As many of you probably recall, I had bilateral orbital decompression in September 2012. It has been a little more than four months. Around the three-month post-op mark, I started to experience double vision, which I never had before surgery – even during the worst of my TED – or after surgery until late December. I honestly thought it was the three or so glasses of wine I’d had at a holiday party and didn’t think much of it. A few days later, at another party, it happened again. About a week later, it happened again except I had not a sip of alcohol. I do know that I was extremely tired that night. I went to the movies and was too embarrassed to speak up but endured a three-hour movie with double vision. At one point, I put my hair in front of one of my eyes so I could make out what was on the screen.
After that, I got the next available appointment with the oculofacial surgeon who did my OD. When I explained when it was happening and how things looked (side-by-side), he suspected the neuromuscular autoimmune condition myasthenia gravis. As we all know, having one autoimmune conditions ups the chances of having another one, and my symptoms matched perfectly with what most MG patients describe at first – double vision when tired due to weakened eye muscles. He took blood and sent it off to some special lab in Atlanta since it’s not a common test. That was three weeks ago.
Today, I received the call I was hoping for – normal lab results. No myasthenia gravis. Great! So then what is causing my double vision? I go back to see the surgeon in two weeks but until then I’m limiting my night driving and definitely not drinking even a single drink if I know I have to drive anywhere. It seems strange that double vision – a 50/50 side effect of the OD that I had seemingly avoided – would suddenly develop three months after surgery, and only rears its ugly head when I’m very tired or have had two glasses of wine over the course of an evening (which means I’m drunk because I’m a lightweight these days).
[size 10]And I doubt these two are related, but I still have partial numbness on the right side of my face from the OD. The surgeon tells me this could last 6-12 months. Touching my cheek almost hurts now, which is a welcome relief, as it means feeling is returning even if it’s returning in the form of pain. When I go upside in yoga, I feel fluid rush to the center of my face. I’ve had three sinus infections since the surgery, and my PCP wants to do a scan of my face if I get another one. However, I am SO pleased with the results of my surgery and everyone keeps telling me that I look like my pre-TED self. Biggest compliment ever![/size]
gatorgirly
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