Trab with sedation

[DaisyT]

HI, I’m new on here. I have open angle glaucoma in both eyes, with some vision loss. I am going to have a trabeculectomy very soon, as eye drops haven't been that successful, and I'm extremely nervous, so have opted to have sedation. I was wondering how effective the sedation is? Does it just relax you a little, or make you very sleepy so you are “out of it”? Any information would be very welcome.

I have also told my manager that I will need two weeks off work (I use a screen all day) is this reasonable?

[Toby_from_London]

Hi Daisy,

I had a shunt inserted under general anesthetic so can't offer any advice in that respect unfortunately, but just to say the recovery process involves lots of follow up appointments and multiple eye drops, which without wanting to alarm you, can make it difficult to be in an office full time.

I'm sure the lovely users of this forum will be happy to share their trab experiences but while I felt no pain at all after the procedure you do need to be careful not to for example lift anything heavy or bend down too far, as this can increase your IOP. You also have to keep your eye dry so this limits your ability to take a shower or wash your hair, albeit temporarily.

For me the main challenge was the eye drop regime. I had to administer two types of drops, one 4 times a day and one 8 times a day, reducing the dosage over several weeks. You may want to factor this in when you make a decision as to when to return to work.

I too was terrified before my procedure but it really won't be as bad as you think!

Take care.

[DaisyT in reply to Toby_from_London]

Hi Toby, thank you for this useful information. I’m lucky that I work from home (I have done since the pandemic) so the eye drop regime should be a bit easier. It does sound quite restrictive.

[KayGeeBee]

I had sedation for a MicroShunt operation. It took the edge off the anxiety but I was still fully aware of things and didn't feel sleepy. I was told afterwards that they'd kept the sedation level light as I'd be going home alone afterwards, so it sounds like the depth of sedation is controllable.

[DaisyT in reply to KayGeeBee]

That's helpful thanks, I do have someone to take me home and also to stay overnight, so perhaps they can give me a bit more! I hope your op went well.

[GirlWithTheBow]

Mine was done under general anaesthetic and consultant signed me off for 4 weeks as I'm a data analyst and look at the screen all day at work

[DaisyT in reply to GirlWithTheBow]

Thank you

[Ritualhazard]

I had sedation and I would say it wasn’t that deep but it did make the time pass a bit more quickly. But I was extremely stressed going in. I had two weeks off afterwards (I also work in a screen) then had a phased return to work. 4 hours a day for the first week, then up to six hours then back to full time. I did find my eye was struggling a bit so that helped. I took the first coupls of days very easy then slowly started to walk the dog again but only for short walks. By then end of week two I was pretty much back to normal.

[DaisyT in reply to Ritualhazard]

Thanks. I do 5 hours a day, but will keep a phased return in mind, that may be beneficial.

[Lindfieldtommy]

Hi Daisy. I had a combined trab and cataract operation about eight years ago and remember to this day how stressed and anxious I was in the weeks leading up to it and only wish there had been a forum like this where I could air my fears. Please let me reassure you my experience was so much better than I had could possibly have imagined. I was treated with great care and having opted for sedation I can honestly say that although I was aware my eye was being operated on, the sedation worked, and I completely lost all my sense of fear. You will obviously have to be careful afterwards but you will be given lots of advice and anything you are not sure of make sure you ask about before you leave hospital. I cannot emphasis enough that it is not as bad as you think it a going to be. Keep telling yourself that, take care and good luck.

[DaisyT in reply to Lindfieldtommy]

Thank you so much, that has made be feel a bit better 🙂

[Justinerose]

hi Daisy, I was also very nervous before my trab operation. The anaesthetic means that you feel nothing while the surgeon works and the sedation is to allow you to think about nice things instead of what’s happening. Feel confident that this is the right thing for you and your future eye-sight.