Welcome to Motorhomefacts, we are a thriving motorhome community (Largest in Europe). Why Not JOIN NOW and get instant access to more of the website. It costs nothing to join and only takes a few minutes. We have 200,000 different people visiting our site monthly and this amount of motorhomers in one place guarantees a fast response to any questions you may have. We also have unique facilities not found elsewhere such as our Online Logbook, stopover tracker, Motorhome directory with Ebay type feedback and the largest repository of motorhome campsites reviews found anywhere
Isn't it amazing what they can do for your eyes now.
I don't think most of us realise just how much we take our sight for granted when it's working properly.
Hope thing's improve for you Chris.
Apparently the first corneal transplant was in 1905, according to this Wikipedia article, which I think is pretty amazing. The DSEK version that I had, where only some of the layers of the cornea are replaced is more recent and must use quite sophisticated microtechnology.
The RNIB website has the following to say about postoperative progress:
"When the eyepad is removed after the operation you may find that your vision will be blurred. This is quite normal. Your eye may also be a bit watery and sensitive to light. You will be given eye drops to use, some of which you may require for months and years. The drops help to reduce the likelihood that your body will reject the transplant. It can take more than a year for the transplant to heal completely.
A few months after the operation, it may be necessary to have either spectacles or contact lenses to obtain the best possible vision from the transplant. However, your vision may fluctuate as the transplant heals."
So basically you need to give it time - up to a year!
I have considered a corneal transplant as my right cornea has been damaged from repeated corneal ulcers which have left the surface uneven - a bit like a ploughed field!
I deceided not to proceed as the virus that causes the ulcers will still be in my body and could (probably will) damage the new cornea leaving me back in the same position in a few years.
I had a routine appointment with the surgeon again on Tuesday and he is still pleased with the way the graft has taken. I can now discontinue the anti-biotic drops as my eye has healed sufficiently for infection not to be a risk.
I continue with the two hourly during the day steroid drops to prevent rejection and in addition I've been given two other sort of drops to try to speed up the process of my eye clearing. I think the doc was perhaps expecting it to be clearing better by now but doesn't seem worried about it so I'm not worrying either.
Makems, thanks for the RNIB link. I think though the information they gave about recovery relates to the full thickness corneal grafts, where the entire cornea is replaced. This has to be stitched in position and individual stitches are often removed over time and the shape of the cornea might shift, possibly causing problems with astigmatism. My graft was partial and lots less invasive. Only the layer of the cornea that I need (the epithileum which pumps away excess fluid) has been replaced. I started out with blurred / misty vision, in both eyes. I now have the same blurred / misty vision in my right eye and extremely misty vision in my left. It is like trying to look out of a completely misted up window, but what I can see depends on the direction of the light. If I'm looking towards light I can't see my hand when it's six inches in front of my face. When the light is behind me I can see my hand and count my fingers if they are held against something of a contrasting colour / tone. What I'm trying to do here of course is work out some sort of objective way of measuring improvement, as at times it doesn't seem any better than when they took the dressing off in the extremely brightly lit hospital ward. At other times I think I can see an improvement but I'm not sure how much is just a change in lighting conditions. Next appointment is 5th Jan so I'll see what is said then. Meanwhile I'm getting used to mainly one-eyed vision or or using sunglasses.
You could create something like the old television test card.
They used horizontal and vertical lines that were drawn with various degrees of closeness. This enabled the tv technician to adjust the set to get the best focus.
Try not to be too ambitious, perhaps using broad felt-tip black lines to begin with, getting closer and closer together. The gaps initially too close for you to detect but as you sight clears over time, you may be able to detect the finer gaps.
Just an idea... I hope it may be of some help.
Alan
When I was in junior school teaching, I often complained to the headteacher that I wasn't making much progress with the kiddies. He would respond by saying, "Ah, you judge the children everyday so you see little improvement. I judge them maybe every fortnight or month, and I do see great progress."
The head's comments I found very reassuring. I learnt to be more patient, and started making my own judgments less frequently.
So Chris, be patient and please stop expecting progress from one day to the next.
Yeh, I know... easier said than done!
______________________________________________________________ ........... Best wishes from UncleNorm x
........... Yesterday is history; tomorrow is a mystery; today is a gift!
Letīs keep fighting with Mavis, Ray and all those in need!!
.......... http://rayandmave.wordpress.com/
In January I had two hospital appointments but saw a different, rather taciturn, consultant as mine had had an accident and was on sick leave. Mistiness continues as before but I was just told to carry on with the drops until the next appointment.
On Friday I had yet another appointment with another consultant (mine still off sick). This one was brilliant, she did a scan of my eye and could see the donor cells were not attaching themselves and operating as they should. Basically, the graft has failed, as I had suspected for some time, but it hasn't been rejected.
The plan now is another appointment in four weeks, either with my original surgeon or, if he's still on leave, with the one I've just seen. She feels it would not be a good idea to repeat the operation with another partial graft (DSEK) but if I want further surgery it would be best to have the full thickness corneal graft (PK). She did add, as I suppose they have to, that any eye surgery carries a 1 in 1000 risk of infection leading to the loss of the eye.
I was of course disappointed, to say the least, but I was also relieved that the problem was finally acknowledged. If I have the PK it really will take about a year to eighteen months to recover vision properly. At the moment the eye with the graft doesn't give me any useful vision. My visual acuity with the other eye is 6/18, which means that from a distance of 6 metres I can see what a person with 'normal' vision can see from 18 metres.
I've allowed myself a day and a half to feel miserable about all this but that doesn't do any good so I'm now being positive. We have a trip to France planned for April. We thought we'd try to fit two in as we usually go in September, but hopefully I'll have just had my second new cornea by the end of the summer so a UK tour then might be better.
Sorry to see things haven't gone well with the transplant and that you may well need further surgery. I hope that whatever descision you make will be the right one for you and your sight will soon be a bit better. Keep cheerful!
Sorry to see things haven't gone well with the transplant and that you may well need further surgery. I hope that whatever descision you make will be the right one for you and your sight will soon be a bit better. Keep cheerful!
Thanks MrsW
We had an excellent service recently from NHS Direct, by the way. We were staying with my son's family in Dorset when I ran out of the steroid eye drops. I had taken what I thought was a spare bottle but it turned out to be the anti-biotic drops which I no longer need (similar name, similar box). NHS Direct were able to give us details of a late night chemist in Dorchester and tell us what information they would need in order to let me have the medication without a prescription.
I hope the government's proposals for changing the service don't ruin what we already have.
don't get down. Absolutely anything to do with your eyes is a slow process. I've had trouble in the past. It's human nature to want a quick fix but eyes are so sensitive that the slightest messing with them can take ages to settle down.
If it ultimately doesn't map out then surely it can be done again? It's not a drawn out process surely.
I have been through the trauma of injections into the side of an eye so I know how ragged off you must be. Stick with it and (know it's easier to say than do ) try to be positive.
I'm glad NHS Direct were able to help you when you needed assistance recently Chris. I used to work for them as a Senior Nurse Advisor and it was a fairly thankless job so it's good to hear praise for them. I too hope that the government don't ruin the good bits of the NHS. Some bits don't work too well but others are superb and need protecting.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
All times are GMT + 1 Hour Page 2 of 3Goto page Previous1, 2, 3Next
France
or using sunglasses. 
Letīs keep fighting with Mavis, Ray and all those in need!! 
