CRAP! I May Not Make The OCIC! - Retinal Tear!
07-27-2009, 05:11 PM
#1
Dean of Rennlist, "I'm Listening"
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CRAP! I May Not Make The OCIC! - Retinal Tear!
Jeez, retinal stuff is contagious around here lately! First Roger, now me! Here's my saga. I'll give some detail in case anyone else has this experience in the future:
(I realize this is an OT thread, but perhaps the mods can allow it to stay on this forum at least for a time - since it pertains to the OCIC... And since a fair number of 928 owners are of a *cough* "certain age" and may find this info useful in the future!
)
Last Thursday, as I was at work minding my own business, suddenly over the span of maybe 10 minutes I noticed a significant increase in "floaters" in my left eye's visual field. From out of nowhere I had this twisted thread thingy that moved with my eye movements.
That was mildly annoying, but I didn't give it much thought until I walked into a darkened operating room to speak with an Ortho doc who was doing an arthroscopy. In the dark room, I suddenly noticed that every time I looked to the left and back I would see a thin semicircular rim of a brief, bright, lightning flash in my lateral peripheral vision in the left eye!
Whoa! That kinda got my attention!
So I called my friendly neighborhood retina specialist and described my symptoms to him. He said, "It sounds like you've got a classic case of VD."
Me: "Huh? Umm ...VD? Uh... the same kind of VD that we Gyn's treat?!"
Him: "Oh, sorry! No. Vitreous Detachment."
Me: "Whew! That will make it much easier to explain to my wife!"
The vitreous (vitreous humor) is the gel-like liquid inside our eyeball that helps the eye maintain its roundness. The vitreous is delicately attached to the inside of the eyeball - where the retina is - by millions of microscopically tiny fibrils.
As we age (
), it is actually quite common for the vitreous to shrink - and as it shrinks, it pulls away or detaches from the retina. I did a little Google search of Vitreous Detachment, and indeed my symptoms were classic. Vitreous detachment by itself isn't a threat to vision. After a week or two the floaters tend to go away, the lightning flashes subside, and no harm is done. By the time humans reach age 80, a majority will have experienced at least one episode of vitreous detachment.
But... In a small percent of cases, when the vitreous detaches and pulls away from the retina, it can cause a small tear in the retina. And if you get a retinal tear, it must be repaired and sealed or fluid can seep under the edge of the tear, causing the entire retina to float away from the inside of the eyeball - known as a retinal detachment. This is indeed vision-threatening!
So he had me come right over to his office last Thursday for a very comprehensive eye exam. He found a small amount of blood inside the eye, along with a superficial abrasion of the retina - but no tear.
So I figured "no harm, no foul" and I'd be ready to roll down to Dallas.
But he wanted to see me again this morning before we left.
And damn! Today he found an increase in blood and a small horseshoe-shaped retinal tear! Damn!
So that had to be immediately sealed and repaired to prevent a retinal detachment. This is where things became FUN!!!
He first did a laser treatment. That's the usual first step. However, people who have lightly-pigmented retinas require a higher power laser blast to seal a tear. Unfortunately I apparently have lightly-pigmented retinas.
So he started the laser out on a lower power. That wasn't particularly uncomfortable, but he wasn't getting a good seal. So he cranked up the power. Then it became VERY uncomfortable! Sorta like a tiny little man inside your eye smacking the back of your eyeball with a hammer each laser blast! And he still wasn't getting a satisfactory seal!
Did I mention that the entire exam and laser treatment not only involved the brilliant green lightning flashes inside my eye of the laser itself, but also a 40 billion lumen exam light that was only slightly brighter than the surface of the sun?
In fact, after we gave up on the laser treatment, I noted with some interest that I had no vision whatsoever in my left eye. Totally black. I casually mentioned this to him, but he wasn't impressed.
"Eh. No big deal. Just a temporary retinal response to all the light. It'll come back." And it soon did - in a kinda blurry sort of way...
So then we moved on to cryotherapy. Cryotherapy involves using a super-frozen small cryo probe tip applied to the side of the eyeball that actually freezes right through to the back of the eyeball, freezing and sealing the retinal tear! Fascinating how it can do that!
But it requires numbing the eyeball. So he whipped out a needle and syringe and shot up the lateral side of my left eyeball with a local anesthetic! He injected the local right under the thin conjunctival layer that covers the eyeball. I'll tell you what - I didn't make any sudden movements or twitches while he had the needle in my eye!
But after 3-4 applications of the cryo probe, he was satisfied with the result.
And now that the local has worn off, it only feels like a small boulder was left behind in my eye! The doc tells me the boulder will fall out in a day or so.
But, now I'm nervous about driving 1200 miles away from home immediately after having a retinal tear repaired. So I may not make it down to Dallas after all. Or I may stick at home today and see how I feel and how things look tomorrow morning - and consider leaving tomorrow. Crap. I have SO been looking forward to this trip. It's my only summer vacation this year.
So we'll see how tomorrow looks. The doc wants to see me Friday, but I may speak with him about having the follow-up visit next week. I won't do anything stupid, but if he's OK with me making the trip, I haven't totally given up hope yet.
Crap.
(I realize this is an OT thread, but perhaps the mods can allow it to stay on this forum at least for a time - since it pertains to the OCIC... And since a fair number of 928 owners are of a *cough* "certain age" and may find this info useful in the future!
)Last Thursday, as I was at work minding my own business, suddenly over the span of maybe 10 minutes I noticed a significant increase in "floaters" in my left eye's visual field. From out of nowhere I had this twisted thread thingy that moved with my eye movements.
That was mildly annoying, but I didn't give it much thought until I walked into a darkened operating room to speak with an Ortho doc who was doing an arthroscopy. In the dark room, I suddenly noticed that every time I looked to the left and back I would see a thin semicircular rim of a brief, bright, lightning flash in my lateral peripheral vision in the left eye!
Whoa! That kinda got my attention!
So I called my friendly neighborhood retina specialist and described my symptoms to him. He said, "It sounds like you've got a classic case of VD."
Me: "Huh? Umm ...VD? Uh... the same kind of VD that we Gyn's treat?!"
Him: "Oh, sorry! No. Vitreous Detachment."
Me: "Whew! That will make it much easier to explain to my wife!"
The vitreous (vitreous humor) is the gel-like liquid inside our eyeball that helps the eye maintain its roundness. The vitreous is delicately attached to the inside of the eyeball - where the retina is - by millions of microscopically tiny fibrils.
As we age (
), it is actually quite common for the vitreous to shrink - and as it shrinks, it pulls away or detaches from the retina. I did a little Google search of Vitreous Detachment, and indeed my symptoms were classic. Vitreous detachment by itself isn't a threat to vision. After a week or two the floaters tend to go away, the lightning flashes subside, and no harm is done. By the time humans reach age 80, a majority will have experienced at least one episode of vitreous detachment.But... In a small percent of cases, when the vitreous detaches and pulls away from the retina, it can cause a small tear in the retina. And if you get a retinal tear, it must be repaired and sealed or fluid can seep under the edge of the tear, causing the entire retina to float away from the inside of the eyeball - known as a retinal detachment. This is indeed vision-threatening!
So he had me come right over to his office last Thursday for a very comprehensive eye exam. He found a small amount of blood inside the eye, along with a superficial abrasion of the retina - but no tear.
So I figured "no harm, no foul" and I'd be ready to roll down to Dallas.
But he wanted to see me again this morning before we left.
And damn! Today he found an increase in blood and a small horseshoe-shaped retinal tear! Damn!
So that had to be immediately sealed and repaired to prevent a retinal detachment. This is where things became FUN!!!
He first did a laser treatment. That's the usual first step. However, people who have lightly-pigmented retinas require a higher power laser blast to seal a tear. Unfortunately I apparently have lightly-pigmented retinas.
So he started the laser out on a lower power. That wasn't particularly uncomfortable, but he wasn't getting a good seal. So he cranked up the power. Then it became VERY uncomfortable! Sorta like a tiny little man inside your eye smacking the back of your eyeball with a hammer each laser blast! And he still wasn't getting a satisfactory seal!
Did I mention that the entire exam and laser treatment not only involved the brilliant green lightning flashes inside my eye of the laser itself, but also a 40 billion lumen exam light that was only slightly brighter than the surface of the sun?
In fact, after we gave up on the laser treatment, I noted with some interest that I had no vision whatsoever in my left eye. Totally black. I casually mentioned this to him, but he wasn't impressed.
"Eh. No big deal. Just a temporary retinal response to all the light. It'll come back." And it soon did - in a kinda blurry sort of way...
So then we moved on to cryotherapy. Cryotherapy involves using a super-frozen small cryo probe tip applied to the side of the eyeball that actually freezes right through to the back of the eyeball, freezing and sealing the retinal tear! Fascinating how it can do that!
But it requires numbing the eyeball. So he whipped out a needle and syringe and shot up the lateral side of my left eyeball with a local anesthetic! He injected the local right under the thin conjunctival layer that covers the eyeball. I'll tell you what - I didn't make any sudden movements or twitches while he had the needle in my eye!
But after 3-4 applications of the cryo probe, he was satisfied with the result.
And now that the local has worn off, it only feels like a small boulder was left behind in my eye!
The doc tells me the boulder will fall out in a day or so.But, now I'm nervous about driving 1200 miles away from home immediately after having a retinal tear repaired. So I may not make it down to Dallas after all. Or I may stick at home today and see how I feel and how things look tomorrow morning - and consider leaving tomorrow. Crap. I have SO been looking forward to this trip. It's my only summer vacation this year.
So we'll see how tomorrow looks. The doc wants to see me Friday, but I may speak with him about having the follow-up visit next week. I won't do anything stupid, but if he's OK with me making the trip, I haven't totally given up hope yet.
Crap.
07-27-2009, 05:19 PM
#2
Drifting
Sorry to hear this old man...now I know what I have to look forward to. I know how much you wanted to go, I hope you can still get down there and hang around with Roger. Are they opposing eyes or will you two look like twins?
07-27-2009, 05:40 PM
#4
Not the sharpest tool in the shed
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Eye Carumba!
bigs - So sorry to hear about this. Eye hope things resolve quickly and you can make it to OCIC. Eye am really interested to see (no pun intended on that one) if you notice a performance difference as you descend from the lofty hieghts of Provo.
Eye am also pleased you took the time to write this, Must have been a bit challenging with one eye. Eye think what is also important about your sharing of this is the description of just how challenging the human body is. Nothing is ever a guarantee when it comes to any medical procedure. Every body is different and responds differently.
You and Roger might be able to get a discount on pirate eye patches.
Do wish you rapid and total healing. Excuse the puns if they offend.
Eye am also pleased you took the time to write this, Must have been a bit challenging with one eye. Eye think what is also important about your sharing of this is the description of just how challenging the human body is. Nothing is ever a guarantee when it comes to any medical procedure. Every body is different and responds differently.
You and Roger might be able to get a discount on pirate eye patches.
Do wish you rapid and total healing. Excuse the puns if they offend.
07-27-2009, 06:24 PM
#5
Under the Lift
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But it requires numbing the eyeball. So he whipped out a needle and syringe and shot up the lateral side of my left eyeball with a local anesthetic! He injected the local right under the thin conjunctival layer that covers the eyeball. I'll tell you what - I didn't make any sudden movements or twitches while he had the needle in my eye!
Bigs, it sure would be nice if you could come, but only if you have a second driver, and I would make him/her the first driver so you could rest your damaged eyeball. Even then, what are you going to do if this thing blows up in the middle of the Texas panhandle at midnight? Hey, but what do I know? - I'm going against medical advice too!
07-27-2009, 06:41 PM
#7
Rennlist Member
Bigs,
I had the same thing a couple of years ago- sudden floaters/threads in my left eye, small tear and hemorage associated with vitrious detachment (age 60 at the time). Good doc, stunningly bright lights, mind-numbing green flashes-- he would say "OK, let me know when you need me to stop for a moment" and then started firing bam-bam-bam. He had me come back in a couple of weeks, found another small tear and fixed it, three sesions before it setttled down.
If the doc is your happy with your traveling then I wouldn't worry. There may be further issues but not likely for some weeks. And Roger knows a good doc!!
Good luck and hope to see you in Texas !!
(Eastbound on I-90 near Ellensburg, outside temp 93 and aircon hanging in there...)
I had the same thing a couple of years ago- sudden floaters/threads in my left eye, small tear and hemorage associated with vitrious detachment (age 60 at the time). Good doc, stunningly bright lights, mind-numbing green flashes-- he would say "OK, let me know when you need me to stop for a moment" and then started firing bam-bam-bam. He had me come back in a couple of weeks, found another small tear and fixed it, three sesions before it setttled down.
If the doc is your happy with your traveling then I wouldn't worry. There may be further issues but not likely for some weeks. And Roger knows a good doc!!
Good luck and hope to see you in Texas !!
(Eastbound on I-90 near Ellensburg, outside temp 93 and aircon hanging in there...)
Last edited by jcorenman; 07-27-2009 at 06:48 PM. Reason: can't typo so gud while riding shotgun...
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Listen to your doc.
07-27-2009, 09:18 PM
#10
Chronic Tool Dropper
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If everything was perfect, and your driver was smooth, probably no issues. But any impact at all mean serious risk of opening the tear, or worse would be a total detachment. There are risks in everything we do in life, most don't include risk of total blindness in one eye, potential for losing your ability to work any more, the whole quality-of-life thing. I'll be happy if you make it, won't be at all surprised or disappointed if you go with the conservative decision.
I know that if this was on my plate right now, K would handcuff me to the toilet or something if I even considered travelling. I'd be stretched out on my back to minimize the risk of anything coming loose. I love all you folks and look forward to the event, but I also want to be able to see you all again some day.
[/soapbox]
I know that if this was on my plate right now, K would handcuff me to the toilet or something if I even considered travelling. I'd be stretched out on my back to minimize the risk of anything coming loose. I love all you folks and look forward to the event, but I also want to be able to see you all again some day.
[/soapbox]
07-27-2009, 09:56 PM
#11
Nordschleife Master
I beat both you and Roger with a good one last year... like in your case it happened pretty quick. I had never gone to an eye doctor of ANY kind before this. Optometrist is like, you need an opthomologist and fast...he called but they were already done for the day. Got me in the next AM, they sent me on the next day to a retina guy...
Basically it was a "blister" between the inner most and next layer of the retina. Almost exclusively seen in men with high stress levels... Lower the stress and it heals up... Really messed up my night vision and depth perception BIG TIME!
Stay home bigs and get well! You will be missed!
Basically it was a "blister" between the inner most and next layer of the retina. Almost exclusively seen in men with high stress levels... Lower the stress and it heals up... Really messed up my night vision and depth perception BIG TIME!
Stay home bigs and get well! You will be missed!
07-27-2009, 10:44 PM
#13
Dean of Rennlist, "I'm Listening"
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Man, this afternoon the eye has been watering at the approximate rate of Niagra Falls!
Now I know how all my patients felt when I did cryotherapy on their cervix for abnormal Pap smears!
Karma truly is a bitch!
Now I know how all my patients felt when I did cryotherapy on their cervix for abnormal Pap smears!
Karma truly is a bitch!
07-27-2009, 11:13 PM
#15
Rennlist Member
Bigs, this really sucks! But, as much as we were all looking forward to meeting you, your vision is much more important. FOLLOW THE DOCTORS INSTRUCTIONS! 
Tell you what; start planning for an OCIC in your neck of the woods and we will come to you in 2010.
Tell you what; start planning for an OCIC in your neck of the woods and we will come to you in 2010.