Macular hole surgery with big bubble insertion 11 days ago. And yes I can see the gas bubble with my eye closed. Also my balance is off because I cannot see with both eyes. I can see that the bubble is smaller now and hoping it will go away in another 4 weeks. Patience is not my long suit so it will be a long 4 weeks!
I am 47 and one week post op for a macular hole. Guess it can happen at any age - heck, I even have a 7 yo at home still! So pleased with my results -we found it early so my hole closed the first week. The Bubble is dissipating very quickly but since the hole is closed, the doctor isn't worried. 7 days posturing wasn't fun, but thanks to Tylenol PM and an incredible support structure, I just slept the days away - usually 18 hours total. I feel blessed for the whole experience - I went decades taking my eyesight for granted. This puts it totally in perspective.
See my comments on the original posting. You have betteer learn patience as it may take 6 months for the final vision to be determined.
Your surgery is a LONG time healing and it may be as long as 6 months before the final result is known. Also see the posting below where another person can see bubble with eyes closed.
I had a macular hole repair on 7/12/22.. on 7/27/22 the bubble was rather small and fun to watch with eye closed and light passing thru eyelid.. then.. it was gone six hours later.. doctor had said 14 days.. it was actually 15 days.. I spent about 70% of my time face down and had expected to be 'scolded' and told more time was necessary, but the hole was closed completely and filling in.. I still have the wavy portion of a straight line but maximum recovery level could take 3 months.. I had cataract surgery before vitrectomy.. other than hassle of face-down position, all else was amazing.. to be able to watch (fully awake) during procedure (I didn't really like hearing metal instruments scraping each other, but it was novel.)..
even if my sight does not fully return, it beats the 20/400 outcome if I'd done nothing.. those ophthalmologists in So Oregon know their stuff!!
I had a victrectomy for a macular hole in my right eye a week ago Monday on May 13th. The bubble was dissolving fast until 2 days ago it was 3/4 gone. Now a little less the past 2 days. I have a black ring around it. It was like looking through wavy black ring around it. Monday wi8ll be 2 weeks. I have nystagmus besides and had bad cataract surgery in each eye where I got less correction than what I had b4 got cataracts/ . So my vision isn't that good in my better left eye. Monday will be 2 weeks. yY doc said I'd be able to drive in2 weeks after surgery. But last Friday he told me maybe maybe not for 3 weeks after surgery .If the bubble doesn't go low down enough to not be destracting. It is bouncing around with the black ring on the bottom 8th of my eye. I would appreciate anyone to le me know when you were able to drive. Thanks
Again you will need to ask your surgeon but if a gas bubble is small it may be possible to fly its large bubbles that cause the biggest problem.
I am right at 2 months post op. My doctor said I should be able to fly by June 9th. I still have the bubble and two tiny bubbles formed today. I hope that means something good. I'm getting worried it won't be gone by the 9th.
Thanks for the positive message.
Oh, and yes, I see gas bubble when open and closed. It has been almost 6 weeks since my vitrectomy with large gas bubble.
I understand your discouragement. My vitrectomy was 5/7/15 and have large gas bubble for macular hole. It has diminished a lot, but still there though some sight back now. Frustrating since need glasses for my non bubble eye, but when wear them I can't see with the bubble eye. Anyway, I am looking forward to getting glasses to help see better maybe in 2 months. I guess I didn't realize that my sight wouldn't really be returned to "normal", but after getting adjusted to that, I am glad I am not blind in that eye since I was for about a month after the surgery. I haven't driven and walked funny since was off balance. I am not yet 60, and didn't know this happened to people in 50's, but anyway, I'm now getting out and trying to focus on the positive - I'm not blind and getting better; and every time I get discouraged, I try to remember there are many people with way worse things than I have, and it will hopefully get better.
My op was May 5/15, I still have a perfect circle that I look through, very frustrating. I spent 4 weeks face down, hard but I did it! I see the doc on Wed., June 10. I am getting discouraged, went out for the first time this week, very disoriented. I'm a 68 yr old female. Good luck all!
I had a victrectomy 11 weeks ago with the gas bubble for treatment of a detatched retina I too still have the bubble which is annoying especially when I bend over It has decreased significantly but still present I still have not been able to drive About 4 weeks out from surgery I had someone take me to Walmart while walking by myself i had loss of navigation and had difficulty reading labels even with readers has anyone else experienced these symptoms?
I also had a hole in my macular , cataract removal and a iris reshaping Gas bubble placement 2 weeks ago. Doing very well. When can I resume exercise. Didn't ask the doctor. Any input would b greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance
yes i to have an gas bubble till have it been so far 10 wks i think hope it goes away soon i see the dr again in 2 wks
yes i have saw the bubble with eyes open or clossed i just don't understand no bending down & no laying or the back or picking any thing up when my 4 wks up it will make 11 wks having an bubble in the eye the hole is doing very very good so far but days i wake uo so tired & full of pain cause can only sleep on sided i fill so weaK HADLY CAN WALK HOPE IT GOES AWAY SOON I USED MY LEGS TO MOVE A FEW BOXS ANY WAY DO U SWEAP THE FLOOR MOP THE FLOOR WASH CLOES & OTHER HOSE WORK WHILE THE GAS BUBBLE IS IN THE EYE I STILL CAN'T DRIVE & I SURELY MISS IT SO IS THERE ANY ONE WHO CAN ANSWER ANY OF MY ???/ MAY I ASK
Victrectomy for tearing. The Gas bubble is going, but slowly. It is now 8 weeks since the op and the bubble is now covering about 20% of the vision (immediately post-op it was 100%). However as this is a sphericle bubble, the apparent rate of shrinkage is accellerating as it gets smaller. It is annoying as it moves... wobbles about. (but it keeps me level headed!!!). What I also get is other slight optical effects - such as internal reflections rom the bubble within the eye that cause little lines to appear. I want to get back to wearing my contact enses but am waiting for the bubble to go completely as i think my vision is still distorted. I will be annoyed if it is more than 2 weeks now.
I am now 4weeks post op vitrectomy with gas bubble--I still have a large black circle(much like an eclipse)which is present all the time and bounces around with my eye movement.Has your bubble gone now FernackerpanI .Has anyone else experienced this?
It's thirty days post-op and I still
have about 40% gas bubble. The gas used is C3F8 which is a long acting gas with a long half life. My doc told me three days ago that it will take another two to three weeks to reaborb completely. After that, he will give the prescription for new glasses as my eye has become short sighted and astigmatism has set in. Good news is that the cataract is reduced since the first week the head down posturing helps to prevent gas induced cataract, so all that hard work and suffering was worth it.
Mine just disappeared a minute ago, almost two weeks to the day after scleral buckling, vitrectomy and laser.
What you see is the shadow of the bubble, originally it obscures the vision, but becomes progressively smaller over time (I had the faster acting SF6 gas). It becomes a button sized ball and if it was like mine it just goes 'poof' and gone.
I could see mine with my eyes closed and it was quite pretty, purple in the middle and red on the outside, with a sort of light that looked like an eclipse.
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I had a vitrectomy, but had long lasting gas bubble. What you see is very normal, you're lucky it wasn't for 12 weeks like with my case. I don't remember seeing the gas bubble with my eye closed. However I also had PFO (a dense liquid) placed in the eye during surgery and there are still some bubbles after a year and a half. And I can see those with my eye closed, even in the dark! My guess is the bubbles touch my retina and stimulate the optic nerves and I "see" an image.
Eyes and ophthamalogy are wonderful things, and I've seen and learned so much. I appreciate my vision and eye care daily!
I am glad to hear this. My gas bubble is still there a little bit, and I had to descend lots of stairs today. Looking down through the bubble throws off my equilibrium. I just held on to the stair rails and went slowly.
I can't wait until it is gone!
The gas bubble has disappeared this morning after shrinking rapidly yesterday. Everything still looks very blurry and I've got small black spots floating about but I guess this is all part of the recovery process. I've got a follow up hospital appt next Tues so should know then if all is in order. Hope your eye is healing too.