Recurring Retinal Detachment

[tacmom]

I am a 34 year old female.  I had retinal detachment surgery when I was 25 after I went in because I couldn't "see out of part of my eye".  I was seeing a curtain over my right eye.  I went to a regular eye dr, was sent immediately to a retinal specialist, who saw a detachment in my right eye and a retinal tear in my left eye.  My right eye was repaired with a full scleral buckle around it and my vision has been fully restored.  My left eye's retinal tear was repaired through laser surgery.  I really thought that was the end of it.  Was going to my retinal specialist annually, but then I stopped and waited 4 years for my last checkup.  They found two holes in my left eye.  They did laser surgery two weeks ago.  I thought that would fix it, but found out last week, that it did the opposite and now I have a detachment in my left eye.  I will be having surgery sometime in teh next month or two.  The detachment is not in my "peripheral vision" as the drs say...it is more in my upper right corner of my eye and I do see a tiny portion of my vision blocked, but it's really not enough to bother me.  My retinal specialist is currently on maternity leave so we're trying to hold off until she returns to do my surgery (scleral buckle) in my left eye.  I just don't understand...I feel too young to be going through this.  The dr the other day thinks I may possibly have retinal degeneration.  I don't know for sure if this means that this will continue to happen even after surgery again.  Has anyone else experienced this?

[xtremelit3]

i have not had recurring detachments but i did have scleral buckle surgery about 4  weeks ago.  i am only 23 years old and i hope not to have another detachment, but it seems like im high at risk for that happening.  wouldnt they want to operate right away on your other eye since the retina is detached, and not wait for your doctor to come back?  is that curtain in your upper right corner getting bigger or does it stay the same?  

[berrywoo]

I know what all of you are going through and I'm only 23 too. I had the retina in my left eye detach towards the end of Feb. and had surgery to place a scleral buckle along with a gas bubble injection and lasering. Then only two weeks later I found out that the surgery wasn't successful and had to have another one. The first surgery exacerbated the cataract in my left eye so I had to have that removed and then had more lasering and a vitrectomy and more gas injected into my eye.

[taormina]

Hi everyone,

I'm almost 23 myself, and I have a small retinal detachment in my right eye.  I know how it feels to be thinking "aren't I too young for this??"  I had cryopexy done three weeks ago but I may have to go back for a scleral buckle.  It's good to know we aren't alone.  Good luck to you all!

[mike230]

I had a crystalens implanted this past August 08.  I am 50 and my vitreous was so dry, because of all these floaters.  I think the vitreous had been gradually pulling on my retina.  It started to detach in the upper right corner a month later 9/08.  The macula was still on, thank god or I would have chartered a plane to the netherlands where it is easy to seek physician assisted suicide.  This would have been the last card.  At this point 3 months out, the laser repair prooved to be successful, the biggest pain was the gas bubble which lasted 6 weeks,  The MD put a heavy duty one in to make sure the retina would remain flat and push out any fluid, a good insurance policy.  The gas bubble is annoying and also the key ingredients are FOLLOW THE HEAD POSITION RULE AND DO NOT, I MEAN DO NOT BEND OVER FORWARD USE YOUR LEGS TO DO THESE TASKS!!!!!!  MAKE SURE YOU STAY ON SCHEDULE WITH YOUR DROPS

My visual acuity is excellent, the only thing that happened which I am being treated for is I had an adhesion between the back of my pupil and front of the capsular bag.  It is between the 10 & 1:30 position, which was causing part of my pupil to remain stuck open causing the dreaded starburst, glare issues.  I thought for sure my life was over, but was relieved to know this condition is very treatable.  BECAUSE I CAREFULLY FOLLOWED DR ORDERS, EVERYTHING IS GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.  IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT PERFORMING YOUR ACTIVITIES, WHETHER IT MAY BE A STUPID QUESTION, ASK YOUR SURGEON, NOT A TECH.  REMEMBER, THE DUMBEST QUESTION IS THE ONE NOT ASKED.

I hope my shared experience will help you folks out, certainly no one in my household understands what I have experienced, because they do not have these eye issues.  I hope nothing but the best for all you folks and I really feel your pain.  Have a Happy NewYear for whatever it is worth.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

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[ianee67]

I'm 42. I had my retina (right)  re attached 3  weeks ago. My vision before was waaay better than it is now, sometimes i can't help but wonder will my near-perfect vision ever come back. I underwent  gas bubble, scleral buckle and vitrectomy, tho' my retinas weren't fully detached but my doctor said it has a tears and holes.
My eye is a bit droopy too. When can i conclude that the operation is a successful one? I've heard some say that it will take months and months but my doctor said i'm recovering quite well. I can still  feel pain and tenderness around my eye

I thought i was alone too

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

It often takes 6-12 months to know what the final vision will be. The surgeon usually knows in a week to three weeks if the retina was successfully reattached.

JCH MD

[ianee67]

many thanks for replying

since my right eye is very blurred, oftentimes i get dizzy.. i find it very uncomfortable. do u mean i have to endure it for the next 6-12 mos?

[matt_ret_d_vitrectomy]

I understand your concerns and symptoms, too.  Hang in there!  3 weeks is still very early, things will probably improve, or can be improved.  Be patient - I know it's very hard.  But do realize the seriousness of the condition, and your good fortune to have successfully recovered this far.

I had a similar situation to yours, and I had some dizziness and motion-induced nausea both short term (first month) while in recovery (some eye medicines cause it, the procedures can cause the eye nerves (the largest in your body) to respond and cause dizziness, the positioning can cause it, the visual changes can cause it), and longer term (due to visual imbalance) - until I got both eyes "balanced" about 6 months later.  Hang in there, learn as much as you can, ask your doctor about anything, and go easy on yourself!  If the dizziness is bad, you might ask your Dr. if motion sickness/anti nausea medicines are possible.

For me, I think nearly the hardest and most enduring parts of retinal detachment recovery has been coming to terms with the sudden change in my own "healthiness", the long term changes in vision and visual quality, and adapting to those changes.  RD really can be a disabling and life-altering event that arrives with no warning, and I think that takes a lot of adaptation, not the least of which is psychological.  Except for the optical and ophthamalogical aspects, most eye doctors aren't trained or prepared (or paid/reimbursed) to help with the other adaptaptions, even though many can be very supportive and sympathetic to the extent they can.

Using me as an example....
I'm 46, in otherwise great health, (was) a -7.5++ myope,  with some astigmatism (before all this), and I had a major retina detachment in left eye repaired last July by vitrectomy, laser, scleral buckle and bubble after detaching again after cryopexy and bubble treatment.  Then my right eye retina detached and tore in October just as I thought I was "done" for a while.  It was successfully reattached with cryo and bubble.  I quickly developed a cataract in my left eye after treatment.  I had to remain "face down" to the extent possible 24/7 for about 2 months.  Due to the cataract clouding my vision, and the buckle which changed the length and focus of my eye, I was functionally "one-eyed" for six months, which , until I had an (aspheric monofocal) IOL implanted in the left eye in December.  Then to deal with the aneisokonia (difference in image sizes/magnification between R + L eyes), I got a contact lens for my right eye.  

Despite it being a very long road, I am extremely pleased with this outcome so far. I no longer wear glasses, except for reading. (I forgot I was presbyopic, and forgot my old glasses were progressives! Reading glasses are essential now).

At last, after more than 6 months from the start of it, I feel like I've got "acceptable" vision again.  In terms of "best corrected acuity" on an eye chart, I can read about 20/25 if I strain a bit- despite being able to make out letters on the chart, things are still a bit blurry.  My retina specialist doctors and their fellows at a large eye teaching hospital have all said my eye recovery so far in both eyes is excellent, and I trust their opinions.

But eye chart acuity isn't all there is to visual quality.  Is it what I'd like?  No.  I still have cloudy moments, apparently due to floating/partially attached, loose vitreous in my right eye, and occasional minor glare/internal reflections from bright light sources in my left IOL eye.  I hope that over time, and as healing continues and things settle down, I can make work with my doctors to make some minor adjustments to make my vision better.  If not possible, I will be content with what I've got.  Only now do I understand that the recovery timeline for RD eyes is pretty long - even some heart surgery recoveries seem like they take less time.  When I reach the 1 year milestone, then I think I'll consider it "over" as much as it will ever be.

Only now, after many months, have I come to appreciate that I'm extremely fortunate to be able to see this well, and to be able to still see at all!    Initially, I very much underestimated the seriousness of retinal detachment and the potential for complete blindness.  Emotionally, I thought 90% chance of "fixing" it meant perfect vision would probably be restored.  Rather, in objective terms, "successful reattachment" is just that - "successful reattachment" of the retina.  Since the retina's function is only one part of the visual process, there can still be many other changes to other parts of the visual "equipment" (lens, eye shape, etc) as a result of the detachment and treatments, which can reduce visual "quality"..  I've come to appreciate how much we take our natural "good" vision for granted.  Now that I understand eye function better, it's much easier to accept and try to adapt to the imperfections that come with RD (as well as aging in general).  In my case, I feel lucky to have what I consider a very good outcome so far, and I'm trying not to grieve too much or unproductively over what I've lost.  But grieving and accepting the change is entirely natural and necessary.  

Hang in there, be patient, keep reading this forum, and keep actively engaged in discussing your treatment and condition with your doctor.  Be a good patient, too!  This forum has helped me understand and learn so much, so that I could discuss my condition and treatments and options with my doctors.  Best wishes for your recovery!

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

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[ianee67]

It's been a month now..Perhaps the most difficult thing for me is that I'm a mom of a toddler, I drive my 2 older kids to and from school, now I can't do that anymore. It's hard to drive when I'm seeing double. Now I can feel a tiny bump in the right outer corner of my eye, feels like there's a foreign object getting in the way when i move my eye, is that a scar or a stitch?

Your message was really helpful, very inspiring. Thanks

[berrywoo]

Did you have a scleral buckle, if so that may be the cause of the bump. However, even if you had a scleral buckle, that is not normal and you should probably go see your doc to make sure there is nothing serious going on. (I can't believe I posted on this thread back in 2007, it seems like such a long time ago)

Hopefully, everything will be okay. Good luck.

[berrywoo]

Ok, after reading your initial post and your follow-up, ignore my first post. You've had a scleral buckle and the bump may be residual swelling and the foreign body sensation is just you getting used to the buckle. But just to be on the safe side you could always call your docs office and speak w/ a tech. to see if the bump is of anything to be concerned about. Good luck.  

[matt_ret_d_vitrectomy]

About double vision - strong changes in your vision are expected with a buckle, since it changes (elongates) the eye and makes you (more) myopic.  

It seems to be standard ophthalmic practice not to evaluate vision for correction by glasses or contacts or other means until several months after retina/eye surgery.  In my mind, this definitely puts the patient in a disabled condition.  I avoided driving with passengers until I got my vision back (with IOL) and in balance (with contact in opposite eye).

Because it's disabling you, I'd suggest talking to your eye Dr about possibly getting a "temporary" vision correction - by glasses or contacts. I think "standard" procedures don't suggest re-measuring for corrective lenses until several months after an eye procedure.  I think Insurance may not cover it (who knows???) and it may have to be repeated (additional cost of course) as your eyes heal and change shape/presecription - but unless you've got other resources to handle driving, etc, "seeing double" can be very disabling. If you work, it makes you unemployed, too).  In my case, I had to be a little pushy to get a quick referral for a contact lens fitting one week after my cataract surgery.  However, I had immediate relief and even 1 day of good vision would be worth the $150 or so that it may cost if insurance doesn't cover it in the end.  I told everybody that the contact lens was "better than Prozac" in lifting me out of RD-induced depression - I felt good again after months.

About the eye "bump" or foreign object sensation.  I had cryo, laser, buckle, and cararact in one eye, and cryo only on the other.  Both eyes feel like they have "grit" (not that bad - more like an eyelash feeling) around the perimeters where the procedures were done.  I figure it may be scar tissue from the procedures - for the buckle eye, there was definitely a lot of irritation and redness - the irritation and feeling of "dry eye" continues.  I suggest asking your Dr if everythings' normal, if eye drops (artificial tears) are suggested and if it's OK to take something to feel the irritation less (ie tylenol or what the Dr recommends).  I told my Dr's about this - both indicated all was fine, some irritation was normal, and suggested eye drops and tylenol if it was too much.

Good luck and hang in there!!!