Central Serous Retinopathy Nightmare

[thefunkyjoint]

I'm 38 years old. I had cataracts surgery on both eyes about six months ago. The surgery went ok i could enjoy very good vision in the first months.

A couple of months later i noticed that my right eye had poor vision when compared to the left eye. I went to a couple of doctors and all said it's was 'normal'.

But the symptons got worse and i started to noticed things smaller and distorted (thinner) in my right eye.

So after a lot of visits i could get diagnosed with this CSR thing last week. Doctor says there is nothing to do now, that i need to wait the problem get better by 'itself'.

This is VERY frustrating. My life had turned upside down since i discovered i have this problem. I'm a computer programming and all i do all the time is to look to a screen. Although my left eye has very good vision (only half degree of astigmatism, no myopia), when i use both eyes, the vision gets a lot worst, even using my reading glasses (i had a monofocal intraocular lens implanted).

I have vacation scheduled for next week and i'm trying to keep my head in place to relax and enjoy this time off. But it's very difficult as literally i'm seeing the problem all the time.

I have the tendency to compare the vision of both eyes every day to see if the right eye is improving and so far, i can't see no improvments. I keep seeing things smaller and distorted, as well a gray stain in the middle of vision. The only situation thing get a bit better is when i go to outdoors in a sunny day ; in this case i barely can't notice the right eye problem, unless i cover my left eye. But in darker environments my right eye get way worst, i can't even read traffic signs with it.

To make things worse, my drivers license is expired and i need to go to a eye exam to renew it. And of course, i won't pass the exam because the right eye issue.

I went to a psychiatrist because i'm having a hard time getting to sleep due to the anxiety and i'm taking Xanax every night to help me.

My wife and friends try to help me, but they don't understand how this thing can be devastating. Nobody are seeing what you are seeing. And in fact, nobody like to be near people complaining all the time, so you reach a point you can't even talk about this to no one. At the end, you are alone.

I read a lot about the disease in the internet, but it does not help at all because every place says something different. Some says it will get better in 6 months, some says if it does no get better in 3 months you are screwed up because it won't get better anymore. I don't know exactly how long i have this disease, maybe 2 or 3 months since i started to notice things smaller in my right eye, but the distortion issue got worst in the last weeks.

Finally, i think i just write this post to try to unburden my feelings and maybe help someone in the same situation.

My next visit to the doctor will be in 3 weeks. Until then, i just wish God help me.

[JohnHaganMD]

Not anything I've ever heard any retina surgeon lecturing on the subject mention and not mentioned in this PUBMED comprehensive review. Nevertheless if you want to go without cinnamon its not that big of sacrifice:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3574296/

[thefunkyjoint]

Today i went to another retina doctor to collect other opinion, as the previous one only told me to 'wait'. After examination she said my right eye sight is not so bad (because i could read the letters, but this is pointless in my case because i still see small and distorted). She prescribed me Acular LS each 8 hour during 30 day. I found this weird because i've been reading a lot about CSR and could not find something definitive about this medication. Some says it helps, some says it delays recovering. Should i use it ? My situation seems to be stable, i'm not sure if it's improving but i'm sure is not getting worse ; i still see distortion and the central scotoma, but with good light i can see reasonable well with the affected eye.

[JohnHaganMD]

Most but not all patients recover from CSR.. Most but not all the micropsia, macropsia or meta morphosia    (micro look smaller  macro look biger meta look distorted) goes away or becomes tolerable.  Time for resolution (if resolves) varies so much can't generalize.   4-6 months might be reasonable for most people.

[thefunkyjoint]

I understand, so i'm still inside this timespan ; i think i first noticed these symptons about 2-3 months ago. Basically all i can do is wait ? Any recommendations ? Any food to avoid, any physical activity to avoid (like weight lifting) ? I read somewhere that cinnamon could make the problem worse, is this true ?

[JohnHaganMD]

No activities or to avoid. No controlled studies on foods.

[JohnHaganMD]

No I have frustrated patients with CSR in my practice.  Steroids make worse. We don't put restrictions on sports or physical activities.  Never heard that about cinnamon.

[thefunkyjoint]

The cinnamon issue is on wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_serous_retinopathy

[JohnHaganMD]

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[thefunkyjoint]

Well, after some days depressed i'm trying to get forces to put my life back on trail. I've noticed in the last days that the distortion issue got a little better ; i can see my amsler grid less distorted than before.  But no changes about the gray stain / micropsia. If the distortion got better, could this be a good sign ? Also, if i after all i have to live with this s*** for the rest of my life, what problems i might have because the micropsia in the right eye ? My left eye see things a lot bigger than the right, but with both eyes open, i can have a good quality of vision, specially when i'm not using my reading glasses. Can i have a good quality of life even with this problem ? Is there any kind of lenses that can help about the micropsia issue ? Thank you very much for your reply and sorry about so much depressing talking, it's been a tuff time for me.