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Health Issues

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 7:30 am
by silverscreenselect
I'm having a bit of a health problem right now, which resulted in my spending Wednesday night in the hospital, but it turns out to be something that hopefully will be more of an annoyance for a few months than anything else.

About a week and a half ago, I started having what I thought was a sinus headache around my left eye. After a couple of days, the pain went away, but the vision in that eye didn't work that well and I had double vision when both eyes were open. That went away, after a fashion, because the eyelid started swelling and wound up almost completely shut. I looked like a boxer who took one in the eye. Eye drops didn't help, and I thought I had some sort of infection, so I went to an eye doctor at Emory Clinic, which is located right next door to Emory Hospital here in Atlanta.

The ophthalmologist referred me to a neural ophthalmologist in the same office, and it turns out I suffered a cranial nerve ischemia, somewhat similar to a stroke, that only affected the one nerve. The oxygen supply to the nerve was cut off for a while, resulting in damage to the nerve. This is the nerve that controls the eyelid motion and the motion of the eyeball itself and pupil dilation. I can open the eyelid by using the muscles in my eyebrow (different nerve) but the lid doesn't open and shut on its own, and the eye doesn't move in tandem with the right eye. So, I'm literally looking in two different directions with my two eyes, thus the double vision.

Before they made the diagnosis, however, they wanted to rule out a possible aneurysm, so they sent me to the emergency room at the Emory Hospital next door, where they ran both an MRI and a CT scan (when the MRI turned up some suspicious looking images in my chest). Fortunately, those all proved negative, but it was after 1:00 am (after a 9:30am initial appointment) before we got the results back, so we spent the night there. Needless to say, Mrs. SSS was quite frazzled after what we thought would be a quick trip followed by a prescription for some eye drops or ointment. The good news was that we didn't have to pay for overnight parking.

There is no "cure" except time. The nerve should heal, over a period of 3-6 months, but, ironically, the eyelid control will come back before the control of the eyeball itself, so after a month or so, the double vision should return (looks like I'll be wearing an eye patch for a while). In some cases, the nerve never heals, which probably would mean some very expensive glasses to correct my vision.

Getting old ain't fun but it beats the alternative.

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 8:01 am
by bazodee
As I age, I'm amazed at all the stuff that can go wrong and in total wonder at the complexity of the human body.
Glad that this seems to be resolving itself.

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 8:54 am
by Beebs52
Yikes. Get well!

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 2:09 pm
by ghostjmf
Get Well!

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 2:29 pm
by flockofseagulls104
Sending prayers for your complete recovery so we can continue arguing.

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 3:02 pm
by Bob Juch
Wow, I hope that fixes itself soon. Are you taking an anticoagulant?

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 4:05 pm
by BackInTex
I'm with the others in hoping for a speeding and full recovery.
silverscreenselect wrote:looks like I'll be wearing an eye patch for a while
Arggg. Wills ya be speaking a certain dialect for that time being, will ya?

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 6:07 pm
by silverscreenselect
Bob Juch wrote:Wow, I hope that fixes itself soon. Are you taking an anticoagulant?
I've been taking baby aspirin plus cholesterol medicine for years, so that's continuing. I've got my regular scheduled checkup with the doctor in a couple of weeks so we'll see if we have to up the dosage.

And we went out and bought a patch today and I'll be trying it on tonight. What worries me is the driving; any other problems I have I can deal with by just taking my time.

And I already have the right name, Silver, as a particularly well known pirate.

And, thanks everyone for your good wishes.

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 6:49 pm
by Vandal
Speedy recovery!

Meanwhile, rock it.


Image

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 9:20 pm
by Bob Juch
silverscreenselect wrote:
Bob Juch wrote:Wow, I hope that fixes itself soon. Are you taking an anticoagulant?
I've been taking baby aspirin plus cholesterol medicine for years, so that's continuing. I've got my regular scheduled checkup with the doctor in a couple of weeks so we'll see if we have to up the dosage.

And we went out and bought a patch today and I'll be trying it on tonight. What worries me is the driving; any other problems I have I can deal with by just taking my time.

And I already have the right name, Silver, as a particularly well known pirate.

And, thanks everyone for your good wishes.
I drove from South Carolina to NYC for the WWTBAM 10th-anniversary taping party with a patch over my right eye after my detached retina.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipN ... 1OS1pBWDRR

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 9:49 am
by tlynn78
As I'm sure you've already discovered, your depth perception will be flawed - so be careful on curbs and steps! Heal quickly - the Bobs can't handle Flock without you.

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 12:07 pm
by Catfish
Scary night! Heal well.

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 12:15 pm
by T_Bone0806
Perhaps a role in the inevitable next installment of Pirates of the Caribbean is in the offing?

Wishing you a full and speedy recovery, Triple S!

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 9:48 pm
by Snaxx
See what the lousy Giants can do to you?
Get well soon!

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:59 am
by mellytu74
Continued good wishes on your road to recovery, SSS.

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 9:58 am
by geoffil
Get well soon!

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 8:07 pm
by a1mamacat
Yikes, hope things clear up soon.

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 11:20 pm
by Spock
Just read this-hope it turns out OK.

My dad (currently 75) dealt with something similar for about 3 years. Not sure what they called it-but he had double vision and wore a patch-on different eyes (I think). It was probably thyroid related.

They could not do surgery until it settled down on its own-so after a few years with the patch-he had surgery last December and a second one one in March.

The surgeries were successful.

The plus side is that people will definely notice you with the patch. And best of all-you can scare young children.

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:17 am
by gsabc
Double vision is definitely something to get looked at (pardon the pun) ASAP. Here's to a speedy recovery.

Yeah, gettin' old ain't for the weak and faint-hearted.

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:50 am
by Bob Juch
How about an update, SSS?

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 8:07 am
by silverscreenselect
Bob Juch wrote:How about an update, SSS?
I've been back at work for the last week (we're off today for the Veterans Day holiday) and I have occasional double vision episodes that last a second or two. I can take care of it by focusing on the one image so it's not a problem. But since a second or two might be bad if I'm driving, I've been using a patch to drive and limited where I go. Fortunately, it's only about three miles from home to the train station, so most days that's all the driving I do.

I think the muscle is healing fairly quickly since my lid seems to be opening more, which means I'll probably have to use the patch more often. I have a followup appointment December 4 with the neural ophthalmologist.

Re: Health Issues

Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 7:02 pm
by Bob Juch
silverscreenselect wrote:
Bob Juch wrote:How about an update, SSS?
I've been back at work for the last week (we're off today for the Veterans Day holiday) and I have occasional double vision episodes that last a second or two. I can take care of it by focusing on the one image so it's not a problem. But since a second or two might be bad if I'm driving, I've been using a patch to drive and limited where I go. Fortunately, it's only about three miles from home to the train station, so most days that's all the driving I do.

I think the muscle is healing fairly quickly since my lid seems to be opening more, which means I'll probably have to use the patch more often. I have a followup appointment December 4 with the neural ophthalmologist.
Good to hear you're coping. :D