Fozzie's Lousy, horrible, No-good day(s) Foz Surgery-Post 52

[SirFozzie]

On Sunday, the vision in my right eye went blurred. This was alarming, but similar but not so bad things had happened before (I suffere from iriitis, or inflammation of the iris, due to a condition called Undifferentiated Spondylorarthroapthy, a form of arthritis that can affect joints as well as the eyes). My first thought was to call urgent care, but at 4:35 PM urgent care had closed for the day so since Urgent care was closed when I called them, I just made a note to call the eye doctor first thing monday morning. However, over night on SUnday in to monday, things worsened, my mouth went completely dry, and I suffered pounding/pressure in and arround the right eye and below it in the jawline.

Well, I suffered throguh the night, and was talking to family on the phone early Monday morning, and suffered a bad woozy spell.. something like 45 seconds. I told them that I needed help (I was alone in the house at the time) and they said they would come and get me.

That's when, in my addled state, I did something dumb, I decided that I would get up and make sure the door was unlocked for them to get in. About 20 minutes later, my folks found me lying on the floor slouched against the bed, and semi-coherent. I tried to tell them to help me back into bed, and they said "Stay there, we're calling the ambulance."

So a few minutes later, I was taking my first ambulance ride of the day to the local hospital. They do an EKG and notice some changes. They also try to give me some baby asprin to try to regulate my system.. it didn't go well. and by not going well I mean "two catch basins filled before I was done", not going well.

So, since the problems were two fold (the EKG changes and the eye issues/wooziness/dizzyness), it was decided some time later to send me up to Mass General Hospital (cue Ambulance ride #2), who are staffed by some really good doctors, but.. it's not exactly the most calm place, so I'm lying there, trying to relax/sleep (mission impossible), and finally they find a bay. The good news is that that the cardiac enzymes test is negative, so that's one problem resolved, but the eye isssue is worrying them. But luckily, thjey have a world class eye place right next door in Mass Eye and Ear.. so at 8:45 PM or so they discharge me from the ER at Mass General and wheel me via a corridor over to Mass Eye and Ear.

So, they diagnose me as having an "actue Glaucoma attack" where the pressure on the eye is the cause for the other issues I was facing (dizzyness, upset stomach, etcetera).. now, when you go to the eye doctor and they do that little puff test with the blue/purple ring.. anything over 30 is troubling. I was at 65, which is more then troubling. it's more like OMGWTF. So they immediately start me on eye drops and pills to try to lower the level.. I'm struggling at this point (45 or so hours with no sustained sleeps, 45 minutes or so at a time tops), but I'm trying to soldier through.. but I'm really starting to fade, basically, they're giving me a regimen every ten minutes,while I'm lying on a gurney trying to rest in between.. I think my lament was "Why do you keep waking me up and setting my eyes on fire? Lemme Sleep!"

So, the pressure doesn't go down measurably, which means the iris is COMPLETELY closed, so they call the head of Mass Eye and Ear's Glaucoma department, and they decide to prep me for a procedure at 2:30 am. Basically, they find a part of the iris, and subject it to a series of laser shots to pop it open and to allow it to drain. Trust me, it's a really really REALLY hinky feeling when they do so, your eye kinda pops with each shot.

So after about 15-20 shots, they do it, and send me back down to the waiting room for more drops, and it looked like the pressure was dropping, so they finally let us go home at approximately 4 am. Trust me, I was so overwrought with lack of sleep that I woke up at 7:30 and simulatenously wanted to eat, sleep and use the facilities, and I just sat there, like a computer that had "locked up" with too many conflicting commands at one time, my body fighting with itself.

So I've had two follow up appts Tuesday and today, and while the pressure's down, they are afraid this is only a temporary thing, that the hole in the eye could re-close and cause another attack, so they've scheduled me for surgery on Monday where they will make a small incision in my eye to open the iris and to break up scar tissue from the various attacks.

So.. any thoughts/prayers/karma going this way would be greatly appreciated.

[JediKooter]

Wow man, that is pretty wild. I'd say, just try and take easy as much as possible and get as much rest as you can. Good luck with the surgery and a speedy recovery.

[CrimsonFox]

eeek yikes i've had various blur things in the morning which immediately clearthemselves, but nothing that causes faintness.

Very sorry. Hang in there. I wonder how much the lack of sleep thing helped make everything else worse.

[CleBrownsfan]

Good thoughts are with you Foz.... hang in there man!

[oykib]

You have my thoughts and prayers, man!

[PurdueBrad]

F*ck Fozzie, hang in there. That sounds awful. Positive vibes coming your way.

[GrantDawg]

Hey, think about you. Get better, buddy!

[Draft Dodger]

wow, hang in there man

[DaddyTorgo]

Fuck man! Jeezus!!

Hang in there - hope you're able to rest and at least put it out of your mind a little bit?

[Sweed]

Wow, that's a bit scary. You'll be in my thoughts and prayers.

[terpkristin]

Wow, that sounds insanely scary.

Definitely sending good thoughts your way. Hang in there, Foz!
/tk

[King of New York]

That sounds truly brutal...good thoughts sent your way!

[PilotMan]

That is really scary stuff man! Like everyone else, I'm sending good thoughts your way.

[claphamsa]

I dont pray... but if i thought it would help i would start! good people shouldnt suffer...

[BYU 14]

That is one helluva scary experience. Thoughts and prayers coming your way, hang in there and hopefully you get some much needed rest!!

[spleen1015]

Good luck man.

[AnalBumCover]

Hang in there bro.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Whoa. That's like ... damn.

Thoughts & prayers go with you.

[Kodos]

Yeesh. Hang in there, Foz. Sounds like a horrid experience.

[stevew]

Man, that sounds rough. Hopefully the insurance end doesn't hurt you any more than the pain you've already suffered. Might not be a bad idea to try to find a weed hookup, as I hear it is supposed to really mitigate glaucoma. Scary times, I hope they figure out the issues so they can be mitigated.

[JPhillips]

SOunds like that was the best of a lot of bad options though. Take care. My own run ins with the ER over the past two years make me really sympathetic.

[CrimsonFox]

keep us posted....even if it's just a need to chat with people.

[MacroGuru]

Prayers are with you.

[Lathum]

Sounds brutal man, stay strong!

[Wolfpack]

Prayers and best wishes, Foz.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Hang in there, Foz.

That sounds horrible. As someone who also suffers from the occasional bout of iritis - I've had it about 6-7 times over the last 12 years, including once particularly nasty bout of it that required a steriod injection into my eyeball - I know how painful this sort thing can be.

[Butter]

I knew it was bad when you said "first ambulance ride of the day".

Get well soon.

[chesapeake]

Scary story. Get better!

[DanGarion]

Dammit, that doesn't sound good. Good luck.

[booradley]

Wow - I certainly will be wishing for the best!

[SirFozzie]

Thanks all. I'm still not 100% emotionally/physically from Monday/Tuesday, but that's just sleep deprivation and getting my body back on an even keel. I try to joke that my friends/doctors/family are all involved with an "Conspiracy to keep Foz from sleeping", as between making sure I take all the drops/pills they've proscribed, covering my ass with the insurance companies, and dealing with worried family members and arranging for rides to the various appointments, it can get rather frustrating when all I want to do is curl up in a ball and pretend the world doesn't exist for the next little bit.

But hopefully, if all goes well on Monday, a week later I'll be at least at a decent place with my vision (I'm wearing a "pirate" eyepatch right now to filter out the blurred signals from the right eye, afterthe surgery I'll have a metal one for a couple days, and then always have my glasses on or a night shield while I'm sleeping..

My folks have given me a saying that reminds me not to get down on myself, however. Dealing with this is simple, when you boil it down to the most simplistic terms possible. "Take the best next step possible, and let the experts do what they're good at"

[Passacaglia]

Good luck, Foz!

[GrantDawg]

BTW, the Dragon Snacks crew say they miss you, and their thoughts and prayers are with you.

[SirFozzie]

Live from the mass eye and ear waiting room... I actually cant wait for this surgery. Because when its over the number of drops and pills will drop.. including one that's given me various levels of nausea during the week

[cartman]

Good luck!

Just be careful with the eyepatch. If I've learned nothing from TV commercials, it is that if you wear an eyepatch, people will think you are tough. If people think you are tough, they will want to see just how tough you are. When they try to see how tough you are, you wake up in a road side ditch. Don't wake up in a road side ditch! :D

[Kodos]

:D

Good luck, Foz!

[MacroGuru]

Good luck!

Just be careful with the eyepatch. If I've learned nothing from TV commercials, it is that if you wear an eyepatch, people will think you are tough. If people think you are tough, they will want to see just how tough you are. When they try to see how tough you are, you wake up in a road side ditch. Don't wake up in a road side ditch! :D

I know you have been waiting to use this since the commercial aired!

[spleen1015]

Good luck Foz.

[Chief Rum]

Good luck, Foz. Not sure how I missed this week; sorry you went through such an awful time. Hopefully this surgery gets you to where you need to be.

One comment on your story above--urgent care closed?!? WTF? --Hey, doc, I think I am having a heart attack. --Sorry, bud , we're closed, say hi to my mom for me.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Good luck Foz!

[MIJB#19]

No idea how I missed this initially, still: good luck, Fozzie!

[BYU 14]

Best of luck Foz

[terpkristin]

Since I presume it's done by now, hope it went well, Foz!
/tk

[tyketime]

Sending good thoughts and prayers your way!

[SirFozzie]

Good luck, Foz. Not sure how I missed this week; sorry you went through such an awful time. Hopefully this surgery gets you to where you need to be.

One comment on your story above--urgent care closed?!? WTF? --Hey, doc, I think I am having a heart attack. --Sorry, bud , we're closed, say hi to my mom for me.

Urgent care is where you probably need to see a doctor, but not quite ready to make an ER visit. In layman's medical terms, its for when your child falls from the tree and you need a doc to look at the aptness, or if you have a constant temp of 101.4. Real er cases you still go to the er or call 911.

Anyway, surgery was a success so far..although it had its moments. Ill type up more tommorrow after the follow up appointment where they remove the stitch from my eye... should I have spoilered that? :)) and I get home to a computer

[JonInMiddleGA]

Yeah, I could have done w/out the stitch removal thought ;)

Happy to hear about the success to this point though

[Mustang]

Get well.

[AnalBumCover]

From this point on, every day will be Talk Like a Pirate Day.

[CrimsonFox]

Urgent care is where you probably need to see a doctor, but not quite ready to make an ER visit. In layman's medical terms, its for when your child falls from the tree and you need a doc to look at the aptness, or if you have a constant temp of 101.4. Real er cases you still go to the er or call 911.

Anyway, surgery was a success so far..although it had its moments. Ill type up more tommorrow after the follow up appointment where they remove the stitch from my eye... should I have spoilered that? :)) and I get home to a computer

I am amazed you are on a computer at all now. Get some rest (including eyerest! :) )

Put on some PInk FLoyd and trip to the painkillers.

[JediKooter]

Just to echo what others have said, take care and take it easy and hope all goes well from now on.

[SirFozzie]

I am amazed you are on a computer at all now. Get some rest (including eyerest! :) )

Put on some PInk FLoyd and trip to the painkillers.

Tablets are fun and useful.. especially for pooints where you have wifi (like at my grandmas house and mass eye and ear... where I am for my post op follow up appointment.. and stitch removal… and as for the painkillers.. there are no such animals. I was allowed aspirin.. but because. I am on celebrex to treat knee/ankle / foot inflammation which has basically left me immobile without kit, and since celebrex is a nsaid I cant even take that. My eye basically pulses, with pain every so often.. but I just deal.

As for the downside of typing on a tablet is this took thirty five minutes to write and correct all the autocorrects

[SirFozzie]

Ok, so I'm home and on a computer.

The pre op went pretty good, I found I'm down 45 pounds from my peak weight which is good (not that I would endorse any of the methods I got there, of course). They didn't give me much in pre-op instructions, (I was expecting at least a sheet of paper with dos and don't s.. but all they said is "Show up at 12 noon for your 2:30 surgery, and don't have anything to eat the night before".

That last bit kinda sucked, considering it was the Pats in the Super Bowl and my brother had put out a pretty good spread, bison steaks, and plenty of snacks, chips, dips, etcetera.. but it probably would have been for naught anyway, my stomach was jumpier then one of those superballs when you throw it off the wall in a small room. (which had a very good reason, which I'll review later).

We consider these kinda things as basically the same levels as things on tablets handed down from the mountain so to speak, so I actually had my last "food" (an ensure shake, liquids are all I had been able to keep down) at 9:30 PM. My mom came and picked me up and took me to Boston, where I met my dad (he's the only one of the three of us making the trip that was mentally and physically capable of dealing with downtown Boston traffic).

So, we get over there to Mass Eye and Ear at approximately 11:45 am (again, rules are important) and head up to the sixth floor, and check in. I get all the questions about drinking/smoking/drugs, and what did I eat last, known allergies and all, so we get told that the operating rooms are full up, but it's looking like we may just be on time for surgery. A fact which I'm not quite sure reassures me or not, but, eh, sooner started, sooner done I guess.

So we sit and watch the end of The Price is Right.

and the Boston CBS News at Noon

And the Guiding Light

And we get into the Bold and the Beautiful.. until the checkin lady comes over.

"We're sorry to keep you waiting, it seems one of the early scheduled surgeries got bumped to the end of the queue,.. it seems like he had a full breakfast and came in, expecting to have surgery. So, that person's doctor moved his surgery to the end of his queue, and that's bumping other surgeries back... (pause here for rant.)

Now... I'm not one for rules uber alles, but I actually found this a bit insulting and very frustrating. You mean one yabo who got told the rules, deliberately ignored the rules, and is now affecting people who actually did everything THEY were supposed to? I mean, I figure the doctor didn't want to add to his surgical schedule for future days (and who knows, it could have been a fairly emergency surgery), but to me, in a just world, and not an emergency, I would have said "That's great sir. Please turn around, reschedule your surgery with the doctor for a day you actually feel like following the rules, and we'll be glad to see you then.," But again, this may be bitterness talking.

So, back to our good friend, the check in lady.. she was continuing but you're in for a laser procedure today, and I know those don't take longer than a half hour....

Big red warning light goes on in Foz's brain.

This wasn't a laser procedure. They had already done that. SO I asked them to double check.. and in their surgical book that was sent up it was listed as a laser procedure.. but that when I got prepped for the surgery I could discuss it with the head nurse and if need be the doctor.

So, I'm WORRIED, but I'm not panicking. yet at least. Luckily, about 25 minutes or so they wheel me in for the prep work (my joints were so bad without the celebrex I couldn't really walk normally)..

And the head nurse says.. "Ok ,let's get you out of the sweater and t-shirt and into the johnnie, on to the gurney and we'll prep you for the procedure.

This is the point in the procedure where I throw the airbrakes on the whole thing."

I try to say politely as possible, "Ma'am, I'll get into the johnnie, but we have a problem here, this surgery was detailed to me as a incision into the eye, not a laser. I already had the laser procedure here a full week ago, and this is a follow up because it wasn't enough. Could you please summon my Doctor so we can get this straightened out and we can get everyone on the same page?"

Luckily, my doctor (who is really really good) wasn't too far away, and she immediately agreed with me, and apparently it was a glitch in the surgical booking system, and pointed to the last page in the surgery book which correctly detailed the procedure to be done, etcetera. We were all glad to get that solved, as it would have been a really really awful day. We also found that the reason I had been so nauseous during the week was that the pill I was taking (along with the eyedrops) to lower the pressure in my right eye was meant to be taken with food, and didn't have this warning on the label.. which would have made the last week a lot more tolerable, but it's better to figure out how it went wrong.

So, the prep work and the surgery were rather unremarkable (except for the fact that all the good veins in my wrists and inside of the elbows were used up by last week's adventures and the fact I hadn't been eating well (or really at all) made the other veins really small, so they had to try several different locations to get a good flow going. I jokingly asked if they were using me as a voodoo doll for somebody, (I'm never great about needles)

But they put a couple of welcome things in that sedative bag, an anti nausea medicine which chased away all the remaining butterflies in my stomach and a steroid anti-inflammatory (mostly for the inflammation in my eye, but it was a large enough dose that it helped all the trouble spots). The surgery itself, they write R over the right eye that's to be done, tape a clear plastic shield over the left eye just in case, put a breathing mask near my face, administer a local anesthetic when I'm good and out of it and drape a... shroud maybe over your face so you're not effected by the light. The surgery itself went quickly, and I could talk if need be, but I only needed to warn them near the end that I was going to sneeze.. which I did five seperate times, they apparently had to put one stitch into my eye, and cover it with guaze and tape a metal shield over it to make sure I wouldn't hit it or rub it or anything... So, about 30 minutes in the recovery room, and then, "home James!"

Or more accurately, to my grandparen'ts house in Jamaica Plain (Still city of Boston area, but not the craziness that is downtown storrow drive area). There, I mostly slept; 5:30-9:30 PM "nap, and then 11-6, 7-9 sleep..

Go back today, they remove the patch and.. things look good.. no nerve problems, no bleeding, I don't need to go back for 8 days.. where they're going to be working on a plan to solve ALL the issues at once. And I'm down to two steriod drops, an antibiotic drop and an ointment to use before sleep on (no more-nausea-making-pill, yay!), and I have to put a plastic eye shield over my right eye when I go to sleep, as so not to hit it or accidentally rub it or what have you.

So. Home again, jiggity jig, and for the first time, I went in expecting good news, got good news, and it stayed good news. That hasn't happened all week.. :)

[CrimsonFox]

Yay! Congrats! And a Blade Runner reference too!

[DaddyTorgo]

Jeebus christ Fozzie. Glad to hear you're doing a little better hopefully.

[JediKooter]

Nice to hear Fozzie. Hope to hear more good news in the next few days.

[Draft Dodger]

more about the bison steaks please.

[SirFozzie]

Not much to say, my brother goes to the local whole foods market, gets bison steaks there, (costs about as much as the premium beef cuts from what I believe), he puts a beef spice rub and a little olive oil and cooks it on the grill, 5-7 minutes a side. Much less fatty then normal steak and even more delicious if possible :)

[Draft Dodger]

well, those do sound really good.

oh, and nice job advocating for yourself. I was just reading today about the hospital in NY where they started a c-section on a woman who wasn't pregnant. it's cool you were able to slow things down and make sure it was all cool

[CrimsonFox]

Am a little confused about the breakfast man. At first I thought you meant they rescheduled him for the end of the day. But then how does that bump you back? Or was he bumped to right in front of you. Sheesh that's just dumb. Did you ask why they didn't reschedule him for some other day instead of making everyone else wait? If not, now would be a better time to do so (when there are no doctors with scalpels in their hands). And messing up the chart re: laser vs incision. Holy shit! How screwed up ARE these people?

[SirFozzie]

to the end of that particular doctor's queue, (that doctor had the or for a certain amount of time, the doctor just went into OT in their allotted OR time.) so they could safely do the procedure (Ie, the food cleared the stomach so not to cause a risk of vomiting when sedated)

And yeah, I wish I had said something, but when you've been siting in there for two hours and counting you have two options.. say something like "I understand, but that's disappointing" and adding stewing in bitterness to the nerves in your, and going full on grumpy bastard. I decided that just waiting and getting the whole thing over with was better.

[CleBrownsfan]

Glad to hear the surgery went well Foz...

[Vince, Pt. II]

Glad to hear that it ended up well. Seems like an awful lot of stuff to go through outside the norm, good on you for being flexible and cool with everything.

[terpkristin]

put a breathing mask near my face

This is the part I hate, even if (especially if?) they're knocking me out all the way. I hate the smell of the mask, the rubber/plastic smell. I never cooperate.

Also, every place I've been for surgery, if you eat the day of surgery when you've been told not to, they cancel your surgery. They should have done that for that chucklehead.

Glad it went well, though.

/tk

[chesapeake]

Glad to hear the surgery went well, and extra points for making sure they didn't screw it up.

[Mota]

That's good news!

My ex wife had similar issues, glaucoma, eyeritis and uveitis (sp?). She lost 85% vision in one eye permanently and the other one had a lot of pressure at various times. I had to sit with her as they gave a needle into her eye once, that was really hard to go through.

So yeah, anytime you have any issues with the eyes it's pretty serious. Glad to hear that you're back on the recovery.

[BYU 14]

Glad everything went well Foz!!