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Detached Retina
Old 08-16-2012, 07:03 AM   #1
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Detached Retina

I had a retina detach last week. Quite an experience. Had great service here in Toronto and had laser surgery the same day. The Canadian health care system wooked very well in this case. The proceedure includes injecting a gas bubble into the eye to hold the retina against the eye so it can reattach. Everything seems fine at this point but getting a little bored holding my head to one side, reading through the good eye, and reading/watching TV, etc all day. The doctor says retinas detach in one in 10,000 people per year. Nothing you can do to prevent this apparently, simply bad luck. Hope to be back doing workouts late next week once the bubble is gone.
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Old 08-16-2012, 08:12 AM   #2
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Danmar, good luck with the healing of your eye. My wife has been having lots of trouble with the retina in her right eye. Back in March 2011 she had a retina peel. Still has some trouble but the eye surgeon says there is nothing more he can do. It will just take time to heal itself if it does so at all.
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Old 08-16-2012, 09:34 AM   #3
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Thanks What are your wife's symptoms?
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Old 08-16-2012, 10:31 AM   #4
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Congratulations! I'm really glad for you, because I've seen the other side.
My mother had a detached retina about 20 years ago, but the repair was bungled and she lost all vision in that eye except for light/dark. Very sad.

Best of luck in your recovery.
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Old 08-16-2012, 10:48 AM   #5
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Retinal detachment run in my family. My grandfather was totally blind (white cane and all) because both of his detached in 1949 before laser surgery was perfected. He never saw me after I was 1 year old. My father and uncle and I think a few other men in my family had retinal detachments too, but theirs were corrected with laser surgery. I truly realize on a personal level what a miraculous advance laser surgery has been, just in our lifetimes.

Believe me, it is worth reading out of the good eye for a little while! Do whatever the doctor said to do, and don't forget to appreciate your sight even more. I am so happy for you!
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Old 08-16-2012, 11:12 AM   #6
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I had a detached retina 13 months ago which was treated in a similar way as you describe....laser, cryopexy,(freeze-fixes critical points of the detached retina), and pneumatic retinopexy (injection of a gas bubble keeping the retina flat and smooth against the back of the eye.)

I had to keep my head tilted severely to the right with my nose pointed slightly downward for 10 days, including when I slept. Awkward....but a year later I have great sight in that eye. No issues whatsoever, so I am very grateful.

The procedure was painless but a little nightmare-ish with all these pointy things coming straight at and into my eyeball. Ick......

I had severe myopia (near-sightedness) in that eye since childhood, and had cataract surgery on both eyes five years ago. My understanding is that both of those issues together are common with detached retina, but do not necessarily predispose someone to having a detachment.

I hope and trust that your outcome will also be successful.
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Old 08-16-2012, 11:56 AM   #7
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My wife had a detached retina very young (age 19) and has a buckle in her eye now.

She has a sort of "pinched" area at the center of her vision in that eye that will always remain, and sometimes she feels "pressure" on that part of her face and above depending on different factors (the weather, driving through mountains, flying on airplanes, diving to bottom of the pool), but other days she can do those same activities and feel no pressure.
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Old 08-16-2012, 12:29 PM   #8
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I hope your recovery is quick and complete. It sounds like you got good care and the time you have to keep the head tilted will pass. Take care.
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Old 08-16-2012, 02:57 PM   #9
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Quote:
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...
I had severe myopia (near-sightedness) in that eye since childhood, and had cataract surgery on both eyes five years ago. My understanding is that both of those issues together are common with detached retina, but do not necessarily predispose someone to having a detachment....
My eye doctor told me I was at high risk for retinal issues because of being so near-sighted too, and cautioned about ever having eye surgery and told me to get to an ER immediately if I ever have symptoms. So far so good.

Danmar, hope your eye is back to 100 percent after enduring the recuperation period.
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Old 08-16-2012, 03:12 PM   #10
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The doctor says retinas detach in one in 10,000 people per year. Nothing you can do to prevent this apparently, simply bad luck.
I'm not sure this is true. DW and I have similar myopia but she had an exam +/- 20 years ago that revealed she was at severe risk of a detached retina (I had the same exam and got the all clear). She had prophylactic laser treatment, which didn't stop it detaching but meant that when it did (3 years later) it was at least stuck on by the edges. Her subsequent surgery was many times simpler as a result. Everyone with myopia should get this deep-eye check from time to time. My last one was 12 years ago, as my eye doc discovered at my last check-up, so I'm going for the "big fuzz", as we call it, this December - you put these high-dilation drops in and walk around with huge puppy eyes for 4-6 hours, so it's recommended to do it in winter as your eyes let in waaaay too much light because of the dilation.
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Old 08-16-2012, 03:15 PM   #11
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I'm glad they could fix it. Ironically, I am sitting in a drs' office waiting for him to check my retinas for tears. They are very thin on the edges and I have to do this 3x a year.
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Old 08-16-2012, 05:17 PM   #12
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OK, made me look (so to speak):
Retinal detachment: Symptoms - MayoClinic.com
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Old 08-16-2012, 05:20 PM   #13
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OK, made me look (so to speak):
Retinal detachment: Symptoms - MayoClinic.com
My father mentioned the dark curtain descending. Gives me shivers when I even think about it.
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Old 08-16-2012, 05:43 PM   #14
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My brother has had retina detachment twice and both time was driving on lonely roads in New Mexico for his job. He said it doesn't hurt, and the first time really scared him. All he could do was drive to the nearest town and emergency room. He could still see out of one eye.
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Old 08-16-2012, 06:16 PM   #15
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Thanks What are your wife's symptoms?
She gets really tired in her eyes and toward the end of the day can't see the on-screen TV guide. Her eyes get dry and they ache. Will not drive at night and usually wants me to drive regardless. She had blurry vision and they discovered the wrinkle in the retina so they peeled away two layers. It helped but not greatly. This was done in 2011. Just last week had her carotid arteries checked for proper bloodflow and all is OK there. The doc thought she might have suffered a small stroke but I guess not. Time will tell if vision improves. She just does not want it to get worse as sewing is her hobby (machine embroidery).
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Old 08-17-2012, 01:22 AM   #16
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DH had it last September.
We were lucky to realize the emergency and got it fixed by laser the same day.
It seems over here they use no gas. Anyhow, the result is very good. For some months DH still saw some shades but the drs told him that this is normal and that they would go away or the brain would adapt and filter them out.
Strange experience.
He was warned not to do anything with "head down" or to do sports for some weeks.

Good luck to you!
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Old 08-17-2012, 05:42 AM   #17
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Thanks for posting, Danmar. You are doing the forum a public service. I am extremely nearsighted and never knew this could predispose me for a detached retina! Good to be aware of the symptoms and the treatments. Now I am really glad I never got Lasik as I was tempted to do when younger.
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Old 08-17-2012, 05:43 AM   #18
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The effects of retinal disease is what put me into ER at age 44. Having had over 20 laser treatments (surgeries), a buckle procedure for a complete retinal detachment, and subsequent bleeding of the macula (center of the retina) in the other eye, it became a game changer to say the least. The silver lining is that if this had happened 60 years prior, I would be completely blind in both eyes (before lasers and buckle surgeries existed), rather than just severely limited.
At the moment that you see flashes in the periphery of your vision or notice that straight lines do not appear straight, run ... do not walk ... to a retina specialist !
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Old 08-17-2012, 05:44 AM   #19
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Thanks to all. They examined the other eye during this process and said it had some weak spots so they willl treat that eye with the laser as well to help prevent that retina from tearing or detaching. Thank goodness for modern medicine.
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Old 08-17-2012, 07:20 AM   #20
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A couple years ago my DW had the same retina detach four times over a summer. After four surgeries she had to have her lens replaced. She had previously had her other retina detach also. Both her brothers and father had detached retinas as well. She knew immediately as it detached. Surgery has to be done within 24 hours - had surgery both Memorial Day and 4th of July holidays. First two times bubble then last two with buckle. Specialist said that was his first buckle detach. Luckily she has some sight out of it with no driving restrictions.
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