I’ve heard children that get Strabismus or eye muscle surgery usually bounce back within a day or 2 after it, but what exactly is it like when you are almost 42 and get it done? According to my Doctor, some adult patients have come back begging for Percocet and saying that he “killed them”. But, do you want to know exactly what is it like…at least for me? I wrote about my experiences day by day below. BE WARNED. I did take a few photos to show the progress, so if you are squeamish, maybe don’t scroll down.
Day 1: I didn’t sleep one minute last night because… Anxiety. I hate needles and eye stuff. I don’t wanna do this. But, I’m up and showered and my friend will be here soon. I’m already hungry and thinking about the Moose Tracks Ice Cream I bought yesterday for a post surgery treat.
I walked into this thinking I was only getting the left eye done, but sitting in the pre-op room with an IV already in me….Doc came by to tell me he had different plans. What?! As a slew of miserable post-op patients were being wheeled by me when I waited to go back, all I kept saying was, “Well at least I’m only getting ONE eye done…poor people!” Turns out, I was about to be one of those miserable looking people very soon. He said that instead of doing 2 muscles in the left eye, that he would do *one* muscle in both eyes. Shit.
This is awful! I completely sympathize with *completely* blind people now. I really thought I got it, to a point, from living with a “legally blind” person before because he could still see a bit and I could see “a bit” out of 1/4 of one eye. But, holy shit being in your own skin and not being able to see and move around the way i always have is a terrifying thing to happen all of a sudden and to be alone on top of it is, something I do not recommend. And claustrophobic! OMG, I feel like I can’t breathe because I’m so very visual and when you take that away I feel like I can’t even breathe! It’s horrifying! I’m kinda freaking out a little bit. I know I should sleep because rest helps you heal and I didn’t sleep at all last night, but In afraid that I’ll scratch my itching eyes. It’s itchy and watering and I can truly feel the muscles they cut every time I move my eyes…and your eyes are always moving! The right eye hurts more, I believe, because it’s the vertical muscle they cut in that eye and a horizontal muscle in the left eye. Trying to open an eye with the vertical muscle that was cut feels like someone slipped broken glass in my eye when I was knocked out and I get cut every time I try to pry open my eye. Both of them feel that way, but the right eyes hurts way more. That one is staying shut.
…
Ok so I just put the Tiniest bit of the antibiotic cream in my eyes and it was the most horrific thing. Not only did I have to open my eyes to see what I was doing, which hurt, I had to touch my eyes and pull down my bottom lid, which is excruciating, and then try to put that shit in! Nope. I got the tiniest bit it and I hope it’s good enough for tonight because that hurts like crazy!
I take a peek at myself in the mirror. I look drunk. Red, half-closed eyes.
My head behind my eyes is throbbing!! This is the worst headache I’ve ever had in my entire life even worse than the fevers I’ve had!
It’s very pulsey in my head…And scratchy in my eyes.
1:54am
Can’t sleep. I’m SO tired, but I’m going to hurt my eyes in the middle of the night if I fall asleep! I know it! Why didn’t they give me the cool eye covers that are hard, but have breathable holes, like lens replacement eye patients get?! I’m really afraid of hurting my eyes while sleeping, also I don’t know if I should take Benadryl with the anesthetic still in me.
I take one.
Day 2
I found some sunglasses that I use for kids during photo sittings sometimes, but I have a small face so they fit me. They’re perfect! They wrap around and are super dark. I sat in the sun and soaked up some healing vitamin D. I’m so restless sitting in a dark room all day and night. I hate not being able to see without pain a wiping my eyes non-stop.
Day 3:
I showered!!! I hadn’t done that since before my surgery.
Then I thought I felt good enough to drive to the Post Office (walking distance) from my house. I needed to get my car registration out ASAP and I didn’t have a stamp. I thought I could do it seeing how it was a very short drive, but even with my sunglasses on, the light hurt me and I had to keep wiping my oozing eyes. I also found out, it hurts to move my eyes in any direction other than forwards. My bad.
I came home and crashed for a couple hours and had the BEST dream EVER! I was at some beautiful mansion with tons of cats and kittens and I was petting ALL OF THEM! So many unusual and exotic breads! I especially loved the tiny Sphinx kittens with mama! I don’t know why all these cats were at this house or why I was even there, but it was amazing!
Now, I’m thinking movie (with sunglasses) and Chinese food tonight. I don’t feel like cooking.
This is most I’ve moved and the cleanest I’ve felt since surgery!
Eyes are still bright red, itchy, oozing and very light sensitive…oh and I can’t move them around without a major migraine, but this is better! I can open my eyes enough that I thought I could drive!
Today started off a little crazy. I was woken up at 6:30 AM By a woman banging on my door and ringing the doorbell. I ignored her although I was awake already and found out who it was through text messages that followed. I never went back to sleep.
To make a long story short this friend of a friend was not going away no matter how much I tried to tell her I did not want company today and I didn’t appreciate being woken up at the crack of dawn when I’m healing from surgery. She did not care. She made it clear that she was coming back at 2 PM so I had to stay awake even though I wanted to nap the pain away. She needed to chat about a mutual friend we have. He’s going through a rough time, but so am I right now!
After that, I was not going to nap. I was feeling stir crazy anyways. I called my doctor to see if I was allowed to do any yoga because I hate just sitting around for days. They told me that I was absolutely not allowed to do yoga until my check up appointment on the 24th. But, I am allowed to walk… as long as I keep my eyes covered so no dust gets in. SO,
I took a nice long walk around the cemetery by my house. 
I played around with iPhone’s time lapse feature. I really don’t understand the point of that. A bunch of photos put together in a video… isn’t that just a video??IMG_0640
Had a great conversation with a new friend.
I think my walk actually helped some the blood in the whites of my eyes to dissipate.IMG_0646
I was worried about the wind blowing a lot. I was afraid of some dirt particles getting underneath my sunglasses.IMG_0649
All in all …the best day I’ve had since my surgery!
Still bused from that nasty IV
Day 5 and 6:
Yesterday I hung our with a friend at the house then thought I felt well enough to go to El Rancho Mexican Restaurant. The food is always good, but the lights and fans were making my eyes water and itch like crazy. It was constant. Got a free shot of Tequila probably because I looked like I was crying. I felt like I needed to explain to Everyone that would listen why I was wearing dark sunglasses inside a building at 8PM. 
😂
🤣 The constant watery eyes makes it hard to see.
Today, I slept well, woke up, put antibiotic cream in my eyes, meditated, fell back to sleep for a couple more hours and woke up feeling great! Eyes are much less itchy today, but still extremely watery. I had to stop at Walgreens yesterday to get more boxes of tissues to carry with me everywhere.
After all that sleep, I had so much energy! I cranked up some music and started dancing around my living room like a crazy person!
DEFINITELY a sign that I’m feeling better! THEN, I went for a long cemetery walk with my small portable speaker pumping music to fuel my dancing and bobbing through the tombstones! Ahhh!
I wanted to do 10,000 steps, but I started getting a blister (stupid shoes) so I walked home after 3. 
My feet and heart are not used to cardio, so this was still great I thought! I was being mindful not to bounce too much. When I started feeling pressure in my eyes, I slowed my roll. 🤣
I used to hate filling my eyes with the antibiotic cream 2 times a day, but now I realize it’s starting to help satisfy the “itch” and soothe my eyes. It was just painful to try to open my eyes wide enough to put it in before, now I look forward to it even though I can’t see well for about an hour after I put it in.
I can’t wait till my Dr. apt Tuesday morning, so I can see how things are going and if I can start doing yoga again. I feel like my muscles are withering away. And I hate it. 
Day 7:
I have my first Dr. apt. Since my eye surgery tomorrow at 10:30AM
I’m driving myself. I don’t think I’m ready to drive. My eyes hurt when I try to move them in all directions. They are still very watery which blocks my vision as well. Still blood red in patches. I don’t know what tests he will do to my eyes, but I’m afraid it’s going to hurt no matter what.
I didn’t sleep well last night. Only 3 hours. I figure it’s because I slept so much yesterday. Since, I have to be up and get myself to the appointment earlier than I’m normally awake, I think it will be another sleep deprived day tomorrow as well. I know how my insomnia works. I hope I can make it home OK and try to nap tomorrow.
If I get good news from the Dr. I will be teaching my first yoga class since the surgery on Thursday. I will see how the day goes.
Today was rough. I didn’t do much. Tired. Bummed out and I was so happy yesterday.
Day 8 10:30AM:
My Doctor said that I look good and I’m able to do yoga again! It hurt a bit when he pried my eyes open to look for infection, but overall it was not that bad. I got about 5 hours of sleep last night…combined with yesterday’s 3 hours, that give’s me what a normal person get’s in one night. I can stop using the Antibiotic cream, unless I like it, then I can keep using it until it’s gone. Overall, he said he was pleased with the outcome. No double vision, which means my brain caught up with the surgery! I guess sometimes it does not work. Eek
I don’t need to change my glasses prescription and I can wear makeup after 10 days of surgery. I don’t know…I’m still swollen and red. I don’t think I want to accentuate that.
I drove myself there and back. 30 minute drive each way. But, I could tell from the moment I got into the car that I could do it. Even with the lack of sleep, I feel pretty sweet! It was not much pain driving at all. So, Much better than post office day! I have to stay away from dust for a couple more days, but most other things I can do now.
With tired eyes for 2 days, him prying my eyes open and testing them and me driving long distance…I’m surprised how good I feel!
2 friends even came over and helped me hang some stuff up on the wall and chilled with me for awhile. It was a good time even though I still have very watery eyes, but my friend, Bryan noticed that i hadn’t had my sunglasses on much at all the entire night! I just had them on when I was outside in the backyard a bit earlier. That’s a huge thing! I feel like I will be ready for my Birthday Party now on the 27th!
Me on Day 9, drinking a smoothie and enjoying the sun. Still rocking the dark shades.
😎😭👀🤕🕶🖥
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April, I really enjoyed getting a very candid impression of what the recovery process can be like for my patients! It really helps me help people who need surgery set their expectations before they take the plunge! With as impactful as the recovery can be, I’m glad to see you can have some fun with it as you look back aver the process!
I love how patriotic you red, white, and blue eye look!
Haha! Thanks! Feel free to share this with patients! See you tomorrow!
I’m on day 5 of my recovery from strabisimus surgery in my left eye. I’m so glad I had one good eye for these past 5 days! I agree with almost everything you wrote. Ice packs are about the only thing that feels good. Light sensitivity (although my Dr didn’t tell me that, so I’m glad to learn that’s normal). Pain when looking anywhere but forward (when turning my head I close my eyes to keep them from moving as I turn). My swelling went away after about day 3 but still very red as of today and still itchy although the bad pain is about gone. I stopped taking pain meds on day 3. Thanks for sharing your experience, it was reassuring that my recovery is probably going normally! How long did it take your redness to go away?
Sorry, I have so much spam comments to go through, that I just saw this comment. I wrote another blog on my second surgery. I had to have it done 2 times before it stuck. My redness took about a week to go away. I hope it worked well for you!
Thank you for sharing. I was queasy the whole time because I was considering surgery since my prism just keeps getting stronger due to double vision. I’m totally freaked about having my eyes cut. With two small kids, it’ll be impossible to be vision impaired. And if complications cause vision issues, and I can’t watch my babies grow, I’ll be forever heartbroken. With your post, my anxiety, and pessimism, I’m sure it’ll be a while to come to terms with the process. But if I’d had it done without knowing the process in detail, I’d have probably been terrified during the healing. I can use your experience to get fully ready before making my decision now. And that makes me feel much better.
I wrote another blog on my second surgery. I had to have it done twice before it stuck. Eek! But, my second surgery was better.Please check out that one and good luck!
Ok, I’m happy I read this and yet terrified at the same time! I’m 43 and scheduled to have this surgery in one month. I was born with crossed eyes and had my first surgery at the age of 10 months. This will be my second. I’ve had double vision in the past and used to have headaches constantly but hardly ever have either of these things any longer. The main problem is just my eyes not working together and one of them always going in or out too much and it being obvious that my eyes are not straight. I’ve honestly never thought of this surgery until my eye doctor told me casually, “you know Dr. XXX can certainly straighten your eyes and he’s the best!” (I was having to see this surgeon for a chelazion anyhow and he thought I should inquire about surgery too.) So that was my first indication that my eyes look really bad now. Fast forward to the surgeon and after we addressed the chelazion, he asks if I want to discuss surgery and I just kinda shrug and say, “not really but I mean we can” and he says, “well, your eyes are not straight at all!” Again, clearly this is worse than I see in all my weird pictures with crooked eyes. So, after discussing what seems to be a very minor, easy, and painless surgery, I’m
Scheduled. And today I’m researching and I’m now utterly terrified!!!!! How bad is the pain???? I have ZERO pain tolerance!!!!! I don’t like to take narcotics….I have for a few other surgeries and I will but I don’t like to. But from reading your journey, I fully believe I’m going to need narcotics! Did they give you anything? And you had no double vision? Tell me more about the headaches???? I just don’t think I can do this now! Honestly, would you do it again? Did it give you that much of a cosmetic difference? Did it truly help your depth perception? Do you see differently than before now that your eyes both work together? Please don’t sugarcoat anything….I need to hear it straight forward! Thank you for sharing all you have and all you will with me!
Hey, I did have to have this surgery done a second time. I wrote a blog on that time as well. Please look at that one. My recovery the second time was not as bad, but I also had Percocet prescribed. The second surgery worked and it did make a difference!
Good luck!
my question is that once you got your surgery how long did it take for the strabismus to go away cuz my mom did it too it’s been about 2 months maybe and yet sometimes we can still notice the alignment of her eyes. *does that mean that the surgery was not successful???
I had to have the surgery done 2 times before it worked. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing your progress. I’m sorry to hear you went through so much.. I’m 59 and had this muscle surgery on Monday today is Wednesday, so in 3 days other than the redness and itchy stitches my eye feels great. I only had pain late night after all the anesthesia wore off Monday and at that time I took a pain pill but I only took maybe three times Tramadol and there was no more pain. The blood flow waking the eye back up is a lil annoying off and on but if I’m not moving the eye a lot it doesn’t bother me. I have gotten lots of bed rest and that seems to help a lot. Not trying to do anything but enjoy that good old me time in bed. My antibiotic is liquid drop instead of a cream.. The eye now is still way to red to really tell how well it went but from what I can tell it’s way better positioned than it was.
Note: I used a warm wet cloth (Nothing cold) off and on for the swollen closed eye and when it drains a lot. The warmth just makes it feel so much better and the swelling went almost completely away the second day. I heated up a tea kettle of boiling water then poured it into a clean bowl and dip the towel off and on through out the day, this action bought so much more normalcy back to my life than anything. Thanks again for sharing and I wish you well. Sharon K. 10/28/2021