u/Intelligent-OV

With surgery now behind me, I figured I'd document my journey and continue posting updates as I recover with any lows / highs. I hope this helps someone else who's going through something similar.

Age: 40
Sex: Male
History: No family history of Glaucoma

Vision baseline before all this started:

• Right Eye: 20/20
• Left Eye: 20/25 - 30

Vision baseline during experience:

• Right Eye: 20/20
• Left Eye: 20/25 - 30 with no issues; as bad as 20/200 during episodes

Outside of LASIK when I was 23 and having my appendix removed in July 2024, I've been pretty healthy. I stay on top of my annual physicals and have never really had any major health issues.

October 2025

This all started suddenly with elevated eye pressure in my left eye.

Like many of you, it was pretty scary. At first, I had no idea what was happening. My vision became so foggy that I couldn't even make out who was standing in front of me.

I ended up in the ER that day and was fortunate enough to see both an optometrist and an ophthalmologist. My IOP was in the 50s, so they immediately started me on eye drops and Diamox to bring the pressure down. I was also diagnosed with HSV the following day on a followup.

At the time, I honestly thought this would be a temporary issue that would clear up with the right medication.

Unfortunately, it didn't.

October 2025 - May 2026

Over the next eight months, I was in and out of the clinic roughly 70 times.

It got to the point where I was basically maxed out on medications. I dealt with constant inflammation and flare-ups, vision that seemed to change by the day, and eye pressure that never wanted to stay under control.

My IOP ranged anywhere from 14 all the way into the low 40s.

Diamox was rough on me causing muscle cramps, fatigue. Some drops weren't an option because of the beta blocker, others couldn't be used long-term because of toxicity, and I stayed on daily 500mg Valtrex as a preventative.

It honestly felt like every time we thought we were making progress, we take 2 steps back.

May 2026

After another ER visit where my pressure was back in the 50s, I decided to ask my primary care doctor for a referral to an outside network for a second opinion.

This wasn't because I had lost confidence in my original doctors. I just wanted a new set of experienced eyes looking at my case. I didn't want to spend time later wondering if I should have gotten another opinion sooner.

I started seeing Dr. Kruse (Optometrist) and Dr. Platt (Ophthalmologist) from Froedtert Eye Insitute. My primary doctor also referred me to a uveitis specialist at Froedtert, whom I'm scheduled to see on July 17.

One thing that surprised everyone was that during several visits, my pressure would elevated, but there wasn't any obvious inflammation. We dicussed their opinions of the initial diagnois given of HSV and about the the lack of testing that was done orignally to substain the diagnois. They were able to go back and read all my visit notes as both hospitals utilizes the same charting systems. They adjusted some of my medications and continued monitoring everything closely. Decision to stay on Valtrex was made also until I could see the uveitis specialist. This was also the first time hearing that I essentially have glaucoma.

June 25, 2026

At a follow-up appointment after yet another pressure spike, this time my IOP was 52 and my vision had dropped to 20/200, I was told surgery was needed and to happen as soon as possible to avoid damaging the optic nerve, preserve my baseline vision and fear of permanent lost of vision due to the elevated IOP, and we tenatively scheduled it for June 30.

This news was honestly a gut punch. Literally fainted in office.

Surgery was never something I thought I'd need. I always believed we'd eventually find the right combination of medications and this would pass.

After several conversations with Dr. Platt and doing a lot of research myself (calling for second opinions, watching vidoes i.e.), I learned he's considered one of the top glaucoma surgeons in the Midwest and is highly respected by both colleagues and patients in and out of network.

We discussed both the Ahmed Valve and the XEN Gel Stent, including the pros, cons, possible complications, and the fact that additional maintenance could be needed down the road.

Together, we decided the XEN Gel Stent was the best choice for me.

June 30, 2026 - Surgery Day

I underwent a XEN Gel Stent (ab externo) procedure. Anyone considering the Xen Gel Stent, I encourge you to read literature on how this procedure was done vs the traditional ab interno. Alittle more invasive but there are studies that the success rate is higher, less rates of needing maintenance needling/adjustments due to possible less scarring.

The surgery itself took about 30 minutes. I was under local anesthesia and don't remember anything. I remember talking with the Anesthesiologist and then I woke up in the OR after they called my name. I came to find that surgery was completed only after I asked when they were going to start.

My eye was patched and covered with a shield afterward. Surprisingly, I had zero pain going home.

July 1, 2026 - Post-Op Day 1

At my first follow-up, my IOP had dropped to 7, exactly where they wanted. They explained with the IOP in the single digits and with the likely hood to rise; it gives a better chance of being in the normal range vs being in the teens after surgery and with the increase.

My vision tested at 20/40, although everything was still alittle blurry, which I expected. But zero fog.

The eye was bloodshot, swollen, and pretty red.

I was started on:

• Prednisolone 8 times a day to reduce inflammation and help slow scarring.
• Ciprofloxacin 4 times a day as an antibiotic.

I still had no real pain and took ibuprofen to help with some of the swelling.

July 3, 2026 - Post-Op Day 3

My vision was still blurry, although every now and then I'd have moments where things became surprisingly clear.

This was also the day I really started noticing the two sutures.

And wow...they're annoying.

The best way I can describe it is that it doesn't feel like an eyelash in your eye. It feels more like something sharp constantly poking the inside of your eyelid.

My surgeon warned me this would happen and repeatedly reminded me:

"Do NOT rub your eye"

Honestly, the only thing that gave me relief was simply closing my eyes for a while.

July 4, 2026 - Post-Op Day 4

Today my vision is still blurry, but I have:

• No eye pain
• No cloudiness
• Bloodshot remaining
• Some remaining redness and minimal swelling

The sutures are still the worst part, but I've started mentally accepting that they're just part of the healing process.

I've basically told myself:

"It's going to be uncomfortable. It's going to feel scratchy. It's going to suck. Just deal with it."

It sounds simple, but that mindset has actually helped.

Next Update

My next follow-up appointment is Monday, July 6th. I will contiune to update as I go on into the future. I hope to build a steady journal for years to come; good or bad.