A number of eye issues are discussed in BA Forum and I wanted to share this learning experience we had today regarding getting fitted for eyeglasses after surgery. Craniotomy is a rather violent experience for those having had it. One of the complications for some individuals such as my wife is that one side of the skull may become misshaped or deformed. Even a slight malformation is enough to skew the fitment of existing or new glasses, thereby affecting vision.
After numerous failed exams and poor fitting glasses we discovered today by process of elimination that the cause of poor fitment can be caused by deformed bone structure caused by the surgery. It took a long time for us to figure this out. This oversight was not ever thought about by Eye Doctors as they tried to solve this vision problem.
As I sat with my wife at the optician desk it appeared that another round of glasses would have to be returned because of the strain on her eye. As the optician was fooling and bending the frames, it became obivious to me that the deformed bone structure could be causing the vision strain. This would be due to the glass and frames being constructed on a level and normal surface. But on a post craniotomy patient bony structures are changed and a normal level plane is not likely (although pre surgery it was).
Not all patients will experience this problem but if vision distortion occurs post surgery it would be very wise and inexpensive to bring this to the attention of the Optimologist or Optician. One would think the professionals would pick up on this but our experience is that it is not.
Hi Ed...Your journey with your wife's aneurysm has made you so knowledgable and helpful to all of us ... Thank~you...
My eye issue is a droop and/or paralysis ... which is on that right side (sometimes worse then other times)...now I don't have the vision problem, unless it droops totally shut...it is painful and frustrating...and Neuro says at one moment it is "3rd cranial nerve palsy", damage from having Bell's Palsy at the age of 17, Trigeminal nerve palsy...etc.,"...and the list goes on...but none of this until I was coiled...and my parent vessel tore...I am frustrated because I want to know exact thing and how I can help it...I have been having Dental work recently and it has caused somany problems to my face nerves...I am sorry...I turned this in to venting...and I didn't mean that, but eye problem is an issue with this journey and I feel like surgeons don't want to address and I am not sure "why"...
Sorry Ed...a Happy Friday to you...~ and Wishing you and your wife a beautiful day ~ Colleen
Thanks for the post Ed. I noticed problems with that as I had the clipping/craniotomy and my surgeon also inserted something behind me left to keep it in place and prevent drooping. I still have some swelling behind my eye (surgery was 5 months ago) and notice vision strain with that eye.
I need to get new reading glasses but wondering how long should I wait? Want to make sure everything is healed before I do that. How long did your wife wait before she went to the optician?
Thank you for this information Ed. I am one year post-op and the side of my head from my ear/cheek area does cave in. I am overdue on getting new glasses and never thought about the fitting. I will make sure they are aware of the problem, especially because in the fitting they use a pen marker to dot the middle focus point on my lens for trifocals. My thick long hair (for which I am grateful) covering that area makes it invisible to most people unless I point it out. (<:
Her surgery was 18 years ago so the first few years she kept the same glasses. Since the post surgery optometry visit she had multiple exams and fittings at a large national eyeglass company. We had returned so many pairs (about six) because of the eye strain that one day she got a letter from a company manager requesting her to see them about her glasses. She took it as a reprimand, but then she does on most things and that's when I need to intervene. In this latest eyeglass fitting I asked her optometrist to allow her to use a portable lens device so we could make sure that the lense was precisely correct and that's how we started looking at the bone structure as the cause of the misfitment.
With you at five months out, you should be good to go. Just make sure that at each stage of the eye exam that you try as best you can to give feedback to the examiner and the optician if you feel any kind of strain. Nobody needs anymore headaches. Good luck.
The problem comes after they place the dot. Apparently they allow a variance to a few degrees. In BA patients is appears that even one degree off can cause a eye strain. Like you, my wife's hair also does a great job of hiding any defects. I feel terrible having to address it, but if I don't, the opticians won't know what to look for in the fitting. Another thing I found they don't explain well is where the bifocal is located so that she and others can train their eye muscles to only look in the bifocal area when they must but not at other times. Once the eye strain starts, frustration sets in and nobody is satisfied. Hope these thoughts help.
Hahahaha...I adore your wife...this is what I tell hubby when I stress anymore...head will explode...makes me think of those cartoons when I was a kid...Today is a new day and I feel much better...Happy Saturday Ed...
Ed, Interesting observation, as my glasses post clipping no longer fit my head. They fall off with the slightest movement of my head. Also, am experiencing headaches and eye strain. I have an eye appt. next month had will discuss the changes in my skull due to the craniotomy. Thank you for your input, Mary
"One would think the professionals would pick up on this but our experience is that it is not."
One would think the professionals would pick up on a whole lotta stuff, but they don't. Everyone's sooooo specialized now that looking at the whole patient has gone straight out the window. It's so awesome that you are such an advocate for your wife, Ed! Thanks for being our advocate as well! =)
Someone should start a group called "helpful tips when recovering" because all of us are always learning great things from each other.