Aa
Retinal Tears and Floaters
Hi. I'm 21 years old & near-sighted. 4 months ago when I went to my opthalmologist I found out I had a retinal tear and lattice degeneration, I went thru a laser surgery on both my eyes for it. A tear on my left eye was from 1 o'clock to 3 o'clock. 3 weeks after the laser I went back for a follow-up & my opthalmologist said everything was OK.
I'm not sure what caused the tear but a month before that, I was playing tennis and the ball accidentally hit my left eye. My opthalmologist tells me not to play contact sports for now, and not to lift heavy things or do something strenuous.
I don't know if these are still the same number of floaters four months ago when I had the retinal tear or if there are new ones. There are a dozen (or so) black specks and cobwebs in my peripheral that I coudn't keep count.. I went to my opthalmologist, which was a month ago, to have a retinal check-up and told me that the laser was fine & I don't have any new tears to worry about & the floaters may go away in time.
My concern is..
1) Will I likely be having a retinal tear again in the future? I'm afraid of this because I'm so young and already I have this, and the floaters are frustrating. I want to have a healthy eye sight.
2) Am I truly not allowed to lift anything that is heavy? What is the limit to this & the strenuous things? I mean I travel a lot & its inevitable that I carry my bags & things.
3) Now that I already have many floaters & I think I may not be able to tell if a new one came out. Should my life revolve around opthalmologists that I must have an eye exam regularly?
I'm not sure what caused the tear but a month before that, I was playing tennis and the ball accidentally hit my left eye. My opthalmologist tells me not to play contact sports for now, and not to lift heavy things or do something strenuous.
I don't know if these are still the same number of floaters four months ago when I had the retinal tear or if there are new ones. There are a dozen (or so) black specks and cobwebs in my peripheral that I coudn't keep count.. I went to my opthalmologist, which was a month ago, to have a retinal check-up and told me that the laser was fine & I don't have any new tears to worry about & the floaters may go away in time.
My concern is..
1) Will I likely be having a retinal tear again in the future? I'm afraid of this because I'm so young and already I have this, and the floaters are frustrating. I want to have a healthy eye sight.
2) Am I truly not allowed to lift anything that is heavy? What is the limit to this & the strenuous things? I mean I travel a lot & its inevitable that I carry my bags & things.
3) Now that I already have many floaters & I think I may not be able to tell if a new one came out. Should my life revolve around opthalmologists that I must have an eye exam regularly?
A related discussion, floaters was started.
A related discussion, A Thinning Retina / Lattice Degeneration was started.
Sorry, correction.. I mean -2.50 on my right not 2.50.
I see your point, I've read an article elsewhere regarding LASIK and AOK, it only does something to the cornea so we may be able to see better without contacts/glasses and has nothing to do with the retina. So leaving me in the same risk as I was before even if I had gone thru AOK or LASIK, by the way I'm -4.25 on my left and 2.50 on my right..
I went to my opthalmologist yesterday for a dilated eye exam, everything was OK. I can't sleep at night thinking I may suddenly go blind in the longrun because of a sudden retinal detachment, because of what I heard it is unpredictable sometimes.. I want to be sure of my condition, I'll be having frequent regular eye exams with dilation every 6 months, or right away if I have symptoms. I'll avoid EVERYTHING that may result in eye/head injury. If EVER again a tear was found in the longrun and treated with laser.. Will this be enough for me to have a good eyesight? Considering I'm just 21, I want to grow old with good healthy eyes...
I went to my opthalmologist yesterday for a dilated eye exam, everything was OK. I can't sleep at night thinking I may suddenly go blind in the longrun because of a sudden retinal detachment, because of what I heard it is unpredictable sometimes.. I want to be sure of my condition, I'll be having frequent regular eye exams with dilation every 6 months, or right away if I have symptoms. I'll avoid EVERYTHING that may result in eye/head injury. If EVER again a tear was found in the longrun and treated with laser.. Will this be enough for me to have a good eyesight? Considering I'm just 21, I want to grow old with good healthy eyes...
neither lasik not AOK will help with the incidence of retinal problems. you will be at the SAME risk for retinal holes/tears/detachments whether or not you have lasik or AOK.
i go thru this all the time. myopic patients get lasik and see well and assume they never have to go to the eye doctor again. problem is that if they are moderately or severely nearsighted, they are still in the high risk category for having retinal problems. they still need annual (or maybe even more often) dilations to look for retinal problems.
i go thru this all the time. myopic patients get lasik and see well and assume they never have to go to the eye doctor again. problem is that if they are moderately or severely nearsighted, they are still in the high risk category for having retinal problems. they still need annual (or maybe even more often) dilations to look for retinal problems.
I'm planning on having LASIK in the next few months.. Will LASIK halt or lessen my myopia thereby reducing the chances of having retinal tears/holes in the longrun? Will it help? I also read somewhere about "Accelerated Orthokeratology" which is a non-surgical alternative to LASIK.. Can I please have your suggestions in this?
covex:
about accelerated orthokeratology (AOK): read the thread on this page about "high myopia in children"...
about accelerated orthokeratology (AOK): read the thread on this page about "high myopia in children"...
avoiding head/eye injuries and get regular dilations to catch them early is about all you can do. there are no vitamins or supplements or foods or excercises you can do to prevent retinal holes/tears/detachments
I'll keep that in mind, thanks. Can I ask one more thing, what are the preventive measures or healthy habits that I should keep up to avoid retinal tears and thinning in the future?
1) you will probably never hae another tear in the exact same spots that you did before b/c of the laser procedures. you are, however, at the SAME RISK as you were before for having a tear elsewhere in your eyes. at means it is certainly possible, and more likely for you to have a tear vs someone who is not myopic since you are already myopic, already have lattice, and have already had a tear. so no uarantees. you need to be watched. annually is fine unless your ophthalmologist says sooner or you have symptoms.
2) not allowed to lift anything heavy...i would say after 6-8 weeks you can lift again, unless your ophthalmologist says otherwise.
3) you should definitely have at least an annual exam with a dilation, again unless your surgeon wants to see you more than that
2) not allowed to lift anything heavy...i would say after 6-8 weeks you can lift again, unless your ophthalmologist says otherwise.
3) you should definitely have at least an annual exam with a dilation, again unless your surgeon wants to see you more than that
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