Pat's Orbital Decompression Surgery - Part II

[MsM12221]

Patrick, I was diagnosed with Grave's nearly fifteen years ago, and my eye symptoms are just showing up now. I am told this is not unusual. So, this is the surgery I will be undergoing as soon as possible.  Your videos and comments are of great value--thank you so much!

[cafesanluis]

hw you doing now? I wish you the best God bless

[Rizhova007]

I too have gone thru GRAVES DISEASE, was diagnosed with it late but in time before it went could get worse. I will go thru this same surgery in a few months but am not sure really what to do!! I am Hypo now under control w/ Methmazole. But Pat is a great example of what we go through, but he was strong enough to go through the O.D surgery and look at him now, wow, God Bless!!! Check out my video on my condition, type "hqhova", on search bar, 1st video!! : )

[executionerofgod]

holy cow, that was the worst eye bulging ive ever seen. i didnt know it could get that bad. good for you , you got some help and relief. i hope my eyes dont get that bad. theyr not bulging at all yet, but they certainly do burn and itch like hell, not everyday but often enough they feel like they should be swollen and bulging too. i'm sick of this damned disease!!

[TheFlexEffect]

how much does it cost for one eye?

[sarahekelly]

I will get through this - in fact i am over the initial shock, im driving again, working in my office job again, have no choice have two young boys to look after. cosmetically my eyes look fantastic - but if i had known i was to go blind in one eye - i would never have of had the surgery. i am the surgeons first patient it has ever happened to. they still don't know why i have gone blind. i hope one day to find out. my left eye has gone back to normal - i thank god i am not blind in both eyes

[sarahekelly]

Hi - the worst thing happened possible. When i woke up the next day and they removed the bandage I had gone blind in my right eye. My vision was perfect before the surgery. The actual result of the protusion fantastic - but I would have left them as they were and not be blind in one eye. I have adjusted to it - driving again, back at work. Still upset to lose sight in one eye so young. I am on a heavy does of steroids which have made me gain weight a lot of it

[LuluHeeNim]

hello..my name is Lulu..i'm 24 years old and i was diagnosed with grave disease last year..i had the eye symptom which..my eyes are bulging like crazy..i feel so sad and sometimes i don't feel like i belong in this world..i feel like a monster..=(

[sarahekelly]

Hi - I am having this surgery in 3 days - eeks i am a little bit worried - my eyes not as severe as yours but am nearly 30 and it happened to me 10 years ago, as a teenager, i felt like i have hid all through my 20's. can't wait to be honest, just hope it turns out ok. hope it all worked out for you. Graves disease sucks but you just got to learn to live with it :-)

[LuluHeeNim]

@sarahekelly hello! can i ask u how's your surgery???

[Melza1979]

Great video thank you

[TomSykstus]

Does this affect a lot of people?, and how do you get this, is it an elongated process, or sudden. Are you born with it? Or can it radomly appear on anyone, disregarding genes. Haha, I got a lot of questions, but you're looking much better! Hope you're doing good.

P.S. You should make a new video, I am curious as to how it looks now.



[BigBoss7777777]

I seem to have this disorder in one eye but the surgery looks so painful that I may just decide to live with it.

[cyndijo1977]

As of right now, I am on Prednisone (steroid) to see if that will help my swelling. If it doesn't work, my doctor said that surgery is a good possibility. I am so scared to have the procedure. How long was he down for, was he in pain alot, how long was the surgery? Sorry for all the questions, I am just REALLY scared and the two videos were very informative but freaked me out.

[beatryxa]

Is not necessary, i went to an ayurvedic honey treatment after Graves, and in a year my eyes returned to they orbit and the inflamation dissapeared, just one drop of honey in each eye at night for 15 minutes them you wash your face whit water, for 6 months them you going to star see results and more for a year, my eyes where worst than yours, very dark and purple and had loss of vision, this is only for surgeons to rip off your money, surgery is not necesary in none way

[miawilliams200]

i had the orbital decompresson, and luckily for me i was only in hospital for several days .. i had 3 surgerys since to lower and then rehigher my eye lid and i can honestly say my confidence is coming back .... plese dont let ur life be taken over by this disease... the surgery s so worth the risk and there is only a 2% percent chance of u loosing ur sight.... very slim percentage to get ur life back on track

[spanishaustralian]

is this rare or common for thyroid problems? what ar the first symptoms people notice?

[ValerieSatterfield]

Thank you so much for posting this. My mother is undergoing this surgery right now as I type this. Very scary stuff and the video is very comforting. Very kind of you and very much appreciated. Best of luck, Valerie

[mepammy]

WOW Pat! I too had decompression surgery (2004) but my eyes weren't nearly as bad as yours :( -but I know the discomfort and disfigurement is very difficult the same. Did you have RAI? My eyes weren't bad at all until after RAI (1989 and 1990) and I told this was an immune response to it. But even for years after RAI I had Grave's antibodies and finally in 2001 an endo treated me properly with meds so I'd go into remission :D

[Paulchac2]

wow, recuperation looks mighty freaky. I have protruding eyes with no underlying condition. Ever since i was a kid Ive had big eyeballs sticking out. Sometimes I think its just accumulated fat that could be removed with a syringe. Not sure if I could go through surgery like this.

[MrEnergon1333]

thx 4 the info

[MrEnergon1333]

define orbital / decompression :

[aliciadaug]

Orbital decompression is a surgical procedure that alleviates protrusions of the eyes. Doctors remove portions of the bones within the sinus cavity and behind the eyes so that they can "fall" back into the head further rather than stick out.

[agenthelios1]

Looks improved, but seems you ahd severe case. did you have a thyroid disorder?

Good luck and you look good. Congrats

[OrbitalSugeon]

(continued).....The muscles and fat enlarge due to the immune systems attack on them, resulting in massive deposition of glyoproteins and proteoglycans into their tissue. Whether the thyroid hormones are high or low is actually irrelevent, and about 30% of patients with this condition have normal thyroid function levels. In essence, the thyroid gland is as much a victim as the eyes in this disease state. One thing we know, smokers account for 80% of patients with this type of eye disorder

[sammimitsu]

I have Graves' disease exopthalmia. The Graves is long gone but I still have protruding eyes; nothing like as bad as Patrick's. I have always been too scared to have the orbital decom procedure for fear of damage to my vision, but it has seriously impaired my confidence. I am now almost a recluse. I stay in & read a lot & I want to go back to uni to study for a PhD, but I must work on myself psychologically to deal with being in an environment full of other people which I find very daunting.

[miawilliams200]

@sammimitsu

[OrbitalSugeon]

strek0655..Actually this is not a correct description. Thyrotoxic Exophthalmos / Proptosis is the condition... You can get it concurrently when you have ANY type of autoimmune thyroid disease. This can be Grave's disease, Hashimoto's disease, or even if you have subclinical immune thyroid disease (but not Iodine deficieny). A major misconception is that the thyroid gland is causing the problem (e.g., it is producing too much thyroid hormone causing the muscles to overgrow)...(

[sammimitsu]

There's something about starey eyes that puts some people on the defensive. Everyone, including babies & children, checks your eyes first. All of us with exopthalmia can attest to the fact that kids just gawp unabatedly because they know something is 'wrong' or odd about you. It's that basic. I don't think you ever become immune to it. I've been abused by passers-by dozens of times & called 'bug eyes'. Is it linked to fear that you might be crazy therefore dangerous. What do you think?

[naruto071980]

what causes orbital decompression?

[strek0655]

A Orbital Decompression is the procedure not the condition. The condition can be caused by many thing from Iodine deficiency to graves disease. The problem mostly is that the Thyroid gland grows/ overproduce hormones which causes the muscles around the eyes to overgrow, and pushing the eye out of place.

[shazzer1976]

Thanks for sharing this! I'm getting this surgery soon as well. Very encouraging results. I hope I'll be able to wear contact lenses again instead of hiding behind glasses!

[kaeljia]

I had double orbital decompression as well in January of this year. I was wondering did you experience any problems with lumps under the lower eye lids that when the eyelid was pulled back it popped out like a little flap of skin. I have had one that was like a blood blister after I rubbed my eye too hard. Again I have one. They do go away but I was wondering do you know what it is>

[aliciadaug]

No, I did not experience that problem. I really am unaware of what it is exactly. I highly recommend you ask your doctor. Sorry I wasn't much help!

[XoGazettEoX]

I'm considering this surgery.

I'm acually scared.

what kinds of procedures do they do to get your eyes back into your head.

[mdrn1]

Have you been to the National Grave's Disease web site? There is a lot of discussion there about the procedures you will go through. Pat also has a blog site- battlewithgravesdisease. He was scared as well. Do your homework and find out as much as you can about the disease and the surgeries. The mom

[slweber33]

I just had orbital decompression, but my Grave's Disease was sever but nowhere near as bad as Pat's! It's great that all went well!

[leslielounge]

The recovery video looks great. What will they do with the excess skin around his eyes?

[aliciadaug]

He will eventually be having 2 more surgeries. The doctors want his eye readings to stabilize before the undergo the muscle realignment procedure to eliminate his double vision. After he recovers from that surgery, he will be having a plastic surgery to remove a lot of the excess skin that has created the bags around his eyes.

[songwriter2496]

I'm having this surgery next week so I greatly appreciate your video postings - thank you.

They did a great job and I wish you continued recovery.

[aliciadaug]

Thank you! I hope that your surgery is as successful as Patrick's. Best of luck with your recovery as well!

[mdrn1]

You are such a handsome man! You are looking good!

[Tvas22]

It's incredible how much recovery he has had. Better than how it looks though, is how it feels and what the other effects are.