A few days after my sutures were removed I was feeling a lot better. I was able to play a round of golf that Saturday and had a very busy Sunday. My the end of the day Sunday, I was tired. I stayed up a little later than I should have watching Sunday Night Football. On Monday, my eyes felt tired and were a little red. Monday night I stayed up a little late again, this time watching the news about the government shutdown. By Tuesday morning, my eyes were a little red and as the day went on left eye stayed red and started feeling a little worse. I went out for lunch, and that was when I noticed a little light sensitivity. I know that these are the symptoms to look out for, but I pushed through and just wanted to get to the end of the day so that I could go home and rest.

By the time I left work, I discovered that the light sensitivity was severe. I called Dr. Chow’s office during the drive home and spoke with the after-hours doctor. Given the symptoms, he said that I should go to the emergency room immediately. He told me to ask to see the Opthalmology resident to avoid getting the run-around from “regular” doctors and nurses. By the time I checked in, it felt like someone had stuck a needle in my eye. I just wanted to sit in a dark room.

About an hour after I arrived I was able to see the Opthalmology resident. He checked and rechecked my eyes. The bright lights were painful. It was so bad that shining a light in my good eye made my bad eye hurt! The “best” part was when he used the lens that looks like a magnifying glass to examine the back of my eye with a bright light. I can still feel that one 🙁

After the exam was completed and after he spoke with the after-hours doctor, I was diagnosed with Iritis, inflammation of the iris. Luckily, my cornea was in good shape and there was no infection. I was prescribed Pred Forte (the steroid drops that I took after the surgery), Homatropine (used to dilate the eye for comfort) and Erythromycin (an ophthalmic ointment). By the next morning, the redness and pain were gone. I want in to see Dr. Chow a couple of days later and things looked good. I’ll be on the Pred Forte for a month. Danger averted.

My lessons from this incident… stop staying up so late, and go to the doctor immediately if my eyes are red or if I notice light sensitivity.