Thursday, September 4, 2014

Eye Surgery. Ugh!

Darned Prednisone! I thought all you did was suppress my immune system and make me fat!

Once upon a time - about a year ago - my body began to balloon from 170 pounds to nearly 250 pounds over the course of a couple months. This was all thanks to a steroid I had to take called Prednisone. Fast forward to yesterday. I sat down with an ophthalmologist to see why over the past few months I've noticed blurred vision in my eyes, and particularly in my left. Well, as it turns out, my prolonged exposure (about 6 months) to high doses of Prednisone along with my acute illness (leukemia, if anyone is still unclear) have given me cataracts well before the age when they typically develop for those who get them. My vision isn't so bad (yet) that I need cataract surgery immediately, but I will need it eventually.

Cataracts are basically clouded lenses inside the eye, causing (in my case) blurred vision. I have a follow up appointment with my ophthalmologist on December 3rd to see how things are looking. He says my cataracts could advance slowly or quickly...it's hard to know because of the cause of the cataracts. With cataract surgery, the lenses inside my eyes will be broken up and suctioned out, then replaced with synthetic lenses. Super fun. They'll do one eye, then wait a couple weeks before doing the other. After the surgeries, I'll probably at least need reading glasses. My vision insurance won't cover the surgeries. Hopefully my medical insurance will, because they're not cheap. Bummer.

In other news, I'm still working for Be The Match and loving it. It feels so good to be doing something day-in and day-out that can make a difference for other blood cancer patients. I've run 8 drives, adding over 250 new people to the Be The Match Registry, and generating over $4,000 in fundraising. And I'm still learning how to do what I'm doing. It'll only get better from here.

Lastly, I'm in the final stretch run of tapering my Cyclosporine (immunosuppressant drug). After I'm off of it completely next month some time, we'll be able to make plans to re-immunize me. That's a big deal. Here's hoping my taper continues to go well without any GVHD. Fingers and toes are crossed.

4 comments:

  1. I had my first cataract surgery at age 25 and the second one a couple years later. It's easy, pretty painless, and a fast recovery. You will love how clear your vision is afterwards.

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  2. That is unfortunate. However, your firmness about having your blurry vision checked ASAP might had saved you from further problems. Just how long would you have to wait until you have the operation? I'm sure you're adjusting somehow by using the prescribed glasses and such. Either way, getting some funding for the procedure has to be one of your priorities. Good luck!

    Jennifer Bell @ Clarity Vision, Smithfield

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