Here are 10 of them:
- The surgeon will tell me I'm not a candidate for the surgery and then all these years of working myself up to it will have been for NOTHING.
- I will lose part of my identity. After all, I've looked this way my whole life!
- I will be one of those unlucky patients that falls into the wee percentage of freak accidents and will be far worse off than I am now.
- My surgeon will be distracted by a spat with their spouse the night before, operate on the wrong eye, and ruin me.
- Insurance won't pay and I won't be able to justify the expense of a cosmetic fix.
- I'll look "vanilla" when right now I'm a flavor twist!
- I'll be blinded.
- The surgeon will grossly over-correct.
- The surgeon will grossly under-correct (not nearly as bad as #8...*shudders*).
- Oh, I dunno. Because I'm SCARED!
24 comments:
I am a 25 yrs old guy suffering from amblyopia in my right eye due to squint and also considering the surgery option. It's nice to see some information about pre-surgery phase. Anyhow, good luck to you!
Hey, I just had surgery 3 days ago. At first you might feel ackward, but its really worth it. It sucks that you have to go through phone tag with your insurance though. In Canada, it is covered by medicare, thus it is free.
hey, i'm just writing to give you a few words of encouragement and to say go for the surgery. i had it a couple years ago but things got screwy again (fixed something in the right eye, it started happening in the left eye etc.) so i got another doctor and had all the tests and i'm having another procedure but even with all that i say it's worth it, it's scary having stuff done to your eyes but on the scale of things it's a fairly minor operation, afterward the eyes look a little grisly but the pain is minimal, feels sort of like you have a small grain of sand in your eye, hope this helps.
You are a beautiful woman and you are right...it is high time you set that eye straight. You have nothing to lose by going for it. I know the insurance process is difficult, but in the end you will be happy. You have waited too long for this day. My daughter is 4 and has a lazy eye. We are in the process of trying to make it straight. We patch her good eye 6 hours a day, so when I see you I see my daughter. My goal is to let people know that a lazy eye is serious and needs to be seen by a specialist. Although we caught my daughter's eye problem early, she has still lost some of her vision. We are still hoping that some of the vision will return through patching her eye. I never imagined that a lazy eye could cause blindness. My message to all parents out there...if your child has a misaligned eye. Please get it checked out. Otherwise your child could lose the vision in that eye. Good luck on your surgery. I will check back in to see how it all turns out. Nothing ventured nothing gained. Best of luck!
Hi,I'm 28 yrs old amblyopian in right eye. Tonight I will go for surgery after hesitated many many years. I also scare but hope it's worth it. Let see what will happen.
Hope you can decide someday.
Good luck to you! (& me)
Hi,
I live in the UK and underwent my second operation Monday (im 35). Its not to bad and the result of my surgery is fantasic but not very attractive due to the blood. My eye looked very much like yours so I know how annoying it can be when people wont look at you when you talk to them & the intitial fear you have in new social meetings. My view was a couple of weeks of pain are worth the years of feeling confident about my appearance.
Good luck to you and go for it !
hey there,
i myself am a blue-eyed boy with a tired right eye, which likes to hide in by my nose. i too struggled internally with the issue of whether having surgery would be a concession to the forces of social conformity (they are powerful indeed). in the end however, the world is not always an understanding place, and worrying about how others percieve you is unavoidable and painful at times. i had surgery at 12, which was mostly effective, am having it again now 9 years later, and i am 100% sure it is the right thing to do. i hope you go through with the operation, and you may walk through the world with a much stronger sense of self-confidence, as i have. best wishes, max.
It has been a little while since I've checked on this site, but WOW, the comments! Let me address each of them individually.
To anonymous #1 - thank you for the good wishes. You will see in my latest post that things are going along smoothly, and what a relief! I encourage you to work through the insurance woes etc. It is worth it when you meet with the surgeon.
To anonymous #2 - So happy that things went well for you! I'd love to see before and after pics if you want to send them along.
To anonymous #3 - thank you for the encouragement. What a bummer to hear that you have to go through surgery again, but on the other hand you seem to be positive about it, so that in itself is encouraging.
To anonymous #4 - thank you for writing. I feel quite blessed that you shared that with me. You obviously love your daughter very much. I wish you all the best as you go through this with her.
My surgeon did tell me that she doesn't think the lazy eye alone would have caused the almost complete blindness in my left eye, so she wants to do an MRI to see if there was a trauma or injury way back then. I still maintain, just based on my research, that it is quite probable that the lazy eye did cause much of the vision loss, but we'll see. Doctors don't always know everything, that's the first important thing you learn. So yes, as parents it is important that we push, get second opinions, and get informed ourselves.
Thank you for that message.
hoshi - Wow! I hope it went well! If you visit here again, let us know.
anonymous #5 - ah...another sister (or brother) in arms. It is difficult for people to know the subtle and pervasive ways such a condition effects those of us who have it. I'm a pretty confident person in general, but it's still there, in the back of my mind, whenever I get introduced at a party, or have to meet a new business contact.
Though I'm a little attached to my uniqueness that comes from it, I'm ready to move on, let it go, and not have that little nag with me all the time.
Funny, this made me think that perhaps those of us that undergo the surgery might end up being even more confident than the average person, only because it has focused insecurity and once it's gone, we possibly haven't developed a whole plethora of other minor insecurities to stand in our way. Just a theory, but I'll know soon enough!
Hi Max,
What a poignant comment...wow. You've hit all my thoughts on the matter spot-on. One more reason I've shared this publicly, so I could hear from people like you!
Thanks for the support and encouragement.
Hi,
I already had surgery.
It was very painful for first 2 days.
But now my right eye became straight and I'm so happy when I saw my photograph that two eyes were straight for the first time.
^-^
I think that it will bring me more confidence coz I must meet many people in my job.
I'll start the job again next month.
Now it's time for the rest of the eyes and mind.
I just had strabismus correction surgery in Las Vegas and although my eyes are still very red and can't drive yet all those around my have said it's a great change.
Atendees for my meetings are less distracted ad I can look at som one when they talk to me.
My 8-month old son had bi-lateral strabismus surgery 10 days ago. He hardly rubbed his eyes at all, so we didn't give him even Tylenol as he was initially just a little subdued, but perfectly happy. His eyes were straight as soon as he woke up and he's now much happier and connecting better with us. It's amazing to witness.
He has funky cool eye glasses which make him stand out from the crowd.
I was terrified for him beforehand, and afterwards I realized the procrastination was FAR worse that actually getting it done.
Get a good doc, facility and sort out the insurance stuff and just GO FOR IT! You are beautiful. You'll get plenty of attention post-op. Let people connect with you fully, and you them. You deserve it lady!
I also have a lazy left eye. At 16 it was turned in completely and constantly. I had corrective surgery when I was 17 and in my final year of high school, and held my head up to smile so happily afterwards. I can remember clearly how amazing it was to look at a photograph of me with straight eyes!
It's now 11 years later, and when I'm tired or stressed my eye turns quite noticeably. When I'm happy, relaxed and sleeping well then my left eye will fall into line. Friends know it as a barometer of exhaustion. I am less self conscious than I was. I'm grateful for the good days -- I remember having no good days!
I have thought before that being worried about my eyes saved me from worrying about other features of my face and body. I'm perfectly happy with everything else, and that hasn't changed since surgery. I believe that you will feel the same.
Best luck, Katherine.
I've thought... If you're on facebook (it's just reached Australia as a craze and yes, I've joined) then look me up and I can show you some tired/not tired pictures. You will be able to see what I mean.
Look for Katherine Tattersall :)
hoshi,
Thanks for sharing your story of your successful surgery! I am so happy for you. I can't wait to like photos of myself!
Brian,
Thanks for stopping by. Everyone's stories of successful surgery are inspiring to me, and hopefully to others. I haven't been posting, but I do appreciate so much the comments that people leave. It also inspires me to continue writing here which I will do soon.
hope you're doing well- please post an update if possible :)
I have Strabismus my left eye goes out I have had this condition from a child. And it has not been easy at all, people are so mean, can you imagine the pain and shame I have suffered for years. I want the surgery done I think it will make me more confident about myself. The problem I have is not the fear of doing the procedure it's affording it.
Glenn, you should see if your insurance will cover it. I can imagine the pain, I've lived it, as have many others who visit this blog.
Still, many many people have been very kind, and very genuine. I have a support network of dear friends who love me just as I am, and who don't even see the flaw anymore, or see it as part of me and therefore not a flaw at all. It is important to be at peace with yourself with or without the surgery.
I hope you find your way.
Someone please help me!!! The doctors here in ohio hve told me that I have amblyopia and it is non corrective. That I will eventually go blind in one eye and there's nothing that I can do. I have tried and tried to get these docs to reconsider and try to help me fix it. And I get nothing!!!! Just. Simple sorry there's nothing we can do for you!!! I just recently read about strabismus surgery but don't know who to go to or see to find out if I am a candidate..or what it consists of...please someone help...I'm so tired of living this way....bobbieallaman@gmail.com if anyone can help me get information. Thank you all very much!!
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