Vitreous Hemmorhage

[Ohio428]

I have a Vitreous hemorrhage in my left eye, it started with the floaters.  I have diabetic retinopathy and I have had floaters before and once had laser done to my right eye with success.  I went to a new doctor a retina specialists and he gave me a shot in my left eye and it is telling me that it takes 3-4 weeks for improvement.  The improvement is very slight and my follow up appointment is on 10/9.  He mentioned doing vitrectomy surgery which of course scares me to death but not being able to see out of my left eye also scares me.  Would another shot in my eye after a month's time clear this up or do they not do that?  What is the bad things that could happen by doing surgery?  He does not seem to be concerned with waiting but I am very concerned and wondering if this could get worse and do more damage to my sight.  I have to work as I am responsible for my family and do not have a husband to share expenses and am concerned with working with one eye?
Exactly what are my options and can you give me some success stories for hope?

[Doreen Fazio, M.D.]

Most vitreous hemorrhages will clear with time, unless they are very dense.  The injection was probably Lucentis or Avastin, which helps to treat the underlying cause of the hemorrhage, that is, the abnormal blood vessels which bled into the vitreous.  The injection will not clear the hemorrhage, but will stop the source and allow your eye to absorb the blood.  Most retina specialists will wait a reasonable amount of time, as long as there is no retinal detachment, to see if the blood will clear enough to allow laser treatment of the diabetic retinopathy.  If the blood does not clear, a vitrectomy can be done.  While successful, vitrectomy carries risks of cataract development, infection, retinal tears and retinal detachment.  The most common risk is the development of cataract.

[Ohio428]

One more question what are my physical limitations?  I usually take a water aerobics class 3x a week and since this all started I have stopped.  Would it be safe to resume these classes or is this not a good idea?  I don't want to do anything to possibly make things worse but the inactivity I don't think helps.

[Ohio428]

Thank you very much you have put my mind at peace somewhat and that I'm on at least the right path to som sort of recovery  but it will slow.