Kinda important info

[rozymisty]

Well, yesterday I went to the opthamologist for a routine check up and mainly to see if i coudl drive etc coz my eyesight is bad (-8 and -7.5).

She did the first test and said ah got some bad news for you, you've got a retinal detachment! And it requires urgent surgery. She got straight onto one of the other specialists in the centre to find out if I couldve gone last ngiht but since I had eaten last at 2.30pm, it wouldve been really late id be getting in so yeah. She said that I may not even need to proceed but stil need urgent attention, and see that other specialist who has lots of training and interest in retinal problems.

So basically I ask fi she can ring mum and I just totally break down and thankfully mum was still at school (work) in a staff meeting, and she rang back and got told the story. THe principal asked what was wrong and mum told her and she was told to take the day off to take me in which was good.

So anyway I had to turn up at 2.30pm and the whole day I was so nervous that I had the runs which was not good at all...esp on water restircitions lmao.

So yeah we turn up and get taken into the consult room, the nurse sticks about 4 lots of drops in, 3 were to dilate my eye and the other was a local to kinda dumb the eye. Well my eyes were WELL and truely dilated, there is only a tiny tiny ring of blue (ive got blue eyes) and its jus making reading a bit difficult....still a bit blury around the edges but still can read ok....

So the anaesethesist sees me first and says thats they do a local nerve block, and heavily sedate me, and I can stil hear and respond and stuff like that. Then I TRY and read the consent form, having to hodl the form right up to my nose to read it lol. But didnt sign it. Found out the cost-$890!!! I was like HOLY SHIT!!!!

Then the opthamologiic surgeon come to see me and he took a look in the eye, and said that I have a chronic retinal detachment. Normally if you get a retinal detachment, it is rather thick with all the fluid..but mine was rather thin coz it had already occured a few weeks or maybe even months ago so yeah that fluid had already gone.

So he said ive got two options...go ahead wtih teh surgery where he'd put a buckle around the eye and that puts pressure on teh retina to get it to grow back etc. THe other one was to come back next week and see him and see how its gone. He said it would be prob better and less risky to wait a week. he said that with the surgery, there was a risk of possible bllindness coz the thing doesnt attach, bleeding, reduced vision, infection, and a thing where the other eye will copy the same behaviour and so both eyes need doing.

So mum and i were discussing it, and we decided to wait a week. The surgeon said if my vision decreases more or i get more of the light flashes, I am to go immediately to the nearest emergency department and/or ring his receptionist straight away and do the surgery that day or the next. The main thing to look out for is the peripheral vision, I can see top and stuff but its like a 45degree angle i think about a hand-width away from my face that i start to see the tip of my finger on the left (affected eye) so yeah thats the point at which the retina is detached.

He told me that with my eye it is probably stable enough at the moment, and has treated a few pple like me, where its just caught by chance and luck, and it hasnt progressed really quick tot he point that we get it when its too late-ie blindness in that eye. But one patient he's seen had been fine and then one day just went bad and thankfully got it fixed. So yeah

Basically anyway the point of all of this is that if you have short sightedness, and if you see any thing like floating, or any flashes in your vision or your central or peripheral vison is strange.....GET STRAIGHT TO A EYE DOCTOR OR HOSPITAL!!! It can deterioriate to the point of no return! The reson short sighted pple are at risk is coz of the length of the eyeball pressing on the retina and that can detach it.....so yeah...please take that advice

It is a very stressful thing learning that you need eye surgery but if it prevents blindness then get it done.... But if you do go blind, the doc told me that you can still drive after a few months whne the other eye has accomodated for the other one...stil dont know how that works but anyway!

Also being punched in the head increases your risk of getting a detachment too...so be careful before you throw that drunken punch....

[Gutter Monkey]

I completely believe this story.

No one with decent eyesight would type that badly!


Seriously, take care of yourself. Good luck for next week.

Also I've got a friend who lost vision in one eye and he can drive just fine.

[sharleen]

I had something similar happen to me earlier in the year.
Its pretty much fixed now after draining of fluid, eye drops for a month, etc. But I still have scarring with the retina, so the eyesight has deteriorated to the point I can't have it fixed by laser or by use of glasses or contacts. What they did was to put a lesser subscription in, just to take the pressure off that eye for focussing. It used to be -5 in both eyes, now I have -4 in the right eye. Whats happened is that my left eye is now compensating. Its just like before but if I get tired I notice the difference between the eyes.

[rozymisty]

haha well my eyes are still HUGELY dilated but i can read almost as well as normal. My eyes are normaly -8 left eye and -7.5 left eye. Its not the bd sight that is making me stop driving, its my confidnce according to Dr Kert who saw me on Wednesday. it was Dr Aralar who was going to do the operation, and if any of you live in Brisbane or SE Qld, and you need to see a eye specialist, either of them are really nice and young and wonderful.

Im sure if I was at huge risk of the sight deteriorating quickly, Dr Aralar wouldve proceeded wtih the operation. But like why proceed with the risk and stuff, when monitoring may be all thats needed.

Last night it wasnt until like 9pm till i could read a bit better. I still have a headache but yeah thats coz my pupils are so dilated. But the receptionist said it would return to normal in 24-48hrs so yeah in time for my op on Monday. The nurse from Northwest hospital was worried about me getting a general when ive had whats happened so yeah....but the receptionist will call back later so thats goood.

I think the scarring is there deliberately..its the scarring that causes the new retina cells to like attach and stuff. How much pain were u in? Did you have a buckle put in?

[sharleen]

Originally Posted by rozymisty

How much pain were u in? Did you have a buckle put in?

Didn't have a buckle or anything - just checkups every week, draining, cleaning etc. It wasn't painful, but it was uncomfortable and I looked awful. Took about 6 weeks to calm down.

[Spoofy]

What if you are short AND long sighted like me?


Yes I am "special"

[sharleen]

Originally Posted by Spoofy

What if you are short AND long sighted like me?

ummm, then you wear bi-focals? hehe
not to downplay your specialness or anything Spoof.

[Spoofy]

Originally Posted by sharleen

ummm, then you wear bi-focals? hehe
not to downplay your specialness or anything Spoof.

when I wear them...yes...


No I meant, how does it effect people with both?

[rozymisty]

haha im like you Spoofy...used to be able to see things close to me but now its like everything is blury unless its like 5cm or so from my face lol.

Um I think its mostly short sighted, nothing read about long sighted. With short, you get it because the eyeball is longer and so that puts pressure on the centre of the retina and I guess sometimes it can press against it so much or something that the retina starts to detach. It is a common problem apparently, and is easily fixed but is quite nerve wracking. It can also occur due to like being punched in the head...an ex cop went blind after she was belted by a drunken person so yeah.

Im seeing Dr Aralar on Tuesday at 8.30...will be interesting coz ill be so swollen and sore from getting my wisdom teeth out.

My eyes at the moment feel like they are strained...coz they are so dilated. And its freaking me out if my eyes are a bit blurry..scary lol. But hopefully they have returned to normal by Monday morning..so that the doctors dont take a look at me and shit themselves thinking something is going on in my brain lol.

OH um another risk for getting them apparently is too much sun exposure.....and diabetes and stuff..not just being short sighted

The thing about this whole thing, is that last year I went to the optometry clinic at my uni and the lecturers there said they couldnt see a retinal detachment or any problems that was causing the dry eyes and stuff, and so yeah....so i had heard about a retinal detachment from them....

[susanjacobs]

I think the important thing to remember is that if you wear glasses, you really should have your eyes checked regularly. I think the recommended time is once a year. Eye checks are usually bulk billed -- so they are free! YAY!

Not only will they pick up things like what rozymisty is going through, but also they will check for glaucoma and cataracts. I have family history of both on both sides. So every year, I go in and get checked.

Good luck, rozymisty. I hope it all turns out okay for you.

[rozymisty]

Thanks, I hope it goes well too.

Well with the optometrists it is every 2yrs you get a check up. But I have been going to see Dr Boreham, my opthamologist since i was like in yr 3..so 1992 or so. But i stoped in 2002 coz i didnt have the money, and she has since retired so i thought this year I should start going to see the specialist again, since I now have a part time job. So yeah it was just by pure luck that they caught it. Coz I go sometimes to the QUT optometry clinic whre its free and go as many times as you want..and they didnt see it there last year.

Thats why as soon as you notice any changes in your vision, get it checked out straight away...otherwise it may be too late.

And the strange thing is, that Im the o nly one in our family who has glasses...well mum started wearing some for reading and stuff a few years ago but yeah....and no one else has congenital nystagmus/astigmatism..so im not sure how its CONGENITAL lol...oh well.

Its quite funny when people meet me for the first time they just like are looking at me and then get that strange look on their face and then some ask if i know my eyes are shaking lol. One clincial prac, one of the nurses asked if they were normal and i said yes, and he said thank god, coz if they werent we'd be racing you straight down to the ER, coz it would indicate a brain problem....