ANA Discussion Forum
Post-Treatment => Eye Issues => Topic started by: lmurray69 on January 04, 2007, 09:09:14 pm
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I have eye focus problems, eyes feel like they are being pulled out of my head..I went to DR primary. he had me try and stand on one foot. no way. either eyes closed or open. eye dr says they are fine as far as he can see.. now what? I put those pm eye drops in. they help too. but i have to get up during the night to do it again...any suggestions Linda or and cant rememer who said what,, I have to find the note that capt dee or pearl gave me on the 4 things.I have the note pad, but cant remember what i need to write down..
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Do you have nystagmus in your eyes? That is when the eyes are not tracking together. Gave me a real wonky headed problem and had a lot of trouble focusing on things. It was one of the reasons I couldn't drive for a while. My 89 year old neighbor told me to just do what he does..close one eye and go for it LOL
I have the same memory thing. My mom kept telling to carry a note pad around but it got funny with my just trying to keep up with the darn thing. I've learned to keep things in the same place and keep a grocery list since I can no longer remember more than 3 things from the store. Tonight I lost my list before I made it to the store then had my son grouchy as I forgot the doritos...heck I remembered the milk LOL
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My AN side eye tracks slower than the other and since surgery I can feel that they work on two different levels. I have trouble reading for more than 10 minutes and have to take frequent computer breaks to close my eyes as I get very fatigued from the overload.
I am queen of the post-it notes, I have daily lists and notes to myself at home and in the car. A few times I have been at the store and somehow lost my list, and I could not remember what I had gone there for :'(
Michelle - What kind of car does your 89 year old neighbor drive LOL so I can be on the lookout. (just kidding :-*)
Cheryl
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I've bought stock in Post It's, Linda... and, I have to giggle... on occassion, I claim my dr's note for my AN makes me forget things, like to do things for CB (shhhhh, don't tell him), telling the bank I forgot to balance my checkbook, etc :)
Bothers the heck out of me....um.... what was I saying? ;)
(Hang in there Linda, with your eye situation. I, peronsally, am not familiar with it)
Phyl
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No more forgetful than usual. I don't really suffer from dry eye or tinnitus either, so I'm probably not a very good reference. I just wanted to acknowledge Linda's post and her query. Although I do not share her specific complications, I do wish her well.
Jim[/color]
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eye focus problems of course here, right after surgery due to my left eye not being able to track sound on my left/brain rewiring to other side.
and not being able to see details due to dry eye that -tears should be coming back within 6-9 months.
Regarding forgetfullness, probably more than usual due to my brain still feeling "floaty", I was bad anyway with remembering things and such.
I would yell and acuse others of stealing my backpack and hat, HEY WHERE IS MY BACKPACK and HAT! >:(,
Then others point at me and say, "the hat is on your head and the backpack is on your back". :-[
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I thank you for your reply,,I to get very tired and have to take short naps,but sometimes I cant close my eyes and sleep as they are dry, but i do use the drops and that helps too.. I carry the cell phone we have programed it so i open the phone and it calls home..helps me to find what i need at the store and also so my husband can add to the list..tee hee.. Do I have demensha ?
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Linda,
It was a long time for me before I was remembering things a little better but I am still extremely forgetful. How long were you under anesthesia? I don't have any facts to base this on, just a hunch, but I think that the longer and more you are under anesthesia for things, the more it messes with your head or memory. First time I was under for a long surgery (a emergency for a perforated ulcer in 1999 - not sure how long it was) it took me so long before I could write properly. My writing looked like I was drunk or high when I wrote it. And after AN surgery I noticed other changes and things that I couldn't do the same and that surgery was 10-11 hrs long. I don't have dry eye anymore like I did after the surgery but I still don't produce tears in that eye. I did have focus problems in the beginning but my physical therapist had me doing eye movement therapy so that helped. Hope you are feeling better.
~Karen
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my surgery was like 4 hrs is all, but , I have TIA'S I have had 9 and they take a little each time..I have one..
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yeah that eye thing drives me bonkers too sometimes i get so frustrated and upset i cry only out the right eye ofcourse. it seems as if theyre not in sync with each other. i had a bit of a focus prob pre surgery butits way bad now. as for the forgetfulness well short terms not too good but that could just be getting older huh? keep on buying those post its! btw the gel drops seem to work the best but consistent use is really the key to any of them. even in the middle of the night. kerri
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Hi Linda:
My eyes are fine but yes, I forget stuff. My memory is much better than it was the first 6 months post op, but it is not perfect. If I need to bring something to work or home, I put a note on my keychain. I am constantly writing myself emails. If I am at home and remember something I should have done at work, I send myself an email as a reminder and vice versa.
It could be the surgery, it could be that I am 53 but most likely it is that I am 53 and menopausal.
Are we having fun yet?  ::) Kathy
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I agree with you Kathy, while I do think some of my forgetfullness is related to AN issues, I believe the bulk of it is attributted to menopause, as it was never this bad 2-3 years ago.
menopause sucks >:(ÂÂ
Cheryl
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Well girls we have to face it, life can be a burden sometimes, I love the email thing Kathy mentioned..But sence i dont work i wouldnt need the office part. But the sticky notes are great. there used to be a program where you could put sticknots on your desk top maybe i can find it..then i'd probly loose my computer.. tee hee..oh I thought I was 52, but my husband informed me i am going to be 55 the 11th, I said I can under stand looseing a couple days but what happened to 3 yrs..wow thats terrible..
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Linda:
I just turned 53 so I know how old I am. In a few months, if someone asks me how old I am, I can pretty much guarantee that I will say 52 or 54. It happens every year.....I just plain forget.
I would think you lost those years because of your TIA's. Now that the AN is a goner, maybe those will stay away too. I sure hope so.
Happy Birthday a few days early!! Kathy
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Obita, I am moveing forward with my life ,I have worried over this for 2 years .It doesnt mean that I wont be on this site. after all we have family here now. So I have to keep up on everyone. Also I will do my 1 yr when nov 07 come around. I have a lot of friend that I have lost this last year to milignant tumors in the brain. But we have to thank God that Mine was not..Thanks for all the careing...Linda
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I've had 4 years of dealing with wonkyhead, so I guess that makes me almost an expert!
(This is loooooong--almost a pamphlet, you may want to hit the "print " button at the bottom and hard-copy it.)
Wonkyhead--that light-headed, heavy-headed, pressure-y, achy, dizzy, fatigued, off-balance, disconnected feeling we AN Survivors get which is triggered by visual/noise/movement stimulation. Whacks us right in the middle of trying to go about the daily business of living. Mine is particularly bad and, if not managed, can lead to a "brainwreck" in the blink of an eye. I've had to be "rescued" in the middle of my errand-running more than once. I'm coming up on my 4th year of living with wonkyhead and I've developed some personal strategies that have helped me cope and I thought I'd pass them along. We just can't stay home all the time and expect others to do all this crap, well, in early post-treat we can, but there comes a time where we must get up and get out! Here's what helps me.
You will need:
1. A chalkboard
2. A pen
3. A purse or pocket sized notebook (I like the mini legal pads)
4. A bottle of water that fits in your purse (guys, your backpack, fannypack, or man-purse)
5. A midsized cooler (I have a soft-sided one that lives in my car--always!)
6. One dollar bills
7. Handicap parking tag (really--without directional hearing and the wonkyhead experienced upon emerging from a busy, noisy store--this is essential, at least for me. I also have spatial disorientation and this helps me find my car as well. Call your neurologist and he'll fill out the DMV paperwork)
During the week, I write down grocery lists and various crap that needs to get done on the chalkboard. This is essential, because, having short-term memory loss, I will never remember everything needed all at once.
Plan, plan, plan: The night before my errand day, I use the pen and the notebook to complete the grocery list, and list all the errands--bank, Wally World, hardware store, etc. Then (and this is the important part,) I make myself a map of the errands. Well actually a list of the errands in the order in which they need to be done as to avoid taking left-hand turns without a traffic light. This is the bane of my existence--left hand turns. Once I have the list of errands, which will probably include the grocery store, I make the grocery list. I try to think this one through and make the list according to the layout of the store. I shop at the same grocery store every time so I stay familiar with the products and their whereabouts! Don't worry about frozen or refrigerated items--that's what the cooler is for. I actually go to the grocery store first sometimes.
So I try to get a good night's sleep and off I go! I stick a bottle of water in my purse--getting dehydrated will set off the wonkyhead quicker than anything I know, as will getting hungry and having my blood-sugar drop--so a snack goes in the purse as well.
In the grocery store, I shop with a pen in my hand and my list in the other (again, when wonkyhead sets in, short-term memory takes a hike!) so if I think of something I need while in the produce dept, it's written down by the time I get to the aisle where it is. I also always get a cart, even if I'm getting a few things--it gives me some stability. As I get stuff, I cross it off the list. I hate backtracking in the grocery store!
At the check out, if I have more than I can carry, and they ask if I want help out with my bags, I say "yes, yes, yes!" (after selecting the line with the cutest bag-boy!--we're in a college town so there's no shortage of these) No macho-girl here anymore--I want help. I always give him or her a tip of $2-3. By then my head is usually spinning pretty badly and it is totally worth it. Again, no directional hearing and wonkyhead make me a hazardous pedestrian.
Once I'm safely back in the car, I give myself a few minutes to "de-stimulate" before I head off to the next destination. I just close my eyes for a minute or two--no music, a sip of water, just trying to relax. As I head out to the next errand, I try not to let other drivers bother me, particularly the ones behind me waiting for me to turn (right turn) Let'em wait and let 'em honk!
When I was first getting back to doing stuff like this, I learned to set limits for myself--I'd do one errand first, and the next outing I'd do two. I'm now up to four, and five is a real stretch. I also give myself permission to come home, an errand or two not done, if I feel like I'm not up to it. Superwoman is now officially in retirement.
Not all of us have to be so anal about all this stuff, but there are those of us who still struggle with wonkyhead and headaches that start out as wonkyhead. It is quite frightening to be miles from home, in your car, by yourself, or even worse, with small children, and have a "meltdown." These are some strategies that work for the "new me." I hope it is helpful. Perhaps you could share what works for the "new you," too!
Huggles,
Captain Deb 8)
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Deb,
Didn't have to hit the "print" key... you just rawk! :-* Amazing how you have altered your "norm" of life to now, post-AN surgery, and the strategies you have laid out for yourself that are tried and true and work for you. Like you (and in light of my Chiari 1 as well), that wonky head and those nasty headaches/migraines can be overwhelming, especially when "away from home". Even if I drive down the street to the store for 1-2 items with one of my migraines (even if Chiari caused), it can be so overwhelming, I'm grabbing my head in the store... I just tell everyone I'm trying to flatten my hair from big hair.
I commend you, for your strength, courage and resolve! I know it's taken a lot of time and energy and thought and pain to put this plan together for yourself... and Deb, sounds like a fab plan! :) Great job!!!!
huggles all around for you!
Phyl
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Phyll,
:-*
CD
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Thanks Capt DEb. I have the wonky list I printed it when you first released it..thanks Linda
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This is a great list Cap Deb. I just recently started making lists and things or i totaly forgot. Maybe i was just in denial and thought i would remember if i stood there and thought about it long enough. LOL! :)
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I forget the list, regularly. :)
Fantastic list and startegy! Birlliant! Talk about being organised, WOW! I'm full of admiration.
Ciao, Lorenzo
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Well, I make the list and then forget to take the list with me! Ha
Anyway, Deborah Dear, I think your "list" should be written up in the ANA newsletter. It's wonderful. Great tips. I don't think my experiences with "wonky head" are as bad as you have, but I do have something going on. It's frustrating and it's so hard for me to describe it because it's very subtle. It's just enough for things to not feel "right". I guess it is my balance nerve working overtime.
Thanks for posting your survival tips. Yes, you are a Rawk Star. Of the highest magnitude. ;D
Sue in Vancouver