Do you have a gold weight?

[Pembo]

I'm considering the gold weight but I want some real life experiences first.

Were you still seeing progress on facial movement when you got the weight?

Does it alleviate the need for lacrilube?

Can you wear contacts with it?

Who put it in for you?


I'm 14 mo post surgery. My face is coming and I do see continual improvement but my eye still does not blink or water. It has watered on occasion, just not regularly.  My surgeon said he can do the surgery when I get my Baha implant in Sept but I'm not sure. Thanks for any opinions.

[heyyouconnie]

You can go down and read the messages on "Eye Surgery" by Jan Penecost. They discuss the gold weight there. My message there was that I don't like mine. I still can't shut my eye completely. I still wear a patch on it periodically, and I still need the eye drops all the times. I don't have contacts. Can't help ya there.

I don't like mine because sometimes it itches or if it bump it, it hurts. And it makes my eye lid look swollen all the time. Probably only I notice that tho because I'm self conscience. But some people like them.

[Goldineye]

pembo, I have the 24kt gold weight. I think it does help alot. I don't like it but it surely helped my eye to close. I was left with an eye wide opened and it looked horrible. Yes it is true it looks like my eye is always swollen but I rather have that then an open eye all the time. I had mine done while I was still in the hospital 2 weeks after my surgery. The docters measured me for the right size , put it in the eye lid and then sewed up the bottom of my eye in the corners to stop the eye from opening up alot . I do have to say though I did get alot of infections any way. I also did have to use lubricants and tears and still do.I notice as time go's by I don't need the lubes as often. The surgery is about an hour and a half performed by an eye surgeon.It will swell and get black and blue but I feel it was woth it. Good Luck.. Goldineye

[steph]

I also have the gold weight and it definately minimizes the amount of junk you have to put in your eye. i have had it exactly one month and it makes the eye more managable. I had my surgery 10 months ago, I also am regaining some movement in my face but I was told that if the eye doesn't make progress in the first six months that it probably won't. The thing is that it is a reversable procedure so if you don't like it or you regain movement it can always be taken out. good luck, let me know if you have any more questions and make sure you the very best person you can find do the procedure.

[Terri]

I had a gold weight implanted about 6 weeks ago. It has significantly reduced the amount of lubrication I need and greatly improved the comfort of my eye. I have one question for those of you with gold weights, however. My eyelid is still puffy, especially in the morning, when I wake up. The oculoplastic surgeon said this is not normal, and that it should return to the same look as my other eye.

What has been your experience with eyelid swelling after a gold weight? Does it stay swollen or did it return to normal? If it returned to normal, how many months after surgery did that happen? Thanks.

[DeniseSmith]

I have a platinum weight in my left eye.  It is not a "cure all"  it's there so your eye will close while sleeping and help protect your eye.  I still use drops throughout the day and lacrilube at night, my eye does not blink all the way closed, in order to do that i would have needed a larger weight and that would cause my eye lid to sag. 

I had an eye surgeon put it in last November, 2005 and he rechecks it every four months to be sure I still need it.  It can be removed if my face ever regains movement and my eye is working correctly. 

Denise

[Gloriann]

I have had the gold weight in my left eye since 2001, a week following my AN surgury. I am glad it is there and it does not bother me at all. Dr James Fleming of Memphis, Tn did my eye surgury.

[Jeanlea]

Has anyone ever had a gold weight removed because they don't need it anymore?  I keep hearing that it's reversible, but haven't heard of anyone that had it reversed because their eye started working again.

Jean