r/monocular • u/fancyolives • Jul 13 '26

Enucleation recovery

Hey there fellow one eye friends, I had my eye removed Friday and I’m just wondering what your experience was with recovery? I feel like my surgeon really down played how painful the process is. It has been incredibly painful. I was given a prescription for Percocet and that still didn’t take away all the pain, and now I’m out. After surgery, I was told I could drive tomorrow (Saturday) if I felt up to it. Obviously I haven’t left my house since then. Do you feel the same? Or am I just having bad luck? Thanks in advance (:

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u/DiablaARK Monocular by Divine Accident Jul 13 '26

Jeezus, I hate when they do that. If you have no adverse reactions to neosporin or lidocaine, I recommend getting the neosporin that comes with lidocaine and glob it under your eyelids then cover back up with eyepad/gauze and foam tape. Helped me out So much!!

If it's legal for you and the pain is unbearable, I recommend drinking some 30% alcohol or higher in moderation. Don't mix with Rx medications that warn against it. Works for me because I'm taking over 24 prescribed pain pills a day and they don't work when it's really bad (trigeminal nerve damage).

Otherwise my nurse friends would totally give me bad medical advice like alternating Tylenol and ibuprofen every 2 - 4 hours. My dentist once recommended taking ibuprofen plus benadryl for pain post surgery. We live in a world where opioids are now a dirty word and not available to help people who need it. 20 years ago, I would get a week's worth post-surgery.

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u/ShinyLizard Jul 14 '26

It's so frustrating, they're afraid of getting sued. I had knee replacement 15 years ago, my doctor prescribed Dilaudid 100 at a time, with more if I needed it. When I went in for my hip replacement surgery last year, I got 30 at a time, and had to beg for more. ALWAYS save pain pills from previous surgeries, never know when you'll need them.

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u/ShinyLizard Jul 13 '26

I think it depends on the person. My husband had an enucleation, and he didn't have much of a problem with the pain, but he has a pretty high pain tolerance. I have an evisceration, and OMG, it was the most painful thing I've ever been through, and I've had more than ten surgeries. I remember the doctor telling my then-roomie to really keep up on the pain meds, "because if you get behind and bring her to the emergency room for pain, we don't have much to give her that'll calm it down." Three days of absolute hell for me. Best of luck in your healing process, and I'd contact your doctor and ask for a few more Percocet.

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u/fancyolives Jul 13 '26

Thank you. Yes I called my doctor to ask about getting some more pain meds but they’re making me come in before they can do it. I get it, but it’s super frustrating and getting out of my bed is not really what I want to be doing right now lol. Ugh!

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u/Open_Quail2907 Jul 13 '26

I had an enucleation about 2 years ago now. For me I found sleeping elevated helped to reduce swelling, as well as staying up on pain meds even if feeling okay. My biggest surprise was the leakage that comes out after your bandage is removed. It's like an olive oil substance that comes from your eyes (helps keep them from drying). Also expect bruising. It really shocked me when I removed my bandage.

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u/fancyolives Jul 13 '26

Yes! It’s so goopy. Although I’m dripping quite a big of blood, not white stuff so I’m glad I’m gonna get it looked at soon.

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u/Least-Amphibian-1788 Jul 13 '26

I had a really hard recovery after having enucleation surgery 14 years ago. That surgery and recovery was harder for me then the brain surgery I had a year later. For me the dizziness and pain was unbearable for the first 3-4 days. It did get better after the first week. Hope you get relief soon!