I had my eye laser ...

...treatment on Friday, yesterday.

I was having difficulty holding it together on Thursday, and didn't sleep well Thursday night. Hence the photo I did in the middle of the night of my bedside lamp in the bewitching hour. So that is what that was for those of you who were guessing.

In the hospital, it was explained again that I have sudden onset primary acute angle closure glaucoma.

It happened suddenly with no warning. It was only by chance I was called for a periodic eye appointment at the hospital. And this was when I was told it was a matter of urgency because I could lose my sight at any moment with not enough warning to save it. I need my eyes to lipread with me being deaf.

I didn’t take this well initially and went for a second opinion. Because it was totally out of the blue, and I ‘only’ attend this hospital over my dry eyes with Sjogrens Syndrome, this diagnosis was unexpected. And especially because I had none of the symptoms the initial eye doctor insisted I should be experiencing, including severe pain and white flashes etc.

The eye doctor on Friday, a very pleasant man, explained in detail, using bath and bath plug analogy how close I had been to totally losing my eyesight.

The scary thing is I always attend my diabetic retinopathy appointment yearly, and nothing was picked up there. And also my last eye test with my optometrist was just at Christmas 2018, and nothing was picked up then. I had this Liverpool eye hospital appointment sent me in February 2019, but then the hospital sent me a text cancelling it for whatever their reasons, and sent me a new appointment for end of March 2019, and that was when the sudden onset primary acute angle closure glaucoma was diagnosed. It was confirmed again when I searched for a second opinion myself a week later in Wales.

So as you can guess I didn’t really believe it initially, especially as I had no symptoms at all.

What I am trying to say is I did all the right things in taking care of my eyes, I never miss an appointment, and yet that would not have been enough.

I have another diabetic retinopathy appointment in a months time, and that possibly would have been too late to save my eyes. They could have gone at any moment.

The eye doctor today explained it was a combination of me being long sighted, having diabetes, and because of the severe dry eyes of my Sjogrens Syndrome.

However, this laser treatment, of YAG laser iridotomy, to reduce the pressure might still not be enough, and I may still have to have cataract surgery, (even though I don’t have cataracts) but once you have cataract surgery with this kind of problem, you can never lose your eyesight because of it as no pressure can build up now as any liquid constantly drains away. The eye doctor kept reiterating this may be an eventual outcome.

The eye doctor was very patient with me explaining carefully stage by stage and giving me all the time I needed to understand. Then half way through him explaining to me, I urgently needed to wee!!

He told me to take all the time I wanted, and come back to him when I was ready.

When I went back he said he would give me as much time as I needed before he did the procedure. Anyway he explained more, and then a consent form to sign on an iPad, and gave explanations. He patiently explained all that I needed know.

The thing is, because he was so kind and caring and patient, I had no fears of anything during the laser procedure which he was giving me, and I felt confident enough to say what I felt during it if there was pain or discomfort, and he sorted it.

Consequently I was able to stay perfectly still and not move a millimetre because I placed all my trust in him.

He said patients would draw back as they felt the laser which is so not a good idea, obviously.

It went well, and the eye doctor was delighted with how I stayed relaxed and still.

I did have friends who warned me of this that and the other during the laser treatment. I won’t say what they said here. But don’t listen to anyone. There is nothing to the procedure.

I thought the actual firing of the laser into the eye was amazing to watch in my eyes. I felt like a modern day Frankenstein’s experiment (in a good way I hasten to add!). In my eyes was this pure whiteness, and then this amazing red visual lightning crackling and moving round in a circular motion, then zig-zagging inside the incomplete circle. It almost didn’t last long enough for me. I was enjoying the light show. I wish I could explain it better. But I have tried to make a picture of it. And this is my blip for today.

After laser treatment I was sent to get a cup of tea and wait for an hour. There had been a small bleed in my left eye at the point of laser treatment (it happens, one of those things the eye doctor told me), but they needed to make sure the pressure behind my eye didn’t build up because of it.

So, a mug of tea, which they had given me a token for! Then when I returned, the eye pressure was fine. And i was given some steroid eye drops to use four times a day for a fortnight.

And that was it.

How do I feel today?

I have mixed feelings because my eyes feel blurred today. But the steroid eye drops make them blurry.

And I need to use lots of eyedrops anyway because of the dry eyes caused by Sjogrens Syndrome, but I need to use even lots more because for this iridotomy to work, I must make sure my eyes are always well lubricated.

I have little bit of headache on the right side.

Yet everything I see is in more detail (I was told it wouldn't improve my sight as such, this procedure was just for pressure). I noticed this yesterday immediately, though I thought that was all the different kinds of drops including anaesthesia drops. But it is still the same today. Black feels as though it is blacker, especially book type and the font on this tablet.

I have to hold my tablet and phone at a different angle to read, and this feels a bit awkward.

I have ghosting of images (or will that settle? Or will my brain learn to ignore it?). This is both fascinating and very disconcerting when lipreading, because I am seeing two sets of lips. Or will the brain just ignore the ghosting after a bit. Or is it something that will need re-lasering or something?

There is also an intense glare depending on shininess and whether sun is shining on something. It is little a white sun with radiating lines, very solid. Weird. This was on every car on the road yesterday. This 'sun' with these radiating lines looked different on each car. Disconcerting.

I am having to keep wearing my darker prescription glasses today.

None of this is dealt with the leaflet i have from the hospital.

Questions questions questions. I have been googling today to find out what others have experienced from this same procedure, whether it settled, and what they did about it.

I do have another appointment in 6 weeks time and if i am still bothered on Monday i intend to go to the opticians and ask to see my optometrist, and see what he says on this.

Anyway for my blip today I have done a drawing of what I saw in my eye when the eye doctor did the laser treatment. I know this sounds silly but I thought as the doctor was zapping my eyes, that effect was amazing to see in my eyes, and that I would would do a drawing of it for admirer's Silly Saturday challenge today. I did the drawing in the SketchClub App.

It was strange because the eye doctor said it would last barely a second, but that red 'drawing' on the white background happened each time he zapped my eyes (half a dozen times in each eye?). I was fascinated and was happy to keep watching it!

Take care x