Vitrectomy

[Sr. Mints]

Originally Posted by pylon

What happened? Did you get hit in the eye or something?

Nothing like that. Though I've been lifting weights quite regularly for three-ish months and am up to benching 120--and since the doctor told me to keep my blood pressure down, I wonder if that was part of the cause. I will ask him.

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

So are you going to poop straight up?

I'm a floor-staring kind of pooper to begin with, so at least there'll be some continuity and familiarity during my recovery period.

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Sleeping did suck for him though. He slept a lot sitting down and with his head down on his arms.

I was looking on YouTube, and see that some people have had success layng one mattress over top of another, leaving a 10-inch space near the headboard. Going to see if it will work if I can get my hands on a second mattress for el-cheapo (that isn't a used one, cause that would be gross.)

Originally Posted by KTrain

My father-in-law had this done as well for a detached retina. Do not cheat. Follow the doctor's instructions to the letter and you should be fine. It's two weeks of suckiness for a lifetime of better vision.

You mean I won't have to wear 1/2-inch thick reading glasses anymore after this?

Originally Posted by linecook

Doesn't sound like a fun procedure. Maybe download some audio books, and catch up on some sleep if you need it! Good luck Mints!

Yeah, already downloading a ton of shows, movies, audio books. etc. I should be all caught up on the last 20 years of summer blockbusters, art films, dramedies, legal/medical/cop shows and fluffy sci-fi media tie-in novels when this is all said and done. If I don't go crazy first.

Originally Posted by krynski

that's pretty invasive. Not so much the surgery, but the lifestyle complications. I guess it means no driving, huh.

Originally Posted by Hesla

It sucks but there are only 3 ways to stick the retina back in place.

1) Laser 2) Cryotherapy and 3) A gas bubble that holds the retina in place while it heals itself.

1 and 2) cause irreversible damage to the retina.

I actually had some laser done, but that was to reduce swelling, I believe.

Originally Posted by Titan

examples from Costco.com:

http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?cat=28296&eCat=bc|589|28287|28296&wh se=bc&topnav=&hierPath=589*28287*28296*&lang=en-US

That's actually the exact one I am looking at, though I like the price on the US Costco site better that the Canadian one...

[Sr. Mints]

Originally Posted by krynski

that's pretty invasive. Not so much the surgery, but the lifestyle complications. I guess it means no driving, huh.

Yeah, and I was reading that flying is out of the question for many months because of the air in your eye and the pressure from the altitude.

I can live without driving for a while, because being an elite, inner city urbanite, I do so little of it anyway . . . but the no fluing puts a huge kink in my plans.

[Sr. Mints]

[Not safe for small children]



[/not safe for small children]

I feel better than I was expecting I would, but I can't get over how terrifying I look.

It's kind of funny when someone asks to see my eye and they pause and their eyes widen slightly before they say, "ah, it doesn't look that bad." But I know they've become nauseous and I can see straight through the their thinly veiled horror.

[pylon]

Keep your chin up!

Oh.... wait, nm.

[Hanna Sniper]

It's going to be a hard couple weeks, but keep at it. Every little bit helps on the success rate.

[Flames_Gimp]

you should have a woman slide under there so you can bury your face in something.

[Sr. Mints]

I was driven to the pharmacy today because I needed something and I wanted to get out, and I was waiting in line behind a woman. And cause I have my face almost parallel to the ground, I was beginning to feel subconscious that people thought I had my eyes glued to her ass, and it was for a good three to four minutes. Plus I was wearing sunglasses and a trench coat over top of three-day old clothes I've been sleeping in, so I imagine I looked like a real prize.

And of course I was staring.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

I was driven to the pharmacy today because I needed something and I wanted to get out, and I was waiting in line behind a woman. And cause I have my face almost parallel to the ground, I was beginning to feel subconscious that people thought I had my eyes glued to her ass, and it was for a good three to four minutes. Plus I was wearing sunglasses and a trench coat over top of three-day old clothes I've been sleeping in, so I imagine I looked like a real prize.

And of course I was staring.

The pharmacist probably thought you were going to rob him for drugs.

[Flashpoint]

My brother had it done. It sounds worse than it is, although it will make your life awkward for a few weeks. The good news is that it worked for my brother and 3 years on he is completely recovered.

He had his wife drive him everywhere. He slept face down as much as possible using a massage table type pillow. His desk at work was glass, so he was able to lay his LCD screen on the floor and look down at it while working.