LyndseyG Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Apologies in advance, this will be a long post. Family history first: My mum, sister and I have Congenital Cataracts. It runs through my mum's side of the family. Back when sis and I were about 5 they decided to remove our lenses and we wore very strong glasses for many years. Thrn when I was about 15 they gave me contacts, my sister got implant lenses. All was well for about 20 years. Now: A few months ago I noticed that my right eye kept fogging up. My right has always been worse than my left. At first I thought something was wrong with my lens - they do wear out, but the problem didn't go away, so I went to my optician who has taken care of me all these years. After trying a few things, like leaving out my right lens for a month and changing the type of lens I wear, with no change, he decided that it was time to refer me back to the original team who used to care for me when I was a kid. I saw the doc Thursday. Now for some Eye Biology 101: Fliuid enters the cornea and is pumped out again by cells at the back of the cornea, and the fluid can also evaporate through the front of the eye. There are a finite number of these pumping cells, which degenerate over time. They do not replenish... once they're gone, they're gone. The doc told me that when I had the surgery all those years ago they removed a load of my cells. This means that I had even less than normal to begin with, and over the years as my other cells have degenerated, the ones left behind are gretting less and less able to pump the fluid out. The fluid then hangs around longer in my cornea and it's this that is causing the ffoggyness. He told me that in time I will need a cornea transplant. We don't yet know when as it depends on how quickly my remaining cells degenerate. He took an ultrascan of my eye, to see how many cells I have, and in six months he will take another and compare the two to see how quick things are changing. A few weeks ago my sis had a transplant for the exact same problem. She had two years from diagnosis to surgery. Now, I have to wait.... :( 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babycat Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 That's awful to hear - does that usually mean it could lead to blindness? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Analog Cub Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 :( 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laughedatbytime Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Scary stuff...sending good wishes your way... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Your_Lion Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 So sorry to hear about this, Lyndsey. Sounds pretty scary. I'll be hoping the best for you 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 That's awful to hear - does that usually mean it could lead to blindness? That's what the transplant will hopefully prevent... though any surgery has risks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 Scary stuff...sending good wishes your way... So sorry to hear about this, Lyndsey. Sounds pretty scary. I'll be hoping the best for you Thank you guys! :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken hawk Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 LYNDSEYG How is your sisters eyesight doing these days ? To soon to tell ? Im thinking everything will turn out allright! Positive thinking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Principled Man Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 The good news is that corneal surgeries and transplants are among the most successful medical procedures. :ebert: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babycat Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 That's awful to hear - does that usually mean it could lead to blindness? That's what the transplant will hopefully prevent... though any surgery has risks... I do hope it goes well for you. Will be thinking of you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RushCanuck Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Sorry to hear this LyndseyG. I'm sending you best wishes and positive thoughts that this surgery will be successful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddy Lee Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Sorry to hear... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narps Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 So sorry to hear about this, Lyndsey. Sounds pretty scary. I'll be hoping the best for you ^^^^ This exactly.... :( 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Analog Grownup Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 (edited) I hope everything will be okay for you. Edit: forgot how to make the hugging emoticon Edited February 22, 2015 by The Analog Grownup 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babycat Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 I hope everything will be okay for you. Edit: forgot how to make the hugging emoticon This: : hug2 : - put the ': :' right next to the word to make :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 Thank you, everyone for your kind comments! :hi: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 LYNDSEYG How is your sisters eyesight doing these days ? To soon to tell ? Im thinking everything will turn out allright! Positive thinking. She only had the procedure about 4 weeks ago... they have signed her off work for another two as her eye is being a little slow to heal enough for her to return. She says it's frustrating because her eye goes in and out of focus... apparently it will do that for another 2 years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 The good news is that corneal surgeries and transplants are among the most successful medical procedures. :ebert: Yes, and plus at least I know what's wrong with it now. :) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
x1yyz Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Yipes! Best wishes that you get the transplant and it all goes well. And a reminder to people to sign up to become organ donors! Lyndsey will get her transplant because of the kindness of a donor. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 Yipes! Best wishes that you get the transplant and it all goes well. And a reminder to people to sign up to become organ donors! Lyndsey will get her transplant because of the kindness of a donor. Thank you! And yes, I am already grateful to my donor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EagleMoon Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Glad she's doing well. Hopefully the focusing thing won't be too annoying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narps Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 Yipes! Best wishes that you get the transplant and it all goes well. And a reminder to people to sign up to become organ donors! Lyndsey will get her transplant because of the kindness of a donor.Indeed. I am one. Someone and anyone can have at me if there are any good parts left after I take my last breath... :cheers: 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 Glad she's doing well. Hopefully the focusing thing won't be too annoying. Thank you. We hope so too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LyndseyG Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 Turns out I got it a bit wrong... it was one year from diagnosis to surgery, not two... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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