Preparing for CrossLinking 

Book a Summer Date

 

If you're lucky you'll have some degree of influence over when your CrossLinking occurs. If so, opt for a day in spring or summer. The reason for this is simple: most keratoconus patients find it harder to see in the dark, so if you get your CrossLinking done at a time of year where there are more hours of daylight, your recovery will be easier. It's common for people to find their eyesight worsens temporarily after the operation and so you'll be putting yourself at an advantage in terms of recovery speed by choosing a strategic date.

 

 

 

See your GP

 

Your GP is likely to be able to help by prescribing medicine and writing your sick note to legitimise a leave of absence from work so it's a good idea to keep them abrest of what's going on. My GP was very sympathetic to hear of my operations and by the time my third one came about we'd worked out exactly what was needed.

1. Sleeping pills - invaluable for the first few nights after the operation when sleeping is difficult, but also quite useful on the eve of the operation when worry is likely to get the better of you. Being well rested helps you deal with stress and recover from an op, so I'd highly recommend this precaution.

2. A strong painkiller called 'Oramorph' - I found it very useful in the first 48 hours following CrossLinking

The hospital will give you some painkillers as you leave, but they seem to under-estimate how much relief is needed in the first 48 hours, and how little is needed after that. For this reason I advise taking the precaution of seeing your GP too

 

 

 

Make a Calendar - Fill it

 

If your diary is stored on your phone or computer, then you'll need to anticipate the fact that you won't want to look at it following CrossLinking, since small writing on little screens will be a challenge. So unless you're happy with the idea of doing nothing for a while as you recover, then you'd best make yourself a paper-based diary in advance. The picture to the left is an example of one I made myself. I tend to fill it up with hand written notes as I go along. Each grid is one week, divided up into morning/afternoon/evening, this means it can be filled using VERY big hand writing.

 

Next my advice is to organise some social dates to put on the calendar. If people ask how they can help you after your operation tell them they can come round for a cup of tea! It can be boring waiting to feel well again after CrossLinking and a visit is a pleasant, untiring way to fill a potentially dull afternoon; it's also much easier to arrange in advance.

 

 

 

Find your Sunglasses

 

After CrossLinking you're likely to be a bit light sensitive and in no mood to search in the attic for your summer sunnies. So it's a good idea to know where they are and have them close to hand when you come out of the operating theatre.

 

If there's a risk that you're going to feel a bit silly wearing sunglasses in a dimly lit room then ask your housemates to wear their sunglasses too. After my first CrossLinking operation my whole family gamely ate dinner by candlelight in their sunglasses - it was a very touching show of solidarity.