!). Scary times and all frighteningly fast.

My right eye had a macular off detachment and my left eye almost did but not quite, hence the fact they operated on that first.

Skip to today. 23rd July 2013. I still have the silicone oil fill in both eyes at present but following a trip to the wonderful Low Vision clinic last year they were able to stabilise my vision at 20/40 with glasses. The retinas have remained stable and the whole situation has led me to be living a much healthier lifestyle. The only thing I'm not doing now is driving but I'm back at work, I'm reading books, I can watch TV, I can find my way around and I'm living my life. I'm even sat here typing this (and I don't think there's any typos so far!)

The biggest thing though? I've laid those demons to rest. I've faced the one thing that scared me the most and I've come out the other side. It no longer frightens me. I've dealt with it and I've moved on. I'm feeling in as good a place in my life now as I ever have done. Friends, family and loved ones are vitally important to help you through but I promise you that you can come through the other side.

I don't want to ramble on forever but if you want to ask me anything else about my experiences then be my guest.

Take care,

Lee

 

[noblehead]

Quite a story Lee .....pleased you've come out the other-side and remain positive :thumbup:

 

[chris lowe]

Poor you RRB, so sorry to hear of your eye problem. I can't begin to imagine how you feel just the thought of someone doing something to my eyes gives me the shivers. Thinking of you and sending hugs and good wishes. :wave:

 

[Robinredbreast]

,Thank you lee and chris.

Lee thanks for telling me your story, you have been , throu,gh such a lot of trauma with your eye problems, but you have shown that uou can come through many medical conditions with a positive attitude and out come..
I don't know when my referrel will come through as I fely a bleed yesterday and one today. It feels like a mini flood inmy eye. Hopefully it won't be too long.

Many many thanks guys it does cheer me up a lot.

Take care and best wishes RRB xx