u/Short-Custard-524

Based in USA and qualify for FMLA

I’m preparing to return from being off for 2 weeks after strabismus surgery. Screen time for prolonged periods is still difficult. I did 4 hours of straight screen time today and my eyes feel like they are covered in fur no matter no much drops I put in. I feel like I need to rest my eyes 2-3 hours to make up for it

My job is heavily remote where I am a therapist seeing 8 clients a day. 4 hour of sessions consisting of AT LEAST 53 minutes (to make billable hour-required by company which heavily pushes this and questions when we do not) 1 hour lunch breach and then 4 more hours of the same. It’s very demanding to say the least - I’m wondering if anyone has been able to have specific accommodations worked up to support their return to work that can give be examples to tell my work?

I was thinking of 45 minute sessions but I will also have assessments placed in cancellations that will require the hour and could be someone having a major mental health event that I can’t have my eyes closed during and I will be completing a estimated 20 page document while I’m conducting the assessment. Anyone have any suggestions about what accommodations I can ask for under FMLA to limit screen time?

My surgeon is concerned that the allergic reaction to preservative drops hasn’t seemed to go down all the way and thinks it’s possible that I may be allergic to the sutures. I am 9 days post op and concerned about what this would mean but honestly too scared to ask my surgeon right now. I will see her in person Tuesday but possible I may see the fellow sooner. I am really happy with my alignment and don’t know if removing sutures would change it- has anyone had this experience?

I had adjustable sutures

I feel like a lot of people have been getting surgery lately and there’s definitely things I would have had in place if I knew as my first 24 hours was really difficult however we now know I was also having a allergic reaction to the drops which was completely discontinued after trying another antibiotic drop as my surgeons suspects I may be allergic to the preservatives. So it’s possible I may have been more sensitive but you can’t go wrong by being more prepped

Black out your recovery area before you have surgery. Window blinds did nothing to help how sensitive I was to light. I had my eyes shut completely, with my black out glasses, with a hoodie covering my head, and it still felt the sun was piercing my eyes. This got better 40 hours in but I waited until night the first night and put black sheet over the large and only in my room. Forget about looking at a screen. I opened my eyes like 10% percent and indirectly saw the bright block of light from my phone and it burned. I was able to tolerate screens more with increasing longer periods after the first 48.

Already prepped food- due to needing to keep my eye closed - pre prepped food was only way. I asked my dad to stop at a grocery store to get some grab and go-things I could eat with my eyes closed. To be completely honest I mainly had a bunch of protein shakes maybe 5 or 6 as I needed to have the nutrition to heal as my stomach was shot from the meds so 0 appetite +nausea (had prior GI issues so not surgery related) - I did end up starting a 2 week ppi on day 3 to help my nausea and absent appetite. If you don’t have GERD or another GI issue then this won’t be an issue.

A grabber!!! I had no idea I wasn’t going to be able to bend until right after surgery. My dad ordered a heavy duty one on Amazon for me since I couldn’t look at screens yet. It was very helpful also kind of fun as a bonus - we don’t really realize how much we bend over so also make sure you have a pair of slip on shoes or someone to assist you with shoes.

Have friends and families call you and not text you if you feel up to chatting or if they want to check in. Expect to have limited ability to use a screen. Even when you first begin to be able to tolerate without feeling blinded you are not going to want to be on that for long periods at first

TLDR: blackout as much as you can before your surgery so you can come home to a more comfortable environment as you will be really a sensitive to any kind of light even with layers of light protection

Get easy meals you can eat with no vision - at least for first 24 hours -high protein to help with muscle healing since the surgery is on the muscle

Get a grabber! Slip on shoes! You can’t bend over for 2 weeks. You can kind of squat down *****double check with surgeon and not advised if you are fall risk

Expect to not use your phone. I listened to music and podcasts to keep myself occupied so having a recovery playlist may not be a bad idea

It is officially 1 week since my surgery. My headaches got a lot better and had become more transient but I had a pretty brutal 3-4 hour one last night. I kept cold packs on and took Tylenol but it was pretty relentless. I almost never had headaches before surgery. My vision went from double to single when looking straight immediately after surgery. For those who had a similar experience, how long did it take for the headaches to go away completely. I def notice it’s getting better but last night was rough - to be completely honest I didn’t rest my eyes when it was happening and have been looking at a lot of screens in general 👉👈

I’m continuing to make great progress and my surgeon said that I’m having a lot of fusion during my post op exam. Sometimes my eyes briefly want to fight a little bit for dominance but it’s mostly fused vision. I am truly amazed with how much this surgery has improved my life and given me sight in a way which I had never seen before.

I had my first surgery in early elementary with a diagnosis of brown syndrome. My parents told me that it fixed the issue completely and my deviation was significantly worse before however I did have head tilt that I accepted as best outcome for a difficult and rare diagnosis.

I felt like I had a normal middle and high school without anyone telling me I had a lazy eye although I def was told to tilt my head straight for photos.

At 29 it started to get way worse and having more double vision where it felt really hard to read and I would cover my other eye and really twist my neck. I even had my neck checked out by an ortho due to chronic pain and stiffness where I was told I have a lot of arthritis despite never being in any kind of traumatic accident that could have caused that. I did PT for 3 months which the PTs did note my neck was incredibly stiff like a bunch of boulders.

My surgeon said before my surgery that I likely had the brown syndrome corrected but also had 4th nerve palsy and likely had that my entire life as well but noted it was way worse then when I had a consult considering surgery in my early 20s. My family and the adult ophthalmologist who referred me to the specialist talked me out of it saying “it wasn’t that bad” and “what if it makes it worse”.

At 32 years old and 5 days post op I can say I have literally never been able to see this clear in my life. My neck pain has dramatically improved. I would start my day using a neck message pillow for 45 minutes to loosen my neck and I’ve only used the pillow one time since my surgery with my neck tightness nowhere close to where it was before.

I walked into a store today and saw myself on the security video and I was looking completely straight which is something I never thought could happen. I no longer look down and to the side to keep my eyes aligned when walking and no longer fear what my eyes may look like to others. Mid and long range gazes were impossible for me before. I feel like I am able to see myself for the first time looking straight in a mirror. I never realized how much double vision I really had until it was corrected.

I still struggle with my down gaze which was so much more severe before and my surgeon said we could consider going in to the “good eye” in the future. I’m so happy with things right now. I just want to sing it in the streets but Reddit will do for now