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Macula off

I had a total macular off retinal detachment two years ago..  Since then I've had metamorphosis.  Everything is wavy and distorted in that eye.
I've had a really hard time coping with this. Other than patching the eye, is there anything I can do to make the distortion tolerable.
Have other people had this problem and what have they done?
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233488 tn?1310693103
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Yes it is a common problem. Let me first tell you the most importtant thing. you are at high risk of RD in the other eye, perhaps 10-20%   See your retina Eye MD ophthalmologist every year, avoid trauma to eye, live a healthy lifestyle,  immediate report any increase of floaters, flashes of light or loss of peripheral vision.   You need to discuss with your retina surgeon, even get second opinion. If you have an epiretinal membraine (ERM) you can discuss ERM peel, if you have macular hole, you can ask about closing the hole. Not likely anything will make it normal.
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I saw a retina specialist at Ohio Stare. He showed me scans of my eye.  The photoreceptors got really messed up. There is no pucker or Erm.  He said there is nothing at this time that can be done for the distortion. He said maybe a stem cell patch in the future.
I get really depressed because I can't stand the wavy vision.  I just wondered how other people cope.  It makes my life miserable.
I had the mac off detachment after cataract surgery.  Now I have a cataract in the other eye and I'm scared of getting another RD.
I feel like my life is ruined.  Is there any hope in dealing with this?
One other thing.  My corneas were damaged after Lasik surgery so I have to wear a legal lenses.
So I have had horrible experiences with surgery.  Two damaged corneas, a ruined retina  and distortion that makes me want to just give up.
I meant scleral lens.
1. you should not have cataract surgery on the other eye until the vision is a major problem, you need clearance from the retina surgeon to have cataract surgery and post operatively the retina surgeon will need to see you several times.
2. There is nothing in the immediate future that will help your distorted vision in the macula off RD.  
3. There are many people that have mosted here that are much worse off than you and on other posts that are dying and in great pain. You should give serious thought to seeing a psychiatrist and working through your depression.

I will take your advice because I have been very depressed.  But I wanted to add..  What makes this all worse is I saw the cataract doctor a couple days before the detachment.  She had been treating me unsuccessfully for macular edema for a month and gave me drops and  an apt. to see a retina doctor the following week.  She told me i would be fine until I saw the retina doctor. So I ignored the signs of a detached retina. When I saw the retina doctor, my retina was fully detached. She sent me back to work and made me wait a week for surgery.  Then she treated it like minor surgery with a gas bubble in her office.  
I'm upset with myself  that I didn't go to the emergency room when things got worse, flashung lights etc, but I thought I was just dealing with macular edema.  And I'm upset that no one warned me that my retina was about to detach and what signs to look for.  The cataract doctor said she hadn't seen anything wrong.
I just wanted to share that because it really bothers me. People need to follow their instincts and go to the er if something seems wrong.  I can't get over that if I had gotten treatment right away, I could have saved my vision.  Ill never get over that I did something that dumb as to ignore major signs.  I didn't know what a detached retina was. I thought I should go to the ER when i saw flashes but then I thought no the doctor  said I was ok until next week.  I wish I had gone to the er.
Thanks for letting me share that.
you would need the help of a retina surgeon (a different one) plus a review of all your records plus the help of a lawyer to see if your care was a deviation from the standard of care (malpractice).  With a RD if the macula is still on it is an emergency and needs to be operated on immediately. If the macula was off when you saw the RD surgeon waiting a week likely did not make a difference.  A RD can cause persisting macular edema so your cataract surgeon should have done a dilated exam with scleral depression and of course a macular OCT.  You might want a whole new team to look at your treatment.
Thanks for the advice.  This group of doctors were not only involved in my mac off detachment but also the botched LASIK I had. I.know there are people who have it worse but its upsetting.
Reb888 your allowed to feel the way your feeling comparing yourself to another person's medical situation isn't really fair because we need to feel those emotions regardless don't compare your situation to others .
You had a hard time dealing with any medical issues is hard hope your okay.
Than!s for the support.
Then you would do well to gather all your records including chart notes, OCT tests (originals) and seek out a new team that would likely be a highly qualified retinal Eye MD ophthalmologist and a corneal/refractive/IOL eye MD. If you were unhappy with your LASIK, and your cataract surgery, and your retinal surgery and this is all the same group, why would you stay with them?
Yes I'm going to Ohio State for treatment now.  Wish I'd never gone to the other place.  I'm looking at malpractice.
Ohio state Dept of Ophthalmologty is a good place. Best of luck.
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