Squinting and eye pain from sun glare

[AN Comp]

Hi,
My sisters' friend, Barb,  had AN surgery on 12/14/07 having suffered hearing loss increasing over the last several years.  She is having a problem with sun glare being extremely painful. It seems that she has it most of the time, however there are periods when it does not bother her so much. Barb friend wants to know if this will diminish over time, and if having the problem  most but not all of the time is normal?

It has been awful for Barb, and my sister, as Barb is still in the hospital. She came home after a week in the hospital, then was readmitted a week later with a 'leak' accompanied by nausea, and vomiting. To summarize, she has had 3 'leaks' that had to be fixed and an infection plus repositioning the shunt.

[Joef]

Yep .. that was me .. I did not drive on sunny days for months after my surgery because of the sun .. or even being out walking in the sun was hard...

in short .. it does get better ! does she have an eye weight? it would help. good wrap around sun glasses.

[4cm in Pacific Northwest]

Joef is bang on here- re

"does she have an eye weight? it would help. good wrap around sun glasses."
 
This is what helped me - now I am "ok" in the sun. Time heals.

4

[lori67]

Wrap around sunglasses are a must-have for me - but I found a pair that sortof fits tighter along the top (by my eyebrows) than usual sunglasses.  That seems to keep the wind and the sun from getting to your eye when the sun is really bright or is directly overhead.

I know the first time I went out in the sun without glasses if hurt like crazy - like someone was shining a spotlight directly into my eye!  Needless to say, they are permanently attached to my head these days.

Lori

[nancyann]

I went to a Harley-Davidson store (of all places), because they sold 'Panoptix' sunglasses (they have an added padding to prevent wind from getting thru);
I ended up buying a pair of Harley's with the same 'windproofing' b/c they had a pair that fit more 'snug' on my face & prevents wind from
drying out my eye even more....   Best $100. I spent in a long time (then Jeanlea piped in on another subject heading similar to this & she found
wrap arounds for around $20. - worked just as well I'm sure & she saved $$!!).

[AN Comp]

Thank you all so much for the info. While Barb is not out of the hospital yet, I am sure my sister will be looking for the wrap around unless she decides to go for the Panoptix. Again thank you, it is good to know there are some kind people out there that can give us some guidance.

[waypoint]

This is very common considering she only recently had surgery in December.  I will get better as time goes on.  Does she have any facial paralysis? Sound like yes. I couldn't squint or blink very well after surgery and that cause my eye to hurt, because you don't have full control of your pupil on the affected side. As your nerves come back, so will the control over your pupil and the ability to squint.  Good Luck. I'm 5 months out and can now tolerate the sunlight, but Sunglasses are a must.

[AN Comp]

The eye weight has not been taken care of yet, however they were aware that this was something that would be done eventually.
Now that they are aware of how helpful that would be along with the wrap around sun glasses they will be working on getting that resolved.

Yes, she does have facial paralysis, balance issues, and frequent nausea. We are hoping the surgery last Thursday to fix another leak will be the last and she will be able to really begin recovery.

[Joef]

the best thing for balance issues is to just get out and walk ... which could be hard on sunny days..  thats why a good sunglasses are a must.. and take advanage of overcast days! .. my first week back to work was raining and overcast all week ...  the only time I wished for bad weather and got it ! 

[Jim Scott]

My eyes were always sensitive to bright sunlight (outdoors).  For many years I've worn sunglasses - especially when driving - on even partly cloudy days.  However, I did notice a slightly increased sensitivity to sun/glare following my surgery, which hasn't noticeably subsided in the past 20 months.  Fortunately for me, that sensitivity is remedied by (prescription, in my case) sunglasses, which seem to resolve the problem of increased sensitivity to sunlight for most AN post-op patients.   

Jim

[Gennysmom]

Yes, my eyes were always sensitive too, but it was way worse when my eye didn't close all the way.  I have wrap around Oakley's that are great, and a baseball cap with black under the brim is a must on sunny days!  My eye closes now, but it's still worse than it was before surgery dealing with glare.