Post-Op visit

The day after my surgery, at 4:00 in the afternoon, I had my post-op visit with the ophthalmologist. At this point, my eye was achy, and I was taking Vicodin for the pain.

Footnote - the day before, in recovery, the ophthalmologist had asked what pain medication I would like. I said that I believe I had been prescribed Vicodin previously, but that I never had the prescription filled. After doing a little research, I learned that Vicodin is hydrocodone, which is significantly weaker (and less addicting) than oxycodone (Percocet). So, if your doctor asks which pain medicine you would like...you might want to pick something a little stronger. I'm not recommending you abuse pain medicine, but in a controlled environment...well, you see what I'm saying. In my case, there was one time later when I wished I had said "Percocet". I should mention that in parallel, I decided to reduce my caffeine intake, in order to help my eye heal as fast as possible. I was up to about 3 big (16-20oz) cups of coffee per day, and had cut back to about 1. The Vicodin helped with the caffeine withdrawal symptoms as well.

So, I arrived for my appt a few minutes early and entered the waiting area with my wife and daughter. I had a big bandage and clear plastic shield on my left eye, and I really didn't feel very comfortable in public. Even through the bandage, I could tell that my left eye was very sensitive to light, and so I asked my wife if we could sit in the darkest part of the waiting area. This proved more difficult than you would imagine, as the Wheaton eye clinic is a really big, beautiful building with lots of light.

After perhaps 5 minutes of waiting, I went in to see the doctor. I sat down in the chair, and faced opposite an enormous, wall-sized mirror. That's when I realized that I looked like death warmed over. I hadn't showered or shaved, and I had an enormous, which bandage on my eye.

Soon, the nurse removed the bandage, and I got the first look at, and through, my eye. It looked like I had been in a good brawl. Above and below my eye, it was bruised - purple, blue and a little yellowish. My eyelids were swollen and nearly shut because of the swelling. The white of my eye was red. Next, she put some drops in my eye, which I assume were either antibiotic or pupil dilating. I am thinking the latter, as I then waited about 10 minutes in the chair, stairing at myself, until the doctor arrived.

The doctor arrived, and took a look. He said that I actually looked really good. Then, he used his slit lamp and a magnifying instrument to look at my retina. "Your retina looks beautiful, Michael," he said, "and I am optimistic for a smooth and speedy recovery." His statements reminded me how doctors must always have to curb their enthusiasm a bit. I wonder if this has always been the case, or whether they are less outwardly hopeful to their patients, in order to prevent unrealistic expectations and therefore possibily litigation.

The doctor gave me a small bottle of TobraDex, a combination of an antibiotic and a steroid in an ophthalmic solution. He asked me to drop 4 drops of the stuff into my eye each day: morning, lunch, dinner and bedtime. In order to remind me how often to administer the drops, he drew a huge "4" on the side of the box. Hilarious.

The visit was over pretty quick - maybe 10 minutes tops. I walked back out to the waiting room...which was weird: I could now "sort of" see out of my left eye.
My wife and daughter and I got back in the car and went home. The ride was not pleasant - I had double vision, sensitivity to light and I was understandably a little sad at my crappy vision.

We got home, and I took a nap.