ANA Discussion Forum
Archive => Archives => Topic started by: msuscottie on May 05, 2005, 08:35:22 am
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Hi All,
I'm 6 months post op and still have no feeling in the left side of my face. The numbness has caused dry-eye and an inability to produce tears. I'm stuck using Refresh Celuvisc once every hour to protect my eye and keep it from being all red. Were any of you in a similar situation? Did your feeling come back? What was that like? Just wake up with it one day? Did your eye begin tearing when that feeling came back? I'm a proud, 29 year old guy, but when I can feel my face again, I'm gonna cry like a baby just to see the tears and feel them running down my cheek. Should I maintain hope, or call it a day and buy stock in Refresh Eye Drops?
Thanks,
Scott
3.5cm AN removed 10/7/04
Providence Hospital (Michigan)
Dr. Pieper & Dr. LaRouere
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I am 1 year post op and still waiting on my right eye to produce tears and blink. I still have right side facial paralysis. Some feeling and movement has come back since surgery, but it is a very small amount and the progress is very slow. At times now I can even notice that my right eye is trying to blink. It will move just a small amount I wear a non perscription disposable contact in my right eye which helps with the dryness. But I am still putting drop in my eye continously throughout the day. I was wearing a bubble over my eye at night to keep moisture in. But for about 2 weeks now I have been trying to do without. Some nights are good and some nights I wake up in the morning with a real red eye. Just be paitent..........
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I am having similar problems with dry eye. I have just seen my opthomologist and will be fitted with a lid weight (hopefully) soon.
PLease DO USE some way of protecting your eye at night. You risk permanent damage to it. I understand from a Dr (he has since died) who was a family friend that the risk is of ulcers on the eye, but I am sure there is likely to be other damage as well. We lose enough with these tumours. We need to look after what we do have.
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Oh I just hate my dry eye. I had my surgery on Mar 1 and I still have no tears and droopy face. My doc said it could take up to a year to correct itself. But the good thing is they didn't break my facial nerve in surgery, stretched it as far as they thought they should, but it didn't break. If it breaks, the conditions never return. I use the same Refresh Celluvisc all the time. I don't put anything over my eye at night, but I do put that gel on the lid.
I want my smile back. It was my best feature and now I have this 1/2 smile/frown going on. I hate this too. But I should be glad I am alive.
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I am now 14 months post op.
The good news is that I stopped using drops daily around 6 months. I still use Lacrilube almost nightly but if I skip a night, it's no big deal. It used to really bother me being outside in windy conditions with my eye. That no longer occurs.
At around 5 months, while in the dental chair, my eye did tear. I was amazed. That hasn't happened again but I am hopeful it will return.
I strongly suggest that you to the eye doc to get your eye assessed if you have not done so yet. I went 1 month post surgery and 5 months later just to ensure all was well.
It is a bummer not to cry out of both eyes but I am trying to remain positive.
Take care,
Mary
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I had my surgery in late December 2004 and had dry eye. I went to my eye doctor and was told that I was producing a small amount of tears, but because I was not blinking regularly (facial praralysis) it was not producing enough. She actually place three collagen plugs into all of my tear ducts so that the moisture that was produced would stay on my eye. The collagen dissolves after 3 or 4 weeks and I went in for a second time to have them placed in my tear ducts. My eye is now tearing -- sometimes too much. This might be a temporary option if your eye is producing some tears.
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Hi Scott
Besides having punctum plugs inserted, maybe try an eye drop with glycerin in it. I don't believe "Refresh" have that.
Best wishes! -Russ
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Yep, it all sounds too familiar! I have facial paralysis which means my eye doesn't blink and almost closes during sleep. I use drops during the day plus I have a lower duct plug. It's hard to see when the liquid wells up in my eye, but oh well. At night, I use "goop" (sterile petroeum jelly) and that very attractive eye bubble. It doesn't help me feel sexy, that's for sure.
I didn't wear any make-up for almost 4 months. Now I don't bother with eyeliner because it smudges so bad. As long as I keep the mosture from running down my face (which is challenge, because I don't feel it), then my foundation, eye shadow and mascara are ok.
Sorry I don't have any cool tips on how to get around the red eye. Using drops, ointment and the bubble are a pain, but it's better than a scratched cornea or an eye infection!
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I don't feel alone!!!!! I can relate to all of you....I miss wearing makeup...my best feature are my eyes! I should say...were my best feature!! I wear eye makeup on my right eye...try to wear sunglasses outdoors so it isn't so noticeable.
I don't have any numbness on my left side although I surely do have paralysis...my eye has always closed at night. I can close it IF I push my lower lid up. FIrst thing in the morning, I can blink my left eye for a bit...then not so much as the day goes on.
I haven't heard of the bubble...what is that??
At least, I am not alone!!!!!
Thanks for being here....
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I am 3+ years post op and I I have gotten some facial function/feeling back it isn't all back and honestly I suspect it will never all come back. I have the opposite eye problem. I get excessive tearing. Especially when eating. My facial never was entirely severed and reattached. I think the excessive tears is because of the way the facial nerve regenerated when it was reattached. I get the infamous crocodile tears. It can be annoying, but I always thought it was better than no tears.
I'm not sure why I never had the dry eye which seems so much more common in these surgeries. Bottom line everyone is different and recovery rates can vary greatly, regardless of what the doctors tell you.
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In the beginning after my tumor was removed which now has been about 3 years, I had to use my finger to close my eye as it would not shut on its own. After about a year or a little sooner my eye would close. I have never had tears on my tumor side when I cry. Which was especially hard as my mother passed away soon after my surgery, we were very close. An eye doctor told me that we all have two types of tears, I have lost one of them. So this is the way it will always be for me. I hope to never lose the other tears in that eye! Because of this I have not felt that I could not completey mourn the loss of my mother. To be able to cry normally would help me in my healing process.
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I read these post and believe it or not I cry when I read them. I thought I was alone for so long. I didn"t realize how many of you have the same symptoms as me. I am so glad I can share with all of you. I was on another website for ANs for the last year and no one had the same symptoms as me. But thank God I found this site by mistake. I was trying to go on to the other one and for some reason I couldn"t find it. So this is where I wound up And let me tell you it is great to know I am no alone. Not that I wish this upon anyone but at least I can get info and share mine ...I also have dry eye, had many infections. and have the Gold weight in left eyelid. Did anyones eyesite get worse? My bad eye seems to have worssen recently. Very blurry. Goldineye
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I also have a dry eye, anumb face and cornea and double vision. It is so good to hear from other people with the numbness and dry eye. I had my surgery 18 months ago, they had to severe my facial nerve the tumor was all involved in it. I had the 12/7 nerve graft done and a gold weight put in. With the gold weight I can close my eye but I can't open it all the way. I am having eye muscle surgery for the double vision as it didn't go away. Do any of you women pluck your eyebrows on the bad side? What about the feeling in the face. Mine is numb but yet feels tight and uncomfortable. My balance is better but I am still causious. I am starting to ride a bike again. I use Refresh PM four times a day so my vision is blurry in that eye. I hope things get better in time. Karen
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sonshine - My sympathy for the loss of your mother. I too feel the same way you do about the healing process and the ability to cry. Being able to cry was a huge step toward releasing frustration, anger, sadness and sometimes joy, I was then able to move on to the next step toward healing. Since my surgery I have lost a few family members and I still don't feel like I have been able to fully mourn their loss. If I do cry out of my good eye, I get a really weird feeling out of my bad eye, so much so that it is very uncomfortble, so mentally I guess I have shut down the good eye and do not cry at all.
matti
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all will be goods when time passes as this is slow type of recovery.hense every thing will be ok ,i had gamma knife inthe yera 2000 and recoverd till know 98 % , i am fit to do any thing and i dont have any problems. hope your will be ok by time passes. good day
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Matti,
Thank-you for the sympathy and kind words over the loss of my mother. I had to have the same surgery twice, one year apart. The second time was one month after my mother passed away. After the removal of my tumor I was not improving and getting worse, people at the funeral home were shocked when they saw me because I looked so bad. The doctor could not understand why, so he went back in just as before and I had the worse scarring inside my head that he had ever seen because of removing my tumor . Once the scar tissue was removed he put a piece of teflon ( like a sponge) around the nerve to protect it from new scarring from the second surgery. I could tell a great difference right away when I awoke in intensive care. Went through the headaches all over again but now it has been a year and 7 months and I am feeling and looking so much better.
I also feel all those emotions that you have described feeling. It will always haunt me for the rest of my life why all of this had to happen when my mother, that I loved so dearly, ly dying. Only God knows.