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Almost severely nearsighted at 32 with retina detachment, is there hope?
I am 32 years old, I have -5.00 and -5.25 in my eyes. I recently had a retina detach in my better eye. I have thinning and some holes in my "good" eyes retina. Before the detachment, which was caused by very high (200 blood pressure) during a panic attack, I had no idea that being nearsighted could be an issue. Now I'm worried that I'll never have good vision and that I will always be at risk of retinal tears or retinal issues. Should I be worried? Is there anyway to stop the progression of my nearsightedness (my prescription gets worse every year). I'm also terrified I won't ever have my normal vision back after this detachment (I see now but it's a little blurry and I'm waiting for the gas bubble to dissipate). I just want hope that there is something I can do so my prescription doesn't keep increasing and putting me at higher risk for these things. Please help.
It may take a while, sometimes at an agonizingly slow pace it seems, for your vision to stabilize following dissipation of the gas bubble. Don't be overly concerned yet about residual blurriness, since mine took almost a year to settle into its final clarity following a vitrectomy/macular pucker surgery with gas bubble on my "good" eye. Also prior to this my own myopia got steadily worse, albeit slowly, until about age 50 when it seemed to stabilize. Be on the lookout for cataract development in your operative eye, it's a fairly common occurrence.
4 Comments
In terms of the cataract. Is that Proceedure one that has a successful outcome? I've read that after a RD it's more complicated.
My cataract removal procedure seems to have been a complete success thus far to me. My cataract surgeon was informed beforehand about my prior vitrectomy and macular pucker surgery and indicated it was a completely manageable factor. Also be sure to let your surgeon know beforehand the complete list of Rx medicines and/or OTC supplements you take, if any.
I can't address the RD issue, but to put the level of nearsightedness in perspective, your myopia is still in the range labeled "moderate myopia". Its only labeled high myopia when its -6 or worse. Although most people's nearsightedness stopped progressing by your age, some take longer. Even though you say your prescription gets worse each year, I'm suspecting since you are only at -5 by your age that the progression hasn't been that fast.
Even pre-made contact lenses go up to -10 for Air Optix Aqua, -12 for Acuvue Oaysys, and -20 for Proclear sphere, and custom contacts go beyond that.
Even pre-made contact lenses go up to -10 for Air Optix Aqua, -12 for Acuvue Oaysys, and -20 for Proclear sphere, and custom contacts go beyond that.
7 Comments
I'll add that although the categories vary, a quick search shows categories that seem like what I'd seen elsewhere:
http://www.corneatexas.com/about/eye-info/refractive-errors
"Mild Myopia -9.00 diopters"
So I guess my comment was based on your description of it as "almost severely nearsighted" and I'd equate "severely nearsighted" with "extreme myopia" rather than high myopia (and even that you might never get to). At a certain point you can't see much without correction so the numbers seem sort of academic, except I realize in terms of concern about risks of things like RD.
Its unfortunate that you have had RD issues, even most high myopes don't get them even though there is increased risk. I've been lucky enough never to have had an RD, I was at -6 and -9.5 or so before a problem cataract showed (and cataract surgery corrected vision as a side effect so I can see 20/15 without correction).
http://www.corneatexas.com/about/eye-info/refractive-errors
"Mild Myopia -9.00 diopters"
So I guess my comment was based on your description of it as "almost severely nearsighted" and I'd equate "severely nearsighted" with "extreme myopia" rather than high myopia (and even that you might never get to). At a certain point you can't see much without correction so the numbers seem sort of academic, except I realize in terms of concern about risks of things like RD.
Its unfortunate that you have had RD issues, even most high myopes don't get them even though there is increased risk. I've been lucky enough never to have had an RD, I was at -6 and -9.5 or so before a problem cataract showed (and cataract surgery corrected vision as a side effect so I can see 20/15 without correction).
Sorry, the chart looked fine when I posted it, there must have been odd formatting characters so it cut most of it out. This is the chart:
Mild Myopia -9.00 diopters
Mild Myopia -9.00 diopters
Sorry, I'll type it by hand, I thought I'd gotten rid of the formatting
Mild Myopia -9.00 diopters.
(note: I left it in, but technically the "" are backwards from what math indicates, but people get the idea).
Mild Myopia -9.00 diopters.
(note: I left it in, but technically the "" are backwards from what math indicates, but people get the idea).
There is really some weird software bug going on, the chart vanished again even when I typed it by hand. I typed that by hand and it left out most of the chart. I'll try putting it in different words in the opposite order. That chart said:
Extreme myopia is worse than -9. High myopia is -6 to -9. Moderate myopia is -3 to -6 and mild myopia is better than -3.
Extreme myopia is worse than -9. High myopia is -6 to -9. Moderate myopia is -3 to -6 and mild myopia is better than -3.
I would agree with those parameters.
FYI, for future reference, I'm guessing the software has problems with certain symbols, the greater-than or less-than symbols and using them I guess may lead parts of a post to disappear. I see one of them disappeared from between in between ""s above, and they were present in the chart I tried to post. The formatting markup system for the web, HTML, uses those symbols so I would guess that relates to the cause of the bug.
The high blood pressure didn't cause the retinal detachment. RDs are caused by the vitreous tugging on the retina and tearing the retina which allows fluid to dissect under the retina and cause it to detach. HBP can damage the retina but not by causing RD. There is no way to stop progression of myopia other than in young children outdoor plan daily and reducing 'screen time". There is no way of predicting how near sighted you will be. Because you had a RD in one eye the chance of a RD in the other eye is very high one the order of 3-10%. Your retina surgeon can give you the best estimate based on what the back of your eye looks like. Hopefully your eye will make a good recovery, this is especially true if your RD was 'macula on" as opposed to 'macula off" Avoid contact sports and theme park type rides that jerk the head around and of course never go longer than a year without an ophthalmologist checking your eyes.
2 Comments
I had never had high blood pressure before this panic attack. I also didn't have a clue there was an issue with my eyes- any thinning or what not. When my blood pressure rose to that high I did see a blackness over both my eyes and when the blackness went away it remained in one of my eyes (the dark curtain coming down). This is why I linked the two occurrences. In my eye with the retina detachment- the macula was on.
I worry very much now since my surgeon said there are holes in my right eye (my good eye, non retina detached eye) but she wanted to wait for my left eye to heal before using a laser- is there is a big risk in her waiting?
I worry very much now since my surgeon said there are holes in my right eye (my good eye, non retina detached eye) but she wanted to wait for my left eye to heal before using a laser- is there is a big risk in her waiting?
Sorry i can't handicap that since it requires looking in your eye but it is a legitimate question for your retina surgeon. Hopefully if prompt treatment was indicated that is what they would do.
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