Cataracts-- my personal story

     If you’ve come here from my video on youtube, 

 you’re in the right place. This is just a short synopsis of my experience of having cataracts done. The yt video of a cataract operation I actually watched a few days before my op, played out exactly how the first girl operated on my right eye, that’s the reason I enjoyed it, because she explained everything as she was doing it.

      It all started in November last year, I went for a routine eye test & was put forward for cataract ops, I subsequently went for an assessment at SpaMedica on the Team Valley in Gateshead, where an appointment was made for my right cataract op on the15th November 2023.

       On the day of your operation the nurse will test your blood pressure, temp etc & you’ll look through various optical instruments, then in another room a nurse will place a pellet in your eye to dilate the pupil, then you go in a room with cubicles with other patients for about an hour until your pupil has dilated, that’s the longest part of the whole thing really, oh & you can all chat with each other over coffee & biscuits if you wish, it’s all quite relaxed, you then see another nurse who will remove the pellet from your eye.

     There’s a walk through video of the SpaMedica hospital in Gateshead on yt, showing what happens on your pre assessment, & on your operation day.

SpaMedica walkthrough

 

Then it’s time for “theatre” which lasts no more than 8-10 minutes, the nurse will sit you on the bed & put drops in your eye, I think that was the aesthetic, then you lay down & you're covered up apart from your eye. you must then look up at the 3 square lights whilst your cataract is done, when completed a plastic shield is taped  over your eye & you’re off to the last room where you’ll be given a bag with drops, a booklet explaining the post op things you must & must not do, then reception will give you a date for your 4 week post op assessment, mine for my first eye was on wed 13th Dec, then to my surprise, when back at reception she said would I like to come in on the Sat for my other eye op, which of course I said Yes!

So the drops I’d been taking for 4 weeks were to start again in 4 days, but a different girl did my left eye & she gave drops for only 2 weeks. 

Incidentally when I got home from my first op, I slept with the patch on, took it off in the morning, & commenced the drops, 4 times a day, don’t forget to mark it on the chart you were given, on that same morning I looked out of our window, it was a rather dull day,( mind as your eye will be susceptible to brightness), I covered my “new” eye, looked with the unoperated eye, & just the picture I’d been used to seeing, but omg when I covered my other & looked with my new one, what a fantastic difference, so clear. 

Now back to the patch, according to the wife I have a habit of rubbing my eyes during the night, which is a definite no, so I did keep taping the patch on at night for about a week then bought a night mask off Amazon, ( where else), & this seemed to do the trick. 

      The girl who did my 2nd eye had a slightly different technique to the first one, I suppose they all have their own way of doing things, it was also even quicker.

Now I’ve had my post op check done, both eyes are brilliant, can’t believe how clear everything is,  before the ops I had bi-focals, mainly for driving, distance for dashboard, they were also ok for tv  & reading, phone etc, I also had sep pair for computer.

      Now I drive without specs, can see my dashboard clearly, only require specs for close reading,

I’m now awaiting an appointment for an eye test for correct reading glasses, 

I've now had my eye test & now have vary focals so I can use them for reading & also for driving if it’s sunny, I can use my flip up shades, or I can just wear shades with no prescription, as I can drive without specs.

My New Total hip replacement

https://youtu.be/LHx2j1wlvso This is a follow up from my yt channel video of the run up to my op & then the recovery & how I coped when I came home from hospital. I’m now just over 12 months since my op & my hip is brilliant, but I’ve had to curb my walking as I seem to have Planta Fasciitus on my left foot, & I’ve had to cancel my physio as the wife caught covid for the 3rd time & very kindly gave it to me, She wasn’t  too bad but I was really bad, I am still positive after 7 days it’s actually my first dose of it, so if someone tells you covid is all over, tell em to see me, & it certainly wasn’t just a bad cold I can tell you. Incidentally I still use the thing from Amazon for putting my socks on, it’s easier  than straining my back as my back has been bad for years from driving a wagon with a heavy tail lift.

Apologies for the site being all over the place , it just seemed tt take off in all directions on it’s own all of a sudden, but the links are all ok as far as I know so you can always get back to whatever.

The link to my THR posteria version is located at the top of this paragraph, please enjoy

Efudix Treatment for sun damage.

 Approx 3 weeks ago I visited docs as I realised the tiny scab I found on my scalp about 2 months previous was still there. I was told by the doctor it was Actinic Keratoses, which can if left untreated turn into something nasty, so she gave me some Efudix cream to put on each night & wash off each morning, for 4 weeks. Nothing showed until about the 10 day mark when red blotches appeared & became a little tender. Looking at youtube videos of people who have gone through this ritual I gained one fact I wasn't warned about, which was to put the cream on a few hours before bed so as it soakes in & doesn't go all over your pillow. Well my scalp & forehead was still not dry even in the morning, whether I put too much cream on I don't know, but a red spot appeared near my eye, which must have occurred in my sleep. I'm now parenoid & now wear white cotton gloves in bed with an old pair of spctacles to try to keep my hands away from my eyes, but it's probably happend by my face touching a spot on the pillow that had cream on from being rubbed off my head. I'm now changing pillowcases every day to be on the safe side. 

I've got one more week of Efudix on my head, then a few weeks to clear itself up. When you go outside whilst using Efudix, you must cover up & put sun protection on your face, & the wife & I went for a walk this afternoon, I could not wear shorts, the weather is extremely mild for the end of October, so I was slightly hot. Oh & you cannot drink alcahol whilst using this cream. This is also the reason I haven't finished my video on my hip replacement, it's spoilt my good looks, Ha Ha only joking!! 

Pic shows me on 9/10/22 just 5days into the treatment, nothing seems to happen until about 10 days, 

Btw I did only put a very thin layer of cream on as I read that putting more on does not make it work any quicker, only thing I did was wash my head, allow to dry then apply the cream so as to let it soak in for at least 3 hours before going to bed, & it was still sticky in the morning, that's why I wore cotton gloves & turned pillow over all ways everytime I woke up, plus changed pillowcase every day.

I also wore shades one night to stop me touching my eyes in case I had inadvertently touched my head, & frightened the life out of the wife, actually I think at first she thought I was Patrick Swasey Ha Ha !!! 

Pic shows me on 21/10/22  approx. 2.5 weeks into my 4week stint with Efudix  treatment, note the red spot near my eye, which as I said above, I think ocurred whilst I was asleep, but has since dropped off & now thank God is clear, but the original reason for doing this, the scab on my scalp is still there but whether something is going on underneath it I will find our next week, when I visit the doc to assess what should happen next.

This third pic below, ( sorry this text doesn't want to move) is also taken on 28/10/22, just a different angle, you can clearly see the scab which, started all this thing off.

Pic shows me on 28/10/22 where you can see the original scab at the top & red things it had picked up on my forehead.

They tell you to not just put the cream on the scab itself, but a thin layer all over my scalp as it can pick up things which could show like the scab I found in later years, so doing it now kind of stops them now.

(Update to follow)

Pic shows the famous scab taken just before I started the Efudix treatment. (screenshot from video I took)

Update 20/11/22

the scab has dropped off but still have to have it checked at the RVI 

,the red flaky forehead is now smooth & the redness has almost gone, but going out I have to wear a cap, put suncream on my face & back of hands & I cannot wear shorts as yet. I never used to put cream on my legs as they never tanned ever, apart from when we were in Greece for 2 weeks when I did out loads of cream everywhere.

I've since been applying moistureiser on my head & the red blotchers on my forehead have almost gone.

I have seen the dermatologist at the RVI  Newcastle & he said he had no concerns which made my day, but he said I should use the Efudix again just on top of my head twice a day, but with all the strikes I haven't received his letter as yet, so I will be commencing my Efudix treatment after the new year as you cannot drink alcohol with it.

I’ve now  done the Efudix on my head again & now seems ok, it didn’t bring anything else up so I’m happy.

My hospital visit

 Yes as in the title I've been in hospital, I went in the Peter Smith Surgery Centre at the QE Hospital, Gateshead on the 15th of March, had the op in the afternoon, was out of bed in the evening & was home the following teatime.I was able to walk up & down stairs so was ok to go home, where the wife was there to assist. 

Before I go any further I was under DR Graham, & what a lovely man, the staff in ward 21elective were second to none, they were absolutely wonderful, I guess with staff shortages & covid etc we were beter  staying in the least time possible as they needed the beds, & to stop you catching covid whilst you're in there.

I had the spinal anasthetic & with the pain killers I must have been on I was ok , but the day after omg I was stiff & sore, so the first week or so I was struggling doing the exercses I had to perform, although I could manage them ok stood up holding on to a chair, lifting the operated leg, my right, out to the right, but layed on bed I have only just been able to do it without pain.

But I'm now at post 5 weeks & the improvement is amazing, I'm due to see my consultant at the qe to find out how I'm doing, I can walk unaided but I purposely still use one crutch or my stick to be safe.

Been in the QE for my 6 week check up & touch wood, it was ok

NB: I am in the process of making a video for my yt channel on my personal experience of having a new hip, so shouldn't be long now.

<to be cont>

The video "My own Total Hip Replacement" is now live on YouTube.

Putting RC red jeep on the road

Picture above shows the hero7 attatched to the roof.

First of all I placed the green cloth over bed head & bed as in the picture A small bit of shelving was placed under the cloth to keep jeep stable as it had to balance jeep on more pieces of wood, also covered with a bit of the green cloth so as nothing was seen under the truck with 

the wheels free to drive & turn front wheels where required. I also jerked the accelerator to make it look realistic, as much as possible,, it was only done as a giggle for the grandkids, but when I looked at it just now, I thought why not so here it is. I had main camera on trypod at bottom of bed as shown.

I did of course iron the green cloth when I filmed it, these pictures are just to show the set up.

I then edited it on Pinnacle studio with some dashcam footage,( I know the time stamp is on the dashcam, sorry),  then the jeep itself has to be resized to fit  in with the traffic sizes etc & here is the video on youtube Video link

https://youtu.be/BDpU5n_kMFU

GBNews

I must say i am actually enjoying watching quite a lot of GBNEWS, I would love you to do the same, it's a breath of fresh air.

I normally catch the great British Breakfast with Simon McCoy from 8am to 9am & Alex Phillips 4pm till 6pm, Farage is always worth a watch, other programmes are good but those are just what fit my schedule.

Update: all change again, breakfast with Steven Dixon with Ann Diamond & Eamonn Holmes with Isabel Webster, which I'm enjoying, as I've stated in " my hospital visit" above.

cont'd

It's now 25th aug & we seem to be having a bit of an Indian summer, covid has taken a back seat news wise, as afghanistan is all over the news channels,, & so it should be, all that 20 years for nothing.

 It's now August, covid 19 cases seem to be going down for some reason, air travel trying to open up, but the traffic light system keeps changing so!! i wouldn't risk it. I voted for Boris, but never again, he hasn't got a clue.

I've also been experimenting with my new go pro hero7 with it's own stabilisation on my red jeep, video on youtube shortly.