Hi all! I'm so happy for all you who have had successful surgeries! Hopefully I'll belong to that club in a week. I had my pre-op exam yesterday and they dilated my eyes around 2:30pm and today at 10:30pm they are still dilated and I cannot see completely clearly. Is this normal? When will they return to normal? My surgery is scheduled for Monday morning and now I'm worried that I cannot drive to the town it's being done in. I'm also a little concerned that they did not telll me it's not a good idea to drive after the exam. I could see the road and cars ok but I got a little lost and could not even see my map! How scary....
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08-25-2005, 09:37 PM
#2
cremebrulee
Senior Member
(female)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 228
Re: How long does dilation last?
i had my eyes dilated around 4:00 PM. I was fine by around 7:00-8:00 PM. Did the doctor tell you how long your eyes will be dilated? It is only supposed to last for a few hours but in young children it can last up to 24 hours.
do not drive yourself to the surgery. although you will be able to see after the surgery. your vision will be hazy. You will also be very sensitive to light. For days after the surgery, I was very sensitive to light. I also could not keep my eyes open for long periods of time. I had to close my eyes to rest them. i tried driving one day and had to rest my eyes several times during the short drive. have someone drive you. it will also give them an opportunity to see the surgery on the television screen.
08-26-2005, 08:49 AM
#3
shelbi
Newbie
(female)
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 4
Re: How long does dilation last?
thanks for the reply. I did finally read somewhere on the internet that when they do the severe dilation, it can last up to 36 hours. My eyes are finally almost normal today so if anyone else has this happen, don't worry too much. I do wish they would have told me that. They seemed very informative about everything else. woo I can't wait!!
08-26-2005, 10:22 AM
#4
auntchilada
Senior Veteran
(female)
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 596
Re: How long does dilation last?
Quote:
Originally Posted by shelbi
thanks for the reply. I did finally read somewhere on the internet that when they do the severe dilation, it can last up to 36 hours. My eyes are finally almost normal today so if anyone else has this happen, don't worry too much. I do wish they would have told me that. They seemed very informative about everything else. woo I can't wait!!
Do you have brown eyes?
My eyes stayed dilated for at least 2 days. I actually called the doctor the day after my appt because I was worried. He asked if I have brown eyes and I do. He said that the stuff that makes your eyes dilated attaches to the pigment, so the more pigment you have, the longer they stay dilated.
08-26-2005, 03:14 PM
#5
cremebrulee
Senior Member
(female)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 228
Re: How long does dilation last?
i have brown eyes and teh dilation only lasted about 3-4 hours. maybe i did not have a severe dilation.
09-02-2005, 02:55 PM
#6
shelbi
Newbie
(female)
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 4
Re: How long does dilation last?
No actually I have light blue eyes. Anyway, surgery all over and I think all is well. Still a little blurry but I'll cover my complete experience in another thread.