Strabismus Surgery 2 weeks post OP

WikidSik

Canada382 Posts

February 07 2014 21:29 GMT

Well on jan 17 i had my strabismus surgery and so far everything is going great. Reading got a fuck ton easier even though my eyes still wobble around (together though not seperately). The first thing I read was the prologue or w.e for the Metroid Prime manual, but that was a tough cuz my vision split sometimes and my eyes wobbled. I could get through only 2 paragraphs the first day I tried (so i guess a few days ago), and then i think slightly more text the 2nd day. The 3rd day I could do anything at all cuz my vision perma split when I looked on the page but the surgeon said that i have to wait a while (like a month) and then all my problems will just dissapear for the most part. Another thing is that I delayed my recovery by a few days cuz on day 3 my vision was almost perfect without my glasses and when I put them on it got blurry and got headaches so I thought i shouldnt use them anymore, but then i called the surgeon last week and he said that the glasses are working on my eyes so keep them on lol. Also without my glasses my eye balls were zipping around like in cartoons, but atleast they were going crazy together; my mom and bro said that they looked straight like normal people eyes when they were zipping around so

. Typing also got a shit ton easier, and I was able to count to 20, where as before the surgery I couldnt get past 3 without my head jamming and then spacing out. I think im reacting to conversations alot better than before so theres that. I just cant wait for my recovery to be complete and see like normal people, and not like those googly glasses you get at the dollar store and see where life takes me now.

MtlGuitarist97

United States1539 Posts

February 07 2014 21:37 GMT

Oh shit you have strabismus too? I have what's called exatropia, but I think it's caused by having strabismus. Just got eye surgery over the summer (my third one to correct it). Hope your recovery is speedy; it seems I'm going to have mild-moderate double vision for a long time and possibly the rest of my life.

WikidSik

Canada382 Posts

February 07 2014 22:34 GMT

yup, i had a muscle imbalance so my eyes would fly off by themselves alot and the only reasoni didnt get mine sooner was because my eye doctor kept scarring me away from surgery and only gave me galsses when i absolutely couldnt see at all anymore. does yours stay in one place? Why did you get surgery, was it causing you problems?

MtlGuitarist97

United States1539 Posts

February 07 2014 22:39 GMT

My eye(s) was going out a lot throughout the day. After the first surgery when I was about 3 it got fixed for a while, but it needed to be readjusted as I grew. Got it again when I was 9, fixed my problems. When I went through puberty and grew a lot more, I had to get it readjusted once my growth stopped (last summer which was when I was 16, turn 17 in May). It causes me a lot of issues (I still have pretty bad double vision and am basically never going to be any good at sports/judging depth and stuff) because of it. I'm also most likely going to need glasses/contacts.

WikidSik

Canada382 Posts

February 07 2014 23:02 GMT

that sounds exactly what I went through, i also sucked at sports. Do you know why your eyes flew out? heres a video I took of myself (im not the best looking guy around lol sorry) before the surgery:

Before it just used to go in and out but then out of desperation I started to squint my eyes all day long for 4 days that kind made things a bit worse.

Djzapz

Canada10681 Posts

February 07 2014 23:12 GMT

Hello eye problem people. I thought my dry eyes were a problem

. It hurt life a mofo and I couldn't keep my eyes open. And now it sucks in the morning.

Turns out you guys have it worse. Hopefully you recover quickly.

hp.Shell

United States2527 Posts

February 08 2014 05:02 GMT

Damn bro, glad to hear you were able to get the surgery. I know it has helped my esotropia a lot. In the video were you actively trying to make your eyes appear straight or is that just a natural "idle" state? Because sometimes they look really straight there.

If they flip out on you like that whenever they want to, that really sucks. I didn't know strabismus could be that bad. I want to see what the after video looks like! Do you still get massive headaches from the strain?

Thanks for keeping us updated on this, it's nice to hear other people going through the same thing.

Edit: How's your love life lol

WikidSik

Canada382 Posts

February 08 2014 19:54 GMT

im gonna put the after video up after i get full control of my eyes and I can do stuff without trouble. I still get headaches when I start something new, like watching tv. Typing is easier than watching tv lol (I cant really edit what im typing yet).

Wait what do you mean by love life? R u referencing my conversation thingy? Wait did I complain about that?

Also yeah it straitens itself out, but then it flies out again.

BigFan

TLADT24920 Posts

February 09 2014 06:28 GMT

Unless I'm mistaken, I think I recall a previous blog about you having to wait for surgery or something from a while back. Either way, glad to know that you have finally got the surgery after being patient for such a long time. Recovery will likely be difficult(at least first several weeks) since you are limited in what you can do and no doubt you want to test things. I'm glad that things seem to be working out for you. From the video, it doesn't seem too bad now although I figure it'll improve in several weeks time

hp.Shell

United States2527 Posts

February 09 2014 06:30 GMT

#10

By love life I mean love life. Mine isn't so great and I blame almost all of my failures and shortcomings on my strabismus, even post surgery.

Were your eyes bled shut when you woke up?
How long did it feel like the surgery took, in your personal experience?
When you opened your eyes, did the world appear slanted, in a V shape? (both eyes vision slanted "downhill" toward nose)

WikidSik

Canada382 Posts

February 09 2014 15:50 GMT

#11

@Bigfan: wait you think that condition isnt that bad or are you saying that post surgery shouldnt be that bad. And thnks

@hp.Shell: yeah my eyes were shut, im not sure if they were bled shut, but there was bloodin my discharge for a few days, and a lot of this yellowy dirt thing. My vision was pure double vision, no slant or anything. Sometimes though the images go up and down, but apparently my eyes dont so :/. Wait y wasnt ur surgery wasnt effective? Like what r u doin for school or a job? andno lol i dont have a love life

EDIT: oh yeah i also blame all my failures on my strabismus

MtlGuitarist97

United States1539 Posts

February 09 2014 16:19 GMT

#12

My eyes were shut for about a day and a half after my second surgery (can't remember my first one) but after my third I was fine. I only got it in one eye the third time though, even though the recovery sucked (I actually tried reading and playing video games and it made my eyes bleed).

WikidSik

Canada382 Posts

February 09 2014 16:30 GMT

#13

oh man, for me I just got headaches and that was my queue to stop. Hey I ahve a question, is it harder to think with strabismus, like im noticing its easier to think after my surgery, even though im not fully recovered yet.

EDIT: Also my eyes start discharging and burning but they dont bleed anymore :/

hp.Shell

United States2527 Posts

February 10 2014 06:21 GMT

#14

On February 10 2014 01:30 WikidSik wrote:
oh man, for me I just got headaches and that was my queue to stop. Hey I ahve a question, is it harder to think with strabismus, like im noticing its easier to think after my surgery, even though im not fully recovered yet.

EDIT: Also my eyes start discharging and burning but they dont bleed anymore :/

My surgery was effective, but not 100%. When looking through my left, both eyes appear straight, when looking through my right, the left eye still turns.

After my surgery, I spent 2-3 days in a hotel room with my mom and grandma, while waiting for the post-surgery checkup. I kept my eyes closed at all times except for brief instants for navigation, or to direct my fork to the proper place (i.e. my mouth and not my nose).

As for thinking, it probably is harder with strabismus, but I can't say for certain because I am still without binocular vision. Recently I read the book "Imagine" by Jonah Lehrer. I'm paraphrasing from memory, but one of the sections is about the ways the two hemispheres of the brain think differently.

In this section, an experiment was done measuring problem-solving skills while monitoring the subject's brain with a visual brain scanner and electric brain wave monitors. One of the tests that was done was the following: during the stage where the subject was attempting to solve a riddle, a word related to the answer was flashed very briefly, in front of either the left or the right eye. What was found was astonishing: in increasing the speed at which the subject could solve the riddle, it mattered which eye received the hint.

The left half of the brain, which controls the right side of the body, is known for logic and concrete analysis. The right half, controlling the body's left side, is known for creativity and abstract understanding. In patients with damage to the left half of the brain, logic and concrete analysis was impaired; in those with damage to the right, understanding of unusual comparisons, such as metaphors, was impaired. For example, in patients with damage to the creative brain, a metaphor like one from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun," the phrase "Juliet is the sun" would make no sense. In people without brain damage, the comparison between Juliet and the sun becomes obvious: both provide warmth, among other possible interpretations.

Reading about this experiment led me to question whether this hinting game (in which the hint was given to one eye or the other and influenced the problem solving) affects the reading capabilities and speed of strabismus sufferers, myself included. I have always liked to read, but I find it frustrating when my visualization doesn't kick in, or fails after a few minutes, and that causes me to re-read a paragraph or so, slowing me down and making reading far less enjoyable than it could be. The idea that reading with only one eye focused on the page could influence the brain's understanding of metaphors (because it isn't "getting" the word like the other side of the brain is, through the focused eye) troubled me greatly, and deserves further research.

I hypothesize that strabismus sufferers do indeed have a difficult time of reading due to the brain's slowness as a result of only one hemisphere receiving the information which would otherwise be received by both at the same time.

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