Eye mould prosthetic? If you have it does it hurt?

Posted by Silent-Garbage410@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 19 comments

I was shot almost a year ago, idiot shooting animals by a restaurant.. told him to stop he mouthed off, drove around me out of the place onto the dual carriageway and when he shouted me I turned and he shot me in my left eye amongst other places.. it was buckshot.. since removal surgery I've, of all sentences I never thought I'd write, been waiting for my eye to shrink enough to either take out or mould for a prosthetic.. if you have any experience or even a mate who's monocular what do you think is my best option in terms of aesthetic, maintenance & flexibility? What is the mould process.. is it painful or is there anaesthetic involved/does it depend on how much feeling there is in the eye still? I'm panicking... about all that ^^ does the mould hurt is it worth it to protext my eye.. and how to live with my sudden condition! It *was* almost a year ago but the bullet was behind my eye for 3 months, surgery recovery was 6/7 months following, I have a young family too and navigating their response as well as other family members throughout each stage of my recovery and lately the public reaction has been tough.. just need a bit of guidance through it all if it's here?

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19 Comments

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Technical_Front_8046@reddit

Can’t help with your question, but I hope to god you’ve made a claim under the criminal injury compensation scheme

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GlobalFlower3@reddit

I'm so sorry that happened to you. People are fucking evil. I only have one eye and wear a prosthesis. My blind eye is shrunken (phthisical) and I had a scleral shell fitted a couple years ago; I was offered evisceration but the eye hasn't been painful for years now so I saw no reason for further procedures. I contacted the National Artificial Eye Service. The whole process was pretty painless. I think I had two initial appointments, one to make a mould and one to test the fit of the mould, then my third appointment I received my prosthesis. Getting the mould done wasn't pleasant, I can't really describe how it's done, but it wasn't anything unbearable; I've had tattoos that were far worse. I wear it for 12-14 hours a day with absolutely no discomfort and could easily wear it from waking until sleep if I wished. It's indistinguishable from my real eye and nobody I meet ever realises it's a prosthesis.

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Silent-Garbage410@reddit (OP)

This is fantastic to hear..read! If you don't mind my occasional direct message on things as they pop up, I'd much appreciate it! Brilliant reading that you've had worse tattoos where the mould process and being uncomfortable is concerned, too! I've got a fair few. I called the National Artificial Eye Service a day or so ago, but the call tone was too long, and I backed out! I'm tired and have bad eye strain in my good eye. It's not been that long fully recovered, so reading/screens, etc, are short-lived, but I will message you tomorrow with a few questions. Thank you so much for replying!

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Consistent_Dust_2332@reddit

I know someone who was a minor at the time. They got special non prescription glasses to avoid getting miskicked footballs or dust etc in their good eye. Looked like normal specs. I don't know if that would be helpful for you. They are an adult now & wear a shell. The colour match is great ( if I didn't know, I'd never guess) And they can drive.

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GlobalFlower3@reddit

Yeah man, you've gotta look after your good eye now. Definitely drop me a message tomorrow, I might not get back to you until a bit later on (I work on screens all day, I know the screentime struggle) but I promise I'll do my best to answer any questions you've got. Losing an eye is shit, no two ways about that; the way you see and the way you're seen will completely change. Your only choice now is to be tough as fuck to get through it. *Amor fati* is a Latin phrase that means to love one's fate. I carry it with me every day (literally, now, because I have it tattooed) and even now it helps me live in such a way that I'd choose this life over and over again.

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kinellm8@reddit

My eyes are ok, but I became suddenly and visibly disabled a few years ago. Amor fati, I like that. Thank you.

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itsfourinthemornin@reddit

Second all of this! I don't have a prosthetic eye myself but three family members do. They wear theirs whilst sleeping at this point and rarely get any discomfort from it at this point as their prosthetic is well fit. Main discomforts for them is the (now rare) times they need moulds and occasionally weather related like itchiness in summer and similar so I'd mention plenty eye drops/mist! (Likely given some alongside prosthetic anyway!)

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GlobalFlower3@reddit

Itchiness is definitely a thing in summer; preservative-free eyedrops and eye mist are the way to go. But 99% of the time I forget my prosthesis is even there. Three family members with artifical eyes is pretty wild though. Is there a family history of opthalmic problems?

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itsfourinthemornin@reddit

Yeah, unless you know they have prosthesis' you wouldn't know they actually had them - most people can tell and know my brother has one but most are often floored that my mum and niece also do! Yes, hereditary family history with retinoblastoma (eye cancer). Back when my mum and brother were younger (early 60's and 80's) there was much less readily available treatment options so they usually went straight with removal if the tumours were beyond a certain size. Even for me (90's) the only treatment options were radiotherapy, cryotherapy and laser. My niece unfortunately lost part vision too and has a prosthetic. My son and me were lucky in that we kept our eyes and vision. Though as I get older mine has dwindled and will likely result in cataracts and similar the older I get due to the radiotherapy and other treatments. We've recently learnt a bit more about our 'genetic history' in that another hereditary genetic condition from one side (dad's side) is likely interacting with the genes for retinoblastoma (mum's side) causing some weird genetic... thingamabobdoodahs.

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Delicious-Stop5554@reddit

I don’t know about the mould process, but I have an uncle with a prosthetic “glass” eye. It’s so good that I forget which is real. He lost an eye as a child and it’s never held him back in life. I lost this in the hope it offers you some reassurance - you got this.

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loeastrose55@reddit

Same as my family member, cancer in the eye so prosthetic eye since young. Sometimes he might need to dab his eye but aside from that hes never voiced discomfort and you wouldn't know its there

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wandering_salad@reddit

If I fully lost my eye and just had the socket with a skin graft healed etc, I would get some kind of Terminator-style one with a red "laser" pointing out of my prosthetic eye.

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ToastedCrumpet@reddit

I’d be getting a camera put in mine that Bluetooth’s to my phone or a tactical torch

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Either-Equivalent314@reddit

Jesus that is absolutely horrible, and Im astonished it wasn’t all over the news ! Obviously gangland shootings occur but a random person with buckshot shooting animals then a person is absolutely wild

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Silent-Garbage410@reddit (OP)

I was on my way to work, had stopped at a McDonald's for a coffee on the way through Morecombe, they'd stopped in for their own breakfast and had decided to practice! Unfortunately, the shots weren't only aimed at rabbits & birds and with plenty of space for safety but they were also directed through the car park at poles, bins, and who knows what else while they hit cars and the shots passed by families entering the McDonald's! The shooter was a traveller and his van along with the numerous calls in had him caught quickly, around the same time and area another such shooting, this one gang related, occurred and that took news precedence.

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DocMillion@reddit

That's wild. I'm so sorry

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Electrical_Bet_9699@reddit

What team is looking after you? Ophthalmology or maxillofacial? Mould is likely to be uncomfortable but not painful.

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Mental_Body_5496@reddit

Oh my days that is a heartbreaking read please tell me he is going to prison and you will receive compensation? My mum's friend was in a nasty car accident where her husband was killed she lost one eye and has a prosthetic on some kind of stalk system so when she looks left it looks left etc. I think the measurements were taken from the eye that was removed and she had to wait for the surgery to heal before the prosthetic was attached to the stalk. I wish you all the best in adjusting - my teenager has been very ill and become a wheelchair user at 15 - its ok to grieve - are there any support groups - RNIB or similar?

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