Orbital decompression surgery

Hi Tanya, Thanks for posting. I was in a similar boat - I had been waiting so long for surgery, and was so excited to finally get it done. Definitely a bit nervous as I hadn’t had a surgery like this before, but mostly excited.


I’m in the US, and different hospitals may have different policies in general. It does seem odd to me that they won’t be giving you pain killers. Are you able to give them a call to ask about it? Your doctor may also have a preference as to the type of pain killer, so it may be helpful to get a more specific answer.


As for how long it takes to go back to work, I think that depends on a lot of things including how extensive your surgery is and the individual person. I took the weekend off and worked from home part time the following week, but I definitely needed breaks to rest. One of my jobs is that I’m a yoga/fitness teacher, and I was given instructions to not do anything strenuous, lift items more than a certain weight, and to not move into upside down positions like down dog for a few weeks. Perhaps it would be beneficial to chat with your doctor beforehand about their guidelines in relationship to your specific job and generally when their patients go back to work?


I’ve written a few articles about my personal experience, but again everyone is different. Hope these are helpful -
https://thyroideyedisease.net/living/recovering-orbital-decompression-surgery
https://thyroideyedisease.net/living/orbital-decompression-surgery-results



Please feel free to keep us posted!


Wishing you a peaceful day,


Jessica H (thyroideyedisease.net, team member)

Hi Jessica, I've read all your articles and they were really helpful. I will call the ward tomorrow and ask about my stay and medications. But it was very specific in the letter, that they won't prescribe any painkillers and I need to have Paracetamol or Ibuprofen. Very, very strange....
The good thing is the week after my surgery is a Half term holiday here and the children are off school for a week, which means I'm not working as well. After that I will see how I look and of I'm not too scary I will go back to work. And if I can drive of course.

Hi again, I was thinking about you today and just wanted to check in. I hope your surgery and the recovery process have been going well. Always feel free to reach out if you’d like to chat. Best wishes, Jessica H (thyroideyedisease.net, team member)

Hi, they cancelled the first surgery appointment and reschedule for 23rd February. So, I had my surgery on Friday and they discharged me yesterday. I'm home now, my right side of the face is swollen. My surgery was on my right eye. I have a lot of medications prescribed, eye drops, antibiotic ointment.... The surgery was a bit longer than usual but I'm fine now. I don't feel pain at all.