What's your "eye routine"?

[Nickittynic]

I'm curious what everyone is currently doing to take care of their eyes.

I guess I'm interested in getting an idea of what's in store for me for the long run.
Right now, at 3.5 weeks postop and with left sided paralysis (HouseBrackmann score 5/6), I've been instructed to do Lacricert inserts 2-3x/day, Lacrilube every 4 hours, Systane High Performance eye drops (the preservative free ones in the vials) hourly, and keep a plastic wrap moisture chamber on constantly. It's driving me crazy! Hopefully I'll at least get to loose the stupid plastic wrap after my gold weight placement, which will hopefully be next week.

So what is your "eye routine"?

[Kaybo]

Hi & Welcome~
I think that it is VERY important to keep your eye well cared for but what all you put seems like overkill.  I thought that the reason you use Lacrilube (or any salve/gel) is so you don't have to use anything else.  What is a Lacricert insert?  I guess I have just been this way for way too long to know about all the new stuff.  I live where it is very hot in the summer, very cold in the winter and VERY windy all the time - I use Refresh PM once at night and once in the morning and sometimes drops instead...Good luck with the gold weight - it should help a TON!!

K   

[lori67]

I know my doctor recommended some things, but I've found by trial and error what works best for me.

I use gel at night - I think I've tried them all.  I like the Refresh PM the best.  I don't often use drops during the day, but if I do, it's usually Theratears.  I carry Celluvisc with me too, some days it just feels better with something a little thicker in there, but I'd have to say, if I need to use the thicker stuff, it's less than once a month.  It's usually not due to a real lack of moisture, but because something got in my eye - dust or something - and it felt irritated.

I've never used the plastic wrap or eye bubble, except while in the ICU right after surgery.  I tried the stick on eye bubble for night time, but it drove me crazy - so it probably stayed on about 10 minutes before I ditched it!

I agree with Kay though, it does sound like a bit of overkill, but maybe there's a good reason your doctor suggests doing all of that.  I was a Brackmann 6/6 for a little while and then a 5/5 for about a year and a half and I still didn't do as much as you're doing.  I guess it's better to do too much in this case than too little.I had my tear ducts cauterized at about 2 months post op and it was after that procedure that I was able to do away with the daytime drops for the most part.

Good luck with the eye weight - I'm sure that will cut down on the amount of "stuff" you have to do to your eye!

Lori

[nancyann]

Hi Nicki:  It's nice to meet you.  I am sure you are feeling so overwhelmed with all of this,  I know I was at 3.5 weeks post op.
Take a deep breath my friend.   You are going to be sooo happy with the weight implant,  & I'm glad it's next week - the sooner the better.
I have permanent facial paralysis, Brackman 6/6.   Surgery was over 3 years ago. 
I use Refresh PM exclusively (drops aren't strong enough for me).  Frequency depends on how my eye feels - I am lucky in that I have feeling & when I get
the tiniest hint of burning I put in the lubricant.  Sometimes once every hour or two,  other times (like 2 days ago), once every 15 minutes for about 2 hours.
I also use a moisture chamber at night (like the saran wrap but this is already prepared).   It's called NITEYE, The Dry Eye Comforter Bubble Bandage, made by Medtronic.
The phone # to order is: 1-800-874-5797.  They're a bit pricey, but since I'll be using it the rest of my life I buy it by the case & save a couple of hundred dollars.
They come 14 nonsterile bubbles to a box & cost for 1 box is about $21 + tax/delivery (about $28. total). - doctorb put a picture of it on one of these eye topics, but I can't remember which one & I'm not computer savvy enough to do it !).  The people at Medtronic were really nice & will walk you through the process if you're interested in trying a box.  I hope your paralysis is temporary so you won't have to deal with this too long.
Always good thoughts,  Nancy

[Nickittynic]

Thanks everyone! Glad to know I won't likely be stuck with this whole mess for the long term. I agree that it's a lot! It's what they started me on in the hospital, and the opthamologist and corneal specialists I've seen since discharge have agreed I should keep up the whole mess of it (maybe because I don't have feeling in that eye and can't tell when theres an eyelash on something in it?).
I can't wait for the gold weight so I can at least loose this saran wrap in the day time! It's hard enough with the balance issues, and then to not be able to hear or see on one side makes walking around in the world interesting.
Nancy, I'll have to check out those moisture chambers. Thanks for the info! All this vaseline on my face to hold the wrap on is making me break out!

[Jeanlea]

Nicky,

My routine started out with putting in Refresh PM in the morning and in the evening.  I think it's better to overdo it in the beginning rather than doing too little.  I ended up getting a white spot on my eye.  Luckily, it's not affecting my vision and has held steady for nearly 3 years now.  I'm four years post-op.  When I was in the hospital after surgery my doctor sent me to get an eye weight right away.  So I can't really tell what difference it' makes.  I also had to cover the eye at night in the beginning until I got enough movement back to be able to close my eye at night.  My current routine is to put in Refresh PM in the evening, sort of rinse it out with 2 drops of Optive (like Liquigel) in the morning and add another drop every two hours or so.  I have no feeling in my eye so I have to watch for inccreased redness.  On days when I'm going to be too busy to add Optive every two hours I put in the ointment and can go all day.  I should also add that I've had a partial tarsoraphy and lower eye lid.  You wouldn't be able to even notice it if you looked at me, but it has helped my eye a lot. 
Good luck with your eye weight and new eye routines.

Jean

[Kaybo]

I don't have any feeling either but I can tell when it is getting too dry - kind of makes my vision (which is not great in that eye) even more blurry or something...

K

[arkansasfarmgirl]

I started out using the celluvisc every couple of hours.  More often if I was outside.  The PM salve stuff never did anything for me--just made my eye feel drier and scratchy, so I didn't use that very long.  About 4 months after my surgery, my eye started improving HUGELY.  I'm now 11 months after surgery and the only thing I have to do is celluvisc before bed, once after I wake up, and that's it (don't always need it, but do it just in case--I don't tear as much when I'm tired).  I am back to being able to wear my contact in that eye--it's watering and blinks pretty good most of the time, and I can close it all the way even laying on my back. 

I never did get a gold weight, even though they cut and grafted my facial nerve.  When I saw the surgeon 6 weeks after surgery, I was borderline on needing it, so I opted to wait.

Vonda

[swhite]

I am almost 8 weeks post-op and my doctor immediately told me after surgery no additional surgeries for a year - especially the gold weight in my right eye.   Perhaps she is optimistic my eye will blink again since that nerve wasn't severed.  What's HouseBrackman?  Reading this post, I'm a newbie and just don't know all the lingo yet.  I use celluvisc too once an hour, ointment every 2-3 hours and taping the lid closed with the saran wrap with PM ointment at night.  I see my opthamologist next week.  I can immediately feel my eye when it gets irritated or dried out.  I can keep the lid closed once I manually close it, but I can't close it on its own yet.