Detached Retina

faceman

Anyone here ever have detached retina surgery? Curious to hear your experiences.

A little over 2 weeks ago I had post vitreous detachment which eventually turned in to a retinal detachment. I went for surgery last week, and the doctor only needed to do scleral buckle surgery. (Didnt need a gas bubble)

Less than a week on and Im looking through both eyes again. I still have the shadow thing that was a symptom of the detached retina originally so Im assuming that part of my vision is goosed forever. (Fortunately its in my peripheral vision)

Doctor said he expects me to be back to work etc 2 weeks after surgery. Fingers crossed.

Anyone else go through this? What was your experience?

Snooker Loopy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058261201/detached-retina

I suffered a detached retina on September 27th, 2022. I'm not exaggerating when I say it has destroyed my life. I'm only 43 and was only mildly short sighted.

There's a crucial distinction when it comes to detached retinas - whether they are macula on or macula off. The macula is the small central part of your retina that controls the central vision. Mine, of course, was macula off. If you get a macula off detached retina, you are, to cut to the chase, fukced. Despite getting surgery around 36 hours after acute symptoms presented, I'm left with horrible distortion in my vision - I see straight lines as squiggles, I see text as horrible crumpled letters, there's a general compression to my vision, things look further away and slanted and I have double vision. It's a nightmare and I am suicidal about it, I've had two serious suicide attempts so far including an effort to throw myself under a train, three other experiments with hanging, and three days ago was released from a psychiatric ward after spending the whole of Christmas inside.

On August 7th I got new floaters, black dots, one of which looked like a fly in my peripheral vision, and despite saying to myself that I must get that checked out, I never did. On the night of September 25th I got flashes down the centre of my eye but still the next day did nothing, and then on the morning of the 27th I woke up 80% blind in the left eye. I went blind overnight.

My surgeon has been deeply uncommunicative, he doesn't want to see me again for another eight months. His version of the success of the operation is clearly a lot different to mine.

I see people saying they are grateful for retaining some amount of sight after a detached retina, however distorted. I'd nearly prefer to have lost the sight in the eye altogether at this stage as at least I wouldn't be left with the poxy excuse for vision out of it I now have.

I think it's likely I'll take my own life over it at some stage as I see no point in going on if this is to be my future.

My advice to anybody who reads this is to get your eyes checked regularly and thoroughly. I didn't and paid the price.