Unexpected day at the hospital!
I couldn’t sleep last night because of bad pains around my right eye. I did get to sleep some time this morning but when I woke and got out of bed I knew something was seriously wrong. The pains were still there, I couldn’t see out of my right eye. Everything was white and it felt really weird. I checked in the bathroom mirror and it was totally blood shot. I quickly rang Mo, who was out. I knew I had get checked out, and soon.
I have to go for annual Glaucoma checks because my dad had it. So far I have remained clear, though they have been keeping a check on my pressure, which was found to be high by an optician some years ago. It has slowly been creeping up but my field of vision was good so I was deemed to be free of it. I went for my test a few weeks ago and was told the pressure was up to 28. I received a letter yesterday saying I would need a trip to the eye clinic to discuss my condition further. 24 hours later I am rushing to eye casualty!
Here’s how the afternoon went….
We arrive at Eye Casualty. Nice, jolly chap takes me into a side room. Two drops in each eye …….”Oh dear, this can’t be right. Hold on, I’ll check again. This CAN’T be right…..68?!!!!! I’ll check the other eye. This is very high too. Hmmm…. Must be a faulty (special equipment) I’ll change it……..Let’s try again. This says 66!!!!! Let’s check the other eye. Oh that’s better. This is correct now – 66!!!! Do you feel sick at all?” Me – “Well I did feel a little queasy earlier.” He looks at me blankly, I wonder why.
Doctor now enters More drops more checks and lots of questions. “Do you feel sick?”
I am told that I will be given some tablets and then hooked up to a drip as they need to act quickly! I’m nervous now.
Someone is called to put the needle in my arm. Two very painful failures and he gets a smaller needle for the third and final time. I am past nervous now. I ask Mo for some water as my mouth is totally dry.
Doctors and nurses pass by, stop, look at me and ask “Are you OK?” with a look that worries me. I’m more than past nervous now. I ask Mo for some more water. With a big grin, jolly chap says “You may want to hold off on the water, this is diarrhetic fluid we are pumping into you”. Oh I need a wee!!!!
Bottle is almost empty. “Great” I thought. Jolly chap comes back and fills bottle again. “You need two of these” Oh I neeeeed a weeee!!!!
Jolly chap says “I don’t understand, with eye pressure as high as you have you should be vomiting” I haven’t done that since I was nine years old. I’m nervous again.
Finally the second bottle is empty and I get to go for a wee but my bladder isn’t all that empties. Those two tablets! Now I knew what the looks and ‘”Are you OK?” questions were for!
More drops – lots more drops I counted about 30 drops in all but I lost count. I had lenses sat directly on my eyeball and shifted back and forth and tilted at varying angles, A cocktail of drops were running down my cheeks and gel was spread all over my eyelids. Once she was finished I cleaned up and suddenly got a runny nose. I blew it and was surprised to find I had just cleared bright orange eye-drops from my nose!
Finally I was told of two options they had. The first was that they put a hole in the back of my eye (can’t remember where) with a laser to ease the pressure. They finally rejected this idea because they discovered I have cataracts! Now they are going to remove the cataracts in order to relieve the pressure. I’m scared now.
Mo asked if there was anywhere we could get something to eat locally and she said “Oh you can’t leave the hospital. I am sending you to a ward until the pressure drops” I’m really scared now. I’ve never been in hospital and have a real fear of having to stay in one.
Jolly chap comes by and Mo asks if I will need to stay the night. “Oh I doubt it” he says. I am relieved.
I have to pick up a prescription and administer it myself before arriving at the ward. More drops. Three types. All to be administered at different times a day! One once a day, one twice a day and one four times a day in both eyes! I hope it’s only temporary.
I get to the ward, now tasting drops at the back of my throat! Doctor comes in. Not a jolly chap but he gives me more drops and a test. “Great” he say. “I just want to check with the other doctor before sending you home, but the pressure is down to 21″ I’m thrilled. “But I need you back at 10am tomorrow “ More drops and another test, to make sure the pressure has stayed down.
It’s scary to think that you can have an eye pressure go from 28 to 66 in a few weeks! It seems I was extremely close to seriously damaging my eyesight!
Having finally had my needle removed, I leave the hospital with my three bottles of drops.
It’s been a very stressful and tiring day!
I nervously wait.
Stumble it!
Subscribe by Email
Jan from BetterSpines
| 14 November 2009 at 0:21
Oh wow that is so scary! Thank God it seems to have stabilised for now, before damaging your eyesight permanently. Hey, you can wear your blanket in the hospital!
Jan from BetterSpines´s last blog ..Diabetes drug linked to heart failure
Barb - WillThink4Wine
| 14 November 2009 at 1:42
I am grossly farsighted and have been under close watch for that very thing. I hope tomorrow is a MUCH better day!
Big hugs
Barb – WillThink4Wine´s last blog ..Mud Room Beckoning
Jaffer
| 14 November 2009 at 2:21
Oh wow… I’ve heard of only one other person who had to go through all that – but she was a much more serious case.
I am glad you will be alright ! Take care of yourself ! {{Hugs
}}
V-V
| 14 November 2009 at 3:06
Ouch! That would have been so scary, especially not knowing what was going on at first.
I am glad that it has dropped and will make sure we purr a whole lot that is stays that way
Junk Drawer Kathy
| 14 November 2009 at 12:59
Babs, I’m so sorry you had to go through this. I wondered why I hadn’t heard from you. Wow, I didn’t know that the issue with your eyes could manifest in such strange ways. I’m thrilled you got such good care when you needed it. I would have been scared too. I’m happy things turned out alright. Now be a good patient and do everything the doctor says!
Junk Drawer Kathy´s last blog ..How to Make Nipple Cupcakes
LadyBanana
| 14 November 2009 at 13:38
Sounds like an awful day for you! Hope things settle down OK for you.
My pressures have been raised on several occasions and I’ve been to the eye hospital but I drove the DR nuts as I am not good at having drops put in!
LadyBanana´s last blog ..Cleaning Muddy Foots! [Flickr]
Ruth
| 14 November 2009 at 14:11
Yikes, Babs! Thank goodness you rushed over there! Having hospital emergency care is such a wonderful thing. Take care.
Lynne Chapman
| 14 November 2009 at 19:38
Poor you! Sounds horrendous. What a good job you got there in time. We tend to take National Health for granted these days but when you really need it, my goodness it’s worth it’s weigh in gold!
Daisy the Curly Cat
| 14 November 2009 at 20:11
Oh dear, just reading that made me feel scairted! I hope everything is all better now.
Daisy the Curly Cat´s last blog ..Photo Hunters: Music
jen
| 14 November 2009 at 20:19
I’m so sorry you have been going through this. Please try not to be scared. My father was an eye surgeon, I worked in his office for years and the cataract surgeries he performed always went well. They were routine outpatient surgeries most taking about twenty minutes. Glaucoma can be a little scary but your doctor is on top of things and I am sure it will all work out well. Just listen to your doctor, tell him everything that comes to your mind when he asks a question, even if it seems irrelevant. The more he knows the better. Good luck and keep us posted.
jen´s last blog ..I Hate Spam
beetle
| 14 November 2009 at 22:01
Jan: Oh well, wearing the blanket would make me feel a whole lot better – not
Barb: I not aware that I’m far sighted, though I was asked that question today.
Jaffer: It was all very scary, seeing how they were rushing to treat me. It was a close call.
V-V: Yes it was: They did explain it all in great detail. How the eye is built up and how it all works etc., but it was all a bit over my head
Kathy: I will be good, even though the drops I have to take 4 times a day give me a blinding headache and make me nauseous, I am still putting them. It does mean I’m out of action quite a lot during the day though.
LadyBanana: Ha ha! I’m OK with drops but I’m not good with needles!!
Ruth: Yes, I just knew this was serious and I had to get to eye casualty. Thankfully I was seen immediately!
Lynne: Hi Lynne! You can say that again! As the ‘Jolly chap’ laughingly said “It’s what you paid in for years for, you might as well get your money’s worth now” I can’t fault the care and attention I got
Daisy: I was very scairted too! I still am as I have to have cataracts removed
Jen: Thanks for the encouragement. I am a big baby when it comes to hospitals, and let fear get the better of me I’m afraid.
Kat
| 14 November 2009 at 23:17
Babs,
Oh my goodness!! What you went through you poor thing! I’m glad Mo was there for you, and that the pressure in your eye went down,
I have glaucoma too, and I am a rare case, as I got it at young age, plus my corneas are thick, which gives false readings, or some such nonsense….but my pressures even with daily drops are always in the high 20’s. They watch my eyesight closely. Last time I went to the eye doctor, my pressures were 33 and 31…much too high!! So he changed my drops again.
I have thankfully not gone what you went through, and hope that I don’t. I am glad you didn’t have to stay the night, and that you were able to go home.
Now, you have to let me know the outcome of when you went back the next morning!!
Take care of you!!
Kat
{{{{hugs}}}}
Kat´s last blog ..New Moon Photo Shoot, Robert Pattinson is Hot!
Jay
| 15 November 2009 at 1:03
Oh, how horrible… I’m so glad that they got it all under control for you. May it all continue to go well.
Cataract surgery doesn’t sound very nice, but it’s pretty routine these days. I’ve even known dogs have it done and do very well afterwards. I’m sure it will be fine. Hugs to you.
I’ve spend far too many days in the emergency eye clinic myself ,with vitreous detachments. They like to check each one very thoroughly, so I’m all to familiar with the lens slapped straight onto the eyeball and the goop running down the cheeks. Can’t say I’ve blown orange out of my nose so far, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. LOL!
Linda
| 15 November 2009 at 13:34
What a scary day you had! I am glad they were able to lower the pressure and all is well. Keep on truckin!
beetle
| 15 November 2009 at 14:59
Kat: Oh poor you! That must always be a worry.
The pressure in my bad eye was down to 10 the next morning, and I go back Tuesday to discuss the way forward.
Jay: I’ve heard that the surgery is routine now but it’s the fact that I’ll be awake when they do it that scares me! I think I had drops coming out of my nose because I has so many!
Linda: It was a real scare – and to think I had been getting warning signs for a long time and didn’t know it!
JD at I Do Things
| 15 November 2009 at 20:59
Oh, my gosh, that’s so scary! I’d have been nervous too. Thank goodness Mo was there with you.
“I don’t understand, with eye pressure as high as you have you should be vomiting”
I’m glad you weren’t! Keep us posted, please. I do hope everything turns out OK.
JD at I Do Things´s last blog ..I Watched Stud Hunters so you don’t have to
beetle
| 15 November 2009 at 21:21
JD: I’m sorry. Was that bad grammar I used? I was still in shock when I wrote this. Should read “With eye pressure as high as yours, you should be vomiting”
Crabby Blogging Lady
| 16 November 2009 at 2:52
Holy guacamole!! I hurriedly read your post, in great trepidation, waiting to see if you were released with a false alarm or your eyeballs had popped out from the pressure! Don’t scare me like that, woman!!!
Good golly– what an escapade. I see Mo had the sane sensibility to snap photos, though. What a trooper!
Crabby Blogging Lady´s last blog ..Prejean Christianity
beetle
| 16 November 2009 at 5:37
Crabby Blogging Lady: I scared myself, I can tell you!! Thankfully the pressure was right down to 10 yesterday. I go back Tuesday to arrange for cataracts to be removed
Jay
| 16 November 2009 at 14:19
Babsie, honey, make them give you a good solid whack of valium and you won’t have a problem. I’ve heard jolly good things about that valium shot.
beetle
| 16 November 2009 at 14:50
Jay: I think I just may ask them to do that! They may say no, as it probably makes the eyes spin in different directions
Swubird
| 16 November 2009 at 16:42
Bobs:
Wow! Let’s mark that one up to a close call! It’s a ggod thing you acted quickly, or, like you said, your eye could’ve have been damaged.
The one thing I am seriously afraid of is blindness. I have always given to the blind because I can’t imagine going through life without sight. It’s just too unthinkable. Went to the eye doctor a few months ago myseld—pressure normal. Thank goodness.
Glad you are doing better.
Happy trails.
beetle
| 17 November 2009 at 2:31
Swubird: I got a good idea of what it would be like to lose sight in just one eye and it was not good. To be totally blind is unimaginable.
Maureen
| 17 November 2009 at 4:15
Oh Babs, I am so sorry to hear this! Thank goodness you are okay; and glad Mo was there to help. I hope you are feeling better by now and that the worst is over. Don’t worry about the cataract surgery; my parents have both had that and had no problems at all.
Take care of yourself dear. I prefer winking Babs to one with an eyepatch!
Maureen´s last blog ..Rush Rush Rush
BK
| 17 November 2009 at 6:53
Sorry to hear about your bad day. Hope that you are feeling much better now and that the pressure stays down.
BK´s last blog ..Living Happily Ever After Like in Fairy Tales
LizzyT
| 17 November 2009 at 15:14
What an awful day for you. I hope everything has settled down now and you are ok.
LizzyT´s last blog ..SYDNEY
LaVoice
| 17 November 2009 at 15:47
What a horrible experience you have been through. I would hate to lose my eyesight more than any other senses. I have a problem with on of my eyes, but not this bad. Tee are so many things out there to help, but it is not a pleasant thing to go through. Wishing you only the best and will have all this behind you.
meleah rebeccah
| 17 November 2009 at 16:30
Holy crap! That is AWFUL and terribly scary!! I would have been horrified. Thank GOD they were able to treat your eye and that you are recovering!
meleah rebeccah´s last blog ..No Sleep Till Brooklyn
Brian from Medical Web Marketing
| 17 November 2009 at 16:32
I can imagine that you were quite shocked to visit a doctor for one problem and then discover that you have something completely unexpected. I hope everything works out for you.
Ivanhoe
| 17 November 2009 at 17:03
Oh no! Glaucoma is serious, Babs! I’m glad you went to the hospital. Please do not wait long before you go next time you get it this bad.
Hugs,
I.
Ivanhoe´s last blog ..Twenty Years of Freedom
Comedy Plus
| 17 November 2009 at 18:58
Yikes Babs, I’m sorry to hear you went through all of this. I too am looking a cataract surgery in the near future. I didn’t know all of these things could happen. I hope things get better and stay better real soon.
Have a terrific day.
beetle
| 17 November 2009 at 20:13
Maureen: Oh I am on cloud nine today. It appears no cataract removal is needed, just laser treatment!
BK: Thank you, I am feeling much better now.
LizzyT: Everything is looking good now thank you. I am relieved.
LaVoice: It will soon be all be behind me. Tomorrow It should be sorted finally.
Meleah: It was not nice at all, and I’m a scaredy-cat with hospitals anyway
Ivanhoe: Yes it is serious. I wish they had dealt with it sooner, but they were not to know it would so suddenly shoot up so high.
Sandee: Well I found out today that I will be spared of the cataract op and just have laser treatment. I am very glad as I am a coward