Red eye

Well it is starting----This afternoon my left eye started hurting and when I looked in the mirror the white is a dark red. I told them I got red eyes from Coumadin, now my one eye is all red. I'll see if it happens in my right eye and if so what is the next step. I believe that I need the Watchman as I may not be able to tolerate blood thinners.

Liz

You may be a good candidate for a Watchman. You can find out by going here and clicking on "Getting Started". It asks a short series of questions and then emails you a response on whether they think you're a candidate.

Carey:

I spoke with a lady about the Watchman and she said it depended upon my doctor. My eye might make a difference to him, I think my EP that I have had for years would be okay with it. Are most EPs that do these type of procedures OK or do I need a guy like Natalie?

I was advised by a woman that works with the EP I saw Tuesday to have my primary doctor check my eye, so I am waiting on a call from their office if they can do it.

Liz

It doesn't have to be someone like Natale, but you do want someone who's done a lot of them. The watchman.com site has a lookup tool and it says there are a dozen or more centers in Michigan doing the procedure. Most are in Detroit, of course. I'll do some asking around and see if we can identify who would be the best choice.

Carey:

Thank you that would be very helpful. The EP I saw on Tuesday was a Dr. Ural at U of Michigan. Would it be wise to wait for the new Watchman that is supposed to be available in March 2020?
liz

I think it would, yes. You probably wouldn't be able to get the procedure approved and scheduled much sooner than that anyway. One of the the biggest improvements with the new version is that it can be redeployed. With the original Watchman, once the EP deployed it they couldn't back off and try again if it wasn't a perfect placement. With the new one they can, so it's much more forgiving.

Carey:

I went to get my eye checked and they said it was just broken veins, and should take about a week to heal. My other eye is OK.

That's as I expected. It's no big threat to you but it does indicate you're going to have chronic problems with anticoagulants so a Watchman might be a good option for you. Still working on finding some good Watchman docs for you. Probably have some recommendations by Monday.