First injection yesterday

[MillieT]

Hi, so I had my first injection in my eye yesterday. I have branch vein retinal occlusion in my left eye. When the numbing drops wore off I had incredible pain in my eye. I went to bed, decided to sleep through it as was painful on waking. This morning my eyelids were stuck together and a bit gunky but pain less so in eye and vision ok. Really was worried as could get no answer from hospital as bank holiday. Is this normal? Got more to go and now worried about having more ......

[springcross]

Hi MillieT. I am sorry you had discomfort after your injection. I am wondering if you had an iodine cleanse of the eye prior to injection? If so, that's may be what had caused your discomfort. If it's iodine and they haven't rinsed it out sufficiently afterwards, then that can cause quite a bit of discomfort - it's more of a soreness than a pain though. It's a shame that it is a bank holiday today as you probably would have been able to speak to someone at the hospital. Keep it rested for a few days - I assume they have told you not to get it wet or get any shampoo or soap near it for a few days also. Another thing is sunlight. If you have to go outside, make sure you wear sunglasses when it's sunny as this could be bad for your eye if you don't (only until it settles down but advisable anyway afterwards). I hope it goes on OK for you. xx

[MillieT in reply to springcross]

Thanks so much for your reply. Yes it was iodine, I do recall them saying that. So tips for next time, what do I ask them to do so it’s not so sore? I’m feeling a bit happier tonight as it seems to have subsided. All advice greatly received xx

[springcross in reply to MillieT]

Explain to them how uncomfortable it was and say that you would like it flushed out more this time. Also, if you see the Opthalmologist first when you next go, make sure you tell him/her what happened this time and ask if it can be noted on your file that you need more flushing out of your eye afterwards. Good luck. xx

[Fishing1949]

I also had discomfort following iodine, my consultant has since used chlorohexadine with only very minimal discomfort after the last 9 injections for wet AMD. I hope this helps.

[MillieT in reply to Fishing1949]

I will definitely mention that next time, I knew nothing of what to expect and some knowledge next time will be good.

[fed13]

Good luck MillieT, All the best. Iodine can cause a lot of pain! xxx

[leardallan]

Hasn't been my experience Millie. There is always a danger of infection so you should call your Doctor as soon as possible.

[MillieT in reply to leardallan]

I spoke to my gp yesterday after going round the houses, it’s fine, no infection, or redness.

[leardallan in reply to MillieT]

Great to hear! Take care

[Jihm]

I always ask , and receive, an extra rinse. But, in my experience, it is most important that the doctor not have your eye numbed, and then have you wait many minutes for him to come in and give the injection. My usual doctor (I am in the US, by the way) gives the injection very soon after the eye is numbed. I never have a problem with those injections. One time, when he wasn't there, I got my injection from another doctor who kept me waiting in the chair, eye numbed, for 20 minutes before he came in. The eye was really hurting by the time I received the injection from him. And it continued to hurt for hours even after a double rinse. One of the techs told me that particular doctor often did it that way, and he didn't know why.

[MillieT in reply to Jihm]

I was not even aware it was rinsed following it, will ask a few more questions next time. It all ended up happening quickly after seeing the dr in fairness. Thanks for info though and will know what to ask and query next time.

[MillieT]

I have just been doing some further research on Lucentis and it’s side effects and it now appears a lot of the things I experienced are actually side effects from it, guessing I’ll have to discuss with my specialist, only me 🙈

[Shimano]

It could be iodine reaction as Springcross suggests. I had 24 hours of agony after my first five injections before I was taken seriously.

[MillieT in reply to Shimano]

Good to know, I will definitely be mentioning all these things before my next one. So grateful for all the advice I’ve received on here, thank you x

[Hidden]

Hi MillieT, we've got some Useful Topics ("Helpful Stuff") posts on the site that you might find helpful in these early stages of your journey. Including post inj pain etc.

Click on the 9 circles on the header, select Macular Society, scroll right over to Right hand side ( landscape works best) then scroll down. They're down after the pinned posts section, various headings set by admin for us, and posts linked to them.

If you cant see any, click " see all" by the pinned posts section.

They're not intended to be conversational threads like the posts here in the main body but rather just easy to find sources of commonly needed info. Anyone can add to them, and anyone can set a new one up.

Good luck with your treatment x

[MillieT in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the info, will look into these x

[Rosalyn-helpline Partner]

Dear MillieT,

I have copied a link to our factsheet on pain following injections:

macularsociety.org/sites/de...

It is worth contacting your ophthalmologist via their secretary in advance of your next injection and using this as a discussion point. If they can identify the likely cause, then they can put measures in place to try and prevent it happening again.

Kind regards,

[Maryvic]

A bit of preparation before injection - eye drops for a couple days prior, then acetaminophen plus naproxen before and after injection.

Insist (!!) that extra rinses are done following the injection procedure. You could request a patch over the eye, it keeps the eye lid from blinking. Keep it on for about 4 hours. If possible, sit up (best not to lay down) in a dark space for a couple hours, allowing eye to rest. (Maybe listen to a book-on-tape or quiet music) Follow up with eye drops in that eye when home.

Took me years to figure out this routine for myself.

Best of luck. Advocate for yourself and you will figure out what is best for you. 🌷

[MillieT]

Just wanted to say I had my second injection yesterday, took all your advice onboard and only had one drop of iodine in my eye and kept up with lubricating drops back at home and hardly any pain this time. Fingers crossed I’ll have the same success in the future xx