[leggymummy]

#1018627

Hello, I went to see the eye surgeon yesterday I left with mixed feelings. They do not treat mild to moderate proptosis here where I live so I am going to see Mr Reuser, (MD) who is in the next county along. My eyes were measured, the left one is out by 6.5 mm, and the right is out by 8.5 mm. Does this sound too little for me to be considering surgery with no eye problems (well not DV thank goodness) I feel like the surgeon was not right for me so I will have to travel and the other surgeon is my last hope in the UK…..Any one who has had OD via the eyelid, how long is the recovery, in weeks? I know some of that will depend on the person, I heal fairly well, about three weeks after any surgery (and previous nasal OD) I was pretty OK but I am 30 now and have kids, bird rabbit Husband and do to look after too lol! Thanks again xxx

[elf]

#1066109

Are 6.5mm and 8.5 mm measurement relative to YOUR NORMAL baseline? It’s hard to say otherwise. Mine was out by 3 and 4 mm relative to my baseline, and I considered it to be proptosis interfering with my life. Ppl have different normals… My proptosis at 21mm was someone’s normal… (my baseline is 17mm).

My recovery was very fast, in 10 days all the bruising and swelling were gone. That was a bit faster than average. Depends on how easily bruised you generally are. A very gentle-skinned, easily bruised lady I know still had black circles around her eye on her 10th day, and got better looking after 18 days or so. It does come to an end. Pain-wise, the first 2-3 days I had pain killers (Tylenol) so that was not too bad. The hardest pain, personally, was on day 5 and 6, and then it was over. The thing that no one told me about, was that they had to make a cut in the jaw muscle under the skin (on the temple level) to access the eye, then they sewed that jaw muscle. I couldn’t open my mouth or chew without stabbing pain in my temple for 10 days or so. It was easier to just not eat. I lost 10 lbs (5kg) in those 10 days!!

In terms of being able to move around the house and do tasks, they say it’s better to lay in bed/ on a coach for 5 days or a week, with ice compresses on. I did move around though, didn’t lay all the time. Double vision (I also didn’t have any before OD) was due to the eyes having to adjust to working together in a new position…. lasted about a week, and I even drove with one eye closed… The worst of it was me scolding my hand with boiled water when I thought I was pouring into a cup while I was pouring outside of it lol…

Not a bad type of surgery altogether, it wasn’t worth years spent being afraid to do it…. All that waiting resulted in my orbital doctor departing without finishing my other eye, so I’m stuck here waiting for them to hire another eye specialist.

If your Dr does not treat moderate proptosis, his is not the only or last opinion. Different doctors have different ideas on what they treat, keep looking for one who will work with you.

[leggymummy]

#1066110

Hello, thanks for replying, I have had another day of feeling tense and nervous today, I took my kids to a playgroup and just felt uncomfortable AGAIN. This is kind of thinking is taking over my life now, and on an emotional level I have had enough of feeling this way. I already know, if I like the surgeon I will go ahead and have the operation, I have never adjusted to looking different. Thanks for all your advise, my measurements are from the outside of the orbital rim/bone, so not sure if that is the same as yours. I hate the way I have been living the tension is incredibly hard to bear (the mental tension) BUT now I feel happier after reading yours and others stories, it has been made out by certain Doctors I would go blind or risk DV for certain, almost brushed aside for years, horrible well I am hoping for a small reduction I am with Mr Reuser next Monday watch this space …… Thanks for sharing I found it very useful ” title=”Smile” />

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