Hi everyone, just to report that I had my trabucalectomy yesterday and saw the Consultant today post-op. So far so good, my pressure in that eye is already down from 34 to 22 and he was happy with that, saying it will gradually reduce further. Feeling very low about the condition of the eye itself, very blurry and gritty and can’t see out of it, but he says the vision should be back to how it was in time. Horrified that this will take 6-8 weeks and perhaps longer. But it sounds as if this is the same outcome that you have all been experiencing from recent trabs. I am so grateful for all your words of encouragement, as without them I don’t think I could have gone through with the operation. So now life revolves around the various eye drops, no strenuous exercise etc., which I will find very hard being a normally fit and active person. Hubby is being very supportive but I hate to feel such a burden on him. Hopefully it can only get better!
Trab update: Hi everyone, just to report that I... - Glaucoma UK
Trab update
Oh Redshoes15 glad to hear that's your trab op is over and done with and that your consultant was pleased with your eye pressure today at post op. It is a good positive start.I found the grittiness did start to ease a bit within a few days and mine was pretty much gone within the first week. I did take paracetamol to help with it, as it can make you feel pretty miserable. The blurriness I didn't really experience apart from first day but from everyone else's experience on here it does resolve itself and hopefully doesn't take too long.
The drops and being limited only to walking I struggled with too but you soon just get into a routine with drops and I found the time did pass relatively quickly.
That's great your husband is being there for you and I'm sure he's just glad to be helping. I probably didn't really feel like myself till about day 10 and then my eye looked better and I just felt ok about it all. It takes time you've just had a serious eye op but you will get there. Don't try to do much in the first few days, try and rest and you will be back to normal soon enough. Take care x
Thank you Witchie346, that is so encouraging! Yes all this can really get you down, I feel it is time someone out there found a cure for this terrible eye disease that affects so many of us. It is comforting to know that you are not alone and having people to share things with makes such a difference 😊
I agree wholeheartedly and hope one day a cure is found and yes sharing things with others who know exactly what you are going through makes a huge difference. Sending you hugs.
Pleased for you that all went well, try to remember, if the op had been on an arm or leg you'd rest it, the eye is no different, keep on with the drops, and remember that no strenuous exercise is actually helping your eye to heal, sending best wishes 😎
Thank you Jennymary xx
I had mine 4 months ago and now completely back to normal. It sounds a long time but it will go quickly, and as with any surgery, we have to go through this recovery period. It’s going to be worth it though.
Oh thank you Lorraine - you have really cheered me up! I was wondering if I would ever see out of this eye again. I’m really grateful to all of you who have sent me messages - you have all been sooooo kind! xx
Great news, I am on day 10 post op, but in a bit of pain today, and consultant said i have a leak, but he was not too concerned so will see him next week, i do on occasion have a black like disc appears in my vision that seems to move around now and then, wife has been great with drops and putting shield on at night, but feel so guilty having to let her do most things, so can only get better i think. Eye is still gritty and blurred, with pain when i look around but not so red now. Now dont forget, Do as your told !! lol
Hi floki, good to hear about your progress. It’s early days yet as you are only on day 10 and it’s a long bumpy road isn’t it. I’m sure your wife is only too pleased to feel that she is helping you recover. We will all get there! Take care and best of luck xx
Hi Floki, sorry to hear you are in pain today, it is just day 10 and you have had a serious eye operation and everyone heals at a different rate. I was healing very quickly which is great normally but was detrimental with trab. I have heard of others having leaks and I'm guessing they can't be uncommon or your surgeon would be more concerned. It's all an uphill struggle sometimes but hopefully we all get there in the end. Your wife I'm sure is more than happy to do anything to help you, so for a wee while more just let her. I personally made the most of having my partner do everything 😃 maybe I'm just mean though ha ha. Take care and let us know what surgeon says next week.
Any post op period is hard and you feel that you forget what it’s like to feel normal but bear with it . You will gradually improve and not meaning to sound funny but remember that you have also been very brave and it’s ok to feel emotionally drained . X
Thank you for understanding. That is exactly how I feel xx
My trouble is I like to be doing something, but can't do much at the moment, plus I'm inpatient, but we will get there !
Know what you mean, I am exactly the same and it’s so frustrating.
Keep us all updated, as i will, and others in the future may find this all helpful x
That’s great news , hope your recovery continues to progress well and you get the desired results , sounds like you are on track for a positive outcome x
Having a bad day today, eye is very painful but 2 days post op that is only to be expected. I am trying to be positive and believe that one sunny day I will get my sight back but it’s a long old journey! Thanks for your message - what breeds are your 2 woofs??!! x
Were you warned about post op pain? I’m asking as I didn’t experience any so I’m wondering if you should check with your consultant?
Yes I was warned about the soreness. To be honest it’s more uncomfortable than real pain, I think because of the stitches. I did ring the on call team and they thought it sounded ok. Thank you for asking though you were lucky not to experience anything like that.
I had discomfort, probably because of the stitches, but not pain as such.
I’m glad you’ve had reassurance from the on call team.
Are you fully recovered now?
Yes fine. The trab was about 8 years ago and the pressure in that eye remains at 8 without drops.
The consultant mentions at each check up that the bleb (I think) is thin so I’m guessing that’s not great. But so far so good!
That’s great to hear, well done xx
I have two crossbreeds , a cockapoo and cavapoo. Monty the cockapoo is 14 next month , Milly is 11 , 12 in August. Hope your pain eases, take it easy x
My favourite little dogs, so cuddly. Much better today thank you x
I was just going to ask how you were feeling today but I'm glad to see you are feeling better. Keep taking it easy, although I know it isn't what you are used to, it will all be worth it in the end. My stitches were really annoying and irritating for quite a few days but it does get better. X
Hello Witchie, thank you for your kind reply. My eyes are not too bad today but for some reason I am feeling very sick and nauseous, I can’t work out whether it’s a late reaction to all the anaesthetic or whether they medication is causing it. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this? Yes, dogs are a great comfort when you feel low xx
Oh Redshoes that's not good, no I definitely didn't feel sick and nauseous, just out of sorts and not myself as I said previously. It could be a late reaction to anaesthetic I guess or like you say possibly the drops. I would give the hospital on call team a ring and see what they say just for peace of mind. It's bad enough recovering from op but feeling unwell too makes it worse. Yes my lovely, cuddly Lu makes everything so much better. Hope you feeling better soon x
My wee dog Lu is a cockapoo too, she's 4 and doesn't realise she's a dog, she definitely helps when I'm feeling miserable about my eyes . X
When I had my trab, i think it was blurry for a couple of weeks until the steroid drops were reduced ( had op 6years ago). I also was ok day after but very sore day 2 but ok by day 5, think it’s the bodies way of saying relax and do less. When do you next see consultant ?
I'll add to the stack of replies: I had mine done in mid-January, and the recovery took longer than I had anticipated, but it's worked out pretty well to this point. I would say that it took me 10-12 weeks before the vision in that eye was back to where it was pre-surgery. And I have more astigmatism now which meant new glasses.
The post-op steroid drops were one of the things affecting the vision -- making it kind of cloudy/blurry. As I tapered the frequency it got better. I was pretty discouraged at first. In hindsight now, I was definitely overreacting and being too pessimistic about the situation.
At night using an ophthalmic ointment really helped with the uncomfortable, gritty feeling.
As for exercise, my surgeon said it was ok for me to do bicycling (which is my primary exercise). I rode indoors on the trainer for the first 3-4 weeks (and it was really cold anyway), but then started riding outside.
Just shy of 4 months now, I competed in a race today.
Well done competing in a race today, it's nice to see something positive 😁
Good to know your surgery went well. It is difficult being a lady of leisure, especially as you are normally an active person but this will all help for a good recovery.
Thank you Trish - wise words. I don’t know what I would have done without the forum, with such helpful and encouraging comments from fellow sufferers. You have all been amazing!
Hi Redshoes15, how are you feeling today? Hope nausea has improved and even better gone completely. The days are ticking by and every one that passes is bringing to closer to normal.I think I just worked on getting from one hospital appointment to another which broke the time down into smaller more manageable amounts for my brain. I did take a pic of my eye everyday and as I saw tiny improvements it made me feel a bit happier.
Hope you keeping your hubby busy and being a couch potato yourself ☺️
Take care x
Hi Witchie, that is a good idea to take pictures of your eye’s progress. My reply to you doesn’t seem to have appeared, anyway I am much better now thanks,. Just a bad day with some bug I picked up. My eye is jogging along, as they say.it’s hard at times to feel positive when you have an eye that is useless, but we are told all will. beOK in the end, so we have to hold on to that! I hope you are progressing well, sounds as if you are heading in the right direction. Speak again soon, take care. xx
Glad your bug has gone, not the best time to catch one unfortunately. I agree it is hard to feel positive when your eye looks awful and isn't working the way it should be. My eye pics definitely did help me mentally, though the first few were like something out of a horror film 😱. I hope that once you are in to the second week you can see and feel a bit of a difference. My eye was pretty droopy looking for quite a while, which is pretty normal I've been told but now it looks the same as it ever was. You will get there and once you've had your check up this week hopefully that will give you a bit of a boost. Let us know how you get on x
Good to hear things are improving, I still have good and not so good days, and seem to have a sort of black disc to the right side of my vision which I have had for a few days, along with watery eye mainly first thing in the morning after taking the shield off. But seeing the consultant tomorrow so will know more then. Had a bit of a game with drops in that i was given more than enough of one sort, and not enough of one of the others, which i did not realise at the time, so Saturday night I had ran out of them, and could not get any until today, so two and a half days without them, and only supposed to take them until tomorrow, as they were for two weeks only. Apart from the actual procedure, its all been a bit of a farce to be honest from the day i was told i need an op, until now ! So at times, like you I have been so grateful to our little 2 yr old Romanian rescue dog. Best wishes to all.
Good luck with your check up tomorrow Floki, you've certainly had a right time of it. I was the same as you with my drops too many of one and not enough of other, luckily the receptionist at my surgery was great and got it all sorted out for me. Having a dog is definitely a blessing and I'm sure your wee rescue dog is as grateful to have you as you are to have them. Fingers crossed for tomorrow
Thank you, i spoke to our pharmacy yesterday, but they aid we have your details from your surgery and drops you require, but we cant give them to you as we dont have those in stock, so had to then go to Kamsans, but had to wait a day, the other drops they gave me, 20 capsules, which i take 4 times a day, will only last 5 days, zo have to go back to my GP tomorrow and ask for another prescription, as they say they should now be able to get them, but there is a 5 day wait to get them ! It can only get better, Can't it ??? lol
Unbelievable !!! That is such a catalogue of disasters and we rely on our drops so much. Yes it surely does have to get better 🤞. I second what Redshoes says and hope for positive news for you tomorrow, I think you are definitely overdue some. X
Good luck tomorrow Floki, I hope you get some positive news. I have heard that the hospitals never give you the right amount of drops so I am going to order some from my GP to be on the safe side. At times like this I often wish I had a little dog to cuddle! xx
Yes we lost our little dog of 16 years last August, and said no more, so we started to foster rescue dogs from Romanian kill shelters, but so hard to see them go to there adopters, we gave in and got the little chap we have now a week before xmas, he is a character, but so good company. Yes get your drops in advance is a good idea, good luck.
Sorry to hear you have had so much hassle with the drops, that certainly doesn’t help when you are feeling so anxious. I hope all goes well today. Fostering and adopting unwanted dogs is so rewarding and I think he will always be so grateful to you.
Well sat up the eye clinic for 3 hours, but all seems to be ok, have to carry on with the eye drops you take for 2 weeks so will be taking them for another 2 weeks but only half the dose. So drop regime is as follows, 2 types of drops every 4 hours, 1 lot every 6 hours, 2 of my usual drops in the other eye twice a day and another lot in the same eye at night, so 15 drops a day altogether, thanks to you both for your messages. And Redshoes15, yes he does seem very grateful to have home comforts, after living on the streets of Romania for around 2 years, especially their winters.
Well that is good news floki7, at least the number of drops is reducing and things are progressing as they should be. Pleased for you! I have my next appointment on Friday - I must say it’s a real pain hanging around in our-patients and having your life’controlled by the drops - but worth it on the end. I hope your eye is less painful now. Have you had the stitches out or are yours dissolvable? I will probably ask about that on Friday as having stitches out should help with the blurriness (shouldn’t it??) who knows!
HiRedshoes15, Hope all goes well on Friday for you, the drops i am taking do cause blurriness, I found out today my stitches are dissolvable, that grit in your eye feeling is a lot better but still irritating as i presume the knot in them is the last to dissolve, and that seems to be the cause of the gritty feeling under the top eyelid, so hope you get good news this week.
Just wanted to say all the best with your check up tomorrow. X
Ah thanks Witchie! You always feel anxious don’t you, when they start measuring the pressure. But fingers crossed for positive news. I think we are all doing quite well so far - you and floxi are a bit ahead of me as you had your ops first and it’s so useful to compare notes! Bless you both xx
I actually start feeling anxious the night before and totally sick at the actual appointment but I think that's not unusual. Positive news is definitely what we want from you tomorrow. It is a help to compare notes without a doubt. 🍀 X
Long time to sit and wait but as Redshoes says a slight reduction in drops, so it's going in right direction. Life after trab is definitely very drop orientated but it should definitely be worth it in a few weeks time . Aww that's a shame you lost your wee dog last year, they are so much more than just dogs. Lovely that you started fostering and fell for the wee one you now have. Dogs just give us so much and are the best companions, mine is actually a total little diva and she is the boss 🐕.
Yes it is a bore timing your day around drops, I'm not sure how they work these things out, as the consultant said he was giving me enough drops for 14 days, great, so every 6 hours, say 6am 12pm and 6pm x 14 days = 42 drops, but was given 20 single use caplets ! Love to hear your dog is the boss, I think secretly they all are, we go to the west country a couple of times a year, but always where we can take the dog. My mother from Scotland used to come down and look after the dog so we could go abroad but the last time was 10 years ago, so all holidays were for him really lol ! He was our baby, and the little rescue we have now is starting to have us under control as well !
The maths definitely doesn't add up and then you have the hassle of trying to get more drops from the GP 😣.We are the same it's all about our dog, my partner isn't a sunshine holiday person so we used to go to capital cities abroad and were working our way through the alphabet, since the advent of our fluffy terror no more capital cities. We even have our birthday meals at dog friendly restaurants, she's our wee baby too.
Hope you had good news today, and all went well.I stupidly got my drops mixed up last night, and put one drop for my left into my right, with the result blurriness in both eyes, couldnt watch TV or computor, still a little blurry this morning in the better eye, lol you have to laugh at times !
Oh dear floki, that was silly wasn’t it! Easily done though, I have done it myself with the normal (pre-trab) drops.
Well I had a bit of positive news today - pressures are down to 12 in the operated eye and 17 in the other following change of drops. However I got a telling off from the consultant, who said I wasn’t putting enough steroid drops in. The nurses I saw after the op led me to believe it was 6 a day steroids and 4 a day of the antibiotic ointment. I am realising that they often don’t have time to explain everything properly in the clinic and everything seems so rushed that you don’t have enough time for questions. My school report would have read ‘could do better - see me’. Naughty girl! I will now ensure that I stuff my eye with steroids and continue to peer through the blur!
Lol to all xx
That's great your pressure is down to 12 ☺️ and 17 in other eye , what a relief for you. Tsk tsk not putting in enough steroid drops no gold star for you. 🙄. Really pleased for you x
Well a little ticking off, but with good pressure news, is a good result. I had a ticking off yesterday when i went for my second covid jab, without my appointment papers, was told i was a naughty boy lol !
I did that too Floki I put antibiotic drops into my non operated eye so definitely v easily done. Laughing better than crying
Yes very easily done in my case, trouble was I was due to take my usual drops in the other eye and the antibiotics in the trab eye, and always do my left eye first, whenever I take drops but started with the wrong ones ! I cursed myself but had to laugh in the end, just another saga on this journey !
A saga indeed 🙄
Yes and what a long and painful journey it is at times! With so many drops it’s easy to get them mixed up at times. This eye disease is usually hereditary. My dad had it and I seem to be the one member of our family who has inherited his legacy. I don’t hold it against him, but still wish it wasn’t me!! xx
Yes I think my Daughter may be in line for it, as she has regular checks , also my Mother had it in later life, my sons don't seem affected. though , yet !
It’s often only one family member who cops it, although I have known whole families affected, sometimes getting it quite young. Let’s hope your sons don’t get it and if your daughter does, hopefully it will be caught early x
Thank you, yes I think if she does inherit it, it should be caught earlier, I have impressed upon her that, if she has any type of symptoms to get her eyes checked straight away.
My dad said the same to me and luckily I followed his advice. I managed fine on drops for 16 years but they suddenly stopped working in my right eye and I had to have a trab. Still I got to 71 before that happened, so not bad!
Hi Redshoes hope your eye is improving and that you are taking correct amount of steroids or else no gold star again for you this week. If your stitches are dissolvable the irritation should hopefully be easing now. Good luck at your next appointment x
Hi Witchie, thanks for your message. Yes thanks, the eye is feeling more comfortable now and I am being a good girl with steroids! The eye is still very blurry but I am told this is normal at this stage. How is your post op eye now? I have no idea when or if the vision will return and have to keep hoping that will happen. I think the stitches must have dissolved as I no longer feel as if I have half a rain forest in my eye!! Is that similar to your own experience? I was thinking of you this morning with your little dog, as we went for a nice long walk in the sunshine. xx
Well done you so no telling off this week ☺️. My blurriness didn't really last but I was apparently healing very quickly but yes hearing from others it does last quite a few weeks and that appears to be the norm( nothing normal about me tho 🤪)That's great you aren't in discomfort now, that is same as me , it took 10 days and then I felt great. My eye is back to normal with pressure of 16 at last appt, it did look pretty droopy for few months, thank goodness for sunglasses .
Wow lucky you with sunshine, we are having torrential downpours , I was in wellies and raincoat and looked like a drowned rat. I am just about to venture out into it again and possibly stop for a hot choc at local village store and Lu gets a wee doggy treat 🐕. Good to hear you are going in right direction and enjoy the sunshine. X
Hot choc sounds good. We are in for rain later I think. One thing my consultant said was he doesn’t like it to heal too quickly as this can sometimes cause the channel to get blocked. This is why he insists on lots of steroids to start with, then gradually tapers them off and I suppose that is when the blur should start to disappear. I will let you know how my appointment goes on Friday.
Good news about your pressures, that is a great result and you will soon be back to normal. A glass of bubbly will definitely be called for then! xx
I had a black forest gateau hot choc, it was delicious and got totally soaked again. Yes healing quickly is wonderful in most cases apart from after trab, I actually had to do an ocular massage afterwards to prevent it healing too quickly and to break up any scarring. 16 is good but possibly not for me as my consultant ideally wants mine at 14 so he will make a decision in July whether to needle my bleb or not 😖. Bailey's with lots of ice is my favourite .
Fingers crossed for your check up on Friday . X
I was going to ask you about massage. My consultant asked me if I was doing it but I wouldn’t dare do it myself as I wouldn’t know how to. He did give it a quick massage on my second visit but there is also this thing called needling, which again I know nothing about. Complicated isn’t it - no wonder we have to have such frequent post op visits. Do you know if you can drive afterwards? My hubby is driving me around at the moment, bless him. Luckily for me he has near perfect eyesight - at least one of us has!!I like the sound of Forest Gateau hot choc.
We haven’t had rain today but had loads yesterday. Where do you live? We are on West Sussex xx
I was apprehensive about massage too but my consultant had to do it on my first two appointments and I knew I had no choice or it would definitely be needling for me. I did voice my concern that my eyeball might pop out which gave him a great laugh. I did it twice a day and basically you are placing your finger next to thumb onto lower lid and pressing in and up, it was really easy and my eyeball never fell out ☺️. It stopped the healing and scarring and brought my eye pressure down. They use needling to break up any scarring that may have formed and to kick-start bleb again. It is done on operating table and basically it is needles being stuck into bleb 😱. Apparently doesn't take as long .
I don't know about driving as I have tried to learn twice but was actually a total liability, I absolutely hated it. I have my chauffeur ( partner) to drive me around and my dog and I are very happy on public transport,or were until covid.
I'm on the west coast of Scotland, famous for rain and midges. It was scorching here yesterday but horrific today. I'm hoping tomorrow is nice as my partner has a day off and we are planning a day out, a picnic and a lovely long walk with our wee dog. X
I am a bit worried that I haven’t been shown how to massage and wonder why. I will ask him about it when I go on Friday, but surely he should have shown me how to do this? Sometimes I don’t think they explain things enough , like I was given wrong info about the number of steroid drops! Have a lovely day tomorrow and I hope the sun shines for you xx
He really should have shown you how to do it if he wanted it done as who really knows how to do carry out an ocular massage ?,!!!! Definitely ask him on Friday and yes some do appear very remiss in their explanations . I can't fault my consultant he is great at explaining, answering questions and very reassuring too.
Thank you, but if it rains I'm sure we will have fun regardless x
Hope today's appt went well 🤞 x
Not such a good visit today. IOP up to 26 in operated eye, but he removed 2 stitches and it came down to 21. He says it always fluctuates at first until they get it stable so I have to go back again on Monday. Despite lorry loads of steroids and ointment he said the eye was still inflamed so gave me a steroid jab into the eye. I did ask about massage and he showed me a gentle technique pressing on the upper lid but I’m not sure I am confident enough to do it yet - will discuss again on Monday.
Feeling miserable now so came home and ate 2 chocolate biscuits. 😢xx
No wonder you are feeling miserable it's definitely disheartening when your check up doesn't go the way you are hoping. It is only 2 weeks since your trab and I think my pressure was 30 at that point which is when I had to start massaging my eye. I didn't feel confident about it either but it was either that or needling for me. His technique is different to the one I was taught. I was also told it does take time for the pressure to settle. Your consultant is definitely proactive and I know you probably don't want to have to go back to hospital on Monday but it's good he is monitoring you so carefully. Hopefully the steroid injection will deal with the inflammation and he will notice a difference on Monday.
I cried after my second appointment I felt so bad about it and I ate lots of chocolate to make myself feel better.
Sending you hugs x
Thank you so much for your message Witchie. It’s good to know that you had the same sort of experience and yes, it’s very disheartening. This operation is certainly complex and needs careful monitoring, but he did say that the first month is the worst, as they have to keep doing things to you to get it right. He could see I was upset and was very reassuring, so I must try to be brave and press on!
The massage technique he showed me was different to others I have seen on various websites, so I think another lesson on Monday is advisable. Onwards and upwards! When is your next appointment and how are you doing? I’m finding it very hard being a couch potato, but in the awful weather we are having I suppose it’s good to be indoors.
Take care and enjoy the weekend xx
It makes a difference when your consultant does give you reassurance as I tend to worry it may be something that I have done wrong but it isn't we just all heal at different rates and so they have to adapt their aftercare to us as individuals.You are definitely brave and today just didn't go as you hoped.
I watched some ocular massage tutorials and one was the same as you explained, they probably all choose the technique that they've had most success with.
I found the inactivity the most difficult part of my whole recovery as I am always on the go but you just have to do as the doctor ordered 😊!!! Plus it isn't forever.
My next appointment is middle of July so with luck my pressure will be stable and at 14 ideally.
You look after yourself and enjoy your weekend too x
Good going , I'm 70 this year, but got it around 7 yrs ago
Hi - just joined this conversation. I've had trab in both eyes now. Left eye in July 2019 and right eye Nov 2020. Both ops were straightforward. However, I had to do massage in left eye within 8-10 weeks of the op. I was shown how to do it, but there are also some helpful videos on YouTube. Have a look then check with your doctor that it's safe for you do to. Unfortunately, I heal too quickly and 4 weeks ago I had to have a revision done to the left eye. This involved some opening up of the trab and then needling as well. My next check up is in a couple of weeks. Also, although the pressures in the right eye went down when it was done in Nov they have crept up again since. So, perhaps that one's healed quickly as well. I'll see what transpires next appointment. I hope your trab behaves well, but at least you know others are going through similar stresses. Hope your appointment goes well.
Goodness, that all sounds very stressful, especially as both your ops were straightforward. I have heard that so many things can go wrong, both during and post-op and it seems to be an on-going treatment regime, with constant monitoring! Thank you for your advice about massage. I saw there were some videos on YouTube and will discuss, although my consultant hasn’t told me to do it yet. How disappointing for you to have to undergo another procedure- I hope it will sort your pressures out again and everything will settle down. What a game - but good to know that we are all in it together 😊
You have certainly had an awful time with your trabs, there can't be many ops where healing quickly is detrimental . I can certainly empathise as there is a good chance I am going to require needing due to my super power of also healing too quickly !!! I really hope needling has been a success and your check up will be a positive one. Was the procedure relatively quick and is it the same after care as trab ,steroid and antibiotic drops and no heavy lifting etc for 4 weeks?
As Redshoes says we are all in it together.
Post op treatment exactly the same - steroid drops and antibiotic drops - 12 times a day reducing over 12 week period. The op itself was around an hour; less than the full trab of 1.5 hours but needling only takes 10 mins! Keeping fingers crossed it's keeping pressure down. Will learn more when they take stitches out in a few weeks. Visual field test will be the key though to see if I've lost any more sight as the last one was Oct last year. Don't think they'll do this in June but probably the following appointment. All we can do is keep going though. Our sight is in their hands, so I do what they say. Hope all continues going well for you all as well.
Thank you for replying to me, 10 minutes is certainly much better than the hour for my trab. I was actually only on steroid and antibiotic drops 4 times a day and for 4 weeks with dissolvable stitches . Each consultant has their own preferred method I guess and the amount of post op drops I presume depends on individual. Fingers crossed needling has been a success and that you have lost no more vision, that's my big fear prior to every field test. I do exactly as I am told too as I know it's my best chance to keep my sight.
Take care and let us know how your next appointment goes .
Wow you have been brave, going through all that again. Could be any of us though - as you say, we are all in their hands as they desperately try to save our precious sight. The very best of luck for your next appointment and hoping all goes well for you.
All the best for tomorrow ♥️x
Thanks - goodness knows what will happen next, but will try to remain positive! Sounds like you are well on your way now abs can get back to normal life. Well done xx
Hopefully you will be back on track tomorrow and the steroid injection will have worked it's magic x
Do hope so. I am so scared xx
I would be scared too as you've already been brave enough to have Trab and now all you want is nothing to go wrong and your recovery to be straightforward. Your consultant has identified you eye is still inflamed has given you injection and is seeing you tomorrow, he does seem to be doing all he can which is a positive. I hope this is a blip and tomorrow he will have better news for you. X
Thank you so much xx
Hi Redshoes I've been thinking about you today , did your appointment go any better today than last week ? X
Hi Witchie, yes thanks he seemed pleased today and said I was heading in the right direction. The eye is much calmer now. He did some more tweaking, removing and trimming stitches and the pressure dropped right down to 6 so he now has to find the equilibrium and make sure it is maintained. He wants to see me again on Friday and then by last appt on 4th June he should be able to let me off the hook a bit. Although it’s a lot of hospital visits, I am very lucky to get such good service and attention, couldn’t have had better treatment if I had seen him privately and he has an excellent reputation.
So that’s where I’m up to! I am very envious of you having gone through all this and come out the other side - fingers crossed I can join you soon!
Sending love, thanks and hugs xx
Oh I am so glad today's appointments was much more positive , you must be feeling a huge relief.He definitely sounds great and his post op care is certainly first class. It is a lot of hospital visits but they will be worth it in the end. You are on your way to the finish line now, it won't be long at all, you are over half way there .
So,so happy for you, you have been in my thoughts all day.
Loads of love and hugs to you x
That’s so good to hear, thanks Witchie! I feel as if you have held my hand all the way and am so so grateful. Bless you xxx
I definitely was virtually holding your hand and was wishing for a positive outcome today. X
Good luck for tomorrow. Are you feeling more positive about this appointment or still a bit of apprehension ? Hopefully just tomorrow and next Friday and then you can go back to a bit more normality and less drops too . It's so good when you only have to put drops in one eye 👀. X
Thanks Witchie. Yes I am worried in case the pressure does not come down enough as last time he said I may stillmeed 1 drop in the operated eye. I shall be very disappointed if that ‘s the case, as the point of the op is partly to avoid the need for drops. I shall just have to wait and see! Such a worrying time.
I thought you would be as it's all still so uncertain,although you are going in the right direction. Face the possibility of still needing a drop if it does happen, as hopefully it won't. Too many unknowns at the moment, it will be better once your eye pressure has settled down. Let us know how you do get on and I will have my fingers crossed x
Not good news today I’m afraid. Pressures were good and vision is clearing, but my eye keeps getting inflamed despite 3 steroid injections and keeps trying to heal too quickly. He is going to let things settle and then decide what to do, but it looks like I may have to have another short procedure to re-open the channel. So it’s all going to take a lot longer. Cried buckets when I got home and too upset to speak to anyone. xx
Aww Redshoes I'm so sorry to hear that. I was hoping for more good news,it is so distressing for you I understand that. I hope the inflammation does settle down soon. You just want op to be a success and it all to go smoothly and it's awful when it doesn't. I assume it's needling he's talking about and it is meant to have a good success rate although I know that won't bring you any comfort at the moment. I wish I could say something to make you feel better.Sending you big hugs.x
♥️ just to let you know I am thinking of you x
Very kind, thank you Witchie. I am absolutely heartbroken, but will see what he says next week xx
I was upset for you and I know you must be heartbroken, I would be in pieces but we are all pretty strong and once the shock is past we do all carry on. X
Hi Redshoes great news and thanks for letting us all know positive thoughts are sent to you and best of health wishes... valfrance
Thanks so much for your good wishes xx
Great news it's gone well. I have recently had the same surgery but on my follow up was told it didn't work. The pressure is back up to 45 and honestly so scared nothing is going to work. Does anyone know if anyone can offer advice or has been there after the surgery fails and still come good??
You poor dear. Have you been told why it didn’t work? There are usually still things which can be done, depending on what has gone wrong. Can understand you being scared. Do you have another appointment so you can ask questions?
They didn't say why it didn't work. Just that it hadn't. Have a follow up 2 weeks later to see if the drops have lowered my pressures to safe level again. I have been capturing questions on my phone to ask, but everything I have been (even when I had surgery) I felt very rushed in and out and barely had time to ask anything. That's one of the reason I joined this group to ask some questions
You are certainly entitled to an explanation. If I were you I would ring the consultant’s secretary and request that he either phones you or gives you some time in the clinic. My op was not entirely successful, but at least I was told what wasn’t quite right and what the solution was. You need to know what your options are too.
Hi Redshoes I hope your eye inflammation is clearing up and tomorrow's check up is better than last week's. You are in my thoughts x
Thank you xx
How did you get on today ? X
It’s tomorrow I am going. I think he is not happy about my recovery, due to the fact that I have been on eye drops for 16 years and they have altered the surface of the eye, making future surgery unsuccessful. I have more or less made up my mind to refuse the needling and just accept the trab has failed. So back to eye drops and of course this may make cataract surgery (which I will need in both eyes) difficult too. My eye is not painful but remains inflamed under the lid and he won’t reduce the steroids, so I still can’t see out of it. All in all a very sorry tale! xx
Oh sorry I have my days all mixed up I suddenly thought it was Friday today !!!! I can understand why you have made up your mind not to have needling and it's awful that it's the drops that have caused all these problems. Would a shunt help instead of trab or would it make no difference ? I didn't realise you needed cataract surgery too. So your poor eye is still unusable and all these steroids. You have so much to try and deal with and to process.
It isn't a happy tale that's for sure, even if he could get your inflammation under control for a start that would make a difference. Sorry things aren't going better for you at the moment x
Much more positive news at the clinic today. He thinks things are going well and no mention was made of needling. However pressure on that eye was too high so I am on drops for a short while until the trab flow improves. I am now massaging twice a day and no more steroid injections! Inflammation has also now settled. So fingers tightly crossed - going again in 2 weeks. Xx
Oh so glad for you,what a relief even if you are on drops till pressure settles. The ocular massage definitely made a big difference for me so fingers definitely crossed for you. My consultant told me it can take a while for the pressure to stabilise. No more inflammation and no more injections hurrah. You will be in a much better place emotionally than you were last week. Even not having to go to hospital for a fortnight gives you a bit of a break. It is all nerve-wracking but hopefully you are on the right track now. 😃 X
Thanks Witchie, yes I definitely feel a great sense of relief after today. My consultant seems to have his own way of doing things and I was surprised I didn’t have to do the massage earlier, but he spent time explaining it all today and seemed confident, so I will do as I’m told! Hubby will also appreciate a week off from his chauffeuring duties. Looking forward more positively to catching up with you soon! xx
It is a weight lifted once you get even a tiny piece of positive news, a glimmer of hope, which we all need. Each consultant will have his own methods and ideas and I suppose ultimately do what they have found works for their patients. It's good he spent time explaining it all to you too as that makes a difference. You're hubby will have been happy to see a more positive you emerge from the hospital today as all this definitely takes its toll on our other halves. Mine waits terrified in the park opposite with our dog trying to see if I'm crying or not.
Enjoy the rest of your evening and weekend. 😁 X
Morning Redshoes, how are you this week? Have you been managing your ocular massage ok ? I hope you are feeling more like your old self, it does take a wee while though . I have an opticians appointment on Wednesday ,which I'm not looking forward to, so I will either be a sobbing wreck on Wednesday afternoon or my usual happy self depending on what she tells me about my eye pressure and field checks 😱My dog has the groomers at the same time as my optician appointment so I have to drop her off and then run like mad down the street to get to my appointment on time. My partner could drop Lu off but he won't as he hates walking off and leaving her !!! Men!!! He does however love picking her up and being covered in doggy kisses.
Take care x
Hi Witchie, thanks for asking! Yes I have been doing the massage, will hear on Friday whether it has done any good and whether I’ve done it correctly! My consultant is having to go slowly and carefully with me due to my damaged old eyes. It’s a bit frustrating but I do see where he is coming from. I have been on the steroid drops far longer than I would have liked, as they put your pressures up and accelerate the cataracts. Am just hoping he will start to taper them off now. Apparently being on drops for so long makes eye surgery more difficult - but he did say it doesn’t make any difference to the cataract ops, as my risk for those will be the same as everyone elses. So that’s something I suppose!
If all that were not enough, I have to have a load of dental work done and am waiting until I have the all clear on my eye first. I’m not looking forward to that either, or the hefty price tag! So this has definitely not been my year.
Good luck at the opticians with your pressures. I know exactly how you feel as I always get panicky about that too. At least your dog will look pretty after her grooming session! I’ll be thinking of you xx
Fingers crossed the massage has worked, it does seem to be pretty effective and I managed it properly so I'm sure you are too. I also hate being on steroid drops but unfortunately they are a necessity after eye ops. I am always so relieved who I'm told I can finish with them so with luck on Friday you will be able to drop the number you are taking.I know this is all going slower than you ideally hoped for but as you say your consultant is being very careful and if it makes for a better outcome it's definitely worth it. A cataract op is so much quicker and easier to recover from than a trab, I felt totally fine immediately although I did have to be careful for 4 weeks. Not that any of us want further eye ops !!!
I'm not sure what I hate more eye appointments or dental appointments, it's a pretty close thing. I feel for you knowing you have to have lots of work done. Very sensible waiting till after you are fully recovered. I actually lost a filling eating a whole load of soft mints and I haven't had it dealt with yet!!!
I sent last message too soon . I am trying not to worry about the opticians as there's not a lot I can do if it's not favourable news but it does keep popping into my head. I will be thinking of you on Friday too x
Yes it’s all such a worry isn’t it? I don’t think people who don’t have glaucoma can fully appreciate how awful it is. When I tell people I am at risk of going blind I get pitying looks or comments like “oh you poor thing!’ which doesn’t really help of course. Thank goodness for this forum, when you can speak to like minded people and share positive advice. Tell your partner not to be such a wuss and take the dog in so you don’t have to and save you rushing to your appointment- all adds to the stress xx
I agree I don't think anyone does understand properly if they don't actually have glaucoma. I have a friend who cries every single time I see her and says "oh it's not fair, why you, you don't deserve it" and I then have to comfort her !!!! She's a great friend apart from that and an amazing baker, she always bakes me the hugest red velvet cake you have ever seen because of my poor eyes 👀. I just never tell anyone apart from closest friends and family about having glaucoma, I guess I don't want the pitying looks or feeling vulnerable as I'm the strong one. On here we are all definitely in it together and it makes a difference.
Goodness he could never leave Lu alone at groomers , to be fair she probably would howl and cry if he did she loves him so much. Luckily groomers and opticians are on same street !!! He's actually going to go and do the food shop in case I'm being a drama queen after my appointment. X
Ah your Lu is a daddy’s girl then. They are just so sweet. We don’t have a dog ourselves, but there are so many cockapoos round here, we are never short of a cuddle! Your friend sounds very caring and your partner is a good man, I honestly don’t know how I would have coped without my hubby, he has just been my hero and I really feel for anyone going through this alone xx
She is a complete daddy's girl and has been from second we picked her up. We always laugh and say I'm just the nanny 😊I am very grateful to have my partner , my son and lovely wee brothers , who are all always there for me and my close friends too I wouldn't be without. My partner is a man of few words but his actions more than make up for it.
I'm glad you have a lovely hubby who is there for you, it's even more important when things aren't exactly going to plan which seems to be quite often with glaucoma. X
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