Well, I am sitting here much relieved as to what is causing the streaking effect in the operated eye.

Dr. Teague said the new lens has some tiny wrinkles in it. There is nothing wrong with the cornea and everything looks fine. He said that this could resolve itself, but if not, it is easily fixable. He would take me back into another exam room where the laser is located, and just kind of iron those wrinkles out with the laser! I am one relieved camper this a.m.! I was so worried about what had caused this. He said he didn't like to do it while I'm on steroid drops, so this might happen a week or so later.

He also assured me again that the AcrySof is the best lens going now, so unlike Crystalenses or other types, and that even Pres. Bush (Not sure if it was the father or son) had this type lens implant. He also said he and any other eye Dr. would want this type if they needed it also.

I'm convinced and feeling much better than I did when I got up this a.m.

Truly a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all-

Tony

Hi, Is it possible to tell me where this Doctor is? He sounds very professional and knowledgeable. Thanks ettna

Happy Thanksgiving Tony & Barb,
That is truly good news! Didn't think anyone would be around today, but wanted to check in anyway. Yes, there is a lot to be thankful for today, and always. Always good to get up and be able to see. Sometimes I forget, but back in 1986 it wasn't so easy. I was afraid to open my eyes in the a.m., afraid I might be blind when I woke up. Today I am truly thankful I open my eyes each day and can see. It really is a miracle that I can see so well after all those surgeries.
And thankful for friends like you.
Wishing you and Barb very blessed Thanksgiving.
Faith

Hello, Faith & ettna-

We do have much to be thankful for, Faith. Just having Barb in my life is far more than I deserve, but so thankful for her!


Thanks, Faith, and wishing you, ettna and our family a Happy Thanksgiving too.

Tony

How are you doing today, Tony? Hope you & Barb had a nice Thansgiving, and Barb was able to enjoy her dinner. Heard on the news today that the first T.G. was in Texas!!! I always thought it was up here in my neck of the woods!
How's the vision doing today? Any improvement or is that streaky thing still hanging around? Hope it resolves on it's own. Hope you were able to enjoy your day and all the football on TV, with prettty good vision, no ear-ringing, or facial spasms.
Guess all the ladies are busy shopping today, or visiting with family.
Have a great night.
Faith :)

Howdy, Faith-- I've been having server problems, and am finally getting back to reply.

I sure didn't know the first one happened here! Guess we're to blame for more than just the president!:D

The glaring streaks are still there when looking at a light. He can laser it and iron those wrinkles right now. May get him to do my face too!:D

The ears are good, and I didn't have a reaction from the Cerefolin today! I feel hopeful I can use it to keep the face trimmer down and be okay by it! That would be a great Christmas gift right there! Wonder where our other folks are? Probably hung over from all that eating!

We got our tree today at Wally World. It's going to be a white one!

Well, I'll scat for now while the server is still letting me post.

Have a great night too, Faith-

Tony

Tony, I am very glad that the doctor reassured you and everything is going to be OK. He saw you on Thanksgiving?

My eyes are just as crappy and schmutzy. They are very crusty. The right one has a little bit of green stuff coming out of it, and both are watery and a little red. That is a cause for concern for me. I am watching to make sure it doesn't get worse. I have an appointment for my regular eye check on tuesday anyway. He's usually there on saturdays but he's taken the four day weekend for Thanksgiving, and he deserves it! I don't need to bother him at home for this. The warm compresses do make it feel better.

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.

Things have been kinda crazy around here. Thanksgiving was not so great, because my mom wasn't feeling well. My whole family has an obesity problem (which is why I am trying to lose weight now, before I get that bad). My mom is going to be having weight loss surgery sometime after the new year. She's in the process of getting approved for it now, but they make you go through a whole bunch of tests first. Well, she has been having some trouble breathing because her chest is so heavy that she can't get a good deep breath. We went to see my grandmother at the nursing home yesterday and one of the nurses decided that she didn't like the way my mom looked and she checked her pulse-ox level and it was very low. She's not getting enough oxygen. So my dad had her at the doctor this morning and she has to be on oxygen in the house until she has the surgery and some of the weight on her chest is reduced. With the oxygen, her pulse-ox rate is fine and she can breathe better. I hope this isn't a reason to not approve her for the surgery, because that is what will actually make her better. It's the only thing that will help. She's tried and tried to lose weight the natural way and she can't. I'm afraid of what will happen if they don't approve her. The surgeon seems to think they will approve her for it. She saw her last week after her sleep apnea test, and the guy who did the test noticed that mom wasn't breathing well. So mom told the surgeon about that, but she didn't seem to think it would preclude her from getting the surgery. I saw my cousin last night, and she said that they only worry about having to take the breathing tube out and get the patient to breathe on their own after surgery, and it just might take a little longer than usual to do that with my mom. But she doesn't think that would stop her from having surgery. She said that people with breathing problems go under anesthesia and have surgery all the time. By the way, my cousin is an anesthesiologist. She wants me to come and visit her and her husband sometime soon. They live in Memphis. I always worry that I will get sick on vacation, but I don't think I have to worry this time! Her and her husband are both doctors! I think I'd like to possibly go during the spring, before it gets too hot down there.

Morning, Sis Elyse-
We're so sorry to hear of your mom's problems. Bless her heart, we will keep her in prayer here. I don't guess they've ever said her thyroid was out of focus, or you would have probably said. Sometimes, that can cause a person to be heavy or too thin in other cases. Anyway, we hope she stays okay and can get that surgery to help her get better. Here lately, I'm trying to keep some weight on to appear healthy and not look like an AIDS case! For years, I was heavy weighing 200 lbs. at one time and only about 5'8"! Now, I can lose 2 lbs. in a day's time if I don't eat as much. That's really weird. I think my metabolism must be changing since I'm aging.

Well, believe it or not, I had some schmutz in my operated eye this a.m., for the first time in God knows! I've been kind of skipping some warm compresses at times, thinking I'm getting over this, but I can see that won't work. I'm supposed to be fitted for glasses next Wed., I think, and I don't need to waltz in there with schmutzy eyes!

That's neat having doctors in the family! I bet your cousin is a real "knockout"! Sorry about that--I couldn't resist!:D They've sure come a long way with anesthesia since I was a kid. Back in the 50's about all they had was ether. When I had my tonsils out at age 10, I woke up puking my toenails up all that day! It sure was bad for causing nausea. These days, the newer stuff isn't near that bad about that. Plus I recall it being a bad trip. It didn't produce the more pleasant state of unconsciousness as the new stuff--like being out on "coke" probably!

Well, not much else to say for now, so I'll scat. I hope my server stays up today. Been having some problems lately with the internet slowing, stopping, then gradually picking back up again.

Hi Tony, Elyse, Faith, and Michelle!!

I've been catching up by reading all of your past posts and I'm glad to hear that everyone had a pretty good Thanksgiving.

Tony, I'm was sorry to read that you've been having problems with your new lens but I'm glad that your doctor seems so positive about getting everything sorted out. He sounds really nice to see you on Thanksgiving Day.

I think that we are going to put up our Christmas tree tonight. We have a tree from Wally World too! Ours is green though!

Elyse, I'm sorry that the eyes don't waant to give you a break. I really really really wish that the doctors could come up with a cure for dry eyes. There are so many people who would benefit from it.

I wanted to ask you a question about the steroid drops that you use. Right now are you just using the ointment on your eyes or do you also put in steriod drops? One of my doctors told me that I could use Alrex for months at a time, but then another doctor said that I shouldn't. I'm very very concerned about doing permanent damage to my eyes by using all of the drops and ointments. My eyes felt really good when I used the Lotemax and Alrex for a couple of weeks, but I worried about the side effects the whole time. Has your doctor went over the risks with you? I know that your pressure is fine but can't the steroids also cause cataracts? I am NOT asking to worry you... I just wondered if you knew anything about this.

BTW - I'm so proud of you for the weight loss. It sounds like you are doing a great job sticking to the program! I really hope that everything works out OK for your mom. I'll include her in my prayers. Please keep us updated on her progress with the surgery.

Hi Faith and Michelle! Hope that you two are still enjoying the holiday weekend! Did any of you guys get out and go shopping on Black Friday? We went once a couple of years ago and it was insane! I just stayed home yesterday and watched movies, but it was fun!

Hugs to everone!
Missy

Thanks for all the encouragement Missy! I am pretty proud of myself too. :) It also helps to have a good support system, which I do have. My family, friends, everybody at work, they're all cheering me on.

In response to your question, I use both steroid drops and ointment. I use Flarex drops and FML ointment. My doctor has definitely gone over the risks with me, but I have decided that it is worth it to make my eyes feel better. My pressure is very very good, so I don't have to worry about Glaucoma. I know steroids can cause Cataracts too, but given my options, it would not be the worst thing in the world to me if I had to have Cataract surgery at an early age. But so far my eyes look perfect as far as that goes. And God knows I get enough eye check-ups to catch it really early.

Tony, you really made me LOL about my cousin being a real "knockout"! It is very neat to have doctors in the family. My uncle the Pharmacist is very helpful too.

Anesthesia has certainly come a very long way. All of the times I have had a general, I have not gotten nauseous or sick once. Some people do, but it's definitely different than Ether! Ether is just plain scary! My cousin was jokingly talking about what would happen to her new husband if he ever decided to cheat. She said that she would not have to shoot him, because she has an extensive knowledge of phamaceuticals. :D

As I said, my cousin and her husband want me to come visit them, but I always worry about getting sick while I am on vacation. (since it usually happens that way!) But I can feel confident that I would be fine, staying in the house with two doctors. :) I just hope they are good friends with a great ophthalmologist. :) I do want to go, so we'll have to see when Spring Break from college and work comes out this year, and if my cousin has the time for a visitor at that time.

Howdy, Sis Purple! I'm glad you got a charge out of the knockout thing. Yeah, that ether is a nightmarish concoction. In the old days, you could walk into any hospital, and smell it all over the place! That was funny about what she said if her husband cheated. She could mix him up an ether cocktail!:D I would definitely go for it, regarding visiting them. You can't beat taking a vacation with two doctors!

I'm having more crazy burning of my eyes lately, not just the operated one either. That hasn't been a problem for me in years! I have something that can stop it pretty fast, this eye wash they sent home with me from the surgery. I've never had anything but more burning from tears, but this stuff I guess, rinses the offending "fluids" out of the eye that's causing the burning in the 1st place. It's called Eye Stream by Alcort. Pretty good stuff.

Well, that's my wind for now.;)

Hi everyone,
Hey Tony, is that Eye Stream something OTC? Could've used some of that today as my eyes have been burning like crazy (my fault...cleaning frenzy today...need to find stuff that has less fumes). Glad tha cerefolin (sp) is not bothering you today. Sounds like you're doing pretty well.
Hi Elyse, Sorry your mom's having problems with her breathing. And glad that nurse was so observant. I'll be sending prayers her way, too. And I don' think I said so before, but we're all proud of you for working so hard to lose weight. You've done so well with it too, and know it can be a lot of hard work. My mom & sister always had to fight their weight, so know it isn't always easy.
Hope that schmutzy eye thing gets better for you, and Tony.
Hi Michelle and Missy, too. Hope you enjoyed the holiday and didn't have any problems with the eyes.
Check back later...
Faith

Howdy, Gang! That's the schumtz when a key ring breaks, Elyse! I'm glad you found the keys.

I've never seen Eye Stream in a store, not that it may not be there--could've overlooked it. I've been skipping some warm compresses lately, but I'm getting back with the plan. I'm afraid this stuff will worsen if I don't hang with it.

Well, I don't know much, so will scat for now.

Hi guys!

Faith, thanks for the kind words. :) My weight loss is up to 23 pounds since the end of July. I think I just have to stick with Jenny Craig and Curves and I'll lose as much as I want to. But what worries me is that losing it isn't really the hardest part. It's keeping it off. I think that if I continue to exercise at least 4 or 5 days a week after I have reached my goal weight, I should be able to maintain it. And of course, I need to eat a healthy diet. You know something? What they say about consuming three low fat dairy servings a day helping you to lose weight is really true. I started losing a lot more when I started drinking an extra glass of fat free or 1% milk.

My mom will be seeing the pulmonary specialist sometime this week. She saw our family nurse practicioner on friday, who prescribed the Oxygen. She already has an appointment with the pulmonary doctor for this coming wednesday anyway, as part of the preliminary tests for the surgery. But they are trying to get her an appointment for monday. My mom has known him for a long time through working at the hospital, so we are hoping that they can get her a sooner appointment. The nurse practicioner (who knows a lot more than the doctors do sometimes!) said that she doesn't think this will stop my mom from having the surgery. She just thinks it's something they need to be aware of during the procedure, and they might have to keep her on a breathing tube for a day or so.

My eyes are very very schmutzy. I was putting in some of my steroid drops before, but I feel like what I should really be putting in is anti-biotic drops. They are really red and itchy. I have an appointment on tuesday.

Tony, the warm compresses have been helping me feel better for a little while, so maybe they will help you too.

Evenin', Elyse-

You WOULD NOT WANT to have been in my location today!! A VERY BAD DUST STORM!!!! I've not seen one this bad in years! I hate that mess! When we lived in Breckenridge, Barb's home town, about 65 miles n.e. of here, you seldom saw dust, but being closer to West Texas here, it happens! My eyes feel surprisingly well to have been out in that mess, going to Walgreen's, etc. A bit schmutzy, but really no worse than usual. I guess they are more climatized to this area than I thought. You can smell that dirt, and I just fear for how much of it has entered the computer today!

That's mighty good on the weight loss. I lost it too, but how, I don't know, unless getting older did it.

That's good about your mom getting checked out good prior to the surgery. We will hold her in prayers & our thoughts.

I'll be using that compress tonight for shootin' shore! I'm going to breathe in the moisture from it too. The Weather Channel had our humidity at an unhealthy low of 10%! That is way too dry! You can't even spit in that kind of dryness!:D

Well, old dusty will now fade and see ya'll (through the dust screen) later.

Hi everyone!!!

I've been trying to catch up on all the posts, so I hope I didn't miss anything! I just got back from my Thanksgiving travel late last night. It was a nice time, but VERY busy. Lots of time in the car going from here to there. We had Thanksgiving at my boyfriends grandparents in SC, then came back to his house in NC, then traveled to another part of NC for a wedding, etc, etc. We finally made it back to DC last night around 10:30, so I am beat! With the exception of the car ride down (his parents had the heat on!!! :eek: ), my eyes pretty much behaved themselves. I told my boyfriend that he better get used to bundling up for car trips, because the heat is a BIG no no. I hate to request no heat when there are others in the car, but when it is just me and him, he can suck it up! :) I have another trip up to NYC next weekend with his family, so I REALLY hope that I don't have too many problems. I guess I could just keep my eyes shut or something when we are in the car.

Tony - Glad to hear that your doc figured out the problem with your lens. I hope that it works itself out and that he doesn't need to laser it. Although, it is nice to know that he knows exactly how to fix it! Any news on Barb's teeth? Sorry if you already mentined it, but I just missed it!

Elyse - CONGRATS ON THE WEIGHT LOSS!!! That is very wise of you to try to get things under control now since obesity runs in your family. I hear it is alot easier to lose weight when you are younger. It is also good to get started on a healthy lifestyle now...working out, eating right, etc. I never used to do any of that until I met my boyfriend. He eats really healthy, and at first, it was hard to get used to, but now I LOVE some of the stuff we make, and it is good for me too! I started working out a few years ago, but haven't been lately, because last time I went to the gym, the fans really bothered me eyes! I just need to suck it up and go though. Exercise is good for alot of stuff including stress, which I could certainly use a break from!

I'll also be praying for your mom. I hope that all works out with her breathing troubles and that she is still able to have the surgery that she is planning.

Oh, and I wanted to mention something about the goggles you've been thinking about looking into. On another dry eye board I've been too, alot of people talk about "Panoptx Eyewear". They have some stuff that look just like wrap around sunglasses, but have sides to them and foam pieces that fit to your face to lock in moisture and keep out wind and stuff. You might want to check them out.

Hi Faith and Missy! Hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Do you guys shake your flax seed oil before taking it? Mine says on the bottle to shake for 20 seconds before using. Yet, I just noticed that last week! Anyway, I got to the bottom of my bottle this weekend, and when I finally started to shake it, it looked different...ALOT thicker :confused: !!! So I wonder if all the good stuff had sunk to the bottom and I got a super mega-dose of it this weekend!!

Well, I'm off for now. I hope everyone is having a great day!!!

Michelle :)

Hi All
Hey Michelle! Glad you made it thru all the road trips safe & sound. Sounds like it was a great time. You know, I've never read the label till 2 minutes ago on the flaxseed oil...it does say to shake it! Oops!. It didn't seem any different after I shook it though! The first bottle I had, had the actual flaxseeds in the bottom, so just assumed you didn't shake it...I just threw them out at the end. This bottle is just the oil. I look for the one that has the most mg of omega 3 in it.
Tony, hope all the dust doesn't bother you're eyes. Be careful not to get that stuff in the eye after the surgery.
Elyse, I know what you mean. Eating healthy for life is hard. But it makes such a difference in how you feel. If I stay away from chocolate & sweets, I dont even want them after awhile, but once I start to eat them, I'm addicted all over again. It's wierd. But eating healthy, reduces cravings, and just feel so much better.
Hope you all have a good night & the eyes are doing good, or at least a little better.
Faith

Hello, folks-

The eye is fine, as the incision is healing, according to my Dr.
I wish I had the name of the Flax oil you use, Faith. I might could locate it locally, and give it a shoot.;) The pills, as you may recall, flared my tinnitus, probably due to the additives they put in there.

So far, thank God, I'm rid of those facial jumps, taking the Cerefolin!! That is one heavy, heavy load of nervousness and stress lifted! I just hope it continues to keep that stopped. I just take them about two days, off two days, then back on. I guess that's silly, but I just want enough to help, but not be toxic if such as that could be, which I doubt. This tells me that maybe I'm old enough that I was a bit deficient on those B vitamins, and this is filling in the gaps.

Hi Tony, I got my flaxseed oil at Whole Foods. Don't know if you've got those in your town, but may have other "organic" grocery stores in your area. GNC or a place like that might even have it. Its called spectrum essentials organic flaxseed oil and it's in a refrigerated case at the store. IT really doesn't taste too bad, although downing a tablespoon of oil is kind of weird. But supposed to help with lots of things, and it does seem to help the dryness in the eyes. (Might even work better if I could remember to take it everyday!)
Sure is great that the Cerefolin is helping you so well. And I must say you do seem a lot more "chipper" since you started it. I think a lot of us get low on the b vitamins, and don't even know it. Hard to eat right, too, to get all those vitamin we need to function well.
Hope the dust clears out.
Faith:)

Yo, Faith! Thanks for passing along the oil name. I "think" we may have a GNC here, or at least, I've heard of them.

I shore do feel better with that "Chinese Water Torture" in the form of facial spasms lifted off me. Gosh, that would make anybody not feel upbeat, not just me! I always tell Barb, when something like that is on me, "A dog shouldn't have this!" And I'm right. With better vision, and today even these OLD glasses have fit well, and I'm seeing so sharp, and some of this other off me, I may get as frisky as a teenager on here!:D Life quality is a key factor here. Take off some of the irritants, you feel younger!

The dust was gone today, and a blue sky, but a cold wind! It will land at freezing or a tad below tonight. We'll be snug in here though, and won't mind it at all.

That's my wind for now.